Ogmeet

Well, I got back from Ogmeet 2006 in fairly decent working order. My liver is a little angry, but I've been good to it for awhile now... I say unto mine liver, "Waaa, verily, waaa." What a baby...

Click the extended entry to read about it.

Got down to Chicago early Friday, and met up with a couple of friends in downtown. We hit a few pubs, had some great chow, and many brewskis. A very great way to start the weekend, hanging with friends. I'm glad it worked out that we could all meet up.

Original plans had been to hook up with Leslie and some other bloggers after we finished up down there. Good intentions, best laid plans... didn't quite work out that way. Zonker, Tammi, Leslie, and I did manage to meet, but I missed some of the other bloggers... some of whom would not be there the following evening. My loss, I know, but it was still a great time.

Saturday was another exhibition of "good intentions, best laid plains," in that I was hoping to run back downtown and hit a couple of museums... I wasn't too clear on the laws and regs, so I had passed up the shoot that Og had planned. When I finally rousted my personal self, I had pretty much shot my chances of making it downtown and back before chow, so Zonker and I ran out to get an early start on the beer drinking. At least the afternoon wasn't wasted.

That night, Zonker, Tammi, and I ran down to Klas Restaurant to meet up with the rest of the bloggers. Leslie was there, as was jimmyb, of The Conservative UAW Guy, and Mark, of Windypundit... two gents that I didn't get to visit with as much as I'd have liked. I'd been hoping to hook up with jimmyb and help him to dispose of some Sam Adams and scotch, but he had to leave early, and we left way too late. Another time, jimmy. It wasn't long before the Great and Powerful Og walked in, with his poofta commentor, "Dude." After a short time, Biloxi, of The Republic of Biloxi, joined us, thus completing the blogroll of diners. After the ritual sacrifice, we settled down for a kick ass meal.

If you're in the Chicago area, and want a good Czech meal, Klas Restaurant will deliver. Great service, and great chow. No... that's EXCELLENT chow. And plenty of it. The place has a history to it, as they've been around since 1922. They'll give you a tour around the place, if you wish it. Very Old World.

I'm not sure how long we were at the table, but we were there for a long time, visiting, laughing, and spreading the usual bullshit. Lights were being turned off, and Leslie had to leave (as she wasn't feeling too well), so we started making our way to Klas' bar. By the time we got there, Mark and Jimmy also had to leave, so the remaining six of us settled in at the bar. Many stories were told, and we were all laughing our asses off, and those of us that drink, did. A lot.

I ended up being the liquor disposal... Dude had a large snifter of cognac that I had to finish, and since Zonker was driving, I had to assist him in the riddance of his beers, too. It's a very tough job, but it's all part of being a nice guy. Thank me for me.

The bar was promoting a future art and music show, so Dude gave us a sample of some of his artwork. Very impressive, to say the least. The colors really stood out from each other, yet seemed to mesh seemlessly. Some folks thought it stunk, but I was wishing that I had taken a picture of it. I think Zonker may have managed to get a shot...

Shortly, Biloxi and Dude (who is a direct descendant of the great Barfolomew Hurley... no, not related to Elizabeth) had to leave. Tammi, Zonker, Og, and I closed the bar down. A very good time.

I will say that it wasn't so nice later in the day. My drive home sucked. Bad. Heat and hangovers do not mix. But I've said that before. You'd think that I'd learn...

Anyway, the whole weekend rocked. It was great seeing Leslie, Og, and Zonker again, and getting to meet jimmyb, Mark, Dude, and Biloxi. Again, I wish I'd gotten to meet some of the others that had been there on Friday night, but that's the way it worked out. Hopefully, we'll be doing this again, and I'll be able to meet them then.

Thanks go out to Leslie and Og for putting in their time and efforts to make this thing work. And Leslie was sick, and still meeting people. Good woman, she be.

Again, if you ever get the chance to meet up with bloggers, DO IT!!! You'll be glad you did.

Posted by That 1 Guy at July 16, 2006 08:37 PM | TrackBack