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More from Blogpaws
May 18th, 2013
Another busy day at Blogpaws. Today I attended talks on growing my Facebook followers, writing ebooks, and using Pinterest. I met a writer and dog trainer from Brattleboro, Vt at an afternoon book signing. Her name is Debbie Jacobs and her book is A Guide to Living with and Training a Fearful Dog. She filled me in a little on what might be behind Alfie and Waffles behavior.
At lunch I sat with an animal communicator and healer. She says as an empath, she feels the pain in her body in the same places that the dog or pet experiences theirs. Her site is www.healinggateway.com. Sitting with us was a lawyer and mediator whose niche is conflicts involving animals. Her name is Debra A. Vey Voda-Hamilton and she also is in the process of writing a book. It seems a lot of people are.
I had the opportunity to meet Amy Shojai whose pet thriller Lost and Found I reviewed this winter. The day wound down with some great talks by animal rescues. I am learning a lot and getting some great ideas for the blog, but there is so much going on it leaves your head spinning. I’ve taken lots of pics but can’t quite figure out this whole mobile WordPress thing or how to upload so many pics from my Sony NEX camera to my iPad, so I will have to share those when I return home. Another full day of activities tomorrow and then I am off on Sunday afternoon to spend some time with my friend from college, Clare.
I spoke to my Mom tonight who is taking car of my pugs while I am gone. It seems that when she pulled up in my car, which she is using while I am gone, the pugs thought it was me and wee sitting in their place by the window waiting when I didn’t appear Mom says they went crazy spinning around and looking for me. Tonight I spoke to them on the phone and I guess Waffles got so excited she wagged her tail, something she seldom does.
Just4MyPet, a personalized pet products company provided Blogpaws attendees with free collectible trading cards of their pets. I swung by their booth today and there were mine of Alfie. Personally, I think she was the prettiest dog on the table!
There’s so much more to write about but I need to be up early. Keep tuning back in for more on my Blogpaws adventure!
Blogpaws 2013
May 17th, 2013
Once Clare and I really did find our way to the elevator — and remarkably it was there all along — I had the serendipitous experience of meeting one of my oldest and most avid blog followers from back when I was putting my first nascent posts on Posterous — Vinny the Pug or at least his voice, owner Allen Kimble. Unfortunately, poor Vinny passed away. But there was Allen in the elevator and as soon as I saw his name tag, I squealed, “Allen” and we ended up Giving each other a warm hug. It was nice to see a friendly face even if it was one I had never actually seen before.
“Do you two know each other?” My friend Clare asked and it was hard to explain. In this digital age what qualifies as knowing each other? I have worked for one publication since its origins and have only seen the editor once. Come to think of it that’s the case for most of the publications for which I write. Tonight, people throughout the conference venue were exclaiming over celebrity pets they knew only through the web. I know that Vinny or Allen’s comments on my blog had inspired a number of blog posts, that they were quiet inspiration in the early days to keep writing because at least someone out there was not only listening, but seemed to like what he heard, and that in turn, mourned Vinny’s death. Certainly, Allen was a friend. We ended up talking later during the reception as he shared some of what he will be speaking on this Saturday, a marketing plan to sell Vinny the Pug merchandise and to make money to end the killing of healthy pets in the process.
After Allen and I bid each other goodnight to go network with others, I got to watch a demonstration of Sony’s new action cam, which one can buy with a harness for your dog, allowing you to see the world from your dog’s eye view. I practically placed an order on the spot–Alfie and Waffles need one one of those don’t you think. The action cam is only the tip of the iceberg. I also got to see a dog GPS that not only allows you to track Fido should he get lost but also keep track of his daily exercise. I’m pretty sure I can monitor Alfie’s exercise or ack thereof without it, but the GPS might be cool for my friend Joan’s pugs who often like to wander away. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if it would work in her region of Vermont. the is supposed to be a coverage map online which I will have to check out. I have only spent a few hours at the conference and already have two huge bags of swag. I hear UPS will be on hand to ship things home. I’ve taken lots of pics but won’t be able to post more until I get home.
Meanwhile, on the homefront, I understand that Waffles has taken the opportunity of my absence to sneak upstairs to the third floor bathroom, the one that isn’t being renovated to explore the trash for sanitary napkins, wipees or baby diapers. She scored at least one of these! So I guess in our own way, we are each having fun — now that I think about it, I guess the trash can probably seems like a giant swag bag to Waffles.
The Shining Part 2
May 16th, 2013
This winter when I was sick I happened to catch a documentary about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. The documentary addressed several theories regarding what the movie might really be about, many of which were conspiracy theories. One of them, for example, suggested that Kubrick faked the moon landing for NASA and then revealed clues about this in the movie. Another discussed how the architecture of the hotel in the movie didn’t make sense with hallways leading where they shouldn’t go.
When my college friend Clare dropped me off at the hotel today where Blogpaws 13 is taking place I found myself remarking that the long, narrow winding halls reminded me of The Shining. I then proceeded to share with Clare the details of the documentary. at first I think she thought I was only rambling but when we tried to follow the receptionist’s directions to the 15th floor only to find three Clare had to admit at the very least, this hotel’s architecture was confusing. Next we circled the hallway passing the same white chair and discarded pair of tennis shoes several times, no longer able to find the lobby. We did find a hotel phone and called the lobby only to be directed to the same dead end. By this time Clare admitted that we may indeed have found ourselves inside that documentary. Soon we were giddy with laughter, no longer two middle-aged women, but as silly and clueless as we were when we first met as freshmen. I realized that this hotel might not have been my entrance into a horror movie, but it was my passage back in time. And, all this occurred only after an hour of Clare and I being together, just think of the trouble we can get into after a few days. Provided we ever find our way out of this hotel!
Off on an Adventure
May 16th, 2013
I’m off on an adventure. This winter I was googling pet blogs when I stumbled upon an event called Blogpaws, a conference for pet bloggers. For someone who had launched her new blog only a couple of months before, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to learn more about blogging in general, connect and network with other pet bloggers, and participate in yet another dog-centric activity, one of my favorite things to do. To top it all off the event was in D.C. and I have an old college friend from Middlebury there, who I’ve wanted to visit for a while. I purchased my tickets on the spot.
Now the event is upon me and I leave tomorrow for my first ever Blogpaws. I understand that lots of other bloggers bring their dogs and cats — there is even a cat lounge – but unfortunately Waffles and Alfie have to stay at home. I couldn’t even imagine bringing the puggies on an airplane. I don’t think they’ll be very happy with me gone. With all the doctors appointments and renovations going on at home as late, the poor pugs have had to tolerate a lot of crate time and have already expressed their desire for some R & R. I have promised them plenty of trips to the dog park this summer.
In the meantime, I am off on my adventure. I have decided to leave the computer at home, having already packed my suitcase and carry on to the max and with my tennis elbow acting up I don’t need any extra baggage! I will have my i-pad and will try to blog as much as possible, but from the schedule it looks like my days will be pretty well packed. I did download the new WordPress App to make blogging from my tablet easier. I’m excited and a little nervous. I wasn’t sure what to pack – I understand some people are wearing jeans and teeshirts, but the videos I’ve seen show a lot of business wear. I tried to aim for something in between. I’ve packed my new Pug & Pic business cards, which feature my blog banner on the back and some added surprises on the front. It seems to be the season for business cards. My friend, John Greenwood of Raining Iguanas, just wrote a blog post about receiving his new business cards the other day. Both John and I will be sharing readings from our blogs at the Creative Sparks reading at Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, NY on May 31st. But that’s a little down the road. I have to take my adventures one at a time.
Stay tuned for posts from Blogpaws…