Panic! Joy!

Those two words pretty much sum up the BlogHer experience for me. From the drive to the conferences and the cocktail parties, it was all panic and joy.

The first panic was the drive--wondering exactly what I'd gotten into, committing to a fourteen hour round trip with a virtual stranger (and I know Karen was wondering the exact same thing). That is quite a leap of faith, and I think we were both overjoyed to find that instead of awkward, uncomfortable silences, we talked so much that we lost all track of the exits we were supposed to watch for. Thus, our joy in finding a kindred spirit was nicely balanced by the panic that were were lost somewhere in the wilds of Michigan, destined for a bad end before we'd even braved Gary, Indiana which , according to our rental guy, is the murder capital of America and should be avoided at all costs. I'd like to think that he was concerned for our safety, but I suspect that he just didn't want anything bad to happen to the car. Then we realized that MapQuest is just the internet's version of a practical joke, chucked the exits in favour of following the big sign that said "Chicago" and we were back to joy.

Until we got there, and realized that we were driving aimlessly around Chicago without a clue as to where we were or how to get to where we were going. Then we saw the sign for the South Side YMCA and panicked a wee bit. I don't know anything about the South Side of Chicago except what's been portrayed in the media--which frankly makes me think it might not be the best place for a couple of displace Canadians to wander about, lost and confused--but I did know that we wouldn't find the W there. That was the panic--which, as navigator, I quietly kept to myself. The joy was realizing that my default navigational choice--hereafter known as the Big Building Navigational Method--was totally effective. Seriously. You may scoff, but by just aiming for the big buildings, Karen and I managed to end up downtown.

Which meant we were there. At BlogHer. So then I panicked about that for a little bit because while Karen was incredibly generous with the introductions, the last thing I wanted to be was a glommer. The joy of BlogHer, however, is that it is nearly impossible to be a glommer--Everyone was kind and welcoming and just so happy to be a part of something that we all understood that the lines were blurred, the cliques were opened, and everyone was free to be a part of the party. And if that's not joy, I don't know what is.

Comments

I'm so envious. I keep checking out different blogs, and you're all talking about the BlogHer trip. Maybe I'll make it one year. :sigh:

Haha...so funny about driving towards the "big buildings." There's no shame in that! When I lived in Baltimore and I got lost somewhere in the city, that was TOTALLY my preferred method of navigation. Drive toward the skyline and you'll make it home! I'm also glad you found your way in Chicago...isn't it gorgeous? It's one of my favorite cities!

I think the big building theory is a totally reasonable way of navigating. I was reading about these folks who were stranded in the country, and they followed telephone wires (choosing the thicker bundle at each intersection) to get back into town!