Courtney was the organizer of the South Bay Blogger Meetup group when I first showed up (and yes, I have my wife to thank for finding out about that group). I remember that day just like it was yesterday. It was snowing frogs, with mohawked unicorns brewing a strangely pungent mixture that they called fruitcake but actually bore closer resemblance to Italian architecture. Courtney, as she is often wont to do, parachuted from a Boeing AK-47 and executed a perfect 5-pointed star on the Hackensack walk of cauliflower. And then when she saw me for the first time, she turned to me and said, “You’re wearing your tourniquet inside-out.”

Hmm, come to think of it, my memory isn’t what it used to be. Anyhow, if that blogger meetup group was the only impact on my life Courtney ever had, I would still owe her an unrepayable debt. But I also got invited to her housewarming where I met a bunch of cool and talented people, and of course got to bask briefly in the glorious presence of the one-and-only Eris Stassi. So I think Courtney owns the rights to my soul by now (not that it’s worth that much, what with inflation and all—too bad there aren’t any hedge funds for souls).

We do miss her so in the lame wasteland that is the South Bay, but at least we can still vicariously get our Courtney fixes via our highly exclusive paid memberships in her Flickr fan club. Oh, and I did I mention that she is ridiculously hot? I know I tend to throw around those words a lot lately, but I actually mean it this time. Not to say that she’s the only one who’s ridiculously hot, because there’s obviously the hotness that is Natalie Portman. And Eris too, of course, but this ISN’T a story about Eris now, is it? Why the hell are you trying to distract me? What do you have against Courtney? For shame!

So where was I again? Something about helicopters, I think. Whatever, it couldn’t have been that important or they would’ve left a message.