Last night, VH and I had the pleasure of meeting De Doc and his lovely wife, Sharpie. They’re in town for the Heinlein convention (what, his wife’s nickname didn’t give that away), so after four years of blog-based friendship we finally got to meet in person.

Now, truth be told, I do not generally like meeting people. It’s a bit of a social anxiety thing, one that’s compounded by meeting people face-to-face who already know me through a less direct route. There’s this horrid burden I feel in such circumstances — I find myself worried whether the Real Me will live up to the hype, I suppose. Thanks to out-of-town company, I thought I was going to get out of this meeting, too. Doc’s such a nice guy, he was wholly understanding about the unlikelihood of us actually getting together. Then our company left unexpectedly early and I suddenly found myself lacking any excuse not to go.

I’m so glad about that!

Turns out, Doc is just as genial and warm in person as he is on his blog. Just as caring, and just as funny. Despite being a successful E.R. doctor (who’s also a published author, martial arts instructor and swordsman) married to a globe-trotting pyrotechnician pursuing her Ph.D. — the kind of folks you’d expect to live in a luxury home on the Florida coast from whence they hail — Doc and Sharpie are amazingly down-to-earth folks. Within seconds of greeting each other, my anxiety was a thing of the past.

Of course, the excellent food at Pearl’s Oyster Bar didn’t hurt. Sharpie and I each had a Louisiana Pan Roast which was so generously portioned and so wonderful-tasting that I could’ve stayed there all night eating. (The martinis were pretty darn good, too!) But since we’d already agreed it was a charmed night, and since we were already at the AmeriStart Casino, we agreed to take a stab at winning a little coin.

“Charmed” might be putting it mildly. Starting with a whopping $60, I bellied up to the video poker screen — conveniently located at the bar — and proceeded to just one, not two but three of the biggest payouts available. My net winnings: $280.00. (I never did manage to pull in that Royal Flush with no wild cards.) Oh, and I made $0.59 at the penny slot machine while waiting for VH to wrap up his losing streak at blackjack.

“Losing streak? you say. But, VK, I thought it was a ‘charmed’ night.”

Indeed it was, my friends. Charmed for VH in that I did not find out until this morning that he’d surreptitiously pulled a spare $100 out of our account. An amount, I might add, which he also lost. Thus, content with good company, good food and good drinks — and believing we’d made money at the casino for a change — I decided to have faith that my luck for the night might hold out a bit longer. So, after dropping Doc and Sharpie off at their hotel, I picked up a PowerBall ticket.

The clerk assured me it’s the winning ticket. You know what? After such a wonderful evening, I’m inclined to believe her, too.