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I enjoyed the two times I went to sxsw interactive in 2002 and 2003. I met a lot of folks and put many names with faces. I’m grateful I went to Break Bread with Brad as Brad L. Graham passed away recently. He was a warm person who welcomed everyone to his delightful event. I also played in Anil Dash’s KICK! in 2002. It’s like kickball where no one is picked last!

I told a story at Fray Cafe both years. (Here’s the story from 2002.) I participated in 20×2, one question in two minutes. The question: “What are you waiting for?” Well, I was proud of my entry because I was not good at creating such a video, but it got messed up when it transferred to the presentation computer. It messed up all the timing and animation. I was embarrassed and disappointed.

Oh, and I was almost eight months pregnant in 2003. I obviously enjoyed many memorable experiences I would never had without sxsw. Why wouldn’t I go and create more this year? And to make it harder, many freelance colleagues and a couple of clients will be there. OK, here’s why — but pprlisa’s list is the best!

1. It’s time to shake Austin. My last trip? Austin. The trip before that. Austin. About four or five trips to Austin and no where else. When you live in the great state of Texas, a lot of events tend to occur in Austin including PTA. I’m starting to think there are only two places in the world: Texas and Washington, DC, the only time I’ve ever lived outside of Texas.
2. I need to catch up on recorded programs before the DVRs explodes. Yes, that’s plural. I record almost everything. As a mom of three, watching TV makes you feel guilty — but not when you’re doing the laundry or exercising while watching it. Since my circadian rhythm will be off-kilter when Daylight Savings Time kicks in on March 14, TV is the best medicine — thereby, guilt-free.
3. I must stop daughter from getting tons of piercings. She’s wanted to add two more ears piercings for a while. No problem. Suddenly, the list grew and she wanted it all done during spring break. Dearie… let’s start with two. Besides that, she’s the kind who doesn’t take kindly to pain. More than two piercings will make her wisdom teeth removal experience look like a basic dental cleaning.
4. I want people to remember me as my photo. The photo that’s my avatar everywhere is from 2005. I don’t know if I can pull off a good hair day the whole time there. Curly hair has a mind of its own.
5. I need to avoid the temptation to buy more books. Oh, count on seeing plenty of authors hawking their books. I bought signed copies of  books by Lawrence Lessig, Cory Doctorow (I also sat next to him at Fray Cafe) and Rebecca Blood. My pocketbook is being too appreciative. Sadly, out of those three that I remember, I’ve only read one.
6. I have my Austin phoon shot. I went back in 2003 despite having the phoon shot from 2002 because I knew that as a very pregnant woman, I’d have no chance of retaining my balance. It was like a free pass.
7. I can’t tell a Fray story. Fray Cafe is no more.
8. I like torturing myself. Anytime I go into Twitter — I see a mention of someone going to sxsw. I love knowing who I am missing out on and torturing my soul so I can write the baddest and saddest poem ever. Either that or it’ll give me a good reason to stay off Twitter for a week and spend spring break time with the kids. Nah…
9. I have a bad case of overwhelmitis. sxsw has grown so big, it’d blow out my expensive cochlear implant batteries too frequently. Plus, it’ll be harder to plug in my laptop with many more folks in attendance all fighting for the few outlets. And sxsw-i has grown more than double. I’m an introvert on Myers-Briggs — it does not mean I’m shy … I’m not. It means being around large crowds drains my energy. Even in 2002 and 2003 when it was a nice sized conference, I collapsed at the end of the day and when I arrived home. I’m an ISTJ in case you were not wondering.
10. I have no chance in foursquare. The folks at sxsw are the type who use the location-based service religiously. I’m a sore loser Why do you think a telecommunications company is having to up its network service at Austin Convention Center? Because 95 percent of attendees connected to the Internet to tweet, blog, check in foursquare, etc.

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