Last night, I ran my first "pub night" for the hiking group I belong to. Well, I don't technically, "belong" to it... to do that, I'd have to pay rather pricey dues. Instead, I've surreptitiously become a part of the club's "under 40" group. Through this sect, I've met most of the people I hang out with in Seattle. I've been participating in their events since the second week I was in Seattle, and I finally felt confident enough to volunteer to run the monthly pub night.

Forgive me, for I'm about to gush.

My choice of pub was a complete shot in the dark. I had only driven past the place several times and thought it might be a winner, but really had no idea. I showed up at the appointed start time, set out my pink ski helmet (the way the group could recognize me) and waited. Having been to pub nights before, I expected maybe 10 people at best. We ultimately had about 20. Including one of the club board members, which almost never happens. People came purely because they knew me. The group was still going strong at 10pm (over 3 hours after we started). The location was a total success and people told me so. Other things overheard:

"Larissa knows everybody in Seattle. She's like the glue."
"Larissa is always organizing the coolest things, it is good to know her."

I know that I post a lot about how beautiful it is here, and how that is a major reason for my moving to this city. But being able to organize a social event for strangers (more or less) who got along great, stayed long into the evening and for some reason now think that I'm a person they need to know... that is another example of why I love it here. There is no way I could ever have even attempted something like that in NYC.

As people left the pub, they rubbed my helmet for good luck. It was too funny.