Paranoia Strikes Deep: Missing Wiki

Sometimes
we are so stupid it hurts. Today,
we have been kicking ourself all day for missing the big planning meeting
for the Boston bid to host next
summer’s Wikimania. It’s our own fault
for not finding the time to keep up with the blogs of our friends and
collaborators. The worst part of missing this meeting,
despite wanting very much to be there, is that we were there.

The meeting, we found out today, was held at the
Berkman Center immediately after the weekly Blogger’s
Meeting, which
we attended.  As that meeting was breaking up, we though we heard
that people were going to a nearby bar for a bite or a beer. This
sounded like a good idea, Norma Yvonne was teaching until 9:15, so
we drifted outside, taking advantage of the misty Indian summer night,
and waited for the rest of the gang to exit.

And waited. We said leisurely goodbyes to several
attendees who had to hurry off to homes and loved ones. We leaned against
the stone balustrade and thought over some of the arcane search-engine
secrets divulged by the amazing
Amanda Watlington minutes earlier.

Our thoughts came back to earth through our nose.
A rusty red Mazda had pulled up, with a removable lit sign on the roof
identifying it as from a local pizza parlor. The driver got out,
with a stack of assorted Italian goodies, and we started thinking about
what we would order at the bar.

It seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time
for the other to come out.  We finally ventured around the corner to peer
through the window. Indeed! The Italian food was out on the table
of the meeting room at Berkman, and
our "friends" were all there, with a bunch of others. A SECRET MEETING
to which we had not been invited!

In fact, it dawned on us that we had been intentionally misled into thinking
they were going to the bar, probably to get us out of the way so the
secret meeting could proceed. Paranoia strikes deep, and we felt its
cold clammy fingers climbing our spine. We abandoned all hope of rejoining
the group, and slunk off into the
night.

Of course, today, belatedly reading SJ’s
excellent blog, we realized what was going on. It was the very
meeting we didn’t want to miss. And we were there, and we fled
like a frightened felon at a cop convention. Today, we are embarrassed,
ashamed and repentant.

But who knows, there may still be time to contribute
our two-bits to this very important initiative. Rock on, Samuel, and
please put us on the mailing list.