Letter B

Holy F-in Hell That Was Fun

I don't even know where to start. BlogHer was amazing in many ways - the best one being that it was just a whole hell of a lot of fun. We're still in Chicago (technically now in Evanston at my aunt's place) so I haven't really had a chance to sit down and digest it all but I really want to at least give some idea of how awesome it was. Above all it was great to meet so many women that I have come to know and love through their writing. Especially Kyran, Feral, Bobita, Orange, JenB, and Jess. And then reuniting with my Cybergrrl cohorts Aliza and Nelly was really special. It made me really realize (again, a lesson I seem to forget over and over) how important it is to keep in touch with the people you value from your past lives. An extra-awesome experience was getting to know Kyran, whom I met virtually shortly before the conference and who is now a friend of the highest order. If you haven't checked out her writing at Notes To Self you absolutely must. And what can I say about my dear Feral? You may already know that she is one of the funniest writers on the Internets but did you know she is also cute as a button? No? Ha! I do.  (Please note that the toe is not as scary in real life). I also got to meet many new bloggers and learn about all sorts of cool things that are going on out there. I'll be putting together a list of cool blogs/projects later - after I have a second to go through the mountain of business cards I collected.

The break-out sessions that I attended were for the most part really good. The main exception was the State of the Momosphere session. Which in spite of a having a fabulous panel (Her Bad Mother's Catherine Conner, Lena Lotsay from Cheeky Lotus, and Chris Jordan of Notes From The Trenches -- smart and funny women all) got bogged down in both the-internet-is-like-high-school-/-junior-high whining and monitizing/advertising gobbeldy gook. I had low expectations for the session mainly because it seemed way too general a topic for any in-depth discussion and I would say the expectations were met. Which is too bad because Catherine Conner is about as smart as they come and I was ready to corner her for the rest of conference just to hear her spout brilliance in her lovely Toronto accent.

I think that the session that was the loveliest surprise was the It's Your Passion Not Your Size panel with Jen Lemen, Rachelle Mee-Chapman and Krystyn Heide. Basically it was about loving your blog and not your SiteMeter. It was nice to be in a panel where people talked about the joy of writing their stories and not how to brand your blog, monetize your blog or build your traffic. It was a nice reminder of why I started blogging in the first place and why my story is important even if I am just a drop in the big 'ol blogosphere.

And the session that was the most fun? By far? The Art of Crafts panel. It was a total positive-vibe love fest with a smart talented panel that that just happened to have Amy Sedaris doing color commentary. Moderated by Leah Petersen (OMG she said she liked my blog when I talked to her afterward and I nearly d-i-e-d) it was just fun and informative and full of hilarious moments. I wished very much that the mom session could have been like it. I am still not sure why one had such positive energy and the other was relatively negative and snippy (in my opinion, anyway). Maybe because that seems to be the general energy in the two subcultures. Craft bloggers are all so supportive of each other; there rarely ever seems to be any bad blood. And for whatever reason (feel free to speculate) the mommyblogging world does not seem to have this same esprit d'corps.

I can't even start about how fun the cocktail parties were, even if I couldn't partake in the cocktails. (Okay, I might have had a glass of the free wine). The only bummer was that I could not participate in the after-party late-night bonding sessions because I was just too damn worn out by the end of the day. Friday night I was pretty mopey about it in fact. But what are you going to do? Pregnancy has sucky moments like that. I am just glad that I was healthy enough to go. I will say that although the Navy Pier facilities were nice overall it was tough on the less-than able bodied due to the distance between the hotels and the conference site. The other bummer was that I could only stay one night. If I did it over again I would A. Not be pregnant B. Stay 2 nights at least C. Stay up all night with my homies. All good goals for next year.

I took a few pictures but my camera sucks so bad I don't know if I'll even post them. There are amazing photos on Flickr for anyone looking for good pics of the event. Overall the whole experience was incredible and I would go again in a heartbeat. Two of my biggest passions are writing and technology. Getting to spend 36+ hours talking and thinking about nothing else with smart, cool (and may I say red HOTT) women was a dream come true.

Ten Seconds Flat (Give Or Take A Few Minutes)

I have kept BlogHer posts to a minimum but I can stay silent no more because I am so f*cking excited to go. MochaMomma has come up with this nifty meme for introducing yourself before getting to Chicago and I thought I would do it since it was so easy and useful. That was 5 days ago. Let's just say I may have started to overthink it. (This is very typical of me, btw, and should be thought of as part of my introduction). Anyway, here goes:

I am from the midwest and have lived on both coasts and abroad. My list of interests and obsessions is endless and I am constantly adding more. I love learning new things. Until recently my career was in technology, which might seem strange for a poet and an English major, but I have a strong analytical side.  Currently I'm a stay at home mom. I have a 2 1/2 year old son and I am pregnant with a girl, due in October. I started my blog in late 2004 and it has helped me retain my sanity through some major life changes. Along with some heavy therapy. I cannot wait to meet you. 15 Random facts that could be a conversation starter:

I speak an obscure foreign language. If you're a linguist, you'll love me.
Wonderful memory for faces and trivia and not much else.
I am a big sports fan but not obsessive. But seriously, I can get into just about any sport.
Built my first website in 1996.
Kind of a wonk. Do love to talk policy. Used to watch the Sunday shows obsessively but weaning myself.
Love crafts but rarely find the time to really do them. Trying to change this.
No one that I know would describe me as shy. They don't know that my extroverted behavior is all an act.
Technically, I've been married twice.
Some people might say I am a crazy dog person. I think I am completely normal.
I am extremely close with my sister. Now she is a crazy dog person.
Surfing is the closest thing to nirvana I have ever experienced. I wish I could do it every day.
I once hitchhiked over 1000 miles.
Survivor of the Silicon Alley boom. Got some good stories out of it even if all my options went down the drain.
My husband and I are both poets.
Plagued by perfectionism. But I will fix that!

The Home Team

Last week was our fourth wedding anniversary. As we were privy to free babysitting from Bubbie, we decided to go away for the night. Where did we go, in this state riddled with opportunities for romantic getaways? Cooperstown, of course. It was the All-Star Break after all, where else were we going to get our fix if not at the Baseball Hall of Fame? And you know, marriage is a lot like baseball. Oh wait, no it isn't.

Matthew is a huge baseball fan and I am one as well, although somewhat less so as I don't use the second person plural "we" when I am talking about my team. And actually I don't really have a team anymore. As a wee lass we lived on the North Side of Chicago so it was all about the Cubs. (Much to the everlasting chagrin of my South Sider White Sox-fan father). My first baseball games were at Wrigley Field and that leaves a lasting imprint on a girl. I still love the Cubbies. In middle school and high school I lived in Cincinnati, and let me tell you, there is no bigger baseball town on this planet. They are just f*cking crazy there. They actually give kids Opening Day off school (or at least did when I lived there) because it is a huge municipal holiday. My sister and I used to go to Reds games after school and sit in the nosebleeds. We'd eat the frozen malts in a cup and laugh at the businessmen getting sh*tfaced on Hudy Delight. Oh, and watch the game. My favorite player in those days was Davy Concepcion. He was an awesome shortstop and, as my mother pointed out, had the best ass in baseball. These days though, I couldn't care less about the Reds. Sad but true. No emotional connection other than deep affection for  Ken Griffey Jr. Fast-forward through my dissolute young adulthood where I was very busy being a slacker. I lived in San Francisco for awhile after college and never even saw the Giants play once. Then I moved to Europe and my only connection to the game was to explain American-English baseball analogies to puzzled friends. When I moved back to the States for good I decided that I was going to move to New York City. This was in 1996, which was excellent timing. I watched the 1996 World Series and fell deeply in love with the Yankees (again, much to the chagrin of my father who I think hung up the phone to rend his garments when I told him). I mean, that team was special. But, after moving to the city I also fell in love with the Mets. It was difficult, since that is a special kind of verboten love here. I still don't go around advertising this fact. But I do love them both. In the 2000 Subway Series I rooted for the Mets. Except when Paul O'Neill was batting for the Yankees. (It's not easy being me). This is the long way of explaining that while I do not have just one team I still love to follow baseball. And I am always happy in the postseason because there is usually one or two teams I like. Matthew is the complete opposite. He has one team, and one team only. The Oakland A's. He follows every freaking inning all summer long. And he gets his heart broken come postseason every year. Poor guy.

So the decision to go to Cooperstown was an easy one and let me tell you, it was awesome. I pretty much like any museum, I'm a museum/library/archive-whore, but this one really is special if you love baseball. And if you love a baseball lover, it is especially fun. Matthew's face lit up at each vitrine. It was heaven.

But I really didn't mean this post to be about baseball. I meant it to be about our anniversary. And about how much I love my husband. Sometimes I have a hard time writing about it (thus the long digression). It's very hard to convey the happiness we have without it somehow sounding less than it is. All I can say is that I married the best friend I ever had. Even before we started "dating" (i.e. having sex) we would spend as much time as we could with each other because we had such a good time. Now we get to live in the same house and make human beings together. Sometimes I have existential moments where I look at him, say, when he's sitting on the livingroom couch or doing the dishes, and for a moment I see him as he truly is. All the daily crap falls away and there stands the love of my life, shining bright under the ceiling fan. It always makes me get teary. And then sometimes I'll let my mind go down all those roads not taken and play the "what if?" game. I'll go over all the things that I let slip away or opportunities missed but at the end I always come down to few regrets. Because every road, no matter how stupid or painful, led to him and our life now. And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Unsweet

I had to take the long glucose screening yesterday to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. This involved fasting for 12 hours, getting my blood drawn and then drinking a foul, glucose-laden soda. (Hey, I just found out it's called "Glucola", thanks WebMD!) After that I had my blood drawn every hour for 3 hours. That added up to about 16 hours without a meal. Uh, yeah, not good. And what are the chances (on the east coast anyway) that in the throes of my hunger panic I might glimpse a gentleman wearing an In-N-Out t-shirt? They are tiiiiny, but that is what happened. Almost sent me right over the edge. Oh, sweet burger lust. I am hoping, like the last pregnancy, that the high level from the first test was a false positive. I really don't want to deal with gestational diabetes. It isn't the end of the world, but managing it is pretty stressful from what I've heard from friends who have had to deal with it. And I might freak out if I can't have caramel-cheese corn when I'm in Chicago. (This is an acquired taste, but trust me, it's f-ing good)

Have you been reading the daily momku over there --->? I am really enjoying writing them which is kind of a surprise. I expected it to become a grind very quickly but it hasn't. Helps that the material is endless. If you want to give any feedback I would love to hear it. I am assuming that people like it since nobody has dropped me from their Twitter lists yet. (Speaking of Twitter, I read this Clive Thompson article about it recently. Sums up nicely the attraction of something that seems so silly. I'll admit, I was mystified by why people would do it at first and now I am pretty damn hooked.) Thing is I don't know if anyone is even noticing the momku, let alone reading it, here on the blog. I figure it's good to have daily content here, even if it's just three lines, but it might not even be registering. Anyway, let me know what you think, if you so desire.

Updated to add: I got the results back from the lab today - normal! No GD. Off to get a celebratory chocolate malt.

Granny

Things have been a little sad around here. Matthew's grandmother, Evelyn, died last week. She was not well and it was expected but it is still a shock. You can never say goodbye enough. Matthew was very close to her and the last couple weeks while she has been failing have been hard for him. Matthew's mom is here for some grief therapy (i.e. Lowell immersion) and we are enjoying her visit immensely, however sad the occasion. Especially Lowell, who is getting drenched in love and attention. His two favorite things. Pretty much everybody's two favorite things.

Damn you HBO, I Don't Want To Give Cablevision Any More Of My Money.

Do you know what fuses almost instantly and inextricably to a crocs sandal sole? Gum. Do you know what fuses almost instantly and inextricably to soft, hot gum? Wood chips. Guess what I stepped in at the playground? I just spent 20 minutes trying to pick off a plank of plastered wood chips from my shoe with limited success. There was a lovely grape aroma at least.

I think that we may finally have to get HBO. The Sopranos never got me to shell out the dough. Ditto Sex In The City or Curb Your Enthusiasm although I have loved them all. And even though I surf (in theory, not so much this summer) I am not that interested in John from Cincinnati, which I hear is pretty good. What is finally sending me over the edge into premium cable land is Flight of The Conchords. I watched the first episode online a couple weeks back and I am 100% hooked. I need it. I must have it. I can't wait for the DVD. It's hard to describe but it's so funny it makes me wet my pants (not a huge feat these days, but still). Basically these two New Zealanders are trying to make it as a band in NYC. That's really the only premise. They often break into song. I am embedding an example for you below, even though that makes me HBO's toadie. Oh, but it's so good. I must spread the goodness.

P.S. : Even if the clip looks like it's loading, just press the play button to start.