How could anyone write an afterword if there is no foreword/prologue/plot, I don’t know, but I’m about to attempt this wizardry on this ill-kept blog.

What really inspired me to pick up the pen—I mean, open my blog’s WordPress dashboard—isn’t just the fact that I just attended An Event Apart in Seattle, but that this experience was a completely different experience from the last time I attended AEA. It was to be expected; it’s been almost five years since then.

I’m not going to write about what I learned on a technical level (you can see that from A Feed Apart); rather, I wanted to write about something more personal than just devious applications of CSS3 and best practices for content strategy. I want to write about what I experienced emotionally, and what a personal trip this had been for me.

Why was this such a different trip?

I’m here for myself. What I mean by that is that I am not on the company’s dime for this trip (that I know of, anyway). I’d debated with myself heavily over attending, putting off the final decision to go until the last minute, when I read the tweet that AEA: Seattle was down to 5 passes. Even while going through the checkout process, I was still debating with myself. I knew that I risked not being able to my work for pay for this trip, but I also felt so strongly about its educational benefits that I decided to take the plunge. Sure, I’d miss class, and sure, I’d be out ~$2,000, but I viewed it as an investment into my career. As a contractor, I felt it would be really important for me to attend. But, because of that …

I attended alone. As in, I didn’t know anyone when I flew out to Seattle. At least when I went in San Francisco, I knew a couple people prior. Also, I was from the area; it wouldn’t be a big deal, even if I didn’t know anyone.

But here I am, in Seattle, alone.

“But surely Hau,” you might think, “it’s not that big a deal, is it? People travel alone all the time!” And yes, I’m sure there were many folks in attendance who came alone, but you see, here’s the thing:

I hate being alone. Detest, despise, dislike; any manner of disapproval, that’s how I felt about being alone, especially in a far away place. While it’s true that I had basically made Seattle my third home thanks to almost 5 years of attending Penny Arcade Expo, it was still a daunting thought Instead of being excited about this trip, I was met with a lot of apprehension and anxiety. Most people in my position would just complain about how much money they’d be out; I was complaining about how I would not know anyone. However, I knew if I didn’t bite the bullet and go, I’d regret it. Immensely.

Which leads me to the point of this post.

I left Los Angeles feeling tired, a little sad, but mostly unexcited. I’d land in Seattle on Sunday afternoon at noon, and from there I could go about exploring the bits of Seattle that I wouldn’t normally get to see. I had all this … freedom. I walked around Belltown, Pike Place, tried Top Pot doughnuts, ran errands at Rite Aid, and came back to my room to unwind a bit.

I was this close to not attending the Typekit pre-AEA party. Socializing with strangers? Networking? Throwing myself out there? All very exhausting things, if you ask me.

But, in the end, I met many really nice folks. The socializing was actually effortless; I met some really nice people from Montana and Austin, TX; I met a guy from Bellvue (Hello, Derek, if you’re reading this!), and finally, I met a girl from San Francisco named Beth, whom would basically assure me that I was not alone. After walking her part of the way back to her hotel after the party, I passed by her Monday morning during breakfast hour, and she very happily let me sit with her and two others, Brandon and Levi from Omaha, NE. These three would become my AEA friends; we all got along so well, and we were all enormously geeky (and I’m not just talking about code).

Two days later, I’m sitting in my hotel room, packed and ready to catch my absurdly early flight (the shuttle is coming to pick me up at 3:30AM! (Yes! Really!)), typing this entry while listening to The Black Keys’s Brothers album—and I am actually feeling quite melancholic to leave.

I’m not really sure what I expected; I mean, I expected to be blown away by the speakers (and I was!), but on a personal level, I wasn’t sure if I would just end up becoming a lone wolf in a sea of like-minded individuals. I wasn’t certain that I could be entirely happy with going straight back to my room after each day’s session, not attending any of the sponsored parties and in general being entirely anti-social. But, I experienced the opposite. I attended all the events. I made friends. I met the people I admire. And, I ate dinner in a restaurant alone for the first time ever, and it was surprisingly pleasant. Aside from the food being delicious (thumbs up to Local 360!), I learned that yes, there are other people who eat alone, and the locals are nice and will talk to you. Most importantly, I made damn sure that I would at least try my very best to have a fantastic time (and I did!).

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So, thank you to everyone who talked to me, to those who kept my company, and in general made this trip memorable and fun! It really meant a lot to me
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