Average Jane Prepares for BlogHer

So who’s going to the BlogHer Conference in San Francisco this year?

I went in 2005, 2006 and 2007, so you’d think I’d be all organized and ready to go already, even though the event is more than a week away. Ha!

The one thing I’ve done is purchased some jeans that actually fit. I thought it would be nice to be able to think about something other than my waistband while mingling with the 999 other attendees this year. I’m trying very hard not to think about what size those jeans were. The new exercise regimen begins when I get back from SF.

Next on my list is business cards. I made some rather cool ones last year, then turned around and changed my e-mail address almost immediately. Of course, this year I’ll want to include my Twitter ID, so I would have had to update them anyway.

My idea is to make 3" x 5" cards featuring a variety of different recipes I’ve already published here. I’ll set them up like a postcards with my blog and contact information on one side and a recipe on the other. It’s going to be a challenge because I don’t have much in the way of page layout software anymore.

The pre-conference guide has good packing ideas. I wouldn’t have thought of bringing one of my reusable water bottles. On the other hand, there’s that intimidating "prepare your personal pitch" thing. I’ve never been one for elevator speeches, but I’ll do my best to think of something halfway decent before I meet anyone new.

I think I’m going sans laptop again this year. I hate carrying the thing around all day, and I think it’s more important for me to meet and talk to people than to breathlessly update the world about what I’m doing each day. Besides, I’ll have the BlackBerry and Twitter for that.

This year’s conference is shaping up to be a really great one: parties, book signings, great sessions, and lots of opportunities to reconnect with all the people I’ve met at previous conferences. Nine days and counting down…