I wanted to pee alone so I went to a crowded restaurant

If I don't know you, I am an introvert.
If I know you, I am an extrovert.

I can talk to family or friends about anything and everything.
But when I first meet someone, I am reserved and nervous as hell.
It's that tendency to babble that makes me look like a crazy person.

So planning to attend a get together with people that I have NEVER met before is totally outside my comfort zone.
But I did it. And I loved it.

I follow Michelle over at You're My Favorite Today.
Have you met/read Michelle? You should.
She was one of many women across the country hosting a ladies night out this past Wednesday.

The brain behind the event was Jen over at People I Want to Punch in the Throat.
She hosted a get together last year and so many people were bummed that they didn't live close enough to attend. So she and a few other ladies behind the book, I Just Want to Pee Alone, decided to have a national night out. Women in different cities planned events for people like me to get out of the house, away from our families, and hang out with other ladies.

Michelle co-hosted the event in the Minneapolis area with Joy from Evil Joy Speaks.
Have you met/read Joy? You should.

The day I Just Want to Pee Alone National Night out was announced, I read it first on Michelle's blog. And I knew that I had to go. It's impossible to make friends if you don't ever go anywhere where you could make friends.
And since I already liked Michelle through her posts, I knew I had to go to meet her in person.

So I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to meet people.
I did my hair, put on make-up, and yes... I wore jeans, not yoga pants. (Michelle has a picture to prove it.)

When I got there, Michelle actually knew me through my picture and the fact that I had RSVPed to the event. It's a little weird 'meeting' someone who you feel like you already know due to internet stalking her reading her blog for months. But I did and here we are:

 It was a little nerve wracking. I tend to babble or bring up weird shit when I don't know someone very well. (Okay, I do that with my friends, too.... but friends don't judge you for it like a stranger might.) But you could tell that most everyone there sort of felt the same way. And that was comforting.

The 3 hours seemed to fly by and before it was over, we had a list compiled of email addresses and Twitter handles and plans to meet up again after the holidays are over.
I doubt I'll be nervous this time since I really enjoyed the evening and the company. At least, I hope I'll be less nervous.

This is the great group of ladies that assembled for a night out:

 
I got to meet a few lovely people that I would never have had the chance to meet otherwise.
I left there that night with a new Facebook friend and 2 new Twitter followers.
The next day, I got another new FB friend and a new new follower on the blog, which is thrilling.
And also left with the knowledge that I made Michelle's night by telling her my secret fro touching up my gray roots when I cannot get to the salon:

That's right. A simple brown Crayola washable marker, taken out of the craft drawer. It blends right in and washes right out. (It rubs off on a pillow if you don't wash it out.)
It's a hell of a lot cheaper than going to the salon more often and it's less messy than spray colors.
Michelle did make sure to ask if it came out and I told her the truth: "If it didn't come out, I wouldn't still have to hit up the salon every 3-4 weeks to get my color done."

The next time you want to pee alone and there is an event near you, GO.
Just go.
You won't regret it.
Pinkie swear.