Last night I met Andrew Dean Nystrom for the first time after months of sporadic emails and YM chat sessions. ADN is the author of several Lonely Planet guidebooks including my fave playground, Las Vegas. His other books include LP Bolivia, LP Lonely Planet South America on a Shoestring, and so much more. Heaps more. More than I want to look up ISBNs for and code up.
We had some beers at the Pacific Coast Brewing Company in Oakland, and the only reason I mention this is because they have free wireless. Powerbook in purse, we tested it and it was lovely. Very fast.
We talked some shop, but kept it minimal. Andrew is a grounded laid back guy with a great smile. He’s setting up a homebase in the Bay Area, so I’m sure I’ll get to hang out with him again. His girlfriend, Morgan, also writes and worked on the Bolivia book with him, and I can’t wait to meet her next. They frequently travel together and I was definitely jealous. It’s one type of travel I’ve been looking forward to doing for some time now. The only chance I had at it was 11 years ago, and I passed it up to do Bike-Aid. Speaking of bicycling across country, Andrew is a Bike-Aid alum as well.
Afterwards, another new friend of mine asked if my meeting with Andrew was social or business. I didn’t quite know how to respond. It seems like so many people that I meet these days come from some kind of internet connection. Whether they’re WR readers, BootsnAll members, Sand in My Bra fans, or just found me through a Google search. I don’t quite know how to classify it.
Is there a word? Maybe I’ll call it webworking.
Anyway, thanks for the hello, Andrew. And for all the leads that have come prior and since. Now, get to updating your Laughtears blog more often! Chop. Chop.