I would like to think that I am pretty open minded to meeting new people. I am active on social networking sites like Twitter (yes, I’m a Twitter addict, I admit it!) and I used to belong to a social group called The Miami Minglers. We’d meet for coffee, happy hours, take bike trips out to Shark Valley, try out new restaurants, etc. So I am no stranger to meeting new people.
Sunday evening, I received a direct message from a friend on Twitter, something along the lines of “hey, I’m going to be in Naples for a few days, do you want to grab a bite to eat?” and I was like, “sure!”
Does that strike you as odd? I thought nothing of it! This is a woman who, while I have never met her in person, I have tweeted with her for over a year. I know about her family, she knows about mine. We talk about our dogs, our hobbies, and our love of travel. I felt that I knew her well enough to run across Alligator Alley to meet her for dinner. I was excited about it. Imagine meeting a pen-pal for the first time! Meeting a friend from the Twitterverse for the first time is the equivalent of meeting a pen-pal.
And my dear, sweet husband? He had no issue with it either. I think it may have been different if it had been a man, but in that case, I probably wouldn’t have been comfortable doing it without my husband coming along, anyway. That’s just the old-fashioned girl in me…I’m a married woman and it would have been inappropriate to drive 2 hours across the state to meet a man that I spoke to online. Sounds a lot more suspect than going to meet a girl, right?
So, off I went!
I made it there in about 2 hours, despite the incredible rainstorm that lasted half the trip! I was a little nervous as I walked up the door to pick her up (she didn’t have a car since she was only in town for a few days), but mostly, I was just excited.
It was fun! I picked her up, we sort of caught up about the stuff that had gone on during the weekend, and then we headed out to her friend’s restaurant for dinner.
Dinner? OMG. Delicious! I ordered a steak sandwich, which was smothered in roasted green peppers, onions and melted mozzarella cheese. But that is besides the point.
I was a little nervous that the energy would be off during our dinner, seeing as how we had never physically met before. But it wasn’t awkward at all! We’ve known each other for a little over a year online, and that friendship that we have cultivated online easily carried over into “real life.”
The drive home? Yuck. Long. Dark. Boring. I cranked the radio and tried my best to stick close to the speed limit and made it home safely by midnight. And it didn’t rain a drop on the way home!
So, I consider my first “tweet up” to have been a smashing success. Who’s next?
Billie R says
June 14, 2011 at 4:34 pmThat sounds like a lot of fun. It probably would have made me nervous though. And yeah, I think it might have been different it was a man. It’s good that your “Twitter” relationship was able to translate into “real life”.
Shannon says
June 14, 2011 at 5:17 pmVery cool. Isn’t it wonderful how we can meet so many people that share the same likes, dislikes, etc. as us online? Growing up in a small town that wasn’t always possible but the whole world is our social network now.
April Decheine says
June 14, 2011 at 6:14 pmThat is so cool, my husband would of been like NO, to dangerous. He does not get anything about connecting online 🙂 🙂
Jenn says
June 15, 2011 at 11:44 amMy husband didn’t even ask me anything about it when I got home! LOL I asked him yesterday, ‘aren’t you going to ask me about meeting her?” and he replied, “I read your blog post.” LOL
RJ says
June 15, 2011 at 6:36 pmROFL!
Kelly says
June 14, 2011 at 7:32 pmHow fun! I am so super shy around people the first few times I meet them – I’d have been a wreck in that situation or made excuses not to go. I know that’s horrible to say and there are so many awesome ladies (like you) I’d love to be “real” friends with but I’m just overly shy and awkward.
Jenn says
June 15, 2011 at 11:42 amIf I come back out to Texas anytime soon, you better have lunch with me! 🙂 I won’t bite!
Lisa says
June 15, 2011 at 10:51 amthat’s awesome. I love meeting online friends.
Sam says
June 15, 2011 at 10:57 amThat’s great! I am not that brave, lol. I was in Columbus, Ohio recently and I knew a fellow blogger was having a home party while we there. I really debated showing up, but in the end I chickened out, lol. I will have to use you as a role model!
Jenn says
June 15, 2011 at 11:41 amAw, don’t be a chicken! It’s fun! I was a little nervous and scared but I knew she was really a woman, and we were meeting in a public place, so I felt safe enough. I also sent my hubs an email with all of her information before I left so in case anything happened, he’d know who to go after!
RJ says
June 15, 2011 at 6:38 pmSounds like you had fun! I wish I could meet up with some online friends that I have!
Shaz says
June 19, 2011 at 3:57 pmThat’s great that your tweet up went so well! The first time I met an online friend it was a complete disaster, but that was actually my fault because I was 16 and crippled by shyness. The last time I met an online friend, he became my best friend in real life. I love when these friendships can translate into the real world! If I’m ever in Miami, or you’re in Scotland we should have lunch 😉
Jenn says
June 19, 2011 at 4:06 pmLOL I would LOVE TO meet you! 🙂