Marci of LvGurl, Shana of Gorillabuns, Kim of 180/360, Andrea of Alphababy, and Elisabeth of Little Miss Mel.
Top photo taken by Sophia! Bottom photos by Kim.  More photos taken by the talented Kim on her flickr account.
Last December, I participated in a virtual baby shower for Shana of Gorillabuns. In my post for her, I wrote the following —
Like with most bloggers, I don’t remember how I met Gorillabuns. Probably through Ms. Sizzle. Blogging creates weird blogfellows. What I like most about Shana is that she is funny. There is nothing sexier to a man than a funny woman. Some of the best moments with Gorillabuns did not occur on our blogs, but in emails — we’ve had some amusing discussions about subjects such as marriage, her obsession with rock bands, and especially — juicy blogger gossip.
Why do we connect to one person and not another? Is it random? Timing? Or does each individual have a unique spark that you either see or you don’t?
If I were to follow the advice of pro bloggers, I would not have befriended Gorillabuns. She is not in my “niche.â€Â I’m not sure I even want my manly Citizen of the Month “brand†to be associated with a bunch of girls involved in a surprise blogger baby shower.
But, you know what — if I was practical about using blogging for career advancement, I would have missed out on the friendship and humor of Gorillabuns, who is one of the coolest people I have met online.
Sadly, Gorillabuns lost her baby, Thalon Bruce Myers, in April.
This week, a few of Gorillabuns online friends brought Shana to Las Vegas for some days of drinking and debauchery. I thought this was a smart idea, and not inappropriate at all.   It must get tiring to have everyone tip-toe around the sad event, or, in reverse, everyone forgetting to treat Shana like a regular person.  Shana’s trip would give her an opportunity to open up a little to her special friends, while still doing what women do while visiting Las Vegas — playing blackjack, drinking lemon drops, and attracting drunk men in the casino.
Sophia and I arrived at Kim’s home on Saturday night, the night after meeting Black Hockey Jesus. I was so excited to meet Kim, one of my long-time blogging friends. I gave her a big hug, as I did Shana. I could still see the sadness in Shana’s eyes, but her humor and intelligence were still intact. She is even funnier than on her blog.  She immediately hit it off with Sophia.
After a drink, the first of many, we went to Morels French Steakhouse in the Palazzo. I sat at the head of the table, surrounded by six sexy, well-dressed women. I must have looked like a rock star, or someone very very very rich. Even the waiter nodded at me and said I was very lucky to be alive. He then handed me the wine list, figuring it was my manly duty to order the correct wine. Talk about poor gender profiling.  I immediately handed the wine list to Kim, because my choice would have just been “the cheapest thing you have on the menu because I drink the two dollar wine from Trader Joe’s and it is fine with me.”
Later, we drove to downtown Las Vegas and ended up at some casino bar, listening to a band playing Led Zeppelin tunes. Gorillabuns and Sophia gambled their money away at a blackjack table, and I was forced to drink way too much by Kim. The rest of the night was a blur. The next day, I woke up at 3PM.
I can now quit blogging because on Saturday night, I pretty much achieved — and SAW — everything I wanted to in my blogging career.
Sounds like a great time for everyone involved. I have to say I’m a little jealous.
Damn it. I am so bummed I missed it. There was boob flashing! You know how I always want in on that action.
😉
You made the big time, Neil.
I want to sit at the head of a table with six sexy women.
Wow. My worst fears realized. This totally ended up on the Internet.
Love you, Neil!! What a great night! I hope we didn’t scar you or Sophia very badly…
Sounds like we’re missing the rest of the story.RIP Paul Harvey.
I LOVED meeting you and Sophia! The weekend was the best and really, if you don’t come home at 6am? what’s the point in being in Vegas in the first place?
Thank you for being one of my biggest supporters during this truly shitty time – and I didn’t mean Vegas as the shitty part.
can’t wait until the next time!
Looks like you had way too much fun. I only get to bowl in vegas. Hmph.
Hah! Awesome. Here from Jessica G’s twitter post…
Good stuff. The Bloggers get the ladies, owooooh! 😀
One day I’ll learn how to party like a rock star. You can teach me.
Everyone is way too beautiful in those photos. And I’m not even tipsy.
That’s awesome.
Looks like a blast!
I know I gave you all a hard time but in all seriousness I am so happy and glad you were all able to do this for Shana.
You all look beautiful.
[/serious speak; commence to funny so Neil will think me sex-saaaaaaay.]
What an awesome thing to do for Shana – looks like it was a great time!
That sounds like fun. I’ve always been a little afraid of Vegas, but I bet I could get over my fears if I was with a bunch of great blogger friends.
What an awesomely sweet way to take care of a friend. But just wait, too, BlogHer will be epic. I firmly plan to drink one of the cheapest drinks available with you – whether you like it or not.
Thank you so much for coming out here, Neil. I still can’t believe I finally met you. What an amazing weekend. Like Shana said, I hope we didn’t scare you away! HAHA. I wish I could’ve seen you one more time before you left. Now that you know where I live, you’ll just have to come back. 🙂
Neil, you ARE a rock star!
And damn! Women bloggers are gorgeous! I need to start doing crunches and plucking my eyebrows or something if I want to fit in at BlogHer in July!
It certainly looked like and sounded like extreme fun, being head of the table with six sexy women, you must have thought you were dreaming.
Fun! I noticed your getting a nipple-feel up there as well! Oh, and I love the dragon t-shirt… grrr!
Two Buck Chuck is now $3. Didn’t you know? LOL
What a great thing to do for Shana. And I would love to have seen a picture of the waiter’s face. This was just rehearsal for BlogHer, my brother!
All those women… and you.
T.