Active Worlds Reunion San Francisco 2007

By Bach Zhaa

Editor's note: This article was contributed by the AW Reunion San Francisco group in blog format. We've let a few inconsistencies and blog-style attributes slide because of the format. Enjoy this reunion recap through the eyes of Bach Zhaa! Each day is its own page - you'll find additional content by clicking "next" below.

SAN FRANCISCO —Hello, and welcome to the San Francisco AW Reunion 2007 blog. Here you will find a taste of the fun that Active Worlds is capable of!

Wednesday, August 15 2007

I woke up that morning so excited I almost couldn't sleep!! Ok, ok, so I had been planning and thinking about this reunion for over a year, and with all the planning that went into it by the most gracious of '

Bach Zhaa and the Sign

It didn't take me long to get downtown and I purposely got off waayy to early from the train, I wanted to enjoy the beautiful sunny day and to settle my nerves and kill time (I was early, of course.. haha), so I walked from the SF Bay, the embarcadero to the hotel... about 15 blocks enjoying the sunshine. When I arrived, I was impressed by the location of the hotel, CCG had done her homework, that's for sure. It was literally two blocks away from all the things that make SF unique; mass transportation of all kinds, the glory of a big city, restaurants and stores, (and a really close BART station, too) so as I arrived I felt comfortable and knew that we were going to be able to get where we needed to go. I was a bit embarrassed to admit at that time that I really didn't know what anyone looked like, or even most peoples real names, except for CCG and was worried that I would never find anyone. To guarantee I'd meet up, I had made up a tattered sign on cardboard, the kind you might see a jobless person holding up on the street corner of large cities...

"Will Build for AW Money" lol and parked myself in the hotel lobby and waited.

I figured if anyone was going to approach me, it would be someone that would laugh at that... :-D

I waited for only a little while when through the doors, I saw family. CCG had arrived the day before, as had the 'Gentle-est of' Bears, GentleBear and the ever gracious Siggy, the hilarious RogueHawk and our own beautiful spreakels. I didn't have to know them to know this was going to be an interesting time and as I raised the sign in my lap, laughter rung out and as you can see by the photos, they didn't miss the opportunity to take plenty of shots... lol We ((hugged)) and ((((((((hugged)))))))) some more... and began our adventure together.

The hotel, being centrally located, was very busy that week and weekend, so the staff were stressed and it was somewhat difficult to convince that we were there to enjoy ourselves, but when we finally did, we settled in wonderfully... the computer center/social room that CCG set up was on the top floor and had great views of the city and although the official color of the hotel was determined to be 'pepto-bismal pink' we, at least knew we would be 'soothed' and 'protected.' lol

It was still early in the day and there were so many ppl yet to arrive so we busied ourselves talking and talking... the few laptop computers that came with us, were set up and we...

...waited

...met up with ever-Regal Ciena and her Ninja traveling companion, Roy

...ran to the airport to get the larger-than-life FierrcceFerrette...

...say a hearty 'Bonjour' to the southern Belle, Genevieve and to her 'nephew', the brilliant LordFett

...and started having fun :-D

That evening was spent getting familiar with the city and each other... so according to plan, we went out to enjoy chinatown.

Now, I knew what to expect in chinatown San Francisco, but it is QUITE a culture shock for the uninitiated. The sights and sounds (and smells) are like nowhere else! We followed the food streets for awhile till it made us sooo hungry we went to have dinner. lol

The restaurant was really nice.. it was a bit off the main streets. Each of us ordered a dish and as it was dropped off, one by one on the rotating table in the middle of the larger one, we all sampled each others till we about exploded with good food. I had a chance to show off a bit and teach some n00bs the fine art of eating with chopsticks... haha, but even though the technique was learned quickly, without practice it's easy to starve...

Afterwards, the hotel sounded really good and we made it back there and relaxed for the evening... GentleBear busied himself creating a computer center and tinkering with RogueHawk over some unfortunate laptop crashes. The systems were eventually brought back online, but not without some losses of those ever precious 'gigs.' Siggy, Ciena, CCG, Gen. LF, Rogue, spreakes and I talked about the plans ahead as FF talked about San Francisco, Seattle, Fresno, Planes, Trains and automobiles in the only way he knows how... what a knowledgeable man, and with such a focused mind. I was genuinely impressed. Merriment was had by those that wanted and everything was starting to shape up to be quite unique. Needless to say, everyone was happy to be there and in great spirits but traveling is hard on us all, equipment included. I took my leave and went home at around 10pm and slept comfortably knowing that I was with family doing what family always does... and comfortable that the six alarm clocks around me would work like they should. lol

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