Last night was amazing. Amazing food, amazing drinks, but most importantly amazing people.

When people in the ’09 class of CCT started to meet through various online avenues (so Web 2.0), the logistics of moving to DC dominated most conversations. Having the luxury of already living in DC, and able to bypass what is nothing short of a nightmare, I focused on other logistics: BBQs.

Moving is always rough, but from my perspective it is the landing on the other side that always catches you unexpected. I was fortunate to form a couple close relationships quickly after moving to DC, but it was nothing compared to the social networks to which I was accustomed. To top it all off, some CCTers were moving to DC early and without even classes to act as distraction, I set out on a mission. “We have to have a BBQ the minute you get here!”, I said to Sarah one day on Facebook.

This was of course a ridiculous thing for me to say. I live in a basement condo with only a small patch of ground cover/ornamental grass in front. Events like these, however take on a life of their own, and before I knew it there was an Evite in my inbox inviting me to grill in my own “front yard.” After many nights of preparation and shopping, Friday arrived, I went to pick of the grill and Juliet (grill-maven, honestly the one who fed us), and whip everything together last minute.

The people who showed up (new friends, old friends, and those to whom I awkwardly asked, “Who are you?”) were remarkable – Every last one of them. There was Susannah Fox, with her interests in international policy and technology, and Sean O’Conner, who uses geocoding for the tracking of human rights issues. Steve Morris needs to give me the skinny on the Pew, of course, and this all means that we need to have another gathering soon.

There were so many people with whom I didn’t get to talk while I was trying to give Martha Stewart a run for her money, but it was worth it. That said, none of it would have been possible without Sarah Magnuski and Trish Fancher, two amazing individuals who I can only hope will become fast friends. You guys are the best!