So, my SXSW overview, day by day, beginning with the shortest day: Friday.

Btw, this is just going to be a big link-fest going on, and I will miss some people, but it’s certainly not on purpose. If I miss you, let me know and I'll add you in the appropriate place.

So yeah. Friday afternoon, Jish, JessaJune, and I flew into Austin, lookin' for a good time. And we found it. Within an hour and a half, after stopping at our new favorite hotel we were on our way to Michael and Ari's place for a pre-Breaking Bread With Brad meet-'em. And meet 'em we did. I finally got to put a face to Leia, Bryan, Julie, and of course Michael and Ari. And naturally, we also got to see the people we know and love (read: those who have visited California): James and Tim.The new folk included Dave, Matt, Mike, and Mark, among others.

We discovered that green is the new black, and that Michael and Ari have a cute son and a very friendly dog. They also have the neatest toy, that some people could not get enough of.

This being the first social event of sxsw for us, Jessa and I were kinda nervous and prone to stick together, if only because we didn’t know anyone else that well. That didn’t last long, though, because (sing along with me here) everyone was so nice! The DFW bloggers are a great bunch, and I’m looking forward to seeing them when next I visit Dallas sometime in June.

Then we headed off to the Iron Cactus for the Break Break With Brad dinner, which turned out to be a hoot and a holler. Afterward, we headed on over to Polly Esther’s for karaoke, where Mena sang Stand By Your Man, Jish and Brad sang love songs to one another, Bryan showed us just how much he can get down doing the Humpty, and Ernie displayed his intimate knowledge of Brittney Spears songs.

So ends the first evening of our SXSW experience. Stay tuned for Saturday and the kickball game.