When I first discovered that there was a state called Idaho and that I would be moving there, I made a list of things I wanted to do before I left. On that list was meeting four bloggers. Three of them still live in the Houston area, so I made darn sure that I was going to see them on my trip. In fact, after I made the flight reservations, they were the first people I emailed.

It's always interesting meeting people that you've talked to online, especially when your online communication has gone on for a while. Sometimes they're exactly how you expected them to be and other times they are completely different. Usually, though, they're somewhere in between. They're a variation of what you're expecting, but you made odd connections in your mind. They're like someone that you know, or they're the antithesis of someone you know. Things you don't entirely see until you're face-to-face with them.

On Monday s Adrianne Truett in Austin. Adrianne and I have been visiting each other's blog for some time now. I even remember it before it was renamed - though neither of us can remember the previous name! The only thing that stopped me from suggesting a meeting before was that since she's protective of her identity that she might not be open to it, so it was a pleasure to finally get to meet her. The personal connection in my mind was that of that girl who was in honors classes in high school. I would really like to have gotten to know her cause she seemed like a really good conversationalist, but since she and I would have no classes in common I'd never get the opportunity. Question I forgot to ask: How she met Bob.

On Tuesday I met TP Milton at the Central Market. Apparently, back when I was a columnist at the Daily Cougar, TP was a regular reader. He had the good taste to think that I was a good columnist, so he had the quickest introduction-to-blogrolling transition in RAWbservations history. It didn't hurt that he was a fellow Kafka fan. TP very much reminds me of a lot of kids from the Honors College at UH. The kind I could have spent hours talking to after class about whatever it was that discussed during lecture. Especially on the subject of philosophy. It was people like him that helped me get so much out of the honors classes. Questions I forgot to ask: What kind of law he does and what brought him to UH.

And on Thursday I met Chris Elam in Sugarland. Chris is one of the most charismatic folks I've met in quite a while. I expected the charisma and the cleverness, but the part I found most interesting is how thoughtful he is. It's like finding out that the school's athlete has a 4.0 GPA and is foregoing Big State U. in favor of Princeton. I mean, you knew he was smart and had a vague idea that his grades were probably better than yours, but it's something you don't fully appreciate until you're in the midst of conversation. What I would love to know: Every last bit of his voter research data. Man could I have fun compiling a database with stats like that!

Now, if I can just find such fun and interesting bloggers up here, I'll be all set!