What I Did At Blissdom Canada '11

I just got back from Blissdom Canada '11 last night, and it exhausted me. I sat down to watch some television while I spooned hello on the couch with my Onion, and I was unconscious by nine o'clock. It was a good kind of exhausted, though, being that it was born out of squishing as much goodness as I could out of the two days I had to spend with mah peeps.

I will keep this Blissdom Canada recap short on words for you, because my brain can only do pictures this morning. Sentencing is hard.

First, the Palinode and I arrived at our hotel in the lovely city of Toronto:


This is the view from our hotel room at the Hilton Toronto.

We partied at the CBC on Thursday night:


Barbara Jones and Catherine Connors worked the room.

We took a walk down Nostalgia Lane,


The Palinode waited patiently for me, which is one of his many talents.

where we saw Mr. Dressup's treehouse:


Mr. Dressup's treehouse!

I got to meet my long-time media crush, Nora Young, after Scarbiedoll dragged me over and stood me right next to her, because I am in grade six. I have no photo documentation of this, because I was trying to act really cool while I tried to breathe normally and not dribble my coke down my chin.

On Saturday, I spoke with Bon Stewart and Tanis Miller on the panel The Art And Science Of Finding Inspiration – And Using It. I also have no photo documentation on hand of this blessed event, but it is unforgettable for me.

Any time I have done public speaking in the past, I was so terrified that I had to sit on my own hands to hide my shaking, but this year? I'm not shy to say that I loved it. It was such an honour to speak with Tanis and Bon, and the session attendees filled the room with such warmth, and no one kicked me out when I got teary not once, not twice, but THREE times.

It means an incredible amount to me that I was given so much support when, while talking about things that matter so very much, my emotions got the better of me. If you were there, thank you!

And then it was Bon's turn to be a giant baby:


Fisher Price should make furniture for grown-ups.

On Saturday, I started my day next to one Kyran Pittman, which is nothing to sneeze at:


Kyran does bedhead right.

The Palinode took his turn at bat on the panel Take Your Craft to the Next Level with Karen Green and AngellaD:


The Palinode is a smartie.

A quote which came out of that session is one I could write a lot about, so I'm sticking it here to keep it around:

The story teller makes no choice. Soon you will not hear his voice.
His job is to shed light, and not to master.

     – "Terrapin Station", Grateful Dead

I fell in love with Catherine Jackson, who is brave and beautiful and wickedly smart with a spirit I cannot begin to tell you about. As I told the Palinode, I want to move to her city and make her be my best friend and hang out and listen to records and learn to smoke cigarettes together.


I hope she doesn't curse me for posting her photo.

Saturday night, I helped Bon finish orange-ing her hair for Blissdom Canada's traditional Halloween karaoke party. She makes a hot Annie Lennox:


Hot-cha-cha.

And here she joins Catherine Connors and the Palinode. I can't decide if the Palinode is a Catherine wannabe or Garth Algar:


Snort.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that New Kids On the Block's Jordan Knight was there, because he totally was:


From left to right and clockwise, we have Eric Alper, Alli Worthington, Jordan Knight, Catherine Connors, and Barbara Jones.

Mr. Knight even came into the party to karaoke with us:


I was never a screamy NKOTB fan, but this was some serious fun.

And then, I dragged myself back up to my hotel room and passed out, because I'm an old lady who finds fluffy hotel room beds more exciting than almost anything else after over-extending her introverted self all over a social media conference for two days.

And now that my What I Did At Blissdom Canada '11 slideshow is over, I'm going to spend some time snuggling up to my little kittens. This cat lady's got to get her some cuddles after three days away.

I'm Really Quite Terrible At Breathing Like A Normal Person

I feel like Goldie Hawn's character in Overboard when she's gone catatonic in a corner and her four so-called sons are busying themselves by throwing grapes at her mouth, only no one's actually throwing grapes at my mouth, and I'm hungry. Also, I'm not catatonic.



I think what I really mean is that I envy Goldie Hawn's character in Overboard, because she gets to be catatonic and have grapes, while I just get to be panicked about everything I have to get done in the next 36 hours while three cats stare on in bewilderment and refuse to learn how to serve me some damn dinner.



The Palinode and I leave for Blissdom Canada in Toronto on Thursday morning, and before then, I have to design eleventy skillion things, buy extra cat litter, make up extra litter boxes for the cats, launder all the clothes, pick up my coat where I left it at a friend's house, work up some speaking notes for my Blissdom Canada panel called The Art And Science Of Finding Inspiration – And Using It, read half a book, pack my suitcase, make it through a dentist appointment slated to be at least two hours long, and and and and and and and lots of other stuff.



Right now I am hiding out in bed, working from the padded safety of several blankets and three pillows, and I am reminding myself to please actually breathe like a normal person once in a while. I'm really quite terrible at it.

Luckily, my eyes have started to fail me. They won't focus anymore, and they keep registering what looks like sunspots when I look at stuff, so I am forced to stop staring at the computer for a while and actually go shower and find sustenance.

You know it's a great day when the early stages of blindness present a silver lining for you.



Here's to showering! And maybe a sandwich! Heave, ho!