Last year, I was supposed to go to The Blathering, and at the last minute it didn’t work out. I spent the entire weekend feeling extremely jealous. 2012 was my YEAR. I was going to make it work.And I did! Jennie said it perfectly. Not every single moment was glorious. I spent many moments feeling completely overwhelmed. But I had so many more moments where my little internet circle came alive, and that was so wonderful.
(Any not-glorious moments were totally overshadowed by piles of powdered sugar covered donuts.)
What does this little homebody do in a moment of pre-dinner downtime? Exactly what I would do at home. Ah, Friends. You never fail me.
New Orleans was EXACTLY as I had pictured, beautiful and busy and such a huge contrast to suburban Orange County, like WOAH.
If I have any complaints about this weekend, it’s that it just wasn’t enough. I didn’t get enough time to talk to everyone that I wanted to. It wasn’t long enough to fully relax. I didn’t take enough pictures. And yet it was enough When my flight landed last night I was so restless in baggage claim, and then unable to sit still on the shuttle to the parking lot. I then made two wrong turns on the way home, a route I’ve driven a million times. I just needed to get home to my babies, who were still awake, but only just so. Everyone got bedtime snuggles, and it was all I could do to stay awake long enough to chat with my husband and try to tell stories from the weekend. (He was nice enough to laugh in the right places, but the idea of traveling 2000 miles to spend time with my internet ladies is so beyond him.)
I would love to be able to tell you about everyone I met, but I’m so afraid I’ll miss someone. It’s funny, because some people are quieter than you imagine, and some are more outgoing. Some had the audacity to change their hair since choosing a Twitter avatar, and some are exactly as I would have expected them. Special thanks to my roommate Carla, for being super awesome and for promising not to abandon me on the streets of New Orleans.
It was so great to meet everyone you this weekend. Charleston 2013, anyone?
Can I just copy and paste this to my blog?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I adored meeting you. The internet is magic, man.
I LOVED meeting you. I'm so glad you're one of the people I actually did spend some time with. So happy we both made this trip happen!
DeleteAwww, yay! I'm so glad you had a fun time. I definitely did not get to talk to you enough but every time I saw you I thought, "Oh! Megan! I need to talk to her! And...maybe admire her hair some more. Damn, that girl has nice hair."
ReplyDelete60 seems like a small group, and it IS, except I did exactly that with so many people. OH! I should talk to them. And yet, here I sit. At home. No ladies.
DeleteSo glad to meet you!
ReplyDeleteSo, you waited for me to walk away for a split second to take that pic with Carla and Jess, huh? I see how it is.
ReplyDelete:)
It was one of the few moments I remembered that I had a camera on my person.
DeleteHA! Aw, M. WE DIDN'T MEAN IT! (Also, I don't REMEMBER you walking away! Where did you go?! SNEAKY.)
DeleteThe only blogging gathering I've ever gone to was BlogHer when it was in Chicago a number of years ago. It really turned me off from blogging conferences, because there was such a feeling of "we are bloggers; hear us roar" and I was thinking, "you're just everyday people who happen to blog." =) Not sure whether the Blathering is just a big meet-up or something a lot more formalized, like BlogHer, but I'm glad you were able to enjoy yourself! (And my husband is just like yours - he nods his head like a good puppy, but is so over my blogging world, ha!).
ReplyDeleteYep, this is pretty much the exact opposite of BlogHer :)
DeleteI think you're so fabulous (and your hair is even better in person) and I'm so glad you had Carla! She's fabulous too. Until next year, right? (Or an impromptu S. California dinner in between, crossing my fingers.)
ReplyDeleteHow is it that we said so few words to each other all weekend?
DeleteI'm so glad I got to meet you! I really enjoyed talking with you on Friday night.
ReplyDeleteSame! All of this exactly. I'm glad we had a chance to chat for a bit, and I'm excited for you come January!
DeleteSo happy you got to come this year! It was great meeting you. Also, I would guess 80% of The Blathering rooms were watching Friends
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy we stumbled upon some of the same activities last weekend. It was lovely to meet you! You are just the sweetest.
ReplyDeleteI also aged 20 years since my Twitter avatar, so I am...sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteI have read so many wonderful recaps of the Blathering! it sounds fabulous. I went to the same BlogHer as Nilsa many moons ago, but I feel like I've really fallen off the blog/twitter/social media wagon recently and like I don't "deserve" to go to a conference for one. Incentive to blog more, perhaps? :)
ReplyDeleteI think the best thing about The Blathering is that there's no need to be BIG in social media. No one cares about your numbers of any of that, which is part of its appeal.
DeleteI'm so sad we weren't able to talk more this weekend, but I feel selfishly that I can at least rectify that with a quick drive up the coast if I need to. It was not enough time, for sure, for all the people and talks and things, but it sure was fun.
ReplyDeleteWe also watched Friends one afternoon, Saturday I think?? GOOD CHOICE :) It was great meeting you! I know we didn't chat much, but the little bit we did was lovely. I hope I can make it next year, and you too!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you come next year just so I can sit next to you at dinner and entertain you with all the various shades of red my face can be. HA. It was so great meeting you.
ReplyDeleteMegan, it was great meeting you. I was afraid I'd be intimidated by you (your hair! It shouldn't be legal to have hair that gorgeous!) but you're just so NICE in person. And soothing. I would have loved to have spent more time talking to you, and next year I hope I can!
ReplyDeleteWell that's high praise, Arwen. I'm so glad we were able to meet!
DeleteYou were absolutely the very, very best roommate I could have asked for. You're smart and funny and I feel like I can tell you all my secrets. Also, YOU SAVED OUR LIVES IN MCDONALDS. Who else can boast that their roommate SAVED THEIR LIFE? No one, that's who.
ReplyDeleteXO