I had a fitful sleep just before the Otakuboard EB today. I dreamt about the worst possible things that could happen to the day when I would meet my online friends in person...trust me, I'd rather not go into details.

Turns out I never had to worry at all.

Today was the third Otakuboard.com "grand eyeball" meeting/gimmick, and frankly my very first eyeball ever. I arrived at Congo Grille at 9:55 am only to see it was closed until 11:00 am this morning. I texted everyone that I'd kill time at nearby Powerbooks until it does open. I was a bunch of jangled nerves, rather insecure about how the guys would take me as part of their little posse on the Web. It didn't help that my first few minutes with the early bird members were spent in awkwardly silence.

When we did get to Congo Grille, though, I managed to loosen up after lunch. I was rather afraid of what to say to each of them, but when I saw them having fun, I just went along. After lunch we had a game of billiards and played some arcade games at Timezone. I guess I impressed them with my prowess with Percussion Freaks and billiards. Strange, though --- I don't play billiards that often, yet they were telling me how "decisive" some of my shots were...if only they knew how I shy away from the game most of the time...

It was kind of sad because I had to leave by 4:30 pm. They were planning to watch Spider-Man after lounging at the Starbucks balcony. Oh well, I guess I can't have it all. Don't get me wrong though; I really enjoyed today. Thanks guys. I never thought a day spent in the company of strangers could be so much fun. :)