The Toast has turned a year old; to celebrate we are throwing ourselves a party and we are inviting you. Yes, you. Yes, even the men, provided they are quiet and well-behaved.

SOME PERTINENT DETAILS 

• The party will be Wednesday, July 23rd. That is two weeks from now. Make the necessary arrangements.
• The party will be in Oakland, California.
• More specifically, the party will be at the Golden Bull Bar (near the 12th Street BART station) from 6 to 8ish
• I have to be there at six, so I will be on time, but I am going home at eight
• I will be there for sure
• Nick will be there
• Nicole might be there but she can’t make any promises
• There won’t be food so eat first or bring food with you or arrange to have food delivered to the bar as a wonderful surprise at 7:15
• In the event that Nicole cannot attend, I will do as many pushups as I can without compromising form
• Probably that will be one
• You will not be the only Toastron who is a bit bookish and reserved and not sure how to recommend Toastself among strangers; if you are uncertain about whether you should come I can guarantee WARMTH and RESTRAINED GAIETY THAT DOES NOT OVERWHELM THE WARY SPIRIT, you elfin thing
• Jasmine has promised to bring a pie; if you feel led to bring something of your own to share with the class you will not be turned away
• Jasmine also planned this because I was actually paralyzed with fear and indecision at the prospect of calling several bars and asking if we could host a gathering there, so shower her with fulsome praise
• Try not to fall in love with me
• If you want to buy me a drink my favorite is “club soda with as many lime slices as you can legally give me”
• I will try not to fall in love with you
• I think that’s it

I am very excited to see all of you! Nicole and I both had a remarkably good time at the first meetup in San Francisco, and I will be in an even better mood this time because this meetup is going to be in Oakland and I won’t have to drive across a bridge at the end of the night. This has been the best year of my life, and I hope you will come and celebrate that with me.