Day One Breakout Sessions/Swag Orgy

The morning started at 8:00, with a breakfast for "newbies." The BlogHer co-founders spoke about the conference and answered questions about breakout sessions and other logistical issues. The Expo Hall opened at 10:00, and it was like the scene from Willy Wonka when he opens the door to the chocolate room and all the kids and parents step inside, dumbfounded. I wandered around a bit, stopping to have my picture taken with everyone's favorite explorer. I saw that Shine on Yahoo! had a booth, so I inquired about taking part in an on-camera interview. There were quite a few people ahead of me, and I didn't want to miss the first breakout session, so I left the Expo Hall. That place was like a black hole: It sucks you in, and you lose all sense of time and place.

The first breakout session I chose was "Making Your Passion Work For You." The panelists spoke about finding your own passion and then providing a service that could solve an existing problem. They encouraged the audience to find mentors. Most successful people are eager to help and happy to give back. The message seemed to be: Don't be afraid to approach these people! This seems to be a hang-up for me, so I will have to work on it.

I left that session when they started to talk about business plans and how to obtain insurance coverage when you quit your job. I checked out the writing lab. It was a packed room and I didn't feel like standing in the back. I moved on to the job lab, found a seat on the floor, and listened for about 10 minutes while the panel spoke about resume writing. Another strike-out. So I headed back to the Expo Hall for more fabulous swag and shameless self-promotion. Back to the Yahoo Shine booth, where I had inquired earlier about sharing my story of transformation on camera.

First, I was escorted to hair and make-up. The make-up artist spruced me up. She worked on my eyes, cheeks, and lips, and did her best to minimize my dark circles and shiny t-zone. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day. The techie guy hooked me up with a mic and I was up. The interview lasted no more than 10 minutes. The woman who interviewed me looked like a cross between Sophia Vergara and Penelope Cruz. I think I did a pretty good job on camera. I wasn't nervous, I spoke slowly and clearly, and...well, I'll post the final edit tomorrow so you can judge for yourself.

With my newfound smoky eyes, I continued to explore the Expo Hall. I wanted to grab the Todd Parr-designed placemats that I had seen everyone carrying around in their swag bags. I headed over to the Stouffers booth. Imagine my surprise when I saw the man himself sitting at the table! Todd Parr is a rock star in my house. I did the Wayne's World "I'm not worthy" bow and began gushing. I mean, I was really laying it on thick. I told him how much Daniel loves his books, and Todd started working on a personalized drawing for him. I continued to gush, thanking him for the work he does (I may have talked about Daniel saying "Why is he crying?" when he looks at the picture of the boy with the dropped ice cream cone -- I'm not sure because I was definitely babbling, like a tween at a Justin Bieber autograph signing). I walked away, on cloud 9, and then immediately started kicking myself for failing to have my photo taken with Todd Parr. So, like a stalker, I went back and waited patiently for another 15 minutes while he finished up with some other people. The man could not have been nicer or more gracious.

After lunch, I checked out two different breakout sessions: Giving Advice in the Blogosphere and Bringing Sexy Back to Branding. Good information from both, but the draw of swag was too great. I have become a total swag whore. Don't ask me how I'm going to get it all home. Back to the Expo Hall, this time up to the second floor. The Hillshire Farm "Sun" was there!!! Even more rad was the turkey sausage on a stick, wrapped in a pancake, that I ate while walking around. What??? The conference food was out of control.

It's the guy from the commercial...I swear!

The true highlight of the day came at 4:45, when we all gathered in the Grand Ballroom for the Voices of the Year honorees. Bloggers were honored in four categories: Life, Humor, Design, and Op/Ed. The speakers were wonderful -- funny, touching, and courageous. It may sound cliche, but I was totally inspired. Everyone's experiences were unique, but they all had something important to say. I guess that's why I blog. I feel like I have something to say (well, at least most of the time).

I'll leave you with one last image, which I was lucky enough to catch after a stroll around midtown brought me back to the Hilton. At the corner of 54th and 6th, New York let its freak flag fly. But where was Luigi?