<editorsnote>Hi, I'm Jen Friel, and we here at TNTML examine the lives of nerds outside of the basements and into the social media, and dating world. We have over 75 peeps that write about their life in real time. (Real nerds, real time, real deal.) Sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the stories!!</editorsnote>
AHHH!! I am so so so so SOOOO excited nerderinos!!!
@JennHoffman and I have been working for months now on launching GirlsIRL, and TONIGHT all the hardwork is starting to pay off.
(And thank GOODNESS for that, I was starting to run out of elbow grease and that shit be EXPENSIVE!)
The nerdy girl lounge from GirlsIRL is a place for all of us nerdy women to get together and share our ideas, thoughts, aspirations and most importantly a sacred place where we can all get together and hold ourselves accountable. For REALS! Having a goal in life is great, and one thing - but helping each other break it down into doable actions and cheer each other on while we execute is QUITE another.
I am INCREDIBLY humbled by the group that has been assembled in this community, and I KNOOOOWWW these women getting together on a regular basis will be able to accomplish some SERIOUSLY amazing things.
Digital artists of all kind are welcome, even curious onlookers! Come one, come all! The purpose of the group is to educate and empower through technology as well, so come by and pick our brains!! We're here to help, we're here to give back, and we're here to keep doing cool shit.
So let's work hard, get it done.
OMG OMG OMG you guys, you also have to understand this is QUITE possibly the closest thing I will ever have to being able to live out my dream of having a Babysitters club. For reals, think about it ... omg omg omg I just peed my pants a little. (dudes, I always wanted to be Claudia - which is funny now because I ended up with black hair ... coincidence ... I THINK NOT!)
But yes, that's right duderinos, this is a girl's only club. ::sad trombone::
Don't worry however, the NERD HERD is this Saturday!!! So I can't wait to see some of your faces and hopefully make out. Only 8th grade makeout though ... actually come to think of it, I wasn't that slutty in the 8th grade ... 9th grade makeout circa 1999. (Times they be a changin!) Yep, that works!!
GirlsIRL is meeting at Cafe Solar in Hollywood tonight between 7-9 pm.
Please note: This is not a meet up, tweet up, or networking event. The girls that will be attending are not looking to be pitched to, nor are we interested in hearing about your game changing start up. Don't be lame, don't be douchey, just be cool and keep doing cool shit, and again - chicks only. K ... disclaimer over.
Oh yeah and don't worry, if you're not in LA - we're eventually going to figure out how to livestream, etc ... gotta work out kinks and sponsorships first though. So, don't worry - we'll be expanding. =) =) =)
A hoi hoi nerderinos!!! Me and @JennHoffman have an announcement to make ... something very very very near and dear to both of our hearts ... girlsIRL.
What we're going to do is start a nerdy girl lounge/ support group for all struggling freelancers and talented digital artists out there. The goal of this group is to have a special place for us all to share our creative thoughts, hopes, and aspirations - and also create a place to hold ourselves accountable. Having a goal is one thing, having an ENTIRE team cheering you on making sure you accomplish it is another.
We're going to meet every Wednesday from 7-9pm at Cafe Solar in Hollywood.
Eventually we are going to expand to our own space, but first we're going to just start there since they have the BESSSTTT wifi in Hollywood.
There is so so so so soooooo much talent here in Hollywood, and I'd LOVE for you all to be able to interact with one another more, and feed off of each other's creative energy.
Whether you call yourself a blogger, artist, or lifecaster in my case - if you make a living off of the digispace you are MORE than welcome to stop by!! And dudes, the more the merrier!!! Bring your girlfriends, tell others - we want to combine our nerdy powers and help encourage each other to take the next steps to all go after our goals in life.
Separately we are all talented, but together we can do some SERIOUSLY epic things. I dunno about you, but I dig epicness.
WHOOP WHOOP!!!
Very very very VERY excited about this project. It is very very VERY near and dear to my heart - so come pick our brains, let's help each other out, and let's keep doing cool shit!
(And don't worry, if you're not in LA but want to attend, sit tight! We're going to eventually do a livestream of the event as well, but first we have to get everything up and running and work out the kinks!! Thanks everyone!!)
OMMMMMGGGG nerderinos ... I just got back from the San Dizzle izzles for schnizzles, and what a friggen night. Like seriously ... look at this face ...
Fun. Has. Been. Had. Here.
First up, this enttiiirrrreeeee night started with @mymelodie when she hit me up on Twitter a few weeks back inquiring about me paying a visit to her loverly city of the San Diego.
I was all dude, we can totally like do a nerdy girl meet up!
And she was all dude! omg that sounds epic, and we can totally have a slumber party afterwards.
I was all, DUDE! this is amazing!!!
Invite me annyywhheerree, and I am game - so we started talking, picked a date (Saturday the 15th) to kick it, and boom! just like that, Saturday the 15th came around before we knew it.
Because this community is comprised of more than just moi, Melodie and I totes started hitting up the other LA girls and asked if they wanted to come as well!! (If you haven't noticed we are very much pro the more the merrier round these parts) Dudes, they were SOOOOOO game!! Cue @itsmejoolie, @megcorbs, @msmeghanbrown.
At 11 am yesterday we all piled into Meg's big 4 Runner and hit the road headed down to the Whale's Vagina.
Of course, appropriate music was selected for the trip ...
AH-MAZING!!!
I didn't hear that though, I immediately popped on my new Beats by Dre headphones (which are FUCKING AWESOME, btw - story on how I got those later), and put on my Adele playlist on Pandora.
.25 seconds later I passed out (after all of my travels, I have now conditioned myself to pass out anytime I am in a moving vehicle. It's pretty rad man, and I can do it VERY quickly), and woke up just outside of Melodie's apartment.
Dude, her place was bbbeeaauuutttiiiffullllll!!!
Look at this couch!!! Some SERIOUSLY epic couch surfing can be had here!!!
We all got out stuff in and settled (and Melodie had some AMAZING cheese and crackers as a little welcoming gift), and then headed on over to Oggi to pre-game a bit before heading over to the Tilted Kilt Pub in Mission Valley (where we planned to meet up with everyone).
They had really good natural lighting - so of course, we took a lot of pictures ...
UGGGHHH!! Nothing turns me on more than good lighting!! ::SCORE::
So, that happened. We got our pre-game on, and then headed over to Tilted Kilt.
Like good nerdy girls though, we not only checked in on Foursquare (location based social media, FTW!) - but the single ones in the group also set their broadcasts on OKC locals to invite even more peeps to come and kick it.
We had quite the crowd ...
It was really rad, everyone was SERIOUSLY having a blast.
Because of OKC though, this one duderino stopped by; he and his wife are swingers, and I literally grilled him for the entire night.
I am FAAASSCIINNNNAATTEEEDDDD by swingers. For reals ... fascinated. After spending the last two years studying people, and throwing myself in some really gnarly situations, I've come to a pretty strong belief that monogamy is kind of a joke. How can we be expected to have one person fulfill one of our basic needs in life "til death do us part?" Don't get me wrong - my parental units are MADLY in love, have been their ENTIRE lives, and met in grade school - so trust, there are exceptions to every rule ... certainly. But for me, I just don't know how I feel about it. I'm an animal, and a SUPPEERRRR horny one at that, but I feel like even if I were in a monogamous relationship, I'd want to explore swinging. I'm a huge fan of threesomes, but am over being the "guest star." I want to be the picker not be picked gosh darnet!!!!!
So having someone like him sit down and explain to me his lifestyle was totes mcgotes the most awesome-est thing on this planet.
Before I got married, I was only with one other person - he said.
Interesting.
We got married at 21, and although we didn't intend for it to be an open marriage, it just started making sense a few years ago.
How did you approach it?
I asked her if she would be okay with it. She scoffed at me at first, but then I eventually wore her down, and now we are both very very very satisfied.
It's interesting, I have to admit, I said. I find the openness of it all very appealing, you are very upfront on your profile with what you do - and people that know what they want and aren't shy about it are incredibly attractive. So many people live in fear of releasing their inhibitions - it impedes you from having a fulfilled life.
Oh absolutely! He said. I have a very very very fulfilled life.
He took a sip of his gin and tonic while I took a sip of my beer.
Not gonna lie, this conversation is kinda turning me on, I thought.
There is an event next week called the Flesh and Fantasy Ball - I'd love to take you as my date.
So, do you and your wife just have threesomes? What's the deal with you two?
I do have threesomes, he said - just not with my wife, that wouldn't be fun!
I look at him a little surprised.
My wife is an incredible partner. We have a beautiful daughter, I am very happily married - but also very happily satisfied with other partners as well.
I kinda get this, I said. I'm exploring my sexuality now in my 20s. You didn't necessarily have that getting married so young, and so relatively inexperienced.
I thought about it some more ... I still really think I'm going to end up swinging even in my old age though. I just CANNOT comprehend monogamy.
It was just a choice I made when I was younger.
I understand, I said. Thank you for your honesty, this is a very interesting conversation.
Well thank you for your attentiveness.
Shortly after the swinger left, and I continued thinking about our conversation.
I don't know, man. One bite of the elephant at a time with my exploration into swinging.
Step 1: Find a dude.
Step 2: Let him get close to me.
Step 3: Date for a bit while fucking like rabbits.
Step 4: Explore.
Step 5: Invite others.
This will definitely take a bit of time, I understand, but I'm a very patient person. I genuinely appreciated the duderino's honesty. Gives me something to look forward to. Oh! Oh! Oh! That, and I'm going back to the Playboy Mansion for Halloween ... YAY FOR HOT NAKED PEOPLE!!!! (FTR, the Playboy Mansion is the closest thing I have right now to swinging. I just can't be a single chick at a swing club man. I want to go to one, but I'm a sissy nissy. Can't ... too scared ...)
So - that happened. THENNNNN, all of the LA nerdy girls piled into vehicles with a designated driver and went back to Melodie's place where we had a nerdy girl slumber party.
OMG OMG OMG!!! It was SOOOO much fun!!
Then we all woke up this morning and drove back to LA.
It was pretty funny, somewhere along the 5 this little girl in an SUV started INTENSELY waving at me.
It would have been cute, and endearing if I didn't look like the unabomber at the time ...
What in this face screams sunshine and rainbows little one??
WHAT?!?!?!
NOTHING THAT'S WHAT!?!?!?
So, now we're all back in LA, and super grateful to Melodie for letting our crew roll in the SD.
Muchos gracias for the hospitality chiquita banana!!! Was GREAT to get to meet you and talk nerdy.
And nooooowwww ... I am off to record our first super secret taping of my super secret project with @meowmistidawn.
It's going to be good ... and I'm exctied. Well, not like excited "excited" but ... excited.
Peace love and lollipops, nerderinos!!
Special thanks to The Tilted Kilt in Mission Valley for the free appetizers last night!! For reals, Jackson, Chris, Jamie - you guys were AHHH-MAZING!!!!
Dudes, no joke - their nachos there are the SHIT!!!
And THANNKKKK YOUUUUUU to everyone who came out last night. You guys SERIOUSLY made my life!! Incredibly incredibly incredibly grateful. Hope you guys had fun!! =)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 2:17PM
I am INCREDIBLY humbled by the group that has been assembled in this community, and I KNOOOOWWW these women getting together on a regular basis will be able to accomplish some SERIOUSLY amazing things. 
