BlogHer09: Lessons learned

1. Amtrak FTW. I actually don’t find Chicago traffic too intimidating (I’ve driven and parked on the street in Manhattan, folks–the cabbies there are more aggressive by a power of about 150) but what I do find intimidating is paying $50 a night for parking. Thanks but no.

2. Somehow I thought that staying in a hotel for several nights in a row would allow me to catch up on sleep. Ha. Ha HA.

3. It’s been written and tweeted exhaustively but some of the greediness was mortifying. You wouldn’t want your child to go to a birthday party just for the goodie bag, would you? Or complain if he didn’t get a bag? Ick. I tried to follow Monica‘s wise strategy of only taking swag that was small and useful. I ended up with about half a shopping bag full of toys and toiletries. The kids were more than thrilled and I won’t have to buy any deodorant until next spring.

4. Those who weren’t there were sorely missed. Those who weren’t there, but sent their head on a stick in their place, enjoyed many photo ops.

5. I’m sick to death of discussing and reading about the FTC and reviews and sponsors and all that. Let’s blog with integrity, please, and if I never have to talk about why again, that would be fab.

6. I will try to recap the sessions in more depth later, if anyone is interested, but I enjoyed many of them and came away with a renewed sense of confidence about why blogging matters to me, and that however I do it (as long as it is with integrity) is right.

7. That said, my other realization was that I’d like to narrow the focus here a bit–to what, I don’t yet know–while also giving myself permission to stray from that when it’s warranted I feel like it.

8. Binkytowne makes a delightful roommate and I’m still eating the Chessmen and honey wheat pretzels she provided. (Julie‘s right, there’s never enough food.)

9. Wait until I tell you about how I parallel-parked a car without using my hands. Leighann has video.

10. Holy iPhone lust. But I did get lots of interest in my itsy bitsy teeny weeny laptop. And it worked just as I wanted it to.

11. Five nights away from home was one too many. Maybe two.

Thanks to the staff and organizers and to the many people I met for the first time and the many people I had the pleasure of re-connecting with or just, you know, drinkin’ with. It is way too late at night for me to link you all, but you know I would if I could. Cross my heart. Because, as Christina said from the bathtub at the CheeseburgHer fiesta (and reiterated in her excellent wrap-up post), you–those who were there, and those who were there in spirit–are what it’s all about.