California Fever

BlogHer

For those of you who would have liked to attend the BlogHer conference in Chicago (today and tomorrow) but were unable to go, here's a list of the bloggers who will be liveblogging the various sessions  (And be sure to check the comments for additional livebloggers.)  If you're a Second Lifer, details on liveblogging in Second Life are here.  (I can barely keep up with my first life...)

And for those (like me) who've felt that some of the posts coming from BlogHer conferences in the past seemed awfully clique-y and exclusive (almost junior high-ish in tone) here's a post from Rita Arens reminding us that BlogHer is not exclusive--that we're all welcome and important contributors to this valuable organization for women bloggers. 

The Global Initiative for the first BlogHers Act has been announced this morning and it's Global Health.  I think I read that over 67,000 bloggers gave their input on what our first Global Initiative should be.  The idea is that for the next year, BlogHer members worldwide will focus on this issue and blog about it.  Many more details to come, I'm sure.

natural woman

BlogHer launched its new (beta) site on Monday.  BlogHer's site is not just for those who are attending (or have attended) the BlogHer conference.  Anyone can register and be a 'member' of BlogHer.  You can set up a profile, list your blog in the directory...and now, you can even post there.  Go to the site for more details.

Some of you will be heading off to Chicago for the BlogHer conference this week.  I'm most excited for Joy that she'll be able to attend this year, accompanying her daughter Jory, one of the founders of BlogHer. (They're both dear to me, even though I've never met them in person.) Whether or not you're attending BlogHer, I love ALL of the women I've come to know in the blogosphere.  In your honor, I give you a little "Natural Woman" as presented by Jeffrey's cousin, Linda Hornbuckle...

EDITED TO ADD:  I didn't make this clear, but I won't be going to Chicago.  I hope that those of you who will be attending have a great time!

Ten Seconds of Travel

Leave it to Pam to put a fabulous spin on BlogHer's "Ten-Second Me" meme that's floating around.  (Mine is here.)  Since Pam is not only a veteran traveler, but covers travel for BlogHer, she did "Ten Seconds of Travel."  This is a fun one.  Maybe you'd like to do this one, too.  If you do, leave a comment for Pam here.

• Crazy: The 36 hours I was up when I flew from S.F. to Frankfurt and then took about 3 trains to get to Geneva.
  
• Guilty Pleasure:  St. Thomas - I used to feel just the tiniest bit guilty that we got to live there.
• Romantic:  The vacation we just took.  J (being a musician who'd just come off a named tour) said we needed a name for our trip, so I dubbed it the "Rekindling the Romance Tour"...and it did.  ;)
• Surreal:  The exhibitionist transvestite who kept removing his skirt during a choral performance in Geneva.
• Good clean fun:  Game 1 of the '86 World Series at Shea Stadium with a sportswriter friend.  Having grown up around baseball (it was my Dad's sport), it was pretty cool to be at a World Series game in N.Y.
• Lives up to the hype:  Magens Bay, St. Thomas - I used to walk it every day after work and swim there on weekends.  (sigh)  Even though many cruise ship visitors go there, it's truly a wonderful beach.  (I know this is supposed to be about travel and not residency...but living there felt a bit like being on vacation all the time.)
• Planning:  Trying to figure out how we can get away for even 2 or 3 days of camping this summer.
• Scheming:  Still dream of taking a road trip across the U.S.
• Never leave home without:  transistor radio and earplugs - I'm an old-school insomniac.
• Always forget:  at least one toiletry item
• Travel companion:  Jeffrey, of course!  ;)
• Most life changing:  2 months of (mostly solo) travel in Europe
• Gave up:  Camping on the beach in Ensenada in just a sleeping bag.  I was 18 and traveling with 2 girlfriends.  I woke with about 35 mosquito bites on my face and neck.
• Favorite airport:  PDX - I don't know why--maybe because I said so many goodbyes to Jeffrey there.  (You'd think that would make it my least favorite.)
• Gear lust:  a good digital camera and a video camera
• Destination lust:  Archer City, TX to see Larry McMurtry's Booked Up
• Home:  Davis, CA (for right now)...but Crescent City, CA will always be home.

BlogMe2007

Ten-Second Me

Whether or not you're attending the BlogHer conference in Chicago next week (I'm not), you're invited to participate in "blogme2007."  Simply introduce yourself in 10 seconds.  You can read about it and find the instructions here.  You can leave your Ten-Second Me in the comments at BlogHer or on your own blog.  Here's mine:

I've been everything from a television producer to a motel maid and plenty in between.  Right now I work as a registrar at a junior high where I also do a lot of activities work with the kids (which is not part of my job description).  But that's just about a paycheck.  Who am I really?  A blogger, Twitterer, sometime poet, Darfur activist, MySpacer, occasional writer, loyal friend, cheerleader for anyone pursuing their dreams, loving mate, devoted Aunt.  I'm a Luddite at heart who loves the hierarchy-flattening power of blogging.  I'm not religious, but have a church.  People who know me in 'real' life would tell you I'm a sarcastic smart-ass.  I love Albert Brooks, my 30-year-old Schwinn, road trips, transistor radios, backroads, clotheslines and summer.

blogme2007