DrupalCon

So many things have been going on since I last posted! Where do I even start?!

The end of the summer came and went, Bruno and I went to Europe for a couple weeks for a big visit to Belgium to meet his family and friends, and then DrupalCon London. DrupalCon went by quickly with Bruno and a few of the other Affinity Bridgers there.

The time in Belgium was wonderful... Bruno's friends and family are absolutely lovely people. Hopefully the first of many visits there. Bruno will be going back in February for a couple weeks, but I'm planning to stay in Vancouver since he's got to deal with a bunch of practicalities from moving and will be working while he's there too. 

Shortly after we got back, Bruno landed a job in Vancouver, yay!!! This also meant that he got approved for a one year work visa, double yay! Hopefully that will help bridge the gap to when we're common law and can try for his permanent residence.

My lovely cousin Colleen came up for a visit in October - it'd been a couple years since I'd seen her last, so we had a lot of bonding to do. It's nice to be a bit closer geographically now, so that we can have little visits! The following weekend was the PNW Drupal Summit in Portland - most of the Affinity crew traveled south for it, as well as Bruno and I. As always, it was a great weekend full of visiting and learning.

Aside from all the travels and conferences, we've had some time to explore the city over the summer and fall... I think Bruno's really getting himself oriented now, and figuring out what his favourite spots are.

Fall is also bringing some calm and I've been getting back into crafting! I sewed an awesome bag, and have been knitting a lot again. 

Finally, I celebrated my 31st birthday about a week ago! I got nifty new mitts from my mom, terrariums from Bruno, and had a nice lunch with friends in Gastown.

All in all, things are good - I've been making more time for myself and feeling much less burnt out. I'm hoping for a winter full of self-care, creativity, and lovely people... want to join me?

 I had so many favourite moments the week before last at DrupalCon Chicago, I started jotting down a list so I wouldn't forget them all. Here are some highlights:

• Witnessing Chris Shattuck meeting Kristof De Jaeger (aka. swentel), finding out that he is the creator of Display Suite, and promptly hugging and thanking him.
• Getting one-upped on travel tea-drinking by Johan Falk (aka. itangalo). I tote an insulated thermos and tea bags around with me. This fellow brings a pot of loose tea and not one, but two tea infusers.
• Greg's (aka. heyrocker) tweet about Johan's aforementioned dedication to tea drinking: "I have an idea for a module and I'm so excited about it that I feel I am wasting time getting tea".
• Hanging out in the Sheraton lobby the weekend before the con with all the keeners. It was just plain awesome.
• Meeting Rob Loach the Friday before the con (there were about 5 of us who'd arrived by then). I recognized him but wasn't sure who he was. When he told me his name, I had to share the fact that he'd had a blog post on his homepage for a couple years with one of my Flickr photos embedded, making it one of my top viewed photos (thanks to robots?). Turns out he's from Toronto.
• Witnessing the standing ovation Angie (aka. webchick) got during Dries' keynote for her awesome work on Drupal7. Well earned.
• The party at the Field Museum was awesome. I almost didn't go, but am so glad I did. Got to catch up with lots of great people, forcefeed Angie some dinner, and see dinosaurs!
• Dave and Patrick getting super excited nerding out on mapping in the lobby late in the week.

• Did I already say dinosaurs?
• Catching up with so many favourite Drupallers through the week. You all know who you are, and you are awesome.
• The Gatorade fairy. I had a stomach ache (what else is new?) the morning of my second talk, and was desperate for some electrolyte-love. I tweeted, asking if anyone had seen any nearby. I later arrived at the room I was speaking in, and there was a Gatorade bottle sitting on the table. My co-presenter Jennifer said that it was dropped off for me. I don't know who you are Gatorade fairy, but thank you so much. Not only did that really help me get through the morning, but it also reinforced how awesome this community is. I felt very supported.
• Also, I feel like I rocked the public speaking! I did one short talk, and one long one, both co-presenting with Jennifer. Having her there definitely helped me feel at ease, she's such a pro. But I was far more relaxed than I've ever been before doing public speaking. It felt great, and now that I've broken through the fear, I feel like I can work on becoming a more engaging speaker.
• Trivia Night! OMG it was just awesome. My intended team was late getting back from dinner, so I ended up teaming up with Katherine Senzee, Gabor, and Fox. We held a lead the entire night and ended up winning! But that was just the icing on the cake - it was a reaaaaaally fun gathering, and the questions were challenging and fun. I was even a voice clue (which led to stealth psych-out tactics against the team that was hot on our heels and sitting behind us). Thank you so much to Alan and Stella for planning this! Also, Drupallers make funny team names. Except for tables 9 and 11. You are not funny. ;)

• The Docs Sprint!!! Holy cow so many people came and wrote docs all day!!!!!! I was super tired and hardly had a voice by then, but I held out the whole day, and helped everyone get rolling and get oriented. It was so great seeing how many people were up for helping out - thank you so much to everyone who came and also to everyone who's continued to work on their issues since the con! Lots of the attendees posted on g.d.o to show their attendance, Drupal karma points to you all! Also, super excited to see the progress and interest in improving the Docs infrastructure, thank you to those who've stepped up to help with that as well!
• Watching Dries and Sam Boyer create the Drupal 8 development branch, and discussing the development process with a roomfull of passionate core contributors.

• Hanging out with everyone the last evening at the Sheraton and chatting and laughing.
• Spending two weeks with Bruno (the week of the con and the week after) - awesome is an understatement, and also seeing how stoked he was to get involved in working on Media and Workbench modules.
• Also the last evening, loved the card game Johan brought out, I have no idea what it was called. My brain functions highly for that kind of stuff when I'm tired (just like I play Tetris better tired), so it was pretty intense and fun.
• And a final awesome moment of the last evening there, listening to Narayan explain the UID increments and offsets for Drupal.org, and why they're necessary. Everyone was super absorbed in the explanation, and I think I actually sort of understood what he was saying. I hate to use the word, but it was an "epic" geek-out moment.

THANK YOU DRUPALCON ORGANIZERS, IT WAS FANTASTIC!!! I would hazard to say that you really got it right with how to keep the con personal, fun, and interesting amidst the huge growth in numbers of attendees. Thank you, you've totally restored my faith and enthusiasm for the North American cons. 

ps. Yes I realize I said "awesome" far too many times, but it really, truly was!

Finally my epiphany of the week... 

If you read my blog regularly, you'll know anything that requires physical exertion is hard for me. I tire so easily, and take a longer time to recuperate than most people. This conference being right at the hotel was soooo great for me. Sure, it would have been immensely easier if I'd had any cooking facilities, but the energy conservation couldn't be beat. I was glad in the end that Bruno and I decided to stay in the Tower both because of this and how fun it was hanging out in the lobby with everyone during the evenings and weekends.

I exchanged a couple tweets with Theresa Anna after the conference, and realized something. I think part of the reason why I've taken to Drupal so enthusiastically is because, aside from two action packed fun and exhausting weeks a year (plus a few other weekends here and there), most of the involvement is virtual. 

Obvious yes, but I never realized how much that has affected my ability to get involved and excel at this. People remark sometimes that it doesn't seem like my health restricts me much from doing a lot. But in this case, it hardly matters how I'm feeling, I can almost always work and talk to other Drupallers while resting at home. I get to collaborate with people I think are great, learn, and contribute without tiring myself out. 

This might not sound like much to some, but it's been such an amazing opportunity for me, and I'm glad that I have realized how important this is and will continue to be.

Signing off with a dose of #drupallove - see you next time!

So first, a little catch up from before my last posts... back in June, I went to Saskatoon for a weekend to go to the wedding of one of my next door neighbours from where I grew up. The Sulatyski family lived next door to me my entire Saskatoon-life (plus a couple years after I moved to Vancouver), and are like my second family... sometimes I feel like I grew up more Ukrainian than any other culture!

The middle kid from the family, Markian, (who's a year older than me, on the right in the photo below) got married to his lovely now-wife Emily. The wedding was out on Emily's family's acreage outside the city. It was beautiful outside for the ceremony, and then right before dinner there was a CRAZY flash storm - pouring rain, wind, lightning... a big gust came up and tried to pick up the big party tent just like in one of those crazy home videos. Everyone jumped up and held down the tent for about a half hour till the storm passed. Lots of excitement, then it calmed down and we had a great evening.

I love, love, love seeing my old neighbourhood crew, I spent so many summers hanging out with these boys (Evan on the left is the youngest brother, and their cousin Chris is in the middle). I also got to see their older step-sister who I hadn't seen in well over a decade, and it was awesome catching up with her (especially because she convinced me to try and make it to Evan's wedding which was just last weekend, even though it was really close to getting back from my big summer trip).

Then, the end of July was completely absorbed with moving into my new place. That's right, no more West End Girl here... I've moved out to East Van and am loving it here. It's quiet, I have a ton of space, and am closer to friends (and really not much further from work). It's been a lot of work getting moved in here while not being home a lot this summer, but it's going to be a great place to be for the next while.

Then, a couple weeks after moving in, I took off for my first trip to Europe! I'll just start by saying it was as great as I could have hoped, and I now feel like a relatively competent overseas traveller.

The first place I went for a week and a half was Copenhagen (photos), where DrupalCon was held. I wanted to go last year to Paris, but then my boss was having a baby at the same time, so I decided to stay and help hold down the fort at work instead. So, this year was my year, and a huge bonus that it was in Copenhagen, which was somewhere I really wanted to go (after studying urban geography for so long).

It was a great city (as full of bikes as you can dream), and I stayed in a gorgeous apartment in the center of town that I rented with Scott, Sam, and Rok. Rok's girlfriend Tamara came for the first weekend as well, which was lovely as it was all of our first time meeting her. I had virtually no jetlag going over (probably largely thanks to splurging for an upgraded ticket on the way over), and had a great time wandering around the first few days.

DrupalCon was awesome as always - I went to the Core Dev Summit (which I'd missed when I went to San Francisco's DrupalCon in the spring, thanks to being sick), and it was one of my favourite parts of the trip. I got some traveler tummy halfway through the week, and missed the last day, but all in all it was absolutely fantastic. (You can read more about my DrupalCon adventure here if you are interested/nerdy.)

And I loved Copenhagen - good food, neat shops, really pretty city. It definitely had its own vibe and style - everyone was so sophisticated, well dressed, and the stereotype did hold true, a lot of tall, nordic, good looking people!

At the end of the trip, Scott, Sam, and I had to say goodbye to Rok, who was going back home, and we hopped on a train to our next destination: Berlin.

Berlin (photos) got off to a rough start when I left my backpack (containing my laptop, digital camera, prescription sunglasses, and medication) on the last leg of the train. Yes, really. I spent the first few days trying to see if I could find my bag, frustratingly trying to talk to the right people in german (thank dog I speak a little bit, as middle aged government service people there sure as heck don't speak much english). Luckily, all of the annoying trips back and forth to the train station, and phone calls of broken german proved worthwhile when on our last full day there I got my bag back! Go-go german lost and found system! 

The only thing missing was my little digital camera (and the photos I'd taken at the conference), as well as my cell phone's USB cable (which I believe the thief mistakenly took, thinking it belonged with the camera). Can you believe they took just that and not my laptop??? Me neither. I was so stoked to have the rest back that I was happy to cut my losses. My only guess is that they opened my laptop and saw it was password protected, and so left it alone... Needless to say, the rest of the photos in this post (and on Flickr) are all cell-phone photography. But I did have my film SLR with me as well, so there will be more to come when I get those developed.

That last day in Berlin was great - I did some shopping in Prenzlauer Berg, a hip area of the city north of the hostel we stayed at. Then after the second trip of the day to the other side of city, when I actually got my bag back, I took the "tourist" city bus line and saw a bunch of stuff, including the Berlinner Dome church, which I went inside. It was totally beautiful.

Aside from cool shopping and sights, I have to say, Berlin had by far the best Ariane-friendly grocery stores! It was amazing, all the grocers I went to were full of gluten-free this and dairy-free that. And omg the soy yogurt in Europe is DELICIOUS. They are doing it wrong over here. What I would give to be able to get that stuff here...

After Berlin, we had a final day of train rides - we didn't know ahead, but the last train was a crazy fast train! (Pardon Scott's head blocking the photo...) It did make me a bit nauseous compared to the normal trains, but we went up to 327km/hr!!!! SO FAST. SO COOL!!! Walking down the aisle when we'd go down any small hills, it felt like I was about to levitate. Glad I got to ride one afterall.

And our final destination was Paris (photos) for the last couple days before heading home. I think I have some more photos from there on my phone (can't download em without my cable, but S & S have a card reader when they get back from visiting Scott's brother out in New Brunswick), and on the film, but nothing too stellar other than photos from the plant shops near Notre Dame (which I kind of botched finding) for now. 

Paris is a huge city! The weather was fantastic there, and I had a great time wandering around while S & S were out sightseeing. Highlights were a private opera concert at night at the Louvre, delicious chocolate, talking to the owner of this great jazz/classical music shop, shopping, and eating at La Ferme (this delicious and really pleasant veg-friendly cafe I found my last day there).

The day of travel home and resulting jetlag was probably the worst part, so I can't complain. All in all, a fantastic and victorious first overseas trip, and bonus getting some quality time with some of my favourite friends and Drupallers from all over the world.

Finally, a couple weeks after getting back (and surviving a terrible but short-lived stomach flu), it was time for one last adventure out to Edmonton for Evan (youngest brother from next door) and Jaime's wedding. I am so, so, so glad that I went in the end. Sure, I was pretty wiped out, but dammit I love those guys, and it was so nice getting to spend some more time with them. Everyone stayed in the hotel there, so we saw a lot of each other, and didn't have to go running all over town (sidenote: parts of Edmonton seem pretty cool, I almost want to go back to explore). Can't believe my little brother-from-another-mother is a married man now, we're all grown up!

I also got to see his big sis, Elana, for the first time since she became a momma herself (right around when Markian's wedding was), she's a superstar, what can I say!

(And this last photo, I just thought was cool enough to post, taken the night before the wedding while we were hanging out watching the Riders game.)

This weekend, I finally get to myself, to rest and catch up some more on finishing my move-in. Next weekend is the last hurrah in the string of events that I've been working my way through, finally the much anticipated PNW Drupal Summit (which I've been helping a tiny bit with organizing). There's people coming from all over the PNW (Pacific Northwest) and further afield, and I've got three of my favourite Drupal gals coming to stay at the house for the weekend, so it should be a blast. (Oh, and also I'm co-presenting a session as part of my plan to conquer my fear of public speaking...eek!)

After that, no plans till Christmas, which makes me extremely happy! There will be lots of Drupalling, Crafternoons, regaining of social life, and other enjoyment, that is for certain. Life has been better lately, and I have a feeling more good things are on their way in the next little while... ;)

The Backstory

(Note: Some of this first half will be redundant if you're a regular reader.) Somewhere in the midst of being cooped up at home sick for weeks on end this spring, something in me clicked. I stopped caring about not being able to do it all. I don't know if it's so much giving in, or self preservation, or just not needing to beat myself up for things I can't change. Maybe it was survival instinct, or maybe it was being forced to accept the reality of my energy and wellness levels. I'm sure a question my counselor asked me a while back got this all circulating in the back of my mind: "What would happen if you didn't do everything that you want, what then?" My answer at the time: "I feel like if I had to give up doing all these things, that I would cease to exist."

I know, ridiculous. And yet, honest. Of course, if my worst fears came true and I was too sick to do most of the things that make up my current life, somehow I'd adapt. But deep down, I feel like I wouldn't be me without these things.

This particular question had been posed to me during the aftermath flareup of my February evil stomach bug. Prior to getting the flu with cough of doom in April (I know I'm not the only unfortunate soul who got this awful thing and was really ill) and subsequently experiencing two weeks of being more debilitated than I think I'd ever been before. Altogether I lost 8 lbs in 3 months (which was roughly 9% of my bodyweight). This question was posed in the context of going to DrupalCon San Francisco at the end of April, which I was wondering if I should go to at all, even before the cough of doom hit.

After having this question posed to me, I shelved it in the back of my brain, refusing to *really* answer it. As soon as I was starting to feel better, I decided on a whim to fly down to Portland for a long weekend to visit with my cousin, and some other friends there. By the time I woke up the day after arriving, I was feeling really awful, but I chalked it up to a bad sleep at first... By the next day, I was feeling incredibly horrible, and was in no state to fly, but it seemed there wasn't really a way out of it (luckily it was a short flight back home). By the time my uncle had picked me up at the airport and gotten me home, my throat was killing me and I was getting a fever.

And thus commenced the worst flu and cough I think I've ever had. My mom actually ended up coming out and staying with me; I was literally in bed for a solid 10 days, and spent another 5 or so not going anywhere beyond the corner store. My mom went back to Saskatchewan at about that 10 day mark. The 2 week in mark was when I was supposed to go down to SF a few days early, to sight see then go to the Core Dev Summit. At this point I was just starting to feel better, but was still really not well, so I postponed my ticket down a few extra days (with the help of a fellow Drupalcon-goer), as I'd had no voice for about 5 days by then and couldn't even call the airline myself). 

The day before my new departure day, I still didn't feel very well, but I packed anyway. I decided I'd call it in the morning. And to my surprise, I woke up the next day, finally feeling a bit better. So I decided to go for it, I figured I'd go to the airport, and if I still felt ok, I'd check in and get on a plane. And if once I got to SF I felt ok enough, *then* I'd deal with going to the actual conference. One step at a time, even if all I did was rest for a week at the house that I'd rented for a group of us, that'd still be better than not going at all.

With this one step at a time, "anything is enough" mentality, I made my way through the week. I slept in every day, packed some food, and then went to the conference for a few hours. Then I'd come home, nap, have dinner, and hang out at the house with whoever was around. I didn't do a single full day. I didn't go out any of the evenings. I took cabs the entire week instead of riding the streetcar. I didn't really see much of the city, other than the two blocks around the house, and wherever the cabs went.

But did I enjoy myself? Yes.

Did I make myself sicker by going? No.

By the time I left, I felt a ton better than when I'd first gotten there. Despite really only attending a tiny amount of the conference, I managed to catch up with everyone I wanted to at least once. I managed to get to a bit of the Docs sprint and a few BOFs. I got to record a Drupal Voices podcast! I had tons of fun hanging out with my housemates. Sure there were a few moments where I was pretty run down. But overall, it was a positive experience, I didn't feel any worse at the end of it, and I was thrilled I had been able to attend at all, all things considered.

Not doing all of it as intensively as I'd planned to didn't really take as much away from the experience as I'd imagined it would. And I don't think anyone judged me for not being able to do it all. And I think for once, I finally didn't judge myself either.

Despite being nothing like what I had planned, it was all I could have hoped.

What Has Changed

Maybe the same thing will work for life.

Maybe even though it's nothing like what I had planned, it will be all I could have hoped.

A small epiphany... now only to keep applying the lesson. This could mean a real breakthrough for managing traveling less exhaustingly, for not burning myself out with work, or by doing too many things on weekends. Living at a more sustainable pace. Something with which the "Spoon Overcouncil" would be more aligned. Accepting the help when it's offered, and actually believing that I'm not a burden to those who've offered it. That's something new for me too, asking for help. I was forced to do it to get through this spring. At first it made me feel as awful, burdening, and guilty as it always had. But then, I realized what I didn't want to admit: I *needed* help. And the crazier part, people were offering it because they *wanted* to, and helping me when I needed it was not the huge burden that I'd made it out to be.

On the other hand, people continue to question my choices to do *anything* that's taxing on my body. Entertaining the idea that since May of last year, I really do feel crappy most of the time. And that I always feel crappy when I travel. Some people (nice people, who are just wanting the best for me, admittedly) think that hence I shouldn't do such things. But what would that change? 

If I thought putting my life on hold could help make me better, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But the reality is that there's nothing I can do that will miraculously make me better. Despite feeling like something has been really off balance since last June, no doctor or specialist I've seen has been able to find anything other than my long standing chronic conditions going on. 

To finally have had a very good doctor who is up to date on chronic inflammatory/auto-immune diseases say to me that my system is really oversensitive and out of control, is an odd comfort. To have him explain that having IBS and this kind of chronic illness *does* relate to having flareups of Fibromyalgia and fatigue (which was something that I had been told before, but then had a differing second opinion on) has been vindicating. This doesn't mean that he can necessarily help; though he says he's going to try, I have learned not to have any expectations in this respect.

But all of this, what it changed in me is it gave me the ability to accept what is. That I am going to be tired a lot, that I am going to feel sick a lot, and most of all, that it doesn't mean I have to stop living my life. I don't need to fight it anymore, that's not actually helping anything. I don't need to feel guilty for not doing things, or feel like I'm not trying hard enough. Something about being so sick, and then actually being fairly incapacitated for a couple weeks made this all ok.

If anything, I'm starting to realize what an amazing thing it is that I do as much as I do, when I am contending with levels of wellness that would keep most people at home. I've gotten used to living like this, but it's NOT easy. It's a struggle. And that's why I don't need to make it any harder on myself. But I also am not going to give up. If I feel just like this every day for the rest of my life, I'm not going to let it stop me from enjoying the things I do decide to use my spoons on.

The small victories have started meaning more. The losses have started meaning less.  Frustrating and sad, yes. Unfair and painful, absolutely.  But when the options are slow or not at all, slow doesn't really seem so bad.

Before we get started, here's some new LCD Soundsystem for your listening enjoyment... (Awesome, SteveK, your tip about just shrinking the height on the YouTube player works!!!)

Much of my thoughts go like an agile retrospective these days... project management is permeating my thinking patterns.

Good

• I made it to DrupalCon San Francisco, and despite being sick and going late, had a great time, and rested lots so I got better and not sicker while I was there.
• Over the flu. After shaking the death cough, my lungs actually feeling better than they have in over a year and a half. My voice is back which makes me very happy, except my high singing range, but I'm sure that will return with a little more time.
• Work is busy. I feel like I am being effective, and like my hard work over the last year and a half is paying off making things run smoothly, having everyone feel self-actualized, having happy clients, and getting to do the kind of work we enjoy.
• I feel more appreciated and at peace in various aspects of my life than I have in a long time. (Ever?)
• Eating lots of good food; I have gained back about 2.5 of the 8.5 pounds I lost since February. Might not seem like much but I was worried it would be even harder to gain anything back.
• Got a crapload of blood tests done last weekend, and they all came back normal. I was getting lots of bruising, but I can safely assume now that it is just from being a bit malnutritioned, and that some steady Vit C intake will fix me up.
• Also, I went back to the old walk-in clinic I used to go to before I started hunting for a GP...Holy I forgot how much better a couple of the docs there are. 
• I've mostly been sleeping a lot better lately, and sleeping/waking earlier than is normal for me. It's felt very odd, but in a good way. I doubt it will last much longer, but it's been nice.
• I have been feeling more relaxed in general. I like this. I'm pretty sure the people around me like it too.
• I have more spoons lately.
• I've been doing a better job at keeping a balance, taking care of myself, asking for help, not being mad at myself for not feeling well.
• Oh, and my Drupal Voices podcast that was recorded at the conference was posted this week!

Bad

• My stomach is still generally feeling awful, more awful than normal, as has been the case since last summer. (Luckily looks like I'm gonna get a referral to a new, hopefully more helpful, GI doc when walk-in doc is back from vacation.)
• My apartment is getting more construction. It makes me crazy. I am househunting. I don't find moving fun.
• My back and neck have been fucking killing me lately. Too much computer and sickness, not enough yoga and off-computer time.
• I ate moldy soy yogurt today. No biggie, just gross.
• I don't have much Drupal Docs mojo right now.
• I really, really miss several beloved friends who are not here.
• Not sure if this is really a "bad" but I'm not sure going to DrupalCon Copenhagen is really going to be the best thing for me right now.

Do differently next time

• Get annual flu shot. It's just not worth getting the flu (I've had it 4 times in 3 years since moving downtown!)
• Not stand for useless and/or rude doctors.
• Not eat suspicious soy yogurt. (I have made this mistake more than once now.)
• Do more yoga! Do more yoga! Do more yoga! When will I learn?

What's that? Oh yes, that is the smell of sweet, sweet VICTORY!!! 

And just like that it's over. It's a small miracle that I actually made it to San Francisco for DrupalCon SF.  As I mentioned before, I caught the flu just over a week and a half before I was supposed to leave for the conference, and was SOOOOO sick. I got a fever, then the worst cough I think I've had since I was a kid.  My mom saved my ass and came out and stayed with me for a week, I hardly left my bed the entire time. She went back to Saskatoon about three days before I was supposed to leave for SF, but I was still pretty sick, and was about 5 days into a week of having lost my voice. Making the con did NOT look promising.

I had to get Ben (thank you again!) to help me change my plane ticket via a crazy Skype conference call (because I couldn't speak), and pushed it to Sunday, hoping that might give me enough time to recoup some energy. Going down Sunday meant missing my day and a half of tourist time, the Core Dev Summit, and the pre-con sprint day. But there was no way I was going anywhere Thursday, so I just had to come to grips with the situation.

Friday I still felt like crap. Saturday, I felt only marginally less crappy, but went out for a walk to test my stamina for possible airport-going the next day. The walk went okay, so I packed. I still wasn't at all sure going to bed Saturday whether I would feel well enough in the morning to go, but Sunday I woke up, didn't feel too terrible, and decided to go for it.

I went to the airport, and found Olly and Ben, who were on the same flight, and off we went!

The house I'd rented (photo c/o SteveK) for a big group of us was FANTASTIC. It was one level of one of those huge old SF houses, up near Alamo Square, and coincidentally the level above us had another group of DrupalCon-goers, including the lovely Katherine (ksenzee). It was a nice bonus sitting on the stoop having a chat the first night there. Over the course of the week, 9 PNW folks stayed at the house off and on, and it was lovely having such a nice home to settle into.

The place worked out great - big kitchen, lots of space, nice neighbourhood - and was conducive to lots of hang out time with everyone. I'm so glad that everyone who managed to stay with us did, as it was great getting some quality time in with some of my favourite geeks who I never get to see enough of. (This is half of the crew at the end of the week - for sure the funniest photo, tho Andy's kinda blocked, click through to see a few more.)

I managed to actually make it to about 3-5hrs of conference each day, which I think is pretty great, all things considered, but generally was way more low key than previous DrupalCons and crashed late afternoon, having to come back to the house for a nap. I didn't get out at all in the evenings to the code lounge, or any of the socials, but had a good time chilling out at the house, and made it to all the keynotes, a few BOF's (birds of a feather sessions, ie. smaller sessions for various niche topics), and a bit of the final Docs sprint. The Drupalchix BOF had an amazing turn out (we counted over a hundred attendees!), and it was great to meet a bunch more of the people I had yet to meet in person.

And of course, what really makes DrupalCon so important to me is getting to reconnect and spent a little quality time with all the awesome friends I've made who are scattered all over the globe (though sadly a few of them were victim of the ash situation over Europe and didn't make it). From the the PNW crew to friends from out East, to others from Europe who I only really see once a year, I can't even explain how much I love you people. You bring me a world of happy, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have found myself part of such a wonderful community and now also call many of you friends.

I arrived home today feeling much better than when I left, and realistically no more worn out than I've been at the end of previous DrupalCons! I still have a bit of residual sick, and certainly have a bit more recouperating to do, but things went as well as I could have possibly  hoped. I am sooooooooo glad I made it.

I want to say a special thank-you to everyone who sent me good vibes, cheered me on, gave me lots of hugs, and had my back making this trip under less than ideal circumstances. All of your offers to help me out if things didn't go well, bring me groceries when I was tired, and generally keep tabs on how I was doing, were what gave me enough peace of mind to take a bit of a risk and travel when I was still in a bit of a sketchy state.

Till next time...