a bunch of characters.

well, I tried to take a nap and was unsuccessful. So I figured I may as well share some observations regarding the Bloggess Summit held Saturday night in Portland (in case you missed the newsclip at 11:00 coverage ...)

It was the first blind date I'd had in more than ten years. I arrive at the esteemed Jo Bar ... and say "Hello, I'm meeting some friends tonight at 7:30 ..." trailing off hopefully as if she will say "follow me".

"Okay, name?"

"Um I don't know whose name the reservation is in".

"Okay, how many in your party?"

"Um, I'm not sure ... either 3 or 4 women."

"Okay, what do they look like?"

"Um, I'm not sure, we've never met in person".

Eyes me dubiously. Points to a booth where a lone woman is seated. "Is that one of them?"

(to myself ... um didn't I just say we never met?")

I make my way to the table, towards an attractive woman with reddish hair in an updo.

"Are you meeting a group of women tonight?" (prays the answer is yes). She gives me the once over.

"I didn't know you were coming!"

Ice is broken and Function of Time and JNRR are officially chatting! Soon, two other beautiful women arrived and we were embarked upon our lovely evening.

First, let's address the drink choices ... which I confess had some influence on my character assignments. FOT started with a very no-nonsense vodka, neat, with a twist of lemon. Moi, Jo's version of a Gin Fizz with my requested Hendricks, chambord, a splash of soda and bitters. B did SATC proud with her Raspberry Lemon Drop. Saving the best for last ... LBR ordered the Jojito. At first, not making the connection to Jo Bar and JOjito, (and I believe her unfortunate imprisonment in queso land ... ) she ordered a HOjito vs. a JOjito.

We made good use of that material and in the end decided we definitely needed to invent a Hojito cocktail. With ingredients guaranteed to bring out your inner ho. but I digress.

A few snacky tidbits were consumed (fondue and half shell oysters. double slurp.) And lots of conversation. There were many bloggable moments and lots of laughter.

The topic of our girls made repeat appearances throughout the evening. We all agreed that we just hadn't worn the foundational garments to do our gals justice. Thus the shoe cleavage vs. ... But in addition to a new cocktail, we invented a new dessert title just awaiting a recipe invention. Anyone out there want to take on "squeezecake"? There's cheesecake ... there's beefcake ... but our girls are clamoring for the pièce de résistance ... along with a little squeeze!

We had a variety of interesting conversations about France, about men and love, about writers vs. authors, about our individual and collective stories and the unique experience that is blogging. There just were not enough hours in the evening.

Let me take a minute and tell you how gorgeous and true these 3 women were. I'm sure some of you (like me) wonder about the personalities behind the blog personae. I mean, are these characters invented by humdrum people... or worse... weirdos and freaks! .... hiding behind the screen? Is this fiction writing at its finest? bottom line ... is this for real?

Well I can't vouch for all of blogdom. But these 3 women were as real and true as it gets. Seriously, it would have been interesting NOT to have exchanged names ... and just given it 5 or 10 minutes. I would have been able to match them precisely to their blogs and I am sure you would as well.

La Belette is just as you would picture. She arrived in a very chic ensemble, black and white silky skirt with black top and sexy black boots. Softly waved hair, the kindest smile emanating from the reddest lips. She was such a great conversationalist and conveyed a real interest in everyone at the table. Made sure to pay attention to all of us! Displayed such great care and interest in each of us, providing encouraging insights and feedback. Her laugh was very infectious. Ultra-feminine.

B exuded modernity and a hip charm. Petite and pretty, clad in jeans and the sexiest lizard skin boots on the planet. In chatting with her, you knew that there was a sparkling intellect and wisdom beyond her years. Very witty and a very sweet smile. Extremely articulate. The observer of the evening. Very observant and wry. She imbued us all with an excitement and interest in her upcoming adventure and we plied her with questions on the lead-up and plans for what she will soon be embarking upon. Not just a slight level of envy on our parts ... as well as pride in her accomplishment and confidence in her ability to make it an amazing journey.

Now. Miss FOT. Birthday girl and Gemini. Fabulous personality, funny as hell. Serious side ... get her talking about her work and you see a passion emerge. When I arrived, her hair was gathered in an updo and I didn't recognize her at first. A little into the evening, she let her hair down and the locks cascaded. She gregariously showed us her recent and BIG ASS tattoo, the catalyst for and meaning of she described in great detail. She is every bit as gorgeous as the photo on her blog and so were here peep toe shoes. Hilarious humour. She put a whole new, non-valley girl pronunciation twist on the TOH-tally. Multiple impersonations which I'm sure relate to her Gemini self. We were treated to a British FOT which was very entertaining! and NObody can emit a more appealing squeal of delight than this gal. Especially in the face of a tempting dessert. All this and yet you knew she could be very no-nonsense and in control, whenever and wherever necessary.

So I went in with one set of assumptions regarding character assignments. My new friends might be surprised because they've changed. for all of the right reasons, mesdames! *wink*

Function of Time - Miranda.
La Belette - Charlotte.
B - Carrie.

hmmmm. wait a minute. where does that leave me?!

I admit, I felt like the grande dame at the table. For a variety of reasons, I can very much relate to Samantha. Some might make their own assumptions about this comparison and I doubt that this post is the place to dissect them in detail. But I am ridiculously and fiercely independent. I can most definitely relate to and endorse love of the heels over head variety. I've been known to turn the tables on one or two men. But I'll have to leave the more detailed descriptions and observations to one of my dinner companions. I most certainly cannot lay claim to a physical resemblance being at least six inches shorter than the gorgeous gal. Never having been accused of being shy, however, I can also proudly embrace my inner sexpot. well there's that and, of course, I was absolutely the ... um ... most mature one there (and we aren't speaking about behavior).

Oh. I'm the two toned slip-on showing a little skin.

(postscript. It was fun using the topical nature of the movie, Sex And The City, to showcase our evening. But in addition to character comparisons, the validation of the true character of the four individuals involved was extremely gratifying.)