DC-Area FOFC Meet and Greet?
 

Ksyrup and I've been talking about a D.C.-area meet and greet next Saturday (September 29th), since he'll be in town. I just thought I'd start a thread to see if there's any interest from other area folks about getting together that night.

Who's in?

I know LS was interested in this - he's on his honeymoon but I think will be back in time, so I'll try to communicate with him to let you know.

Unfortunately that's not a good weekend for me to make the trip up there.

I'm all for it - hope we do better than last year's attempt. Time and place - I'm there.

I'll check back here for details. I'm back in DC on the 27th.

Isn't there something better for you to be doing than checking here? ;)

I'm not sure where in DC Ksyrup is staying, but I'm thinking it should be someplace Metro accessible and probably in DC. I'm open for suggestions though as I'm not as familiar with DC nightlife as, say, LS.

Definitely interested, but exact time and location will determine whether or not I can make it. DC proper would probably be less likely for me than, say, Springfield (which is where Todd was shooting for last time, I think).

But I'll see what I can do, regardless.

I'll be in town for a conference and will be staying at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel on Woodley Rd NW (if that gives anyone an idea). I won't have transportation and don't know the area at all, so somewhere reasonably close that I can cab to would be preferable. I'm tied up until about 7pm on Saturday, then I'm free.

Anyone else going to be around? Subby, Terpkristin...?

Hey Ksyrup, get out of Absentia!

I'll overlook that this is happening shortly after I moved.

Bump it to Oct 29th and I'm in.

If you're staying in Woodley Park, the closest "going out" area would be Adams Morgan. It all depends on what kind of a night you guys are looking for, though. Woodley has a metro, so it's completely open to any neighborhood with any style of nightlife you could want. Adams Morgan is heavy on the go out and get hammered crowd, but if you want to stay out late it gets very crowded. I would say U Street is very similar (and right down the road), but not nearly as crowded. Dupont Circle is probably the most well-known spot, and has a lot of good places.

Are you guys just looking to grab dinner, to have a night out, or what? If it's a night out, do you just want a bar you can chill out, a lounge with some live music, or somewhere you can dance (somehow I find this option unlikely to be the answer ;) )

and wade: nope. :) I see nothing better than sitting by the pool, looking out at the sea, feeling the cool breeze and checking FOFC! :) (translation: Mrs. Scarlet is getting ready and I don't want to stare at the wall while she puts her makeup on)

i'm not that interested in anything to do with dancing unless there's a pole, dollar bills, and g-strings involved. Though I suppose if we ended up at a titty bar Ksyrup could listen to heavy metal. :D

It's a Saturday night in September...I guess I've spent too much time in the south, but that means football to me. I was thinking we could hit a sports bar or something an catch a coupleof the evening games. Especially since my weekend of football watching is otherwise being replaced with regulators droning on about changing 'a' to 'the' in model insurance laws.

But I'm up for whatever. I already checked the music scene...too bad Megadeth is playing Sunday night and not Saturday night!

The best place I know of that's metro accessible is probably Bailey's in Arlington, VA (the Ballston stop on the orange line). Buffalo Billiards in Dupont Circle would also be good. There's a Hooter's in Chinatown, but I don't know how many screens they have. Chinatown and Dupont Circle are both on the red line, which is the same line as Woodley Park, although transferring isn't a huge deal. Lucky Bar is less of a sports bar, but has a few screens and is a decent bar in general (they draw a big soccer crowd, but the only game I've watched there was Mason on its way to the final four on St. Patrick's Day); It is also in Dupont Circle. If you don't mind a small TV, there's a very homey nighborhood bar 2 blocks from me called Stoney's. it's about 4 blocks from Dupont Circle and ~6 blocks from the other lines.

I second Buffalo Billiards. There is a ESPN Sportszone off the Metro Center stop or Gallery Place stop too.

I was at Buffalo Billiards during my last DC trip a couple months ago. Pool, darts, shuffleboard, huge space...

I frequent Buffalo, so that's definitely good with me. Should be convenient for Ksyrup (walkable if he's feeling particularly frisky... probably no more than a mile or so).

I'm all over ESPNZone or BB - sounds great

Ping: Subby

Buffalo Billiards sounds good to me too.

It would be fun if you did it on Oct 7 and it would be FOFC get together day then as that's the date of the Chicago meeting.

Bump for anyone else in the DC area who might not have seen this thread.

I guess a little later in the week we can firm up time/place. I'll be in DC by Thursday night, but I'll have my laptop and internet at the hotel.

That would be great. Weather looks like it will be nice, so I might do that.

Bump!

Going twice....



So who's going to be able to make it? The address I found for the place I think you guys are talking about is this:

Buffalo Billiards
1330 19th St. NW
Washington DC

Looks like it's about 1.5 miles from my hotel.

I've got a reception Saturday night that lasts until about 7pm, so I figure we can meet at any time after that. Whatever's convenient for you guys works for me.

I guess the things I have to ask related to if I'll end up going are:

1. Does this place have a dress code? For a Saturday night, I'm much happier to be in jeans and a t-shirt than I am dressed up to go out. I hate dressing up. Too many places in DC require you to be dressed up. Actually in any city.

2. Is there parking there? Public transportation coming from the west absolutely blows, so I'll probably drive if I come, as awful as driving in the city is.

/tk

Jeans and a t-shirt are fine.

Seriously? Public transportation coming from the west is just fine. Park at Vienna and metro in. There is not much parking unless you want to pay for a garage.

Ksyrup - if you're utterly bored any of the other nights, I'm about 6 blocks east of BB and probably an equal 1.5 miles away. I'll probably be hitting up a happy hour on Thursday or Friday with my friends because I will be back from my honeymoon.

Buffalo Billiards sounds like it'll be just what you guys are looking for, ton of space, tv screens, sweet manly things to do while watching sports, etc (dress code is also very chill). I guess I'd also mention that it is not at street level, you have to go down some steps to get in (which should be completely obvious to everyone but I had a friend who had problems figuring that out once).

Also as a heads up, I'd steer clear of the Gtown area if you had any inclinations to head that way, it's homecoming this weekend and that whole area can get pretty packed with people that have been drinking all day. Which is to say, it's fun if you're one of them, probably not so much if you're just looking to hang out and catch a game.

Dola, not that LS needs me to mention this if he's right there, but the happy hour at Front Page (basically across the street from Buffalo Billiards) can be a cheap and fun time if you don't mind a bit of a crowd on the weeknights.

PM me your email address. I'll be getting in too late on Thursday night to want to go out, but Friday night I might have open. I'm trying to set up a dinner with some friends from Florida, but I'm not sure whether that's going to happen. And there's actually a good college football game that night (WVU/USF), so I plan on being in front of a TV somewhere.

I'm not sure how much Internet access LS has until he gets back, so I PM'd KSyrup his E-mail address.

The Dupont stop puts you right across the street from it, if you go out on the correct side.

I believe it's called "Dupont South".. but it's not the one at Q Street.

I'm still planning on making it, but some family issues have come up and there's a chance I'll be stuck at home.

I'm going to try my damndest though.

Should someone compile a list of contact info? Or is winging it good enough?

What day is this happening?

Tomorrow.

I'm in DC now. I PM'd Cam with my cell phone number last week. Who is going to be able to make it? I'll be free around 7pm, and if I'm walking to this place, probably won't be there before 7:30 or so is my guess.

Once we figure out who can make it (or is going to try) and when to meet, we should PM each other our contact info.

All this talk makes me wish I hadn't left DC...

Okay, I think I'm back in... at least for a bit. I'll be there around 7:30 as well, and I'm probably good for at least two hours. Unfortunately I have an early flight to Albequerque on Sunday, but at least I can join y'all for a while.

Great to hear! I guess we can all meet up around 7:30, then?

Whoever's going to try to make it, post here. Since I've met online people in person before and it's always bizarre meeting them and saying, "You must be lez4prez08," let's post our names, too. Mine is Chris. I've got a beard now, so no one confuses me with Mario Lopez...

Um, I'm Cam. But if you want to be formal, you can call me Cameron.

dola: no beard. I'll be the bald guy in t-shirt and jeans, or maybe an OKState jersey.

I'm still sad that I never got to meet Cam when he was up in OKC... :(

We know your name, smartass! :D

I think I'm in, but I still need to figure out how exactly I'm getting there. I know ls and some of you have suggested the metro, but the truth of the matter is that from the west, particularly from the Dulles area, metro really really really really blows. It takes at least 30 minutes to get to a metro station (if you get obscenely lucky and don't run into too many bozos and red lights on the road), then it's 45 to an hour to get into the city, at which point you hate the world and really have no desire to be social anymore (no, I'm not talking from personal experience at all). This is easily one of the biggest things I miss about living in College Park. DC is infinitely more accessible from the north.

So my inclination is to drive, but I know nothing about parking. I'm not opposed to paying stupid fees to park, nor to walking from wherever I park, just don't know the area at all.

And if I come, I'll probably be wearing jeans that are too big for me and a Terps shirt. Go figure. ;)

/tk

Oh, and while K is hanging around. Next time you're in the area visiting, make sure you give this restaurant a visit...

www.shinseirestaurant.com

:)

We need the smite/exalt feature on this board.

Exalt for JeeberD!

I guess we know your name, too. I'm not thinking tonight, apparently.

Heh, glad to be of service. The wife and I are both rooting for her, though we're both afraid that it's Hung's game to lose.

Nah, I think she wins. Hung is too skittish and is similar to Marcel from last season in that he's too arrogant and too much of an asshole to win. And Dale's too out-there, and a bit flaky/spacy.

I'm rooting for Hung. I also would have been happy with Brian. I will be fine with Casey since I think it'll be good to have a woman win. I should like Dale, his being a Chicagoan and all, but I don't.

I'm actually amazed that Dale has made it this far. There were several times he could have gone, but managed to skate through.

Hung is an arrogant prick and I hope he loses just so I can see the expression on his face when it's announced.

Casey is lucky, though. If they had only let two through to the second half of the finale, she probably would have been gone.

Well, I'll be in Dallas's fine airport Tuesday afternoon. You're more than welcome to come out and have a beer with me. :D

Actually, I really want to go back to OKC for a visit, but since none of my friends live there anymore there's really no reason to go back. Maybe I'll just go to Dallas for a weekend instead. Anywhere I can get good Mexican food and Sonic.

If I wasn't going to be working on Tuesday...I have a hook-up at the TGI Fridays in the airport. Probably could get some beers for free.

Let me know if you make it into town. I'll skip class if I have to so that we can grab a brew...

I should be able to easily make it tomorrow at 7:30. I'm Doug, for those that don't know. I don't really plan my outfits out ahead of time, so we'll have to figure that bit out. :)

tk - saying college park is easier because it's "in the north" is completely invalid. If you're going to compare Columbia to Ashburn, you might be slightly more accurate. There is no problem coming in from Vienna, it's that you live significantly farther than even that. I still don't see how driving 30 mins and then riding the metro for 30-45 mins is better than driving for an hour and looking for parking for 30 mins, though.

I'll do that. And you and the missus are always welcome to stay in the guest room if you ever want to visit D.C. Maybe for the next meet and greet!

That would be great. Actually, I have a cousin in that area, and we've talked about making a trip out that way. If we ever do, I'll certainly let you know.

Dola-

Have I ever mentioned that I love FOFC?

*tear*

Cam and Todd (and anybody else who may live west of the city):
Would anybody like to meet up somewhere (at a metro station or at somebody's place) and either all go there via metro together or figure something out? The truth of the matter is, I don't enjoy riding the metro alone, I've had some very odd experiences with weirdos on the metro, and though it seems easier (personally) for me to drive, I know nothing about the area and parking, etc. All in all, I'm not a city girl, so me living out in Ashburn (a/k/a BFE) generally isn't a problem with regards to how far it is from DC.

I'm going to be running around a bit this afternoon, but I'll try to check back here. I'm hoping to see some of the Terps game, so I should be done my running around by 3:30 or so. My cell is 443-864-2011, if you want to work out something. That would make me a lot more comfortable (providing you all aren't weirdos). :D

/tk

Wanna bet you're gonna be back out doing errands by about 4:30?

:)

I'm actually aiming to have my errands done, but I'd say the chances are good that by 4:30 I've switched off ABC in disgust. ;)

/tk

Should be a fun game, I just hope we don't come out flat and MD doesn't come out pissed about blowing the WF game. My brother, sister, brother-in-law, best friend, and about 20 other friends are all MD grads.

TK - I'm all for a carpool. I'll check the thread in a few to see if you and/or Cam want to try it. If you want to shoot me an email, I'm at ptakers at g mail dot com.

I'm definitely up for something. Either meet up at metro and metro in, or drive together to metro and metro in, or drive together to the place. Any/all work for me, though as I've said, I know NOTHING about parking in the city there.

/tk

Shoot... I'm getting ready to head out to the Springfield Metro. I really should have checked this thread before now. Really hope to see y'all there.

I didn't hear from Todd, so I guess I'm going to brave it on my own. According to Mapquest it should take me 45 minutes to get there, and according to the website for BB, they have a garage there. So I'm going to attempt to drive. Dunno how late I'll stay, I'm taking cold medicine for a cold/sinus thingie so I'm feeling a bit spaced out. Oh yeah. I decided instead of Terps I'd wear Michigan. They already won today so I can't jinx them and my only clean Terps shirt is black, which means it'll have a TON of cat hair on it just by nature of existing. Anyway, I'm planning on leaving at around 6:30. We'll see how it goes, I guess!!!

/tk

Dola,
I lied. Michigan shirt is dirty. Terps shirt it is.

/tk

UGH - what an awful evening. My wife and daughter both got sick tonight, so while my wife is trying to sleep it off I've been taking care of my kid ans getting thrown-up on.

I kind of expected to get puked on tonight, I just thought it was going to be by me :(

My apologies to Kristen for disappearing like that. Sorry...

Cam Cameron?

Wow.

Uh...

You suck!!!

Aww, that's no fun, we definitely missed you!
Hope everybody's feeling better today. We should do another one of these at some point...maybe go to the other sports bar in Arlington that LS mentioned...and have more of you DC-metro-area people come. :p

/tk

Thanks for a great night, it was nice meeting you guys. And thanks for recommending a bar that just happened to be hosting the DC chapter of the Seminoles Booster Club during the FSU/Alabama game. That was awesome! :D

That was a lot of fun... I wish I could have stayed longer. :(

Let's plan on doing another one soon. Sorry you ended up getting puked on, Todd. Just a fun day all around for you, huh? :P

Heh :) My hot-water heater dropped dead on Friday, so the hit-parade just keeps on comin'.