What I Want To Do Weekends, Part 7: The Ranch

Welcome to the last ever What I Want To Do Weekends weekend. (This does not ensure I will not change my mind between now and next weekend.) In case you missed the first few rounds of torture incredibly helpful comments, here's what happened:

Part 1: USA
Part 2: San Francisco
Part 3: Bloggers
Part 4: Los Angeles
Part 5: Las Vegas
Part 6: BlogHer Sessions - Day One and Day Two.

Since it kind of degenerated into more feedback from you than me telling you what I want to do, we're just going to embrace that and carry on letting you do all the work.

So, Part 7, The Finale: Questions For You.

Q1 Describe this blog to someone who has never read it, in one or two or maybe three sentences.

Q2 (a) Aussies: What should I take to America that best represents Australia?
Q2 (b) Non-Aussies: What should I bring you that will make you think of Australia?

Q3 Any other random ideas of things I have to do/see/buy/photograph while I am in any of the above-mentioned cities?

If you answer me these, I promise I will try so hard to not get suckered into any of these weekly things, or things that demand you answer so many questions so frequently. I love you for doing it though, you've been truly awesome.

And one last thing:
COUNTDOWN TO BLOGHER: 16 DAYS. HELL YEAH!

What I Want To Do Weekends, Part 6: BlogHer Sessions (Day Two)

Back again. Let me know what seminars to attend on Day One and Day Two of the BlogHer Conference. Your Day Two choices are:

Break-Out Session #1
1. Who We Are: Women Without Children and the Blogosphere
2. What We Do: Pursuing Your Passion Never Gets Old
3. What We Believe: Beautiful Blogging and Positive Posting
4. How We Communicate: Building Traffic via Content and Community
5. MommyBlogging: The Commercial Momosphere: Policies, Ethics and Outreach
6. Blogging Birds of a Feather Meet-Ups: Home/Garden and Crafts/DIY
7. Room of Your Own: Talking About War & Peace/Open Slot

Break-Out Session #2
1. Who We Are: "Coming Out" via Blog
2. What We Do: There's More to Monetization than Advertising
3. What We Believe: Tools for Online Fundraising and Activism
4. How We Communicate: Photography
5. MommyBlogging: Blogging About Our Children with Special Needs
6. Blogging Birds of a Feather Meet-Ups: BlogHims and Health/Fitness
7. Room of Your Own: BFD Blog and Feminism & Gender Meet-ups

Break-Out Session #3
1. Who We Are: Can You Take Back Naked Blogging?
2. What We Do: Blog to Book Redux
3. What We Believe: Blogging Community as Healing Force
4. How We Communicate: Open Source Participation: How to advance to the next level
5. MommyBlogging: When the Road To Motherhood Is Anything But Smooth: Infertility, Adoption and Miscarriage Bloggers
6. Blogging Birds of a Feather Meet-Ups: Queer BlogHer and Boomers & Beyond
7. The First BlogHer PhotoWalk and Room of Your Own: Chicago Bloggers

While we've established that none of you guys know what the hell you're doing - except going to cocktail parties - any ideas of which ones I should pick for Day Two?

Cos this such a fascinating topic, I'll be back AGAIN (in a 'Ross married Rachel in Vegas and got divorced - AGAIN' tone of voice) (OH MY GOD SHUT UP ABOUT VEGAS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD) (umm, where was I?) tomorrow to let you know the seminars I'm thinking of attending. Can't wait!

What I Want To Do Weekends, Part 6: BlogHer Sessions (Day One)

For those who were sick of me talking about Vegas, you're in luck. Hopefully the next Vegas post will be when I'm, you know, actually in Vegas.

For those who are sick of me talking about BlogHer (and I am definitely in that group), too bad. Once you start these weekly things, you're stuck. And for even more torture, we have a two-part special this weekend! But again, you get to tell me what to do, and everyone loves a bit of bossing around, right?

What I Want To Do At The Conference:

Break-Out Session #1
1. Who We Are: Introversion, Blogging and BlogHer
2. What We Do: Taking Care of Business
3. What We Believe: Top-notch Political Opinion Commentary
4. How We Communicate: FAQs for Beginning Bloggers
5. MommyBlogging: Is MommyBlogging Still a Radical Act?
6. Blogging Birds of a Feather Meet-Ups: Green/Social Change and Food/Entertaining
7. Room of Your Own: Entertainment Bloggers and Twenty-Something Bloggers

Break-Out Session #2
1. Who We Are: Race and Gender: What are the lessons of 2008
2. What We Do: DIY Content Syndication and Promotion
3. What We Believe: How To Take Names and Be Taken Seriously as a Political Blogger
4. How We Communicate: Why Bloggers (Even Non-Programmers) Benefit from Participating in Open Source Projects
5. MommyBlogging: Public Parenting & Privacy
6. Blogging Birds of a Feather Meet-Ups: Style/Fashion and Travel
7. Room of Your Own: The "Mother Load" and MidlifeBloggers.com

Break-Out Session #3
1. Who We Are: Blogging with a Global Perspective
2. What We Do: Writing Workshop
3. What We Believe: Two Concurrent Sessions: Progressives (with NetRoots Nation) & Conservatives
4. How We Communicate: Video Blogging
5. MommyBlogging: Mirrors: Ours, the Media's, Our Cultures' and Our Kids'
6. Blogging Birds of a Feather Meet-Ups: Personal Finance/Career and Sex & Relationships
7. Room of Your Own: Funding and incubation opportunities

There you have it. Which one should I go to for each session? Which ones would you go to? And which one do you think I will wake up in time for?

What I Want To Do Weekends, Part 5: Las Vegas

ONE MONTH TO GO, BITCHES. SEE YOU THERE!

After having no internet for the whole entire weekend, except for ten minutes last night, during which I managed to post about my shoes and jewellery (lucky I didn't have anything important to say), I now have my internet back, at a ridiculously slow pace. We're talking slower than dial-up. Hopefully, it won't die completely before I click post.

I have important emails to reply to and 160 unread posts in my Bloglines list. If I don't answer or comment, it's because I tried to but got timed out or decided ten minutes was too long to wait to tell you that your post was hilarious.

HOWEVER. I owe you a What I Want To Do Weekends post, so here it is.

Things I Want To Do In Vegas:

Go to Vegas.

That's it.

I'm sorry. I suck at this. I just seriously have no idea what you do in Vegas. There are lots of hotels and casinos there, but what am I actually supposed to do? You can't gamble all day. You could sip cocktails by the pool all day. That does sound fun actually. But what else is there to do there? Please, pretty please help me out.

I may even be able to read your reply sometime before I get there.

OH MY GOD. I ALMOST FORGOT!

Today is the 15th of June. Guess when I leave? THE 15TH OF JULY. A month to go. Wow.

What I Want To Do Weekends, Part 4: Los Angeles

Here's my thing about California in general: I'm pretty sure many famous people could walk right past me and I wouldn't recognise them. Or I would be so busy taking a photo of a sign that said 'Orange County' or something that I totally wouldn't be paying attention to all the famous people I would recognise. Famous people? Pretty much wasted on me.

However! LA is a big city; I'm thinking we can find something else to keep me occupied.

On a side note, I have been to LA before. Twice, actually. The first time all I saw was LAX. The second time, I'd been from France back to England, a day or so there, then to New York, a day (more or less) in JFK, then to LAX, then several hours there while they realised that a door was broken and couldn't be fixed. So I got to see lots of neon signs on the way to the hotel they put us up in. That night in the hotel after ten bajillion years of travelling was heaven. AND I got to see photos from Fashion Week in New York that this Australian photographer had just taken.

So no, I haven't been to LA, or seen any of the things on the list below:

I want to take a photo of the Hollywood sign, and a sign that says The OC. Also signs that say UCLA and the Staples Center.

There seem to be a lot of streets that I should see: Rodeo Drive, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard. Ok that doesn't seem like a lot when I put it like that. What did I forget?

I want to see Venice Beach. Ooh, we could go surfing! Do I know how to surf? Not in the least.

If there's time, Disneyland and/or Universal Studios would be awesome.

Oh, and? I just remembered something that wasn't on my USA list but I'm pretty sure we could do in LA: one of those hotdogs from the carts like on the sidewalk. Yeah!

Now that I've demonstrated I know absolutely nothing about LA, could you help me out? What do I need to do in LA?

What I Want To Do Weekends, Part 3: Bloggers

COUNTDOWN TO BLOGHER: NEXT MONTH. (OMG!!!)

Here are some of the things I would do if I could have a day with each of these awesome bloggers.

FCM and Ricky: Luckily, I don't have to imagine, cos I will actually get to hang with them in San Francisco!

Sit in The Bar all day while SuperTiff makes me drinks and tells off stupid customers.

Go to her kids' wrestling or t-ball games with Aimee.

A day at the park with Zoot, LilZ and NikkiZ (and now AndyZ!).

Cosmetics advice from Amalah and hair advice from Whoorl.

Have to get a photo of Kelley and Dooce.

Eat at Outback Steakhouse with Holly. Bitch about Freakin MM.

A trip to Monkeytown with Chris and Beth and Mia and Owen.

Then I have a whole bunch of people I just want to hang with, and yes, that means you.

Plus, no doubt there are people I don't even know I want to meet yet that I will get to meet at BlogHer and wish I'd met sooner!

What bloggers do you want to spend a day with, and what would you do?

What I Want To Do Weekends, Part 2: San Francisco

COUNTDOWN TO BLOGHER: 50 DAYS. (HOLY CRAP!)

Welcome to the second What I Want To Do Weekends weekend. Moving right along from USA in general to the first city on Missy's World Tour. (Actually, the second. Auckland is the first, but I don't think my to-do list for there consists of anything apart from a) get off plane b) pee c) get on BlogHer-bound plane.)

WHAT I WANT TO DO – SAN FRANCISCO

I want to go on the cable cars like the trolley people in The Princess Diaries.

I want to see if the Golden Gate Bridge really is golden, and if Golden Gate Park really is a park. (Kidding. Kinda.)

I want to visit the Haight-Ashbury, Chinatown, and Fisherman's Wharf (including Boudin Bakery, Pier 39, Ghirardelli’s Chocolate, Ghirardelli’s sign, cable car turnaround).

I also want to see The Crookedest Street in the World (between Hyde and Leavenworth) and The Steepest Streets (22nd Street, Filbert Street), Nob Hill, and The Manor from Charmed.

I feel like I should see Alcatraz, but I'm not sure why. Hopefully someone can explain the significance/excitement to me.

Things To NOT Do:

Earthquakes.

What do you think? What did I miss? What can I skip? What are you looking forward to doing in San Francisco? See you soon!!!

What I Want To Do Weekends, Part 1: USA

Welcome to the first edition of What I Want To Do Weekends, all about what I'm planning for the Great BlogHer08 Trip. (It could have been Wednesdays, but first of all, that's already taken, and second, that is so restricting. This way, I figure I have at least four days in which to post. Everyone knows Thursday is the new start of the weekend, and maybe you got the day off on Monday, and if all that fails, it's probably still the weekend where you are, right?) I would appreciate any additions or comments or whatever. The list is continually growing.

So. Part One: USA.

I should mention that I've been there before. In the (American) summer of 2005, I was a summer camp counselor at a sports-oriented camp in New York state. I travelled to Washington DC, New York City, Boston, Niagara Falls, England, and France afterwards. (This is a whole 'nother bajillion posts, which may or may not ever happen.) Point is, some of these things are coming from there, for example, my love of Ben and Jerry, and some are me watching too much American tv. Ok? Awesome.

WHAT I WANT TO DO – AMERICA

I want to eat Ben&Jerry’s, Wendy’s, and Dunkin Donuts. (All summer camp memories.)

I want to eat at Chili’s (like on Veronica Mars), Outback Steakhouse (like Holly), and TGIFriday’s (cos I like the name).

I want to stock up on a particular moisturiser at Walmart ("Marco!" "Polo!") and shop at Super Target (just like Zoot). I want bags from Macy's and Bloomingdales. I want things from Sephora (Advice Smackdown!) and Victoria's Secret. And I want to have breakfast at Tiffany and buy something so I can have another one of those blue boxes.

I want to go through a drive-thru ATM and take a photo of one of those letterboxes with the little red flags.

And I want to go to an NFL or Major League Baseball game.

Phew. I'm very demanding. Any thoughts/additions/reality checks you'd like to put forward?

WiWtdWs will be back next weekend - give or take a day or so - and we are now one weekend closer to BlogHer08!