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Last night I went out.

My baby turned three months old this past weekend. We've been to tons of restaurants with her, but this felt like my first real night out. I left her home with her daddy and headed to the city for an "elite" event through Yelp. There are so many friends I need to catch up with in the city, but I decided to go alone, because if I'd brought someone I would have spent the whole time talking to them. It was an interesting experience.

I introduced myself to another Yelper on the way in. I was proud of myself for getting out of the house. I had found one of the two non-maternity shirts I've unpacked and I had put my license and money into one of my favorite purses. I had planned on feeding the bean right before leaving the house, but she was asleep and Matthew said to just go. I knew this was tempting fate, but I went.

The woman at the door was so nice. "So you're the one whose been sending all those great business updates." She made me feel special, which was kind of her. I stepped inside.

There was a great turnout. I headed to the bar for one of the free drinks. This took a while, but was pleasant to watch. I said hi to the people next to me. They were nice, but went back to their conversation. I got my drink. I began to stroll to the back of the bar to see the space and peek at the munchies (though I knew they wouldn't be vegan). I smiled at various people. And I got the picture. This was much less of a meet-random-strangers-from-the-internet event than others I've been to (ala 23 June 2001 and 11 November 2001). No problem, but I began to worry about not having fed the bean. I went outside to check in with my husband-friend and he said everything was fine. Back inside I talked to a guy. "Is this your first elite event?" he asked. I told him it was and asked if it was his. "Oh, no!" he said with great amusement. "I've been Yelping since July!" I failed to tell him that I had been as well.

After some more pleasant conversation, I headed to the bathroom. Inside there is a sign that says, "By the time you're done in here, another 5 reviews will have been posted on Yelp." I'm amused. [I am irritated at my change of tense here, but I'm just going to go with it.] Outside I end up in a long discussion with Geoff. I am informed that the other bathroom has a one-way mirror so you can look at people in the bar while you pee. I'm still not sure how I feel about this.

Then I head to the front of the club and decide to indulge the guilty pleasure of people watching. I sit myself on one of the speakers. I notice an interesting man by himself and I really want to know his story. We talked until speech time. I didn't know Yelp had a board of directors.

Then a nice woman with a fabulous hat introduces herself. She's a Yelper's wife. Then I meet the Yelper himself. An intense discussion of philosophy ensues. I loved it, though my throat got sore from shouting over the music.

When I finally got up, I apparently caught a glass with my purse strap (oh, the price of my one nod to fashion) and it smashed to the ground, causing everyone to glance my way. I, at 28, had just caused my first party foul in front of dozens of people I hadn't met. I immediately went to the bar and confessed, "I killed a glass." The bartender replied that it was not a problem and directed me to someone who would take care of the problem. I said to the second guy, "I broke a glass. I'm *so* sorry." Again I was treated kindly and told that it was already being cleared. I wanted to kiss someone for not making me feel any further embarrassed. I said good-bye to the few people I'd met and headed home. The bean slept for almost the whole time I was gone, going five hours between feedings! Thank you little daughter. Thank you kind bartenders. Thank you Yelp.

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