21 floors above downtown Oakland, CA, with a shimmering view of the bay and the bridge all lit up “like diamonds in the sky” and I could not have been happier! It was Saturday night and not only was I dressed to the 9’s and shakin’ my ass at a feminist dance party, but I was doing it with my favorite bad ass fat ass of all time!

I have known M for many years, since my LiveJournal days. We have messaged and chatted and IM’d and Skyped and called and text each other. She was my first Skype call and my first Podcast! She is a kindred spirit and an incredible woman! She has been there for me through some heavy shit and I can only hope that she feels the same about me. I look up to and am in awe of her constantly.

When she let me know awhile back that she’d be in Oakland for a women’s studies conference I nearly blew a gasket from the excitement! I mean…WOW! I finally get to meet my actual friend! This sounds silly, maybe, but I was nervous to meet her in the flesh. I shouldn’t have been, the moment we caught sight of each other it was like old pals, ya know?

The first night I met her, we had dinner with some fat studies peeps and then chatted in the hotel lobby until 1 am. Time just didn’t seem to move with the two of us getting the chance to finally talk in person. It was marvelous! She invited me back for the dance party the next night and I could hardly say no. I mean…we’ve always talked about our love of dancing!

We had dinner with some friends/colleagues of hers and then changed into our dancin’ clothes! As we entered her hotel room I turned to her and said, “You know I’m a mega-nerd and brought like three dresses for you to try on!” She smiled and said yes and instantly wanted to see them. The first one was perfection on her and so it was decided (it was the black tank dress with sequins I wore at NoLose with my Fat necklace, if you recall). I changed into my “classy” dress and laced up my favorite doc martens and we were ready!

As we entered the dance party we looked at each other knowingly as Robyn’s “Dancing on my own” was blazing from the speakers. We love Robyn! The next song was Salt ‘N Pepa’s “Push It” and we nearly lost our minds, SO GOOD!!! I couldn’t believe they played “Supersonic” by J.J. Fad! I mean…WOW! The party, sadly, had to end, but did so with MJ’s “Don’t stop ’til you get enough” and it couldn’t have been a better one to leave on. 🙂

But then it was time to say goodbye and go our separate ways. 🙁 It was so hard to say goodbye, but I knew and know it won’t be the last time we’ll see each other. At least, not if I have anything to say about it! Ha! I am so grateful for getting the chance to meet and hug and squish and dance and hang out with this lady who has pushed and inspired me so (she was the first to call me a bad ass and the one who dubbed me “The Queen of TMI”).

Driving back to the south bay after such a fantastic time I was just too “up” to go straight to bed. Plus, I looked hot as fuck and wanted to get the most out of it! Ha-ha! So I decided to hit up my local BBW dance night and since it was Scorpio night, I got in free and got a free drink! I danced my ass off and had a blast! So glad I decided to pop in. I got home and finally slipped into bed about 3 am and while I was still so full of joy and happiness, I was finally pooped enough to get some rest. What a fantabulous time! 🙂