Techcrunch- the fast summation

830pm Sunday-Late start heading out.  They didn’t have the SUV ready till after 6.  Most of our group ended up flying out- so it was just 3 of us.  Thought I heard we were going up for a week.  Packed 1 bag with just coats & shoes. Didn’t need 80% of what I brought.

2am Monday- Arrive to in the castro district of SF to hot boy & a massage.  Guys had to drive back down to San Jose.  Get some sleep before the con.

7am-Decided against a friends advice on wearing the 3 pairs of heels in my bag.  I understand demo girls are supposed to look all hot and tall but for chrissakes I’m 4’11… heels aren’t doing much for me.

745am- Major hiroshima.  Something clears my bank too early.  Had to make some phone calls.  Dropped off at the con.

8am-Registration for Tc50.  They didn’t get my info right on the badge (my friend’s partner’s name was on it).  Have to stand in line to get it fixed. 20 mins.  Kevin Rose was sitting on the wall next to the line.  On the other side, some guy in rollerblades.  Ah yes, welcome to San Francisco.

9am- Demo pit time.  Jeff is even more awesome in person.  Seriously I couldn’t have had it better.  He made an educational microblogging platform for teachers and students that protects privacy integrity and helps in the classroom.  I’m so glad I was able to help try and get a VC for a product I actually believed in.

11am- Get stopped and asked to visit someone’s booth in the demo pit.  Tell them I will tomorrow.

throughout the day- When I wasn’t helping Jeff I got to look at a lot of the other demos.  Jeff smokes so fast it’s like they’re flash paper cigarettes.  I think of that scene in Romy & Michelle.  “Twice the taste in half the time for the gal on the go..” Met some awesome people.

7pm?- VIP Party.  Oh so that’s where all the good food is.  Met some more awesome people.  Lots of sexual tension with one guy there.  Friend asked if I’d slept with the guy yet (no its not anyone in these pix.)

9pm- Looking for the Myspace party with Brooks and Joe.  It’s not in the best area.  My purse (Jimmy Hoffa) is full of schwag.  I tell them they need to be my bullet shield.  They tell me that I’m theirs.

11pm- Myspace VIP.  Ended up on Wired Image. Woman tells me I look like Jamie Lynn Presley.  I feel extremely flattered.

12am- Can’t find the crew to walk with me 1.5 blocks to a muni to go to my friends.  Call my friend Dan, who called my friend Chris.  By that time though I had already ended up getting a ride from a pair of wonderful strangers from SF.

1am- Massage. Sleep.

Day 2:

8am- Early day at the con.  Not in the demo pit today.  So got to walk around the whole time.  Met some more awesome people.

9am- See they misspelled my name on Wired Image.  Not enough time to correct it.  Also that the grip had written me a 2 page email last night.  Awww.

10am- Stopped by a woman to ask me where my shoes came from.  A few of the women loved them and wanted to know.  Awesome.

11am- Stop over and visit the demo booth I’d promised. Tried to win a kindle or an iphone.  Won neither.  Put my name in a drawing to win the iphone anyway.

3pm- Stop and check out Spellr.us (it spell checks your websites).  The words that came up in my blog on his demo made him blush.  “So.. these are some interesting words, what exactly do you blog about?”

throughout the day- Walking around a lot with the fabulous Wm. Marc Salsberry.  Met some awesome people.  Hung out a bit with my friend Dan.

7pm- Dinner with the LA crew.  Met some awesome people from SF and NY as well.  Tell a few people about my blog and some really personal info regarding a book I’m also writing.

730pm- Was snuck aside.  The most awesome cards from a bathroom ever.

8pm- Pitch Party at House of Shields.  Worst startup pitch you can think of in 50 seconds.  Winner gets 50 bux.  Also theres a booby prize- the Calscanis cup (a jock strap) & a mahalo hat signed by Calscanis for the most arrogant pitch.

815pm- I guess I accidently tweet instead of brightkited that I was there.  Someone I met at tc50 saw my tweet & was a few blocks away so he stopped in to say hello.  Um.. weird.

830pm- Someone I know on twitter and have talked to on ims is at the bar.  He’s MUCH shorter than he seemed in pictures and what not.  Suddenly everything makes sense now.

9pm- Party starts.  Friends from the LA crew came out: Andy, Mandy, and Oz.  Was crowded but alot of fun.

10pm- Winners announced.  Best/worst pitch… a site devoted to giving carbon credits for successful emo kids committing suicide.

1230am-  My friend realizes the parking garage closed at midnight.  He’d left his laptop in the trunk.  One more thing to worry about in the morning.  End up taking the muni back to his place.

130am- Massage. Sleep.

Day 3-

7am- Try to coordinate a ride to the REHAB party so I don’t have to carry my luggage into the con.  Friends are staying across the street.  Still doesn’t happen.

9am- Say my goodbyes to my friend.  End up cabbing it to the REHAB party for Mimosas and chat.  Met some very rad people.

10am- Limo service with Brooks to Tc50 courtesy of the Rubicon project.  Should’ve grabbed a schwag bag.  Had too much crap to carry as it was.

1pm- Found out I won that drawing.  I was given a $325 gift card to the Apple store for my iphone.  Fucking win.  I’m thinking about saving it and getting a lappy with it later.

130pm- See the grip had written me another email.  Aww.  And the angels are in the end season.  Rock on.   Someone sees me glowing.  Too bad for them.

215pm- Trying to track someone down for an interview with Techzulu.  Find him.  Can’t find the friend.

3pm- Watch them interview said person.  Spot McHammer.  Didn’t recognize him without the parachute pants.

330pm- Watch the social networking session set.  Social networking site for bird watchers?!  Wasn’t that at the pitch party last night?  Fall in love with Closet Couture.  Presentation for Causecast looked crisp.  Met an awesome gal.

530pm-  Make a few silly videos about an energy drink we all got.  Laughing hysterically.

7pm- Yahoo TC50 afterparty.  Yum Yahootinis.  Glowy blocks in the drinks.

730pm- Nunya.

830pm- Skip the Seesmic party and head home.

11pm- Lots of joking in the car. “Temptress stories!”  New nicknames.  “When you pee is it like a watergun or a supersoaker?” “What’s an upperdecker?”

230am- Weird text messages from a boy.  And yet he calls me the weird one? Um.

245am- Messages from the grip.  Tell him to call.  Signal sucks where we are.  Tell him to hurry up and phone sex me.  Phone signal dies instantly.  Lame.  Text messages.  So fucking adorable.

7am- Finally force myself to sleep after lots of naughty talk with the grip.

And that concludes a basic rundown of Techcrunch 50, minus the raves about all the details of the startups I’m excited about. More later.

2 days and still going like the energizer bunny..

It was supposed to be a semi normal day Friday, despite the holiday. After trips back and forth to LA, SD, and Bakersfield.. I thought the 4th was going to be relatively quiet. Things with the roommate skyrocketed into horrific. I was so ready to go to work already, but not wanting to deal with any drama.

No one wanted to be at work. It was extremely laid back, and for once.. everyone got along. My plans for the night afterward were initially to take refuge with a notebook and ride to some patch of grass.. look up at the stars and have some solace. It sounds a bit emo, but I can assure you, its not meant to sound it completely. I just have a lot on my mind sometimes and tend to disappear off the radar momentarily.

Thankfully, I have some amazing friends that are able to catch me before I completely become a blip. Family didn’t call. Friends did though.

“I’m not going to let you spend it alone. Let’s do what we can to figure out how to get you here, or I’ll grab you later anyway.”

Worth the drive. It means so much to me. Multiple friends.

I wasn’t supposed to get out early enough to go, but that changed. I was cleared from my boss and made the mad dash to get home and change. We left later than we’d intended. The traffic clogged up a bit as we neared our destination.

“And that is why everyone in LA should have a thing of bubbles in their car.. because you never know.. and what a fun way to pass the time…”

We were headed to the ocean.. my place of zen. Friends (nerds), ribs, booze, chatter, movies, video games… awesome.

“Are we going to actually go in the water or should I not even bother with my swimsuit?”

“I’m not sure but you can bring it if you want to.. it’s really up to you..”

It was among one of the first things packed.

“I already had it packed anyway from San Diego.. he wanted to hit the jacuzzi when I was there.”

My friend just smiled.

As it got closer to the fireworks, the convoy of us headed towards the beach. Dan was the fearless leader, with a tripod nearly as big as me pushed over one arm, and a backpack nearly as heavy.

I could smell the ocean and someone smoking djarums. Blew bubbles and skipped. A stranger gave me a black and I lit up. Ah, escape.. escape. And we weren’t even there yet.

The ocean called to me. It took me all of 20 minutes before curiousity got the best of me… I pulled Steve and Dan with me.

“I just want to find out how cold it is..”

Until sunset, I was in the water. The beach truck rolled in and everyone got out. We made robot firetruck boobs in the sand, and headed back towards the rest of the group. Fireworks from all over. Malibu, Santa Monica, Marina Del Ray..

“Over there is where all the rich people are.. all on their roofs, laughing at all us broke people with our crappy public displays…”

I’ve lived in California for nearly a decade. This was my first fourth on the beach… and there’s only one thing that was missing. Yet, I would look at the sky and dream… we are looking up at the same sky, even if we’re in different cities.. living our parallel lives… not knowing what the future will bring.. fate? One could only hope.

The moment is broken by pings. I put it on the back burner. It’s not time right now.. and who knows if it ever will be. A friend texts me last minute.

“Would you like to come out and cover the anime expo with me tmorrow for TechZulu?”

The future.. goes back to my roots. I’m going to be up all night in proactive mood. Ah the workaholic in me…

“Get some sleep so your eyes aren’t puffy tomorrow, and we’ll talk more”

Excitement. So many reasons. Doors opening… building blocks on relationships.. personal, professional.. friendships… steps forward.. steps back.. new experiences… more…

We packed up the rest of our things and headed back to Trina and Matt’s. Matt made this concotion affectionately called “the ritz.”

“Dare I even ask what’s in this or just drink it?”

We walked down memory lane a little bit. Matt showed us some of his stuff from film school. We talked about nerdy silly things. Played some Scene it… which, I might add, when playing with 2 film school graduates, is a bit.. intimidating to say the least.

Knowing that the day had to start early, we headed back for me to couch surf once again. My friends.. so very gracious to open their homes to me.

Awoke early to prepare for the long day ahead. A shower to wash away the sea. Singing “You Don’t Own Me..” Not a care in the world.

We went to the store for sustenence. I was thinking about making some seafood omlets.. still focused on those moments of zen yesterday. But opted instead for a breakfast burrito. Accompanied, of course, by some chai.

I put on some jazz and cooked. Sang and danced around.

“He hasn’t let me cook for him yet. One of these days though.. perhaps when we both have the time..”

And then the expo itself. Everything was a rush. My friend Trina of Gaming Angels ended up bringing me. It was my first anime con, and I was a bit nervous for no reason. I’ve always wanted to dress up and go to one, but hadn’t yet. And now I was going as press.

Finding Marc was crazy in itself. The con was massive. Rush was the norm though. Newsworthy.

I was fortunate enough to meet up with the folks from Girl Gamer. They are such great people. It’s funny in a way how small of a world it is. It seemed that all of us knew eachother before the meeting. Paralell constants.

I knew a few others that had mentioned that they were going to be there.. just barely missed on a friend who dressed as Jack Sparrow. The gaming journalist convoy… in addition to us, was also Coin-Op Tv, All Games, and if I’ve missed someone, I apologize. Let me know if you were there and I missed the link, I’ll gladly add it.

My day, however was dominated primarily with awesomes Girl Gamer and Marc of TechZulu.

The day was a complete success. Not for the fact that everything went as perfectly as planned, because with these things, it rarely ever does, which is half the thrill of it.. but because I firmly believe in the strength of the connections that were made there. It is one of my loves of the advent of social media. We have small worlds, but when we share passions.. I look forward to seeing how things go for everyone. Where their paths take them. I wish them good luck in their journeys… parallel.

There were smiles all around that day. It was an experience I am forever thankful to have had.

Pulled from place to place…

Taking pictures.

Interviews.

Near interviews.

Secrets.

Finding out about why people put so much devotion into the things they enjoy.

Logistics.

“Are you ok with all of this? This adventure?” Marc said.

and I turned to him and said..

“Are you kidding? This is what I live for…”

Travel.

Journalism.

Friendships.

Technology.

Business.

The ocean.

A camera.

A notebook.

Living at the edge of life.

Carpe Diem.

[And now to shower, get dim sum, and some more beach time before going back to hipster jesusville.. Pictures soon to come, and sidebar links updated later]