The stage was set for the Costa Rica Bash.  I was all packed and ready to go.  In fact, I even made plans with some webmasters before I got there.  Internext was my first show so I was somewhat familiar with a few people, but not many.  The tension mounted as I entered the plane, awaiting the adventure that was about to befall me. 

A webmaster convention is an odd being.  It lives, it breathes, and it can make you or break you.  Somewhere, sometime, some genius decided that business would be best conducted under the influence of alcohol.  Only when the heavy hand of intoxication falls onto your shoulder can you really show “them” what you’re made of.

Who are they?  They’re adult webmasters… we are.  We’re smart, funny, nice, savvy, sarcastic, tough, mean, rational, irrational, and sometimes cruel.  We’re a mass of different emotions and personalities and we’re often forced to move as one.  Onward, towards sexual freedom!

When a mass of adult webmasters gather, it’s hard to predict what will happen.  Luckily, a day into the convention, I realized that what was happening was a good thing.  Adult webmasters can turn a town upside down and on occasion, a country.  Yes, we turned Costa Rica upside down, inside out, and then we spun it around. 

Costa Rica was more than a business venture for me, and it was far more than a vacation.  The interaction I experienced with others on a personal level was something that I won’t soon forget.  It’s a simple concept, really:  gather 100 people with a common bond.  Put a language barrier between us (the web elite) and them (the natives).  What do you get?  Well, you get 100 people that are forced to talk to interact, one way or another.

Although it started out as a pretty intimidating situation, Costa Rica turned into a blast.  It’s hard for me to find my comfort zone, but with all the great people around me, I didn’t find it too difficult this time around.  I valued everything that I discovered on this trip and hope to keep the knowledge flowing (as well as the alcohol) for years to come!