Smugs and Cuddles and So Much More

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Yesterday, I posted about my VidCon date with Ian, and yes, it was a bit sickening. (The post, not the date.) It also brought to my attention that I hadn't yet actually shared anything about the rest of my trip to California to meet new Internet friends and hug the vintage ones.

On June 26, I hopped on a plane to LAX to spend a week with Ian, Pham, Nico, Hung, Joey, Tiffany, Nick, Katherine, Patrick, Ashley, and Treavor. Most of us knew each other from VEDA (Vlog Every Day in August), an annual YouTube project. I only made a handful of videos last year before realizing that my style of vlogging involved a lot of time in Photoshop and iMovie and couldn't be a daily thing unless I quit my job. But we've found other ways to keep in touch since then, and now that we've shared beds and drinks together, I can honestly say that all of those people are more delightful in person than they appear online.

We took Anaheim by tipsy storm, starting with Disneyland and Munchkin and ending with YouTube celebrities and VidCon dance parties. Favorite moments from the week, in no particular order:

  • Receiving the following series of text messages from Ian: "Joey has just full-on rolled over onto me. O_o // I'm trapped // Also, being sleepy is lame. // Also help. // S.O.S."
  • Establishing that Joey cuddles everything.
  • Drunk Pham whispering long stories to me while I was meant to be keeping score for Munchkin.
  • Having my name misspelled by every Starbucks barista in the county.
  • Changing my Facebook status to "in a relationship."
  • Critiquing bathroom doors and everything else with Ashley.
  • Proposing to Katherine with a Ring Pop.
  • Seeing Nick Pitera, iJustine, Alli Trippy, the guys from Gentlemen's Rant, and so many other lovely YouTube stars in person.
  • Realizing that I had a network of good friends, many of whom had just met me, trying to work things out for me and Ian.
  • The "Excuse Me" dance.
  • Discovering that Treavor and I somehow have a mutual, not-from-the-Internet friend in Texas.
  • Getting Treavor to strike a pose with Katherine's foot.
  • Baby Wingman, new on TLC.
  • Being serenaded by every person at least once.
  • Watching Rich gush about movies and realizing I was experiencing 90 Second Love without YouTube.
  • Earning the respect of Wil Wheaton for being part of the best (and only) cheering section at his Settlers of Catan game with Ian.
  • Texts and tweets from Smugs.
  • Hank Green dancing with Felicia Day.
  • Eating at In-n-Out for the first time and getting an extra penny back from the charming cashier.
  • Finding an abandoned cherry on the floor outside our hotel room door one morning.
  • Taking the following picture:
Thanks to Snap Yourself for the awesome photo booth set-up and for sharing all of the pics online! Click through to see the full image.

It was a really marvelous week, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. If you feel like basking in other peoples' memories from VidCon, here are some other recaps you can read or watch: Ashley (blog), Hung (vlog), Joey (tweets, blog, and vlog), Pham (blog), Patrick (blog and vlog), Ian (vlog), and all of the other ones I was too lazy to find. Ahem.

Hope to see some of your pretty faces there next year. Or at VEDA, since I'm stupidly doing that again in a few days. Or in Chicago! People who come to visit me are rewarded with pizza and/or cupcakes.