Not only do I have a million women I want to link and namedrop, but I have a million little stories that are all varying degrees of private information. So, in an effort to link everyone and share all the stories without being TOO intrusive, let’s play a little game.

First the women, a few of my favorite ladies of the blogher, in alphabetical order: Anastasia Goodstein, Andrea, Angela, Heather Armstrong, Heather Champ, Helen Jane Hearn, Jane, Jeanne, Jen B, Leah, Lori, Maggie Mason, Minnie, Mrs. Kennedy, SJ

And here are the stories, in no particular order at all. Just to confuse things, some stories apply to more than one person, in some cases as many as two or three or four.
• … Hooted like the most adorable owl when I first said hello to her
• … Gave me some awesome prescription pharmaceuticals from her special stash
• … Admitted that when she says she misses the diversity of her former hometown, what she really misses is the fact that everyone was different in the exact same way as her.
• … Inadvertently taught both me and Helen Jane about how stupid we are and how much we still have to learn about being open and students of everyone.
• … Only spoke with me for a moment, but in that moment I happened to recommend Confessions of a Naughty Mommy: How I Found My Lost Libido and her eyes got big and she said “Oh my god, I think I sat down next to you for a reason,” wrote down the name of the book, and said she really really needed to read it.
• … Is working on a project related to one of mine, and I will definitely be working to do some cross-promotions.
• … Re-introduced herself (we’d met a few years ago) and asked me about my son. I smiled and shook my head and said I didn’t have a son, and she got sort of embarrassed but I didn’t mind because my memory is even worse and I deserve a million such forgetfulness for the thousands of people who’s names I can never remember.
• … Kept flashing her lovely thighs at us every time she got in or out of a chair on Saturday.
• … Agreed that writing a book while working full time is one of the most isolating things she’s ever done.
• … Inadvertently played a part in the high school drama that was happening in my head when I walked out near the end of the “birds of a feather” sessions on Saturday morning. I’d elected to skip the activity, and was just headed out to the pool to get some breakfast. Still, it was a strange moment to wandering in a courtyard filled with circles of women, their backs turned to me, talking about important and interesting things. Waves of missing out and feeling alienated washed over me, deepened further by when I stopped to tuck the exposed shirt tag of a lovely solo sitting blogger who I then found myself unable to break the ice with. (Me? Shy? It happens! She was pretty and seemed cool and um, well, tongue tied, etc.) As I held my yogurt and cereal, I had a moment of feeling like I was back in a cafeteria, clutching my lunch tray and trying to find a place to sit. Ultimately, I slunk over to a bench in a corner of the courtyard, tucked in the shade and away from everyone else. As I sat there feeling separate and a little alienated, I heard someone say my name and there was the woman I’d been hoping to chat with all weekend. Usually, she was surrounded by small clusters of fans and friends and I usually try to avoid further overwhelming such folks by standing in line to talk to them … but then there she was by herself, walking over to sit with me on my little isolated bench. We had a great conversation about self publishing vs. publishing and new york vs. the rest of the world and it was a perfect serendipitous moment, and exactly the chat I’d been wanting to have with her, less the swarms of people. She saved me from my own gloominess, and I got to have just the chat I wanted without feeling obtrusive.
• … Won the hottie of the year award in my book. Perfect hourglass with hips to die for and the cutest bangs ever.
• … Wants Baby Jessica to get stuck in her well. Later, she’ll lower some food down into the well, because Baby Jessica gets hungry. And wants kisses.
• … Radiates the goodness and taught me that when you made your identity your brand, people buy your stuff because they want a piece of your spirit and ideology and enthusiasm. I know this because I bought some of her stuff for exactly that reason.
• … Admitted that she read blogs she hates because A) it makes her feel superior B) it’s like picking a scab C) train wrecks can be entertaining.
• … Speaks in a dutch accent when speaking English to Dutch speakers.
• … Is pregnant and was the star of Blogebrity Bump Watch 2006.
• … Thinks the whole “more and more megapixels” thing is sort of a load of shit and just takes up more room on your hard drive.
• … Told me I looked very, very young (Drat: maybe I did get rid of my glasses to soon!)
• … Told me I was very, very pretty
• … Told me a horror story that cannot be repeated.