JulieLeung.com: a life told in tidepools

I enjoy discovering the person behind the posts and meeting bloggers face to face. It’s the reason why I go to BloggerCon. Here’s a list of some of the faces I saw and friends I made over the weekend….

Friday night’s dinner at Ming’s was a great time for me to see others I’d wanted to meet for a while. As people began to arrive, Enoch Choi and I chatted with Ken Novak. I was glad to meet Dori Smith. I had been reading her posts ever since Anita Rowland last year mentioned Backup Brain as another couple who blogs.

Over hors d-oevres I talked with Jay Rosen. We wondered about the surprising results of the election and the mysterious content of the dumplings. At BloggerCon II I had met Ross Rader. Kim came with him this time and it was fun to meet her too (thanks Joey!)

During dinner, Susan Mernit and I sat at a table together and caught up on some of the things we haven’t blogged. Generous guy and new parent Roland Tanglao sat on my other side and it was good to finally meet him too (next time I told him to bring Richard along with him!). Niall Kennedy was also at our table.

I had a good discussion with Don Park about emotional life. Claude Muncey and I talked about my session too. On the way out the door, I tapped Doc Searls on the shoulder and introduced myself.

Showing up the next morning at breakfast, I greeted Lisa Williams, my host at BC II who had come across the country for BC III. I met our Stanford host Lauren Gelman. Susan Kitchens and I connected. Almost immediately we began to talk about what we do and don’t put on our blogs.

The sessions themselves allowed me to meet Gene Becker who posted some fun photos (one that includes a piece of me). Robert Scoble sat in front of me with a camera and a big box of Channel 9 guys. Shimon Rura and I have friends in common but at BC III we finally met officially.

At lunch I said hi to Mary Hodder. I learned that it was good to be a friend of Don Park’s. Or maybe it was just good to wear a skirt to BloggerCon. The tables were packed and I simply planned to find a place to sit on the brick. However, Don noticed I was wearing a skirt and he generously offered me his seat. So I found myself sharing lunch with Steve Gillmor and Niall. Later Doc snapped a couple pictures of me to add to his collection of great shots from BloggerCon (cool documentation!).

After the conference ended, I spied Aaron Swartz. I don’t know how often he meets a fanatic thirtysomething homeschooling mom of three who says she’ll someday send her children to ask for his autograph. Thanks for putting up with me, Aaron, and take a look here and see how our girls are hoping to follow in your footsteps. 🙂

Dinner I hung out with Craig Cline and Crowd at California Cafe (I just liked the alliteration there!). Frank Paynter came too – looks like he had fun later on Sunday riding a Segway. The dinner was yummy and fun.

Afterwards Enoch and I hung out with a group, first at one bar, then another. Renee Blodgett and someone who knew Ted from PyCon (Robert?) were seated next to me at the first place. So was Bob Wyman. Susan Kitchens and Gerry Humphrey were fun companions too. Soon it was Sunday!

The time was busy and filled. I realized though that I didn’t get to meet everyone I had hoped. I apologize. I learned that next time I should make a list and try harder to track down others. I was a bit distracted by preparing for my session and I hoped I would find people after the conference had ended, but it seemed that we suddenly dispersed before dinner. Next time I will make a list.

I learned that standing near Dave Winer at the end of a conference is a great way to meet people. It was good to see Dave again, although, since he lives in Seattle right now, it also seemed a bit strange to travel hundreds of miles to meet in Palo Alto. But it’s always fun to see Dave at BloggerCon.

Although Enoch has been a friend of mine for probably fifteen years or so, since early college, I don’t think we have seen a lot of each other or our families in the past decade. He invited me to stay at their home. Sharing the BloggerCon III experience together, including leading discussions, was fun. I’m grateful for his friendship through the years and for the ways he and Tania have encouraged me in my blogging, but also in my relationships and in my faith. After all, I believe that is what blogging is about: making connections that change the core of who you are and how you live.