Laura Lohr

Not Just an Alliteration

BlogHer 2012—My Thoughts and Critiques

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We got back from our trip to BlogHer and our Tour d’East Coast two weeks ago now. It was an exciting adventure and like any fabulous vacation, I am glad to be home, sweet home, savoring the memories. The BlogHer conference was a letdown this year; I am very disappointed to say. It was disorganized. It was chaotic. It was crowded. It was stressful.

The Bad:

1. They had over 5,000 attendees and that was way too many! The New York City Hilton was completely unprepared and unable to accommodate this many people. I was at BlogHer two years ago, with 2,000 less attendees and the cracks were beginning to show back then. Thankfully, we did not stay at the Hilton. I understand there was a 15 minute wait (and more) for the elevators during peak times. Yikes!

2. There was a stampede of pushing and shoving at the Martha Stewart lunch the first day. People were stuck on the escalators and could not get off. There were so many people on the upper level, where the food was served. It did not feel safe at all. I nearly had an anxiety attack and I was not the only one. I did not talk to anyone that had a different experience that day.

Here is the only surviving photo of the Martha Stewart luncheon. Somehow, I managed to delete every single, last photo from my DSLR camera before it backed up to the Cloud or my computer. EVERY ONE!

But, THANKFULLY, my friend Danielle of SimmWorks Family Blog saved the day and sent me some of her. I am totally appreciative! Thank you! Thank you!

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Here is Martha tweeting about us. 🙂

3. At the Katie Couric luncheon the following day, I was looking for a place to sit, but every single table I went to sit down at, one person was “reserving” the nine other chairs at the table. I finally sat down and held my ground at an EMPTY chair. I was tired of caring if people had saved seats for people that had not bothered to plan ahead to get a seat before I got there. I think saving a seat for one or two people is fine. More than two people? That really is unfair. This particular person I have been following on Twitter for some time now and she is a lovely, genuine, sweet person. I think the crowds brought out the worst in a lot of people. It was tense. Once her friends arrived, however, I felt like we left on good terms. (By the way, I still think this person is a very lovely person!)

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I am maybe ten feet away from Katie Couric. I thought she was great! She has some serious arm muscles too! Man!

4. The expo was so disjointed. Rooms with brands here. Rooms with brands there. It was completely different from last year. It was difficult to locate the brands I wanted to connect with. There was not a flow. Also, from what I understand, there was some bad behavior from other bloggers that completely had some brands totally turned off. I found that some of the brands were a little more willing to give away swag than to discuss relationships. Last year seemed a lot easier to make connections.

The Good:

1. I got to hang out with some of my very favorite people and meet some new friends along the way! It was wonderful to spend time with some of my friends I had met years ago and we get to see each other once a year at the conference.

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2. I went to a lot of really fun parties with a lot of fabulous people. It was so much fun! I have to blog about the Harley Davidson party, the Land’s End party, the California Dreaming party and The Odd Life of Timothy Green premiere that Allie and Mr. Bear went to. There were so many incredible experiences, they all deserve their own post!

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3. New York City was fantastic, as always! The city was bustling and full of energy all day and night. It was awesome to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, just the three of us. Mr. Bear and Allie spent the two days I was at the conference roaming around the city. They went to a tour of the NBC studio, to the Empire State Building, to the Natural History Museum and wandered aimlessly through Central Park. Allie had a blast playing on the playground, while Mr. Bear had a leisure chat with the other dads with their kiddos. The last day in New York, we took in a Broadway show together. I have always wanted to do this! Mary Poppins was a great show. I have so many posts to write! We had a blast.

4. This was the first time Allie was in New York City with us, outside the womb. (See my post about this!) It was exciting to be in Times Square with her. She was so in awe of everything going on around her.

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Allie and Crystal—This is the bear she convinced Mr. Bear she MUST have because all of her stuffed animals were at home. In her defense, Crystal went everywhere we did.

Before BlogHer New York 2012

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We arrived in New York City an hour and a half after our scheduled arrival time. We left the blue skies, sunshine, dry air and cool breezes of San Diego, in exchange for thunderstorms, rain, humidity (OH GAWD, the humidity!) and numerous flight delays to get to New York. We had all the ingredients for disaster along the way. We knew we had to get there to have the fun, however.

Sometimes, the adventure is in the journey, rather than the destination, right?

After two crying babies, seats that would not recline (while the seats in front of us reclined right into our belly buttons) and a plane that circled La Guardia for two solid hours before touching terra firma, I was ecstatic to have my two feet firmly planted on the ground. I was beyond thrilled to be in the Big Apple with the family.

Our Town Car was awaiting us at the airport. We had a deal through Living Social to $20 from La Guardia to Midtown and it worked out perfectly. Of course, there was an accident near La Guardia and the entire bridge was closed, nonetheless, our competent driver took us another route, over the Queensboro Bridge and through Queens.
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We entered a neighborhood that I recognized. In an instant, I was overcome with gratitude. I was sitting next to Allison, driving through Queens, New York. The last time I was in Queens with Allison, she was in utero, in 2005 and we were in big trouble. Mr. Bear and I were on our way to Paris, France following a week-long stay in New York. While at JFK Airport and six months pregnant, I realized I was bleeding heavily. I was terrified I was losing my baby. The paramedics came and took me to Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York, in the middle of the night. After a thorough evaluation and a clean bill of health, the head of OB/GYN cleared us to have a great time in Paris and sent us with the cell phone, e-mail, and home address of two of his colleagues in France if we were to have trouble again.

It brought tears to my eyes to see my healthy, happy, beautiful daughter staring out the window at the same hospital I feared I would lose her at, nearly seven years later. Life is a beautiful thing. I felt so much appreciation for the beautiful moment. Seven years ago, the future was so uncertain. Today, I hold her tiny hand, recognizing how truly fortunate I am to know her—my little New York miracle—my heart outside my body. I presume it takes dramatic experiences in life to fully appreciate how precious life really is.

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Me, in 2005, about 5 months pregnant

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Mr. Bear and I in front of Radio City Music Hall in 2005. I was about 5 months pregnant

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Me, in 2005, relaxing in Central Park. I was on modified bed rest, so I had to rest and relax every hour or so.

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New York 2012

We arrived at our hotel in New York City after dark and enjoyed some appetizers at the bar downstairs. Mr. Bear and Allie were ticketed for the Empire State Building. Instead, they decided to push the adventure out a few days. I made my way to the Hilton, where I met up with a good friend and called it a night.

Thursday morning, we made the trek to Battery Park, with all the other tourists from all over the world, to take the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty and to Ellis Island. Although it was not the first time I had seen the Statue of Liberty, it was my first time at Liberty Island. Mr. Bear and I took the Circle Line tour back in 2005 and I caught my first visual of Lady Liberty. This time I was in awe of how incredible a sight she really is! Ellis Island got me emotional, as I attempted to comprehend what it must have been like to come through the port to be evaluated and to have someone determine your fate, depending on if you were fit to immigrate. The stories of families that were separated, potentially never to be reunited again, left me humbled, speechless, and grateful. I could not imagine what that must have been like for the thousands upon thousands of human beings that were processed like cattle through the station.

It was wonderful to spend the day with Mr. Bear and Allison. Allie was a trooper throughout the whole day. There was one moment of meltdown, where the humidity was getting to her. She was complaining and crabby, so I did what any parent would do and doused her with a bottle of water. She snapped out of it and we had no other complaints the rest of the day.

Allie at the Statue of Liberty

Allie and Mommy at the Statue of Liberty

Allie and Daddy at the Statue of Liberty

We had an amazing time and made some amazing memories. Stay tuned for the rest of the Lohr Vacation Extravaganza 2012!

A New Chapter. New Opportunities.

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A little less than two years ago, I went to a pre-BlogHer meet-up with other local San Diego bloggers. I was nervous about going to the meet-up. I was nervous about my first time at BlogHer. I had been blogging for more than five years at that point and had few meet-ups with friends I had met online. For me, meeting people from online “friendships” was still a bit taboo. What if these people were creeps? What if they thought I was a creep? My anxiety was running high. I bribed Mr. Bear to come with me to the meet-up. I was afraid I might need him to rescue me.

Mr. Bear was reluctant to go. He had a long day at work and coming to this “blogging thing” was not something he really wanted to do. He was on the fence about blogging. He was not quite sure why I was so mesmerized by putting my whole life on display, nonetheless, he supported me because it made me happy. Happy wife, happy life, as the saying goes.

Hours later, I had made many friendships. I met many women I felt I had a connection with and those friendships have blossomed throughout the past two years. Mr. Bear never had to rescue me that night. In fact, he practically had to drag me away. Furthermore, the results of that meet-up and the blogging opportunities that followed changed his mind completely about this “blogging thing.”

Months after BlogHer, a friend I had met at the BlogHer meet-up posted on Twitter about a part-time opportunity at the publishing company she works for. I applied for the position. I got the position. It was only supposed to be a part-time, temporary position for three months. I have been there for over 18 months now. It was surreal! I got my first job since I became a mom on Twitter. It was awesome!

Next week, this opportunity will end. I was well aware when I got hired that this position could end at any time. With budgets, my own skill limitations, my time constraints with wanting to be at home when Allie gets out of school, and numerous other hurdles that could arise—this opportunity could be 3 months or 6 months, but likely not forever.

In the past 18 months, I have learned so many new things. I knew very little about marketing. I knew very little about publishing. I knew very little in many areas that I now know significantly more about. I have had a lot of things happen personally during that time, including health issues and various other challenges. I have learned many skills in balance and planning, as being a working mom has had its own share of obstacles. I have loved these experiences, by virtue of the growth I have seen in my life professionally and personally. I enjoyed my job and the people I have worked with. I have loved learning new things and developing new skills. When you want to market your websites or business, it is better to ask SEO firms and experts from North Gold Coast.

We leave for New York City and BlogHer next month. I know that new opportunities await with the networking I will do. Sure, BlogHer is parties, swag, and fun, however I will never approach another conference or meet-up the same again. There are friends to meet, connections to make, and grand possibilities ahead. It is all about the people. You never know what these fabulous experiences may offer. Two years later, I have many friendships from BlogHer 10 and the pre-BlogHer meet-up.

I walk away from this chance meet-up with a multitude of blessings: friends, job opportunities, new skills, a discretionary income, and no regrets. While I am sad to see this chapter end, I know in my heart there is something new on the horizon and I am anxious to see what is waiting for me.

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