The sad fact of the matter is that I don’t have two hundred dollars to spend on airfare (or the fortitude or desire to drive eight-plus hours); three hundred for conference registration, plus maybe another hundred to two hundred for food, drink, entertainment.
I have that to spend on rebuilding our backyard fence, or having our basement scraped and painted, or even, maybe, rebuilding the porch railings. But I don’t have it to spend on Blogher. Sorry, guys. Even with Poppy’s kind and generous offer to provide me lodging, I can’t justify it.
So here is my compensation: how many of you East Coast/MidAtlantic/New England bloggers would be interested in trying to cobble together a weekend like the one Blackbird and I planned last May in Bethlehem? I am not wedded to Bethlehem, but I will say it is a cute little town with good restaurants, fun shopping, at least one wonderful thrift shop, and lots of fairly cheap hotels. (There MUST be a Marriott, wherever we wind up.) (And I would consider a roommate this time, since I feel as if I know you all a bit better by this time. Just in case, I will have the cooler with me, though – so watch your step...)
There won’t be presentations on how to pimp your blog or attract advertisers or pump up your site hits; there would be lots and lots of talk, laughter, and hanging out snarking about other people’s blogs – you know, the people who DON’T show up. Oh, and chocolate (and alcohol, for those who are not gestating).
I was thinking maybe a weekend in late September, or early October, before the holiday insanity hits but after the kiddos have returned to school.
Any takers? Thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.?
You can comment here, or email me at babelbabe (at) comcast.net
Come on, you know you wanna...
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I gave Blackbird this little box's twin before we left Bethlehem; I had picked them up in a little gift shop when I decided we needed souvenirs. It made me think of that first night when, a leetle inebriated and breathless with laughter, we saw The Star. And one of us gasped through our hysteria, "Well, Jesus Christ, we ARE in Bethlehem!"
I LOVE Blackbird, and you all going to Blogher will, too.
I envy you all.
Have a wonderful time, and lots of laughter, and don't snark my blog too badly, ok?
10 comments:
I'll be the jealous one sitting at home.
It sounds like fun.
Part of me really wants to go to Blogher and part of me is glad that I can't afford it because it sounds kind of intimidating and (shhh) kind of dull.
I'm only going because it doesn't involve plane fare. And because Blackbird is going, and she put all kinds of peer pressure on me to go to the panels. I expect the official conference-y part of it to suck. But the after hours part should be great. I'm sorry you won't be joining us--I even own a refrigerator, so no cooler would have been needed!
Your blog is safe with me.
Me, the Queen Of Peer Pressure.
Can't you all just move to Texas? It would make my life SO much easier.
(P.S. Liking The Dark is Rising much better now that I'm further into it.)
Hey!
I'll be at the Sheraton in Atlantic Beach late September while Dale is there for work.
Y'all come meet me there and we'll have some fun in the Carolina sun!
Badger, I don't mean to rain on your parade (get it???) but you'd have a much, much better chance of talking us into moving to Texas if you'd stop telling us how shitty the weather is there.
I'd love to go to Blogher - in my mind. In real life, I don't have the bucks either, but really, I'd be way too intimidated to go and I'd be afraid I'd be in my room alone with no one wanting to talk to me.
OMG, I'm really just a day removed from high school.
However, a small East Coast gathering sounds cool. I think I could manage it. After August.
Alas, all my vacation days are spoken for until the clock says 2008. HOWEVER, I am going with some other librarians to the National Book Festival in Wash, DC the weekend of Sept 28-29. I already have it justified by my boss as "work" time, so if I had drinks with some fellow bloggees, it would be like a free ride!
And Poppy had me snorting and cackling about Badger's comments about the weather...
It's MUCH more fun meeting other bloggers who you already 'know'. I've done that several times and it's always been a success. The one bigger meet wasn't as good (a certain 'someone' who knows who she is - Pea Soup - couldn't make it) as there were a lot of people who didn't read each other's blogs, but I was still glad I went. Bloggers seem to be generally nice people.
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