2 Years of derryX

I’m of the mind that it’s important to spend time with the people who justify your existence, and by people, I mean friends. For that reason, I think putting together an anniversary “party” is a fun and productive exercise, because, without the constant interaction with friends on twitter, facebook, the blog comments, and other avenues, I’m just another person with someplace to write on the internet.

So I’ve been talking about organizing a party to commemorate two years of hollowing out a space on the internet to fit a community that’s interested in reading what I have to write.

And it happened this past Saturday, June 9. Over 30 hungry people joined me at Pig Pit BBQ in Cohoes, and we all laughed and ate BBQ for a while.

I tried the ribs, some sides (all of which I’ve never tried here before), and some brisket, which is a staple when I go. But, those of you who know me by now know this is going to be its own post.

The rest of this post is going to be a new feature I’m calling “Scene.” The Times Union does a thing called “Seen” where they go to popular local events and snap pictures of people who are enjoying themselves. Well, I’m taking their idea and rolling with it. I went around and took pictures of people who made a scene at the #derryXbash.

So let’s see WHO MADE A “SCENE!”

Chuck Miller was there and gifted me a super rare Beatles LP, one that actually shouldn’t even exist! Now, I need to figure out a way to get into a studio to listen to this or borrow a turntable from someone. Thanks, Chuck!

The Exile came and brought his rug rats, Exile#4 and E5N1.

The Times Union’s Best Print Journalist and Best Local Blogger in 2012, Kristi Gustafson Barlette, came, as did, fellow fitness fanatic, Crystal, and the worlds greatest Weezer fan, Ashlee.

The best drummer in the capital region, my cousin, BFA aka Bobby F*ckin’ Angilletta, was there along with his lovely wife, Jen.

Fellow food enthusiasts, Drew and Valerae, came, and we talked about what qualifies and more specifically what doesn’t qualify as regional food.

Co-workers, Ryan (along with his wife Jenna and their daughter, Brianna), Li, and Val (along with her husband, Greg), partook in the BBQ festivities.

Super blogger, Sue Rock, and community supporter, Roz, both came to eat and show their support.

MetalFrog, who was mistaken for TheFatLantern and is also behind the aesthetics of the blog (in the sense that he makes things look the way I ask) was creeping around awkwardly.

Rory Joe, Brian G, and Nasty Nick took a break from karaoke, clubbing, or whatever the hell else they do every night.

(I’m missing a picture of Mindy and Stephen, who were also able to come, and also a picture of Troy Record’s super-reporter, Danielle Sanzone, and her boyfriend, Jonathan, who was wearing the most amazing Big Lebowski shirt I ever seen.)

It was quite a challenge to circulate among the crowd and interact with everyone while they were eating and playing with the fun things that were in their bonus packs (another post), but I think I did a decent job. The conversations ranged from, like I said above, (non) regional specialties, my Crocs, a physical altercation that I am set to be involved in on December 25, The Big Lebowski, candy airplanes (of all things!), ol’ schkup, and how silly some of the things at Siena College were. The catchphrase “THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIEEEEEEEEFE” was said a number of times, which I enjoyed.

I gave Rory, Brian, and Nick some hot pepper trick chewing gum, and they did this:

We didn’t do too much live social media coverage as I had planned, but there were a few tweets and facebook updates. It’s actually harder than I thought it would be. Ohh well.

Some people caught on that the back of my shirt was a scan-able barcode and actually used their smartphones to scan it to find hidden bonus derryX.com material.

After lunch, about 1/2 of the group had to split, and none of the people who left reminded me about the giveaway.

I had a brand new, sealed copy of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective to give away to the person who came the closest to naming the most viewed “derryX dines” post in the past 365 days. A popular guess was Carmine’s Brazilian Grill, which was a well-viewed post. Another one that was mentioned a few times was Sushi X, which was also up there. Unfortunately, after two rounds of guesses from the 15 people involved, by old friend, BuddyRory, stole it by answering “the apple pie place.”

The most viewed “derryX dines” post in the last year is the post from my first visit to Cambridge Hotel as part of the Hotel Hell/Gordon Ramsay experience. I thought this was kind of a no-brainer, since Steve Barnes linked to the post a number of times (and even mentioned me in his damn newspaper article about it!).

The party moved to Snowman like every good party does.

I got a royal sized Snickers sundae with coffee oreo homemade ice cream and German chocolate cake Only 8 frozen yogurt.

I ate every damn bite.

We hung around Snowman for quite a while and shared some more laughs. We laughed at the expense of a long procession of motorcycles that were casually cruising down 114th street through a red light with their hands facing out, indicating that the oncoming traffic that had the right of way needed to stop. It was quite a site. (Also, c’mon, do those stupid things need to be that loud?)

Another fun thing that happened was a “Nothing Else Matters” duet between me and MetalFrog. Some old dude stopped at the light in front of Snowman had this song blasting as loud as he could with the window down. It was only natural that we sing at the tops of our lungs.

At a certain point, it was time to call an end to the party.

I am humble and gracious that so many people would take time out of their Saturday afternoon to celebrate this occasion with me. Believe me, I wouldn’t throw these get togethers if people didn’t want them. As much as I enjoy doing this blog, it’s really the social interaction that makes it special to me.

So thanks to everybody who came. And thanks to everyone else who couldn’t (wouldn’t?) come but continue to keep the momentum of derryX.com going in a positive way. Your comments, interactions, and support make this whole thing much more than a personal project that helps me express my ideas.

Read a fun blurb about the party by Chuck Miller, and one by The Exile!

If you were there and wrote about the event, feel free to add a link to it in the comments!