They came from Washington and Texas just for this hug
I found out about Icrontic from UPSLynx (Bobby Miller), and I must say that at first it was all a little strange to me. A group of people who met on the internet, I mean…how close could they all really be? I heard story after story about the great times that were had at ICHQ. I was told of all the shenanigans, and the about the fabulous beer, and even still I wasn’t sold.
I signed up for the website, in hopes of catching even a glimpse at what I had heard all about. I was intimidated at first, because the amount of things going on. There were multiple forums going, and to be honest I didn’t understand even a small percentage of what they were talking about. I have never really owned a PC—I have never really even gamed all that much. So, I thought, “well I guess this community isn’t really up my alley.” But, Bobby wasn’t ready to give up yet. He kept pushing me. He told me, “You just have to meet these guys, that’s all it will take.” So I started following a few people on Twitter here and there, and started to relate some of the stories I heard to individuals. Slowly but surely I was beginning to connect dots. But I was still struggling to relate with the things happening on Icrontic.
Then it happened: Bobby came up to me at work and insisted I take a weekend off for ICOK09. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to get a weekend off, but I said I would try. My request was denied at first, but in the closing weeks leading up to the event, things at work change and I was given my vacation time. It was really happening, I was about to experience first hand, what I had heard about in so many stories on so many different occasions. When departure day I came, I must admit I was a bit nervous at first. I really didn’t know what I would have in common with everyone (minus the beer of course).
Throughout the course of the weekend I took several opportunities to sit back and really watch what was going on, and what I saw caught me by surprise. This wasn’t just a “Web Community.” This was a FAMILY. I was truly touched by the way people interacted with each other, as though seeing a brother or sister they hadn’t seen in months. Watching the excitement on people’s faces as Technocrat walked up the drive was just mind-blowing. A lost brother had returned home, and it just doesn’t get any better than that. When the end of the weekend came and it was time to go home, I was really sad that I had to leave. I felt like I had become part of the family, after only one event. I think I even started referring to ICHQ as home towards the end…
The reason I take the time to write all of this is because Icrontic truly has something special here. Anyone can say they have a great web community, but Icrontic has proven itself to be more than that. Great things are happening here and it’s not because of sheer luck. It’s because of the amount of love that is put into what goes on in the world of Icrontic, both on the web and in the flesh.
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