Today I received my email confirmation for my Cybermummy ticket. It's all official...wooo! Thank you Graco :) So now the reality of the situation has sunk in. I'm going to meet so many of the bloggers I admire, aspire to be like or simply enjoy a chat with. This means they will be meeting me too...now that's the scary part! I think it might be time to restart the diet and try to get into shape, so I feel confident about walking into a room full of people. The wobbly bits really won't help me feel good about myself. I'll be stressing about what to wear...I live in jeans, but is that appropriate attire when in the company of the ex-PM's Missus ?? Probably not!
Seeing someone for the very first time is a magical moment when in just 3 seconds we make a subconscious judgment on them...the first impression. It's funny...in our blogging world we know intimate details about each other. We know about each others' children, marriages, hobbies, home lives, heartbreaks and triumphs. We've tweeted and chatted (albeit within the confines of 140 characters). We've shared secrets, dreams and hopes. How this will translate into face to face contact is going to be like a social experiment on a grand scale. Will knowing that I was a self harming anorexic teenage single mother colour your judgment of who I am now? Will you already have a pre-conceived idea of me...will I live up to it, good or bad. Sitting on a laptop, tapping away on my keyboard, I don't really have to worry about the fact that my words are being spewed out across the internet to a potentially incalculable audience (oh how I wish the incalculable masses all read my blog...that'd give my pageviews a much needed boost!) It's just me and my ramblings. It's only when you stop and really think about the power of the internet that you get that jittery feeling inside. The OMG people are actually reading this....reading this AND commenting! That's powerful stuff! However, in the face to face environment of a conference, I can't hide behind my virtual self. It's all in real time...there's no delete button in real life. If I utter some nonsensical jibberish I can't take it back! I can't Edit Undo if I make a monumental screw up! It's a case of what you see is what you get...no amount of photo uploads, fancy fonts and meme entries are going to help me on the day!
I take comfort in the fact that most of us mummy bloggers are going to be in the same boat...having to live up to our virtual identities. It is going to be wild. I was chatting today to @notesfromhome on Twitter. She was worried about eliciting odd looks from random people whilst trying to work out who is part of the conference. We decided we should make a secret gesture, a sign to signal your membership to fellow Mummy Bloggers. Like the Stone Mason's Secret Handshake...only more glam and girly! How about a Cybermummy hair swish??? It could work. They'd be hundreds of wonderful women descending on The Brewery in London all frantically swishing their do's to announce their arrival. It'd look like an advert for Pantene!
One thing is for sure I need a name badge or a T-Shirt emblazoned with my blog name...that is unless Graco decide to send me in an outfit fashioned on the Symbio Travel System with a Raincover on my head. Which I would be prepared to do for my lovely sponsors!!!
One thing's for certain though, Cybermummy promises to be an amazing experience with inspirational women, informative workshops and motivational speeches. In all seriousness I feel absolutely honoured to be a part of it. I can't wait to meet fellow bloggers...those who I already know and love, and completely new ones! It is a very exciting prospect.
I have one question though....do we get lunch??? Or should I be planning to pack a pasty and a Mars Bar to tide me over till tea time!
