Back From Steem Fest (sadly)

Okay, so this has got to be the last Steemfest3 post, at least for me, because as @anomadsoul said, we're really going to be abusing this event. Or at least it seems like it, especially to those who weren't there. To those who were, it just kinda feels like something you don't want to be over, you know?
And it blows that it is, so I guess we're trying to make the best of it by just posting about it continuously.

So, when Eric announced the #backtosteemfest tag, I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon. First, let me tell you, I am shit at taking pictures, especially selfies, so I am almost without any SF selfie. And without many pictures in general, to be honest. I was far more interested in experiencing the whole thing, in being awake there, so pictures barely crossed my mind.

But I shall try my best.

First, the funniest photo I took. Well, I took....I didn't actually take it, but I posed for it, so that is almost the same thing, isn't it? Isn't it?

On Saturday morning, @free999enigma and I figured we'd catch the boat tour thing, but since it was so early (12 o'clock) and I am awfully slow in getting ready, we missed it. Duh. We walked around the river for a long, long time trying to spot the boat and hoping @roelandp would magically show up out of nowhere and pick us up.
But he did not, so we ended up walking around the city of Krakow and going to perhaps the most attractive spot in town – a nearby mall. I know, I know, so typical. But it was fun, they had good coffee and they also had this really cute Santa throne out front, which, after a bit of wobbling about, I managed to climb unto and get this picture, so yay.

I would say some of the most embarrassing situations at SF involved bathrooms, which seemed to be an unspoken theme of the event. It all started on the first evening, when for some odd reason, me and @guyfawkes4-20 started hanging around the bathrooms at the Qubus hotel (really great bathrooms, aren't they?). We got to talking down there and we'd just say hi to other Steemians passing us by and since we were both slightly tipsy, we figured fuck it, why leave? So we just sat down by the stairs that led to the bathroom (great place to meet Steemians, by the way) and harassing everyone that passed by to come join us. It must've been a bit upsetting to the others, as most of them probably really needed to use the bathroom. This is also where I got the picture with the most Steemians in.

Kidding, I have no idea who took it, but I am stealing it. Sorry, not sorry.

But as I said, bathrooms were a theme at SF, it seems, at least for some. I met a load of cool Steemians outside different bathrooms. I ran into @yidneth outside the ICE Conference Centre toilets and we just sat talking in the door a bit. And I also stopped @bubke on his way out of the bathroom at Klub 89, just because I'd been dying to talk to him for so long and I figured there's no place like right outside the toilet. We actually had this really cool conversation that continued later at the bar. Definitely one of the funniest dudes I've met.

The power of toilets, man, what can I say? Well, given how much everyone was drinking throughout the event, I guess the heavy use of bathrooms makes sense...

There were a lot of interesting conversations going at Steemfest and one of my favorites was...well, to be honest, I'd made a pretty strong plan to attend the conferences, at least on the first day (I know, I am such a nerd), which I intended to stick to. But I got completely side-tracked when I left to get something to drink and got into this amazing conversation with @mrlightning about shirts and then writing and our favorite authors (we discovered we're both massive Neil Gaiman/Terry Pratchett fans). I know this may not seem like much to you, but for me, it's rare to meet people who are smart and read and have similar tastes and it's something I love doing, so this was a really fun experience, we got chatting for like 30 minutes and then, I just got lost talking to some other folks, only to realize I'd missed most of the conferences. Totally worth it, though.

But the coolest thing, perhaps, about SF3 was @roelandp's crazy outfit, which I think no one will be able to forget anytime soon.

I also learned how to toast with an entire wine bottle (don't judge me, I swear it wasn't my fault), for some reason. I don't know, man, there's a great haze around the whole event in my head that makes it hard to pinpoint moments. Withdrawal, maybe?

And now the hard part, favorite Steemians (come on, Eric, just three?). I am going to break the rules and name more, so screw it.
Well first, I have to say @blewitt, who is just to die for, as anyone who's met him can attest. Seriously, THE Chris was one of the funniest dudes at SF, I had an overall awesome time hanging out with him and talking about all these weird things. He's so sweet and he's got comedy in the blood, which is just amazing.
Hmm, @anomadsoul will forever remain in my head as a snowman. On the karaoke night, he was sitting outside the pub in this intense cold weather and just talking to everyone throughout the night. And he was progressively becoming more bundled up, so that at some point he had all these blankets on that made him look like a complete snowman. He was amazing, naturally, but then, I already knew he was.
So was his bro, @zlatan-spielberg who I loved meeting and hanging out with. Actually, on the first night – I was dead tired – and I was saying something about sex or boys or something (again, don't judge) and he goes 'keep talking' and I noticed he was staring at my face very seriously and as it turned out, he's really into psychology and he was studying my features as I spoke about that because it betrayed how I felt about the whole subject. It was so totally cool.
@guyfawkes4-20 was fun, just because I really needed someone to constantly remind me how shit my hometown is (it keeps you grounded, I guess). So, he's definitely somewhere in the top 100.

Two boys planning to take over Steemfest, one flower at a time...

I also loved hanging with @tarazkp, as he was always so sweet and always had a hug for me, which I loved. And he always had cool, but also deep conversations (as promised, I suppose).

I know, I'm going way over the limit. Two other people whose company I enjoyed terribly were @celestal (and his dried fruit – who can forget that? He kept me from starving a couple of times) who was just amazingly funny, and @free999enigma because he was a complete gentleman and spent a good time with me getting lost through Krakow following my screwy GPS.

I know, I can't count, that's not three. So sue me. And there are so many I loved and have still to mention...

Overall, it was an amazing experience, one that I would've never gotten to have without @sndbox and @blocktrades (all of whom I met at Steemfest3 and found they were great human beings) and of course, Eric, who was just the sweetest, most fun dude ever.

Damn, I miss Poland. Or rather, all the cool people who for a brief time came to Poland to do this amazing thing together and are now scattered all over the world. Can you imagine that?

Anyway, it was great meeting everyone and thanks for reading,