I Hear Punctuality is Overrated Anyway

(Despite a number of unforeseen obstacles, my meeting with Lara, a local blogger, did take place on the Saturday before Christmas. Afterwards, I invited Lara to write a post about our meeting. She obliged. Here's an account of our afternoon in Lara's words.)

Quite some time ago--circa Thanksgiving maybe? My memory is terrible--I got a Facebook message from Kenneth asking if I'd be up for meeting over coffee. Seeing as how we lived so close, he pointed out, we ought to consider actually saying hi in person, instead of remaining strictly online acquaintances, hiding behind our computers. Interestingly enough, I'd had the same thought in the past--he's "in SF," so why shouldn't we meet up sometime? I'm just bad at following through on my ideas; Kenneth, fortunately, is not. (Bad at following through on his ideas that is. I don't think he's ever followed through on one of my ideas, but that would be weird anyway.)

So I thought, hey, yeah, that's a good idea, we should do that. And then I didn't reply to his message for, like, three or four weeks. Which I'm sure was nothing less than charming to Kenneth, but only because he sees the positive in everything, including me and my poor grasp of time management (more evidence of which is coming soon).

Eventually, however, I went back into Facebook, and there was this message there, and I was all, "Oh, whoops," (except it might have been more expletive-laden than that, but I'm in rented space here and trying to make a good impression) and so I finally responded to the message saying, "Yes, I suck for not responding sooner, let's meet up!"

We found a time that worked for both of us and arranged to meet on a Saturday afternoon in downtown Palo Alto at 1:00pm. And the night before we met up, I went to bed thinking, "Should I set an alarm? Nah, I'm sure I'll be up in PLENTY of time to get to Palo Alto by 1:00.

Ha. Remember what I said about about the poor time management? Yeah, I woke up at about 1:45. Good times.

I rushed to my email to get Kenneth's cell number to call him. "Are you still there?" I asked. He was, and sweet guy that he is, he worried only about me and whether I was feeling up to meeting him still. Well, seeing as how I'd just slept 15 of the last 18 hours, I was feeling pretty darn good actually, so I assured him that yes, I would be there soon. Again, I'm sure my temporal miscalculation was nothing less than adorable to Kenneth, but only because he's kind like that.

I showed up and he greeted me as "Sleeping Beauty" which was simultaneously sweet and embarrassing--sweet for the compliment, and embarrassing for the reminder that I suck at waking up on time. We sat at a small cafe, sipping lattes (no, wait, I was sipping a latte--he'd already finished his) and chatting. He had a great many questions about me and my life, which felt a bit like an interview, but a really cool interview, where you feel like, instead of trying to trick you into admitting you're not right for the job, they're asking questions because they actually care about the answers. Eventually we decided to relocate to Stanford campus and wander there for a while.

I was amused to discover during our email exchange about the meet-up that Kenneth didn't realize I was a Stanford grad (B.A. '04, M.A. '07), but I assured him that if anything were to happen on campus that required an alum, we'd be set. And if it required us both to be alums, I'd loan him one of my degrees.

We wandered and I showed him some of my favorite spots on campus, including the fountain area beside the library where, in the spring, pink blossoms grow in abundance and you can almost believe in crazy notions like fairies and elves and love at first sight. Of course, in the dead of winter it's full of bare branches, so it's somewhat less than picturesque. We walked and talked, and I asked Kenneth what he thought of the city.

"I love it," he said. Seeing the bright lights beneath him on a flight home--"It's like coming home to your high school sweetheart." The way he described it, it was so beautiful and touching, it almost made me want to like the city, instead of despising it like I currently do. (I don't like crowds. Or traffic. Or people really.)

Unfortunately, the day did eventually have to end. Kenneth had to catch his train back up to the city, and I had to go back to sleep. (What? I was tired. I'm a first year teacher and I'd JUST gotten out of school for Christmas break. I needed to catch up on my sleep, people!) I dropped him off at the station and he thanked me for the afternoon.

"May I give you a chaste peck on the cheek?" he asked. I practically giggled--what a gentleman! I had no idea such people existed anymore, but I gladly acquiesced and promised that when next I found myself in the city, I'd give him a call.

If you ever have a chance to meet up with Kenneth in your area, I highly recommend it. In fact, even more broadly, I'd recommend meeting up with your favorite bloggers no matter who they are. There's something special about seeing and hearing the person in, well, person that changes the way you read the blog. Suddenly you can hear the voice and see the facial expressions and everything means more. It's a special way to make that relationship you already have even stronger. I certainly feel that way about me and Kenneth.

Plus I got a free latte.

(Kenneth's note: Lara and I decided to do a blog swap, so you can read my account of our meeting at her blog, Life: The Ongoing Education).