* One of the interesting/surreal things that I experienced at Blogher that I didn't write about in my post on the subject (because, seriously, HOW LONG COULD IT BE?) was the level of connectedness there. And by connectedness, I mean, to electronic devices and the internet (when you could get a connection, that is). Initially, it struck me as almost surreal. I come from a background of mostly [boring-ass] conferences where everyone faces front and uh, takes notes. On paper. At Blogher, it seemed that no matter WHAT was happening up front, EVERYONE was on iphones or laptops. Or both.
* I have never seen so many iphones in one place. Seriously. Apple should sponsor Blogher because Bloggers? Are sponsoring Apple.
* I should have had a shirt made that said, 'Technical Din-o-SAUR' because, there I was, Twittering from my cell phone. That, uh, FLIPS OPEN. OMFG.
* It struck me that this was just a complete social norm for this group and that these super-connecters had totally FOUND THEIR TRIBE. It must be a TOTAL DRAG to have that inclination and to be in a crowd of people who would find this behavior odd or out of the ordinary. It was interesting to me, and made me wish that I'd purchased a Blackberry before I went.
* I am, and have always been, a MAD DOODLER. Grade school, high school, college, grad school, conferences, meetings, ET CETERA. Any materials that we've been given have inevitably been COVERED in doodles, drawings, designs. Depending on the peer group in the setting, this behavior is: 1) completely acceptable and shared by most of the other participants or 2) makes me look like a complete asshole who is not paying attention.
* I totally AM, though. Paying attention, I mean. I'm not a complete asshole. You'll just have to trust me on that one.
* I started a book on the plane about a kid who is bullied for his whole young life and then shoots up his school.
* Having worked with kids for a long time, I have seen my fair share of the range of bullying behaviors to which some kids are subjected.
* I can unequivocally say that (for me, personally) if my child was being (for real) bullied in school, I wouldn't take a New York Hot Fucking Second before yanking her out to homeschool. Not that I think that she'd shoot up a school or anything. In fact, I think that the profile of a real school shooter would be a bit different than the one painted in this (fictional) account. I'm just saying, I know how difficult the situation can be and how difficult it is for the adults in charge to actually effect change. If you or your child was ever bullied, you have my UTMOST empathy because the whole situation sucks, Sucks, SUCKS.
* After re-reading, I seem to have [careened out of control] veered away from the FUN and drifted solidly toward the ISH, in regards to the Facts in this post.
* So, let me make it up to you. Here's a fun fact about my days as a waitress (more of a story, really):
One time, I was walking into a PACKED dining room with a giant tray of food hoisted onto my shoulder and a plate in my other hand. A rookie waitress came into the kitchen through the out door and caught the side of my tray, tipping it off balance. THE WHOLE ENTIRE MESS came CRASHING to the ground, right outside the kitchen, in front of the whole dining room. I turned and bolted into the way back, to compose myself (I swear, doing that is like being in a CAR ACCIDENT, that's how shaky you get). After it was all fixed and things were calm, the [smart-ass] cook called me over and here was our conversation:
SAC: 'TNG, can I ask you a question?'
Me: 'Sure.'
SAC: 'You had a loaded tray, right?'
Me: 'Right.'
SAC: 'And you had a plate in your other hand, right?'
Me: 'Riiight.'
SAC: 'So, what happened to the plate in your other hand when you dropped the tray?'
Me: '------?'
SAC: 'I mean, did you just say, 'Aw, fuck it,' and throw it onto the heap?'
Have a great weekend!
