August 9, 2010

A Newbie Gets Her Feet Wet

I didn't sleep much at all on Thursday night. After my drink ordeal, I was a bit frazzled. I tried to go to sleep thinking about the Naked Cowboy instead of my social awkwardness. This photo marks what will probably be the first and last time Mr. BBM will ever ask me if I want to pose with a ripped guy in his undies (more pictures of this funny dude and my NYC adventures on my Flickr page here).

I woke up and told myself it was a new day and that the newbie breakfast would be my salvation. Plus, I didn't have to walk in alone. Somer was meeting me in the lobby. . . sweet relief (How do I not have a picture of me with Somer!?!?).

I was shocked to see an entire ballroom packed with newbies like myself. I felt so alone only hours before. Our table filled up with people and we started talking. I met Jonna, a cool NYC blogger, and we really hit it off. I could do this; I could actually meet people instead of trying to blend in with the wallpaper.

The keynote started and then Megan spotted me and we spent the break talking about kicking things (She's a muay thai martial artist). The coolest thing about her is that she didn't even blink when I asked if I could see her shins. There is one word that comes to mind when I think about hanging out with Megan, and it's probably not the word you imagine when you hear that she's a muay thai boxer. Megan, in a word: calming.

She washed over me like a BlogHer anti-anxiety medication and I realized that my BlogHer experience was entirely up to me. I took advantage of my new-found attitude and plugged along throughout the day.

I spent a ton of time in the Writing Lab, scribbling down notes with a pen and paper, shocking I know. Many people were toting around technology to take their notes, technology that my poor beat-up laptop (the one I left at home for fear it couldn't survive the trip) couldn't even dream about. I found inspiration from Rita in the Writing Lab session. My notepad practically reads like a Rita Arens monologue.

And then I was introduced to Faiqa. I left this weekend wondering how I could possibly not have read this woman's blog. That's her in the white, me in the middle, and we'll get to that other awesome lady soon enough.

Faiqa is one of those people you meet and you're just instantly friends. We spent our lunch break wandering around the sponsor floors, trying out comfy new Tempur-pedic beds and having an absolute blast. I heard about the free swag but I had absolutely no idea how many wonderful connections you could make, just by talking to the sponsors. For the local ladies in my hometown, if Black House/White Market moves into the local shops, you all owe me one. I will gladly accept your appreciation in the form of clothing and cute accessories.

And there's also this. . . That's me and children's book author Todd Parr. . .

Here I am with the Jimmy Dean "Sun". . . He really does radiate happiness.

And here I am on a cooking show with the Sun and celebrity chef Catherine Diorio (whose name I'm probably not spelling correctly). I had heard that when at BlogHer, you need to eat whenever you can, so I figured there was no better way to get my food intake and still have fun than by having "The Sun" cook for me.

At one point, Faiqa needed to go rest up for her Voices of the Year speaking role later in the day, so I became Wonder Woman. When in Rome. . .

After attending some afternoon sessions, it was time for a break. I was without the comfort of any familiar faces once again, so I decided I would sit myself down at a table alone and see what happened. What happened was Mrs. Smith and MollyinMinn. Newbies as well, we instantly hit it off, shared horror stories of the first day and about feeling like insignificant nothings, and exchanged cards. Thank God, two less "Black Belt Mama" pens I had to work into the suitcase to bring back home.

We listened to the Voices of the Year keynote and it made me want to be a better writer. It also made me laugh out loud, thanks to this guy. New goal for the blog and this year: have someone think I'm a "Voice of the Year" and work on raising my writing to that level.

For some, BlogHer was about hanging out and partying college-style with blogging friends they only get to see a couple times a year. For others, it was a platform on which to great crazy (and even naked, and no, that part is not a lie). For me, it was about stepping outside of my comfort zone to put myself in a position to become better at what I love to do. . . write.

Stay tuned for Saturday! It gets even better!