Recognition

Although I've tried to remain somewhat anonymous on this blog (no last name, no specific city, etc.) at Spouse's request, I've always secretly wished someone would recognize me as this blog's author.

Occasionally I read accounts of other bloggers who are recognized at bars or restaurants and I think how fun it would be if that happened to me. Well, something similar happened to me, finally, after more than 6 years of blogging.

In January I went with my friend Hadley to an after-Christmas party where I met Andy. In our conversation I told him I was in the process of changing careers and was excited about becoming a realtor. After the party I friended him on Facebook, and then I saw him again a few weeks later and we exchanged greetings.

Then recently I got a message from Andy via Facebook. He said he'd been reading my blog for almost a year, without knowing who I was. Then as he was catching up on my blog after the party he realized that we'd met each other at the party in Jan.

So although I wasn't recognized in public like by fellow bloggers, I was recognized after the fact, which kinda makes me feel special.

Weekend highlights

Sat morning I went to real estate school and Spouse went to the gym. That evening he met up with Steven & Thad and one of The Bobs for dinner while I went with my friend Hadley to a post-holiday party and networking event.

Hadley was the 1 invited to the event, but she decided that she and I would have more fun there than she and her husband, so she invited me to go in his place. Everyone was instructed to bring a wrapped unwanted holiday gift to re-gift at the party, which appealed to my quirky side. The White Elephant re-gift exchange was hilarious! We had cocktails and finger foods and lots of chatting and networking. Many of the guests were self-employed, business owners, and realtors. I met several very nice folks with whom I hope to stay in touch. It was the best networking event I've ever attended!

Sun morning I went back to real estate school and Spouse went to the grocery store. That evening we met up with Steven & Thad and our friend Liz for dinner at Saketumi. Liz used to live here, but moved to NY last year. She stopped in Sun evening on her way to a training class in southeastern VA. It was great to see her again, get caught up on her life, and share a meal with her and our friends.

Happy hour with Hadley

Last night I met my friend Hadley for happy hour at Saketumi.

It was summer when we'd last seen each other, so I suggested we meet up. When we got together last time she was about to start a new, exciting job so I wanted to find out how it was going. Through Facebook she knew that I had started real estate school and she wanted to hear about that.

About an hour before we were supposed to meet we had a major storm! It poured down rain, the wind was fierce, and we even had some brief thunder and lightning. But we both braved the typhoon-like weather to meet for cocktails and conversation.

I love happy hour at Saketumi because they have special drink and sushi prices if you sit at the bar and order before 6pm. I always love a bargain, and even more so now that I'm unemployed. So we met at 5:30 and ordered shortly thereafter. The food is so good because the ingredients are fresh and high quality. The service is always terrific and the sushi rolls are beautifully presented. I also like Saketumi because the decor is very cool and sophisticated. I feel more elegant and attractive when I'm there! As I sipped my Cosmo (made with Absolut Berri Acai) and Hadley sipped her white wine, we began to catch up.The 'new and exciting' job she took last summer was fun work, but her boss turned out to be insane so she cut back to part-time and is now in the process of getting out altogether. She's going to resurrect her own small business and really give it the time and resources needed for it to succeed.

I explained that real estate school is going well and that most of what we've covered so far has been review for me. We talked about mutual friends in the industry, as well as her husband's connection to it. Our rolls arrived and we nibbled between sentences.

I asked about her husband and son and she asked about Spouse. We really had a great time despite the fact that we really don't know each other that well. Its weird but we're kind of like siblings who've been away from each for many years. Despite not spending a lot of time together, there is this underlying similarity that allows us to easily relate to each other. I don't really understand it, but I like it.

Hadley was a sweetheart and picked up the modest bill and we made plans to go to a networking event together in a few days.

As we walked out of the restaurant it was snowing.

Happy hour with Hadley

You may recall that back in Jan I related the story of Hadley, who wanted to convert her list of local restaurant specials into a blog, with other content as well. She asked me and a few other locals to write for the blog with her. I wrote a few pieces for her and will do more if my crazy schedule will just calm down.

Hadley and I have been wanting to meet her in person ever since Jan, but we just couldn't seem to get our schedules to match up. But finally last night the planets were in perfect alignment and we met in person for happy hour. From our emails and one 15-minute phone call I knew we'd get along great, and we did.

I invited her to happy hour at Saketumi because they have a terrific 1/2 price sushi menu at the bar between 4:00-6:00. My friend/manager Kim was there so I knew he'd treat us like royalty. We met at 5:30, ordered our 1/2 price sushi, she had Pinot Grigio and I had my current favorite cocktail: a Cosmo made with Absolut Berri Acai. (If you haven't tried this yet, what are you waiting for? Its delish!)

I invited Spouse to come along, thinking we'd only be there an hour (90 minutes tops) since I didn't really know Hadley. He passed on the invitation, which was probably good in the long run because Hadley and I sat at the bar talking, eating, talking, drinking, and talking for 4 hours! I couldn't believe it.

We discovered some crazy coincidences in our lives and really related to each other's work and personal life situations. Although very different on the outside (she's straight, female, is a mom, etc) we're surprisingly alike on the inside. We had a really good time.

While telling her about last Saturday's Summer Bash, we were overheard by a couple seated next to her at the bar. Turns out the guy (Chris) is a food broker who donated the meat for the Summer Bash. I quickly told him the barbecue brisket was my favorite item this year, which was the truth. Then we discovered Chris and Hadley grew up in the same neighborhood outside of Atlanta! Chris' girlfriend lived for many years in the DC area, as did I, and we compared notes on each other's work and home towns. It was a truly wacky!

So Hadley and I decided we will definitely hook up for happy hours and dinners again in the near future, and we may even let our spouses come along! It might just be too much fun for 2 people.

Crush du Jour: Jake Mitchell