Exactly a month ago, I created a second Cyanide and Happiness post after making one a few months back (click here for the first one and here for the second one).  Since y’all seem to enjoy them and I enjoy making them, here’s a batch of 6 more!  This go around I had Toronto Xangans participate in making the following comic strips.  Enjoy our versions!

#2 Boyfriend? (ft. @TheHealthRabbit and @Roadlesstaken)

#3 Super Cougar (ft. @Roadlesstaken and @Joanna_Said_SO)

#4 Music Memories (ft. @AzureRecollections and @Roadlesstaken)

#5 Unintentional Innuendo (ft. @dObserver, @Kinamorata, and @Roadlesstaken)

#6 Spin the Bottle (ft. @Roadlesstaken, @Caeliosophy, @dObserver, and @Unfathomablelove)

I’m back from an unforgettable trip to Toronto this past weekend!  A few months ago, I decided to go after a few Xangans in that area requested I visit.  I didn’t really put it out there that I was doing a Toronto meet up, but I did mention it several times in my blogs and pulses in case anyone was interested in hanging out.  In the end, I hung out with a decent sized group of Xangans that did a great job making me feel at home. 

Note: This will be a very long recap post with a lot of pictures (most taken by @azurerecollections), so get ready!

This weekend, I will be doing my first international trip to visit Xangans in Toronto, ON, Canada.  I’m so excited!  I can’t believe that within a couple years I have met between 120-150 people from this site, with no signs of stopping.  I didn’t imagine any of this would happen when I started writing here, but I’m glad it did.

GodlessLiberal asked me for some advice on how to host a successful meet up.  Do I know everything there is to know?  Of course not, but I feel I’ve had enough experiences with meet ups that I can offer some valuable input on this topic.  Here are several things I’ve learned and observations I’ve made that may prove to be useful for anyone that’s interested:

Get the word out
First off, you want to see if there’s any interests out there.  Usually, this can be done by writing up a post or making a plug to reach out.  While this is all good for awareness, it requires a bit more effort to get people to definitely commit.  I found that contacting interested individuals personally (via private message, for example) is a better way of getting more confirmations than just a general shout out.  Be proactive!

Plan early and update continuously
I recommend setting up a date and time (weekends and during the afternoon tend to work out well) at least a month or two in advance so that people can put it in their schedule.  Every few weeks, and perhaps every few days as the date gets closer, I would remind people so they don’t forget.  It can still work out if you set something up relatively last minute, but that’s much easier to do when you’re only dealing with a couple people.  If you’re expecting 6+ people to come out then it’s a safer bet to mention plans earlier.  That takes me to the next point…

Understand the scope of your meet

The first picture was taken this past Saturday at a house party where I invited Bengozen and HelloKitty0809.  The second picture was taken this past April at the NYC meet.  I would consider both of them meet ups, but they require entirely different preparation processes.  Ask yourself:  “How many people are coming out?  How long will the meet up last?  What will everybody do?  What’s a general start and end time for everything?”  Figure out the extent of your meet up so your expectations are realistic.

Who will come out?
This is swayed by a lot of factors, but I will cover what I feel are the strongest influences (for now, let’s say we are only dealing with people open enough to attend these type of meetings in the first place).

Location is really important.  A meet up in South Dakota is probably not going to be as well attended as, say, one in New York or California.  Try to identify locations that either more people are located or a location that people would be willing to travel to.

The people already confirmed to go and/or host will affect the demographics of other attendees.  I am a mid 20s Asian guy that have readers from a variety of backgrounds.  However, a big percentage of my readers happen to be around my age, Asian, and female.  Thus, if I broadcast that I’m doing a meet up the people that show will most likely reflect my viewership.  For example, here are pictures taken at meet ups in California and Houston:

However, the location can affects the demographics too.  Personally, I have a lot of Asian friends on here that are from CA, Canada, and NY.  With that being the case, I expect to have a large Asian representation in meets at those locations.  On the other hand, my expectations are different when I meet folks near my area (MD/VA/DC).  It just so happens that the people I know around here are a bit more mixed.  For example, here are some pictures from VA and DC meet ups:

This last point I’m making in this section is rather obvious, but I figure I should point it out anyway; having more well-known Xangans attending/hosting meet ups will generate more interests than meet ups without them.  They will draw more people in through their larger network of contacts and people may come out just so they can meet them in particular.

Make and post up a list of attendees
People want to know what they’re getting themselves into, so if they know who will be there that will play a part in their decision making.  This will also help you when you’re figuring out the scope of your meet.

Accept that some people will flake out
There are going to be a lot of maybes and even confirmed folks that will drop out at the last minute due to various reasons/excuses.  To be honest, I even did that at the first DC meet up I could have attended!  I was a little shy and iffy about meeting people at the time, which I suspect is the case for many people that have never attended one of these functions.

Have others assist you
This was me during the NY Meet in April.  Noticed something?

I was on the phone A LOT with people trying to find their way, which made it difficult for me to communicate with the people already there.  In hindsight, I probably should have had more people be contacts for this huge meet.  Co-hosts are a wise investment.  The more organizers, the more duties can be divided up so it doesn’t become overwhelming.

Provide a phone number for those coming
Use a Google Voice number if you don’t feel comfortable giving out your number.  Trust me, having a way for people to contact you over the phone will save you a lot of confusion when you’re trying to locate people and vice versa.

Break the ice
Nope, this isn’t college orientation but it is similar in that you will probably be meeting some new people.  Sure, it can be awkward at first, but an icebreaker to get people talking with others they don’t know will generate more friendships and interactions in the long run for everyone.  Name tags could prove to be useful in bigger groups.  I haven’t done much of that myself, but it seemed to work out okay at the Xanga Team happy hour.

What should you do?
Grabbing lunch or dinner works, but if you want it to be more entertaining I would go even further than that.  In the past I’ve done group activities such as sight-seeing, museums, and karaoke.  Remember that what you choose will vary depending on the crowd.  If you know that the people going would enjoy drinking and clubbing, then that’s something to consider.  However, if you’re expecting more variety in age then something like a picnic at the park would be a more appropriate setting.

Finally, promise full body massages to everyone that comes!
Just kidding.

Sorry this was pretty long, but I’m sure many of you just skimmed through it anyway haha.  Hope that my advice made some of you more aware of what to anticipate when setting up a meet.  Feel free to suggest other tips as I didn’t cover everything, but I think I went over the major points I wanted to make.  I know these things aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but when done well it can lead to some great memories and fun times.  Many of us can vouch for that statement.

Alright, time to venture off to Toronto!  See you after the 27th.

Imagine I told you I know of a US Navy officer with a degree in electrical engineering. This fella would be considered by many as being tall, dark and handsome.  At the same time, one could say he’s charming, funny, and easy to get along with.  Now imagine this guy doing some of the most romantic gestures you can think of, such as surprising a girl to a horse-drawn chariot through town or a helicopter ride overlooking the city.  Picture him, after a late night party, waking up ungodly early in order to purchase bouquets of flowers in time to give someone later that day, just because he could.

Let’s take it even further!  Picture this scenario: this guy decides to drive hours to a girl after hearing she is sick and could use some soup (note: at no point does she seriously requests for him to actually do something for her).  He has work the next day, so he can only drop off several cans of soup before rushing back home.  However, upon receiving word that she was still not feeling better he turns right back around to be there for her.  He stays until her roommates come back to watch over her, hours after he was suppose to head back home.  The great thing is that he does all this because he truly cares about her and does not expect anything really in return except knowing she is okay.

You might be saying, “Alex, you’ve been watching too many movies!  What world do you live in that has guys like that?”  Guess what?  I’m not making this person up.  This gentleman exists, and he is my long time friend Darréll.

Sorry, the meme bug still isn’t completely out of me…

As much of a romantic I can be, he seriously takes it up several notches.  Sure, some people might say he goes way too far and is setting himself up for potential heartache.  I have to say though, of all the problems a person could have being overly romantic and caring sure isn’t so bad!  I say more power to him.

Swaggajackin’ LIKE A BAUSS

Nowadays, I am no longer surprise when I hear about his crazy, yet awesome antics.  Instead, I immediately have to give him props (not just eProps!) for the things he ends up doing.  My friend really is an outstanding person and I’m glad to know him.  Ladies, better get him while he’s on the market!

About 10 years ago, I watched this underrated movie called Vanilla Sky.  Although it received mixed reviews from critics, it ended up becoming one of my favorite movies (no, not because Penelope Cruz was in it, although she was certainly not bad to watch!).  I’ll save my review of it for some other time.  The reason why I bring up this movie though is because I want to acknowledge how it highly influenced my life motto.

Something about what Jason Lee’s character said really impacted me the moment I heard it.  Perhaps it was because during the time I watched the movie I was a lot more pessimistic about myself and the way the world treated me.  I felt discouraged after finding myself on the losing side over and over again, with no signs of my fortunes improving.  Disappointment was becoming a good buddy of mine.

Hearing that line sparked a major change in my mindset.  Instead of feeling defeated by my letdowns, I began embracing them.  I realized that I won’t always get what I want, but when I finally do I will appreciate it much more after enduring through all the rough times.  I began feeling like if I can remember this and just persevere, learning from the wrong turns I’ve made, I will eventually be on the up and up. 

My life motto ended up being a modified version of that line from Vanilla Sky:  “the sweet is never as sweet without the bitter.”  It doesn’t always apply to everything I do, but it does when I need it the most.

What is your life motto, and how did it come about for you?

*Quick shout out to ThePrince, who inadvertently inspired me to write this.  I was, in fact, one of the two people he dedicated his latest post to.  His post was a healthy reminder for me to remember my motto after encountering some recent wrong turns.  Thanks again Michael.  I’m starting to find my way and it feels as awesome as you predicted.*

(Don’t worry, I promise I’ll cut back on all the meme making and the lame puns after this post!)

It has been a busy week, trying to catch up with work as well as recovering from my moMEMEtous weekend in New York.  I highly recommend checking out babychillax’s post as well as Sonychak‘s vlogs (Friday and Saturday) if you want to see what all went down.

Since they already did a treMEMEdous job capturing our antics, I will briefly tell you about the MEMEorable weekend through (as you guessed it) memes!

As some of you might have heard, I was in New York this past weekend to celebrate litlkittykat‘s birthday with a big crew of Xangans.  So many, um, crazy things happened, but I will have to save all that for the next post.  Even though I won’t spill all the details, don’t worry.  I will show you just enough that you can kind of guess what went down.  Fair enough?

I will say, however, that there were many reoccurring themes that came out of this weekend.  One of them was memes, which I’ve been addicted to ever since I discovered an iPhone app that allows me to make them super fast.  Another theme from this weekend was the song, “Look at Me Now”.  For whatever reason, we kept on referencing the lyrics to Chris Brown’s part in the beginning (perhaps because it has too much swagga?).  Here’s the song below for your convenience (FYI, expect a lot of bad language when you play this): 

Combine both of those reoccurring themes during our 4 1/2 hour bus ride back home and what do you get?  Us recreating the song, meme-style!  Follow along with the YouTube video for the best effect.  This was all done just for the LULz, so hope you enjoy the silliness of this as much as I did!

   







 

(Yeah, no way I’m going to meme the rap part!  Way too much)

Thanks to my friend Timmy, affinityinunderstanding, junbelievable08, FlipGuy31O, sonychak, hello_bianca, swtaznxtc90, cakalusa, litlkittykat, scrooge0, and nimbusthedragon for letting me use photos of them for this post (even though I didn’t exactly ask everyone for permission ).  After my next post, I promise I will cut down on the memeing.  Until then, get ready!  Here, this FB status of mine hints at the number of memes to come: