It's always odd to meet someone you have talked to for years on the Internet, but that is just what I did all of last week with a bunch of people in Washington D.C. One in particular I spent a bunch of time with on Sunday and that would be Rachel of Tinkerty Tonk. From the awkward first meeting where you're kind of eyeing each other like, "Is that the person" to the "Hey! How are you.", it's kind of creepy.

I'll tell you this though, it was a blast! Now the funny thing was I was down there for the Hold Their Feet To The Fire anti-illegal immigration rally for the week and Rachel kind of follows the Bush administration agenda on immigration, so we had a good old time talking about that for awhile over some coffee and walking around the Union Station area avoiding the bums. It was a beautiful day out.

I tried to steer things away from immigration after a bit because it just wasn't something that was going anywhere and I would be talking about it for the next 4 days or so. We filled each other in on our lives and their happenings, which you can read all about on her website. It was kind of strange because she'd bring up something like "Yeah I've been trying to solve this issue with a stolen car." and I'd already know all about it from reading her entries. I knew the background stories, her trips to the DMV in her sweats, etc... etc... Stuff you normally don't know about someone unless you live with them.

We ended up being surprised that the teams were heading out to LaFayette Park for a rally in front of the White House an hour earlier than expected. I didn't get a chance to drop my bags off, so we boogied on down and lost the group on the subway. We finally got back with the group and passed some communist protesters on the way. Rachel was patient with me running around like a chicken with my head cut off saying "hi" to everyone and taking a buttload of pictures once we got to the rally. We even lost each other for a little bit in the crowds.

After I had captured all of the footage I could (since my video camera sucks) we lolled about on the grass together - chasing the shadows around a tree as the sun beat down - and discussed issues as speakers did their thing on stage. You can tell she's very well educated and can pretty much talk about anything. I think we both agree that while the official DC police headcount at the event was 1,000 it was far too small for what would be needed to achieve the goals of the event.

It was fun to finally meet her in person and I had a good time, though I think she got rather bored rather quickly as immigration really isn't her cup of tea. She also found the constant calls for Bush's impeachment a little absurd. Too bad we don't live a little closer, I wouldn't mind having some intellectual chats with her over coffee every other week or so. She's a great talker.

I guess we looked like we hit it off pretty well to others because a number of people asked if we were on our first date. We both chuckled at that. It was more like meeting up with an old friend. I hope she had a good time, but I haven't heard from her since, so maybe I was more of an ass than I perceived.

Anyway, go read her website and anyone out there looking for an educated woman to hire, she's available as of this past week.