The bathrobes here at the Westin in Columbus are very nice. Sadly, I know this because I didn’t get much sleep my first night at the BlogPaws (pet blogger conference). I tried. Goodness knows I tried, but a couple of things conspired against me.
A. Even though I’m an extrovert, this is more human contact than I am used to … as work-at-home girl. So, I was pretty amped up from last night’s opening event.
B. While having a quiet lunch after arrival Friday afternoon, I noticed a large wedding party gearing up for a big weekend. How’d I know? Well, this longtime wedding writer saw all the tell-tale signs … Gals with fresh hair color (very, very blonde). Gals sporting fake-bake tans. Gals sporting cocktail dresses and silver spiked heels at three in the afternoon. Anyway, it seems some of the groomsmen and/or male friends of the couple are on my floor. Suffice it to say that their late/early arrival from a night of carousing was NOT a quiet one.
C. Dogs. Barking dogs. I’m so excited and jealous of the conference attendees who got to bring their dogs. (More on that later.) But, one nearby in the hotel got spooked a few times overnight by noises (including the fellas coming in for the night) and barked. Not a lot, but just enough that any time I got close to dozing off … well, you get the idea.
So, the clock on the table said 3 am, then 4 am, then 5 am … and finally around 5:30 am, I gave up and got up.
This I ask: SEND ME SOME MOJO so that I can get through the day.
Just one picture from last night, and then I need to get ready for today’s first event.
Meet Lacy — She was the demo dog at last night’s VIP party to preview the launch of Puppy Tweets. I’ll write more about the gadget, set to release for real in July 2010, but Lacy was wearing a prototype of the collar tag that will monitor a dog’s activity (sort of) and then use a database of possible options to Tweet the dog’s mood, activity or whatever on Twitter.
Lacy is a doll, and she is actually looking for a home. So, if you know anyone …
Really must begin my day. I’ll try to post more later. Hope you’re having a good weekend.
Hope you’ve gotten some rest! Looking forward to hearing more about your experience.
Oh, I hope you had better sleep the rest of the weekend! Can’t wait to hear what you learned, Roxanne!
Indeed, Kerri. I slept a whopping 3-4 hours each night while I was away. I honestly don’t know how people who travel a lot do it. I just cannot sleep when I’m away. I fall asleep OK at first, but if anything wakes me up, I’m toast.
Just now (Sunday night/Monday morning), I got more sleep in one stretch than I have since last Wednesday. I have a LOT of catching up to do, but I feel better already.
XO
I had no idea that you were bunking with the wedding party! First, an extra small room…then noisy hall mates. They should have given you more than a $5 coupon!
It was great fun…there was just not enough time to meet everyone.
Nah. I’m a light sleeper anyway, and it gets worse when I’m away from home. Any normal person would have just gone back to sleep. It was so nice to meet you and get to hang out so much (especially Sunday). Thanks so much for being a new pal to me and Lilly.
Oh, we could have had a slumber party. I had a hard time sleeping that first night too. I was just on overload, and excited to be speaking the next day. Saturday night, I slept like a baby.
BlogPaws was such a wonderful event. I’m shy, but felt so comfortable being around all of these animal-friendly folks.
I also loved seeing the dogs at the conference. And it was a joy to meet you in person!
I’m glad you felt so included, Michele. It’s something I personally work hard at when I attend events. Thanks so much for your kind words. It was so nice to see you throughout the event, especially Sunday. After a couple days with the full group, I found it so nice to have a more close-knit day on Sunday as a final experience.
I had no idea that you were an accomplished wedding writer, much less one with a New York Times byline! Very cool.
How have the presentations been so far?
I will try to call you sometime Monday, Susan, so that we can catch up. XO
Really? Oh, gosh yes. For 6 years, I was the Vows columnist for The Denver Post … finding, attending, and writing about about 24 weddings every year. That led to some work for The New York Times as well. Some actual Vows pieces, and a few Field Notes pieces (that talk about various wedding trends). Many of those links are in the writing samples section of my main site … http://www.RoxanneHawn.com
Sorry to hear you didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night. Sending energizing vibes your way!
Sounds like a really neat conference. Looking forward to hearing more about it.
Thanks, Lisa. I survived on all the vibes folks sent. Then came home and slept 12 straight hours. Still tired, but it’s getting better.
Slept in RV city for the Siberian Husky Nationals. Somehow, the howling of Siberian Huskies lets me drift off to sleep.
Enjoy the show. I had not even heard of it until earlier this week. Not sure where I have been.
Thanks, DK. The word is that the conference may be in Denver next year. We joke that I could send Tom on a biking trip to MOAB and a bunch of people could bunk here, but, honestly, I think being onsite at a nearby hotel may be important to the experience. I’m exhausted. Have some GREAT new ideas for the blog, though. :o)