This post is brought to you by Zoloft: taking the edge off of social anxiety, one dose at a time…
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!
A few weeks ago I was able to enjoy a plethora of firsts; my first time away from my [almost] two year old son, I popped my blogging conference cherry, and it was the first time I had been in a social/networking setting since my son was born. I knew my weekend was off to a great start as I [didn’t] cruised down I-95 from Philly to Baltimore.
I packed Friday morning, which is my version of advance preparation these days, and set off in my un-air conditioned car that afternoon. Knowing that I-95S would be a nightmare on a Friday, I decided to take Route 1, and enjoy the beautiful weather on the scenic drive. Fifteen minutes into my road trip, I was sitting in traffic (shockingly, EVERYONE else decided to take Route 1 to avoid the traffic on 95) with my fan blasting warm air throughout the car and asking myself questions such as: Why did I ever buy a black car?, Did I bring extra deodorant?, and Why didn’t I take any allergy medication?
The beauty of being a member of the non-commuting world is that I am rarely in a rush to get anywhere, so my traffic complications posed no real issues (except for the possibility of drowning in my own sweat). Traffic began to move, and soon I was driving down the highway with the sun roof open, NPR blasting on the radio (something about EPA and emissions testing regulations), and thoughts of a wonderful ME weekend ahead.
Having forgotten to take allergy meds, with a head full of cotton and eyelids slowly swelling closed, I decided to stop for an iced coffee to perk me up for the remainder of my drive into Baltimore. Finally relaxed and ready to take on the weekend, I pulled off of the highway and made a pit stop to grab an iced coffee. I got back onto the highway, and was rocking out to the radio, mushroom farm scent wafting through the air, wind blowing through my hair, and not a care in the world…until I noticed a familiar exit sign…20 minutes after I had gotten back on the highway; yes, I had driven for TWENTY minutes in the wrong direction! It’s hard to believe I used to navigate the streets of DC and Baltimore, especially since I got lost in the boondocks of Southeastern Pennsylvania!
I took this the FIRST time I passed this sign…
I finally arrived on campus, THREE HOURS after starting my trip (it should only be a two hour drive), grabbed my registration materials and headed downtown to meet my girlfriend for dinner. This is what I encountered:
An hour later, I was at my girlfriend’s house and we headed out for a relaxing dinner. We stayed up late chatting, so I needed an insane amount of coffee to kickstart my day:
I headed onto campus for breakfast, and bumped into a couple of bloggers I only knew virtually (SO cool to meet online friends in real life). We headed into the opening session and I KNEW it was going to be a great conference.
I laughed a lot, took a copious amount of notes, and gathered a wealth of information in an incredibly short period of time (head still exploding)! I think that I was most taken with the fact that I am not out here, on my own little island, doing what I’m doing; that there are so many other stay-at-home parents choosing to use their craft to work-at-home and be fulfilled both professionally and as a parent. Most of all, we can be successful by working with each other to share information and encourage each other to become better at what we do. The Blog University 2014 looked a little like this:
I learned A LOT…
Met up with some bloggers I only knew virutually…
Had some laughs…
Committed some gaffes…
And had an amazing, albeit sleep-deprived, weekend; I can’t wait to do it again next year!
The drive home proved to be adventurous as well, culminating in a wrong turn that took me over a bridge with an $8 toll (there wasn’t even a nice view from the bridge for $8 – total rip-off). Note to self: just take the major routes because you suck at back roads. Seriously, I need to get out more…
I had a similar experience with traffic coming up from DC. It should have been less than 2 hours but it was more like 4 1/2. But totally going again next year! Such fun and I learned so much!!
Kristi Campbell recently posted…8 ways to foster self compassion. Or, how not to be, or raise, an asshole.
I used to work in DC, and always made it a point to get out before 2:30pm on Fridays! I-95 on a Friday = mind-numbing insanity! Thanks for stopping by 🙂