This is going to sound like an odd request, but I feel like sucking down a baby bottle. I close my eyes and the room feels like it’s spinning and the gyro I had for lunch is slowly creeping its way back up my trachea; all of those, great indicators of how much beer I had last night at BlogsPanama.com’s “Beer & Blogs” gathering which took place at local english pub Steinbocks at 8PM. I got there fashionably late (9PM) and things were light, without really seeing anyone so I proceeded to do what I always do when I go to any social gathering, which is also my secret as to why whenever I show up I have a beer in my hand: I attack the bar. I was tripping out on this cute german couple beside me that would constantly glance at me as I patiently waited for my mug of beer; it could’ve been a number of things but I pin it down to either the fact that I chose to wear this shirt when pondering on the concept of meeting bloggers I’ve read but never actually seen face to face and I wanted to make a lasting impression, or the fact that my devilish charm was on fire, son! I didn’t have to do a damn thing and the lady was giving me bedroom eyes. Crazy as hell. A little more and she would’ve licked her boyfriend’s bald head in order to get me revved up. Anyway, I eventually get my mug and in comes Arturo so I greet him; he tells me that everyone’s out back so I go with him to find a good 20 people, all bloggers, and all of them mingling like if they knew each other for ages… it was a great sight, specially when it was maximized by the first of many, many beers I would have through the night. Not only was the Church of Yau prepared for the event with tags and sharpies so everyone could give themselves a shout-out and let everyone else know who the hell they were, but there was also free swag! Must also mention that Butter was on all cylinders last night as well for several reason, the two predominant ones being a special something we’re cooking for all of you boys and girls come January, as well as the fact that today December 20th is his birthday. Be sure to drop by his chunk of the Internet and say hello.

I was very excited; very jitterbuggy because I like it when people take initiatives like this one… when people try to fight the social constructs of not knowing your own neighbors by doing social activities that give people the chance to know each other, I can stand behind it 100%. Most of the people I met that night run blogs I read every day, and some of them I’ve contributed to, even. Thing is, for a lot of these sites my relationships with them ended when I closed the browser; think about this for a moment and I’ll use this site as an example because it’s the most readily available to illustrate my point: this place, this site (and yours) is a peek into my mind. As much as I try to distance myself from pouring parts of me in what I say around these parts, my pathetic attempts at it illustrate how every post of the Panama Tourist Guide is my perception of the country and they’re the best way I know to spark some sort of change, or at least a laugh out of you. The fact that you blog is your own way of reaching out and trying to connect to others that might or might not agree with your views of the world… if you’ve been visiting the site for a while (I thank you very much, by the way) you’ll notice that I have a field day with those people who disagree with me by insulting me or whatever other assinine behavior you can come up with. I love those. So much so that a small part of me wished that there was some Proud Panamanian admist the group in attendance wanting to rip me a new one. Sadly that was not the case, but instead I got to meet a lot of people who provide great insight in everything from technology to fiction to cooking to their views on everything under the sun. It was funny; there was somewhat of a family aspect peppered all over the event that made me trip out on the proceedings even more… since we all read each other we all know where everyone is at in terms of state of mind and what we were currently doing with our lives or whatever. For example, my current obsession over Coheed and Cambria is palpable around these digital woods, and I still can’t get “A Favor House Atlantic” off my head so I was humming and singing to myself when I wasn’t flapping my gums like a chatterbox the more beer I pounded down my throat… the point is that I’d walk up and down the bar to try and waste the energy man because for the love of Marley I was a transistor, lightning resistor, conducting to the mother star (whoever gets what I just wrote there gets a cookie) and while I walked 3 people (including Butter, of course) would complete lyrics for me. That’s crazy, that never happens to me. Also, around 6 people asked me about this pretty lady and said a hardy “hello” when she called to say she wouldn’t be able to make it; it’s little things like that, things going on in my life that these people wouldn’t know about in any other way that wasn’t through this here site. I think that’s unbelievable! Jenny is right in something that she’s told me many a time before, and that would be how this place is a chance for people to pick my brain on things I would otherwise not talk about.

So, every day I pick the brains of so many people I find fascinating but I’ve never met in person and then this opportunity pops up… I was all over it like white on rice, very much looking forward to it. In my opinion the thing was a total success; the turnout was awesome and I got to meet the minds behind TechDetour.com, Diablo-Rojo.net, CookingDiva.net, and many others that I read on a regular basis but never actually met in person, and also people who I’ve had the pleasure to meet in previous ocassions (looking at you, Gonxo, Antonio (forgot how funny this fucker is), Itzel, Lili, et al); of course, my band of ruthless pirates was there to provide the comic relief and extra pizzazz (Butter, Lucho, myself and later on came Jenny with the Canadians) and many other people who, believe it or not, never really got the chance to get to know a little better. One very interesting tidbit was something Lucho pointed out to me when the gig was at its highest point was how our section of the bar was split in two; on the left, all of the serious, journalistic blogs. On the right, the rowdy biker gang of the Panamanian blogosphere. It was quite funny.

As Butter tried to throw me at any girl that was checking me out (he’s an awesome scout… I have no idea about what happens around me more than half the time anyway) Lucho went on to draw doodles for the people in attendance… I really hope Yau posts his on his blog; I’m seeing how I can post mine as we speak. Other things of note were the free swag giveaway where many in attendance scored Blogs Panama t-shirts, mugs and pens! It was awesome; I scored a Church of Yau membership, Lili scored a kiss from yours truly which I proceeded to let her cash in immediately (hump included) and Lucho scored “penis.” I don’t know how that particular prize would be carried out but nevertheless an interesting prize you don’t see every day. The topics we talked about were as many as there are people under the sun… I loved it, the whole thing last night was amazing. If you, fellow Panamanian blogger, for some reason couldn’t attend this lovely event I’ll let you know there’s another one planned in the coming months and I’d love to see you there. There are still a few blogs out there with owners I want to meet and exchange ideas with.

Closing time came and soon enough I was on to further adventures that had nothing to do with blogging, quite frankly. Any which way, Beer & Blogs I was fantastic and I can’t wait for part II. For pictures, click here!

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