ArJewTino

Remember that scene in Can’t Buy Me Love when the future Dr. McDreamy* watches the popular kids of his high school eating lunch together and longs to be a part of their group? That was my Friday night.

The DC “blogger community” held a happy hour at Lucky Bar and invited anyone who has a blog, has thought of starting a blog, or who has ever heard of the word “blog”, to attend. Though my two blogger friends, Shiftless Badger and DC Katastrophe, couldn’t tag along, I decided to go anyway in the spirit of meeting new people and having fun. The Princess, when invited, gave me a look like I had just asked her to attend a Dodgers day-night doubleheader followed by a three-day camping trip. So I invited Baby Bien, who doesn’t have a blog but is naturally curious and viewed the happy hour as a sociological experiment. And he wanted to meet some hot chicks.

We got to Lucky Bar a little after 7pm and hung out near the pool table, having a couple of drinks and eating some REALLY bad bar food. Soon enough, I recognized the happy hour hostess from her blog photos and saw her sitting with a bunch of people at a table in the back.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” I asked Baby Bien as we looked at the table.
“Blog blog blog blog, blog blog blog blog.”
“Like the parents in Peanuts.”

But despite my eagerness, I could NOT bring myself to walk up to the table and introduce myself. Suddenly, I felt like I was back in high school, watching others have fun and paralyzed by my fear of making a fool of myself. I am typically an outgoing and gregarious person; but on this night, I just watched the proverbial table of “cool kids” laughing and talking, and felt like the biggest nerd in high school. I mean, even if I HAD approached them, what could I have said? “Hi, I’m Arjewtino! Let’s be friends!”

“I don’t want to make small talk,” I told Baby Bien, “and I’m not single, so I’m not going to hit on anyone.”
“So why’d you come?”
“I don’t know.”

After an hour or so, we left to meet our friends at our regular watering hole in Adams Morgan, where everybody knows my name. I was back in my element. I know, I know, it was pathetic. I felt like a failure as I left Lucky Bar and boarded the 42. I told myself that at the next blogger happy hour, I would definitely NOT be a wuss, that I would NOT be such chickenshit, that I would have the balls to talk to anyone. After all, as I told Baby Bien, “They’re not celebrities.”

Not even Ronald Miller would think so.


*The Princess, who spent yesterday watching a season 2 marathon of Grey’s Anatomy with her gal pal, would like everyone to know that the season premiere is this Thursday at 9pm on ABC.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 at 1:13 PM.