Archive for the ‘Izea PPP PostieCon07 SocialSpark IZEAFest08 CloudShout’ Category

November 10 2007

Up early next morning to head out to PostieCon. Crystal spent her morning at the pool, sunbathing while I attended the all-day seminar. Again, I met more posties, more PPP (now Izea) people, listened to professional, successful bloggers and heard what the advertisers are looking for in the blogging world. The information was interesting and very well presented.

We stuck to the time schedule with a great emcee (Sean) and broke for lunch at 11:45. I grabbed our two lunches (which were very good by the way - thanks Izea) and drove back to the hotel to pick up Crystal so she could have the car for the afternoon to go shopping.

Yes, she had a successful shopping trip and I had a great afternoon back at the seminar.

I was sad to miss the fun of the cake plow at lunch time but wouldn’t have stuck my face in that pink and blue icing anyway! I’d much rather eat my cake from a plate - with a fork - and I did, later.

Crystal arrived to pick me up just as Ted and Pete were presenting the new ‘SocialSpark’ platform to us. Ted is so contagious - and I don’t mean in the ‘pink eye’ way and he had us all hyped in no time. SocialSpark sounds like it will benefit the posties and the advertisers and be much more user friendly as well as social. I can’t wait to get started…

Meanwhile, the Bloggers Choice Awards party at TAO was waiting, so we freshened up and changed into our party animal mode and grabbed a cab. Neither of us wanted a DUI! TAO was awesome, amazing, outstanding, fabulous, unique and the party Ted and the Izea team arranged and hosted was one ‘Rock Star’ event.

The bar was open from 6 to 9 and the food was arriving faster than I could eat. There were spring rolls, sushi, mini Kobe hamburgers, chicken and perhaps more. Crystal kept trying to get me to eat (isn’t she a good daughter?) but I was way too excited to meet and greet the partiers and ogle and goggle the surroundings.

The Bloggers Choice Awards were announced at 8:30 with a lot of hype and energy and much picture taking. We gave the Izea team the kudos they deserved and thanked them all for the fabulous weekend. They certainly know how to throw a party!

At 9 the bar changed over to cash - $6.00 bottled water and $8.00 Corona - yikes - this is THE place to party in Las Vegas! TAO was celebrating their 2 year anniversary and had a VIP guest list a mile long judging by the crowds of people surging in. I sure didn’t have to worry about being a little tipsy - there were bodies all around to hold me in place!

We found a great corner near the bar to hang out. Crystal and Britt danced for a while up on a raised area. We took photos and talked and partied hard.

TAO has a ‘make-out’ room with a gauzy curtain but I didn’t see anyone going in! The ladies bathrooms were another story - the girls were lined up for blocks to get into those decadent rooms with clear glass doors and walls which turn opaque when you lock the door from the inside. We asked Crystal to go first so we could watch from the bar to be sure they worked adequately - sure enough - it works - just!

Every 10 minutes or so, I sat down on the back of a black leather u-shaped sectional which was reserved (at $6,000.00 per unit) for Janet Jackson, or Mariah Carey or perhaps it was Paris Hilton, and the waiters kept asking me to stand up. Sure, I’d stand up until their backs were turned - my feet were hurting, my ears were aching and my eyeballs were bleeding.

We finally left, sometime after midnight and the people were still lined up to get in. We each contributed $10.00 and took a limo back to the Hard Rock. I watched Ted, Dan and one other guy who’s name I don’t remember, play Roulette - man that game is crazy!

7 of us met up in the restaurant to have breakfast around 2:30, and a few more laughs, then it was time to head back to our hotel. I was a little wobbly but managed to pack most of my stuff as I knew I wouldn’t feel up to it after only 4 hours of sleep…

Friday November 9 2007

At 7:15 a.m. the phone rang - the bell girl (a new one) needed our checked luggage tag number and claim number because Southwest could not locate our bags and perhaps they’d been sent back to Seattle. Now, Crystal was cranky and gave the girl an earful, then called Southwest and gave them a bad time. She made 10 phone calls over the next hour, trying to get answers and was finally told they would deliver our bags within 2 to 4 hours. By this time it was 9 a.m. We couldn’t wait 2 to 4 hours - we had things to do, people to meet and no clean clothes, no makeup, hair products… so we got the car and drove back to the airport and located our bags with no problem, much to our relief .

Back at the hotel, we were still grumbling about the confusion, the incompetence and stupidity of the bell girl, so I phoned the assistant manager who was new on duty. He returned my call and I explained our dissatisfaction and that we’d taken matters into our own hands and picked up the luggage. Of course he apologised and offered us a lunch voucher or show tickets. I said yes to the lunch voucher then told him I was sure he was making good on the cost of the ‘taxi’ trips there and back as well. He said he’d leave an envelope at the concierge desk for us. Things were looking up again!

We drove to the Hilton Convention Center and walked around all the booths at BlogWorld Expo. It was interesting, but not nearly as ‘big’ as I expected. We visited the PostieCon booth and met some of the ‘peeps’, picked up freebies everywhere we went and had fun. It’s all about making your own fun - if you are prepared to have a good time, you will. We waited until 4 for the Ipod draw at the AOL booth but were not lucky.

The plan was to meet up with some of the posties at Caramel in Bellagio but we were late and missed them. Apparently they were all standing around outside the bar near the slot machines by the time we arrived and I didn’t see them. We enjoyed a drink in the bar, talking to the bartender, and the cocktail waitress who made me feel like a 12 year old flat chested geek. I wanted what she had and couldn’t help ogling!

We then drove to the MGM Grand to see the Cirque de Soleil show KA. Crystal and I both thought it was fabulous, but apparently in the opinion of the cocktail waitress it is one of those shows you will either love or hate. The acrobatics, acting, wall climbing skills, vertical stage, costumes and props were amazing even if the story line was a little lame. The ’starfish’ costume and character was darling and the rotating wheel acrobat (with no safety harness) has to be seen to be believed. He scared me!

We were home in bed by 1 a.m. - an early night!

Thursday November 8 2007

What a crazy day! Crystal and I left home at 1:30 this afternoon to head for our flight to Las Vegas via the Sea Tac airport in Seattle. We had a few errand stops along the way and traffic was very heavy through downtown Seattle and arrived at the airport around 6 pm.

As we walked through the terminal to our gate for our 8 pm flight, Crystal noticed another Southwest flight boarding and stopped to ask if there was room on the plane for us. The ticketing agent said their policy is to not make changes on our type of flight (the cheap seats) BUT, since the fog was rolling in and there happened to be a few extra seats she’d make an exception. YES!

We boarded the flight, pleased to know we’d arrive 3 1/2 hours early and not have a stop in Reno. Our luggage wouldn’t arrive with us, but we planned to pick it up later. The flight was smooth, the beer was cold and I discovered Ritz Crackers makes chips - how smart is that? You know how they cut Ritz crackers in nice little circles - what do you think happens to the left over dough? Someone at Ritz decided to make chips out it - and 6 bags of them are yummy for dinner!

I sat by a very interesting young man from Seattle and we talked most of the trip. He said he had been in Iraq and Afghanistan so I assumed he was military. I asked him about the Afghanistan outdoor markets and the temperatures. He said how beautiful the mountainous regions of Afghanistan are as they are the base of the Himalayas. It sounded to me as though he enjoyed the country but there were many parts of his job which perhaps were difficult - and which he couldn’t share. He showed me his gold coin with his unit number, team name and motto. At first I thought it was a challenge coin and that he was giving it to me, but no, he wanted it back! He said he had something he could give me though and dug through his wallet until he found a Central Bank of Iraq 1000 Dinairs bill and a Da Afghanistan Bank 500 Afghanis bill, which were taken from the pockets of ‘bad guys’. Nice young man - and I thanked him for his service and for giving me the freedom to enjoy living and traveling in our fabulous ‘free world’. Freedom is NOT free - he and his family give up much for the rest of us. Could YOU work in 130 - 140 degrees? Nope, me either. In Texas, I found it too hot to even sit outside in 112 degrees and watch Kent work!

We arrived in Las Vegas and discovered Southwest would have our luggage delivered for $21.00 which we were to pay to the bell desk at the hotel. Good news!

After waiting in line 40 minutes at Dollar Car Rental, I found the amount I paid for the car rental in the Southwest package deal wasn’t such a deal after all. Taxes and fees and adding Crystal as a second driver doubled the price. No, I hadn’t read the fine print… Grrrrrr….. that made me cranky and I was still grumbling when the girl in the car lot took our ticket and started leading us and another couple to the ‘economy’ cars. She thought I was giving her a hard time and I said no, we’d just had a bad experience inside at the desk.

Crystal was just about to say, “Oh, can we have that PT Cruiser?” when the other customer said, “I WANT that PT Cruiser”. Okay, fine, whatever… just give us a car. As the attendant started to look around for another one for us, Crystal jokingly said, “We could take that blue car!” The girl paused for a moment then said, “Sure, go ahead”. YES!!! A blue convertible Sebring - okay now the night was looking up. Sayonara airport and luggage, we had serious cruising of the Strip and partying in our future. With the top down we headed to the Stratosphere, looking at the bright lights and congratulating ourselves on our turn of fortune. Of course we were texting Mr Fab to find out where he and the other posties were partying!

I checked us in while Crystal waited in the car and I also went to the bell desk to let them know our bags would arrive between 1 and 2 am and said the airline told me to leave $21.00 to cover the delivery charge. The bell girl - a really nasty, grunge rocker type young woman with dirty fingernails said, ‘No - there’s no charge’. Okay, whatever - more good news! We arranged to pick up our bags when we returned from our night on the town.

We drove to the Imperial Palace where Tricia, Chris, Colleen, Mr. Fab and a few others were partying at the Carnaval Club. We met them all in person for the very first time - and it was cool as we all ‘knew’ each other through our blogging friendships. We took tons of pictures - well, Chris took about 400 and the rest of us took a few. Everyone was hamming it up and having fun with Mr Fab and his feather boa. The band was too loud for me, but they played good music and we partied until 2 am then Crystal, Chris, Tricia and I went to Denny’s for breakfast. Chris and Tricia traveled from Toronto on only 2 hours sleep so they were very tired by this time and before our food arrived Chris had to leave to find his way home to bed. We walked Tricia back to the hotel when we were done. Crystal and I found our car and went to the hotel.

We fully expected to find our luggage waiting at the bell desk, but instead, we were greeted with bad news. The delivery driver wouldn’t leave the luggage as there was no $21.00 and the bell girl let him take it back to the airport. DUH, I asked if she could have called the manager perhaps to ask for some money or advice. Nope - there was no one she could call. Now, I was tired, tipsy and cranky and handed over the money to have her try again. She did not have change for my $25.00 and neither of us had a one dollar bill, so she asked us to go to the cashier - at the opposide side of the building. I ran out of patience and good will at this point, grabbed Crystal and headed to find someone with a little more authority to help us.

Crystal and I work great as a team. We joked a bit with the two guys at the registration desk before letting them have it with our long involved story of woe. Crystal has a way of getting guys to do just about anything she wants and the manager came out to talk to us. He said he’d get it worked out and we’d have our luggage at 6 am. It was now 3:50 a.m. and we were tired and ready to get to bed. I jokingly asked if he could perhaps upgrade us to a nice suite since we experienced such trauma. He said he’d see what he could do. OH!!!

By this time we were seated in a private room (I think it’s a soundproof room where they put potentially loud, obnoxious, drunk customers so they don’t cause a scene in front of other customers) and he had someone bring us bottled water. A few minutes later he came back and handed us a new set of door keys to an executive suite in the Premier Tower. He also handed me back my $15.00 ‘resort fee’ and said if we had any more trouble he’d be there until 8 a.m. and to call him. YES!!! A luxurious suite!

Ted Murphy is announcing the new ‘SocialSpark’ at PostieCon in Las Vegas - right now! It’s very exciting to be sitting here listening to the presentation - live!

We have heard blogging tips, information, success stories and advertisers opinions during this incredible day at PostieCon. The line-up of speakers for the sessions was perfectly balanced, making it a very productive, interesting learning experience.

Of course, there was lots of fun as well and terrific surprises of fabulous prizes given out throughout the day. Oh, I wanted to win a Roomba vaccuum so badly…