Survivor: Ojai

It began in typical Survivor fashion: bloggers traveling cross-country on rollerboards, snuggling their MacBook pros zipped in wetsuits (or in my case, a pc swaddled in a paisley teacozy). We kissed our children goodbye and prayed that our partners could coordinate all the pre-arranged mooching of childcare from close friends, family, and friendly librarians…

Just tell them ‘My Mommy is in the bathroom’

The airplane provided a collapsible/folding limbs challenge, as I struggled to pull my kneecaps up to my ears to fit the newly economized “torso only” airplane seats. Wedged comfortably between “Oh great, I get the window so I can stare at an engine the whole trip” and “Jesus, 62 degrees and raining in LA? I coulda stayed home for this” my concentration hardly wavered. No room.

Jeff-Without-Blogs Probst-Vandeman collected three of us at LAX and we navigated foreboding territory including “hair pin turns” “Adopt a highway” markers and a brainteaser named “Heather and Cyn decide what fast food to eat ”

We arrived at a remote destination with no cell phone service, and said a holy prayer of unity and thanks to Our Savior YahFi of wireless connectivity.

From the moment of arrival into the paradise of Calliote Canyon, obstacles challenged even the most experienced blog conference adventurer. Our Eden of the desert required new skills and language.

Probst-Vandeman set-up a team challenge; snack procurement from the exotic Isle of Vonn’s. Snack procurement NOT for your locals back home, but for you– a mom alone, forced to CHOOSE HER OWN SNACKS. Carts traversed aisles while Moms asked each other

“What are you getting?”

“What should I get?”

“Are you getting bananas? I too am getting bananas!”

“How long have we been here?”

“No I do not like sugar wafers. You like sugar wafers? Yes let us get all three packages of sugar wafers!”

Solo challenges threatened my very foundation…A toilet that necessitated a paper filter and a three step process for proper incineration.

Yes, INCINERATION.

Giddy with bravado, I did not follow the steps correctly, and LO I felt the toilet vibrate. I feared it might launch me skyward-through the yurt hole, but I trusted and I prevailed.

Yes, YURT HOLE.

Foreign vocabulary bandied about freely like “Time to Go Moji!” and “welcome packet” and “mind blowing epicness” punctuated by Bollywood/Flamanco hand gestures meant to keep the noseeums out of our everywheres.

New rights of passage involving call and response from Tiffany, our business wizard: “Clap once if you can hear me” [CLAP!] “Clap twice if you can hear me” [CLAP! CLAP!!]

Lolita and Deb served as strategic planning sorceresses.

Kristin, Kim, and Danielle called the tribe to social action

Anna and Lisa served as writer shamans,

And we all won the reward challenge: two full days full of CONTENT, full of women of SUBSTANCE, full of delicious and satisfying SOUR GUMMY WATERMELONS. 35 Smart on-line women willing to dream big while lounging large, willing to state their goals out loud in front of their peers and idols, and willing to give freely of their skills and their Redvines.

No one was voted off, and the alliances will prove too many to count. They include YOU. Look what you’ve created. Look what you do well. Pick two things, and tell the other two to go to the library and hang out with the nice librarians until you’ve made your dream a reality. Find someone to work with that can bring your project to the next level—someone who does what you cannot or will not do and does it better than anyone you know. Offer a trade, or pay them—invest in yourself.

We blog alone, but we build together.

As the German yogi said while teaching Thai yoga in an Ojai Yurt: The Magic is at the edge.

Yes, GERMAN YOGI

That uncomfortable edge is where you walk and there is no shoulder on the road, and no rattlesnakes to worry about unless it’s sunny (?!!?) and Ojaites not observing the speedlimit, but also where change happens.

A thousand thank yous to founders Leanne, Cyn, Jess and Andrea, and also to GoMoji and Paper Culture, our sponsors. I love hearing people passionate about what they do, and these two companies deliver a fantastic product with integrity.

Off go pick up my kids from the library…