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WHAT I LEARNED AT BLOGHER I'm terrified of women. Well, that might be a little bit too much, but events of (roughly) 30 years ago still colour relationships with my own sex and maybe there's a reason why I've felt so damn comfortable in tech for the last 10+ plus years. Back-story: The seventh grade. I'd been hanging out with the same group of girls for a number of years as we'd all been in the same French immersion program. One day after we'd trooped up to the hill for lunch there was a pause and someone, I don't remember who, told me that the group didn't want me hanging around with them anymore. I think it's safe to say that this one event has coloured all of my friendships with women since then. There will come a day when I am discovered to be not worthy of friendship and asked to leave. Yes, this may seem overly dramatic and silly, but I think that what we experience during those formative school years will impact much of our lives. I'd been invited by the Mighty to come and hang out with the ladies pre-BlogHer and honestly the thought terrified me. Derek will attest that I was weepy and inconsolable for no apparent reason. Was it some imbalance with my Thyroid? In hindsight, not so much. Not even a little. I was convinced that I'd show up and be asked to leave. Fight or flight kicked in and I did what I excel at most – run away. It got so far that I called Maggie to bail on my hotel reservation. I would show up, do my presentation and high tail it for safer ground. Thank you, Maggie for putting a stop to that silliness. To the ladies, I apologize. BlogHer was great. I met some wonderful women (Alice, Eden, Gayla, Leah, Jen and Melissa), got to hang out with old friends (Andrea, Heather and Lori) and be reminded of how wonderfully creative and strong women are. My favourite moment came during the Saturday's Welcome session. When the music failed, the audience spontaneously began to sing the Beatles “All you need is love.” “There's nothing you can do that can't be done. Nothing you can sing that can't be sung. Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game It's easy.” I think that pretty much sums it up. See you in Chicago. 08/ 1/2006
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