Continuing with Part I of Friday’s gratitude post, I have much more to share with you. I’m still reeling from attending this year’s SOBCon08.
Like Liz Strauss mentioned in a comment she left at Part I, I was largely ambivalent about attending primarily due to the added expense of going because I had allocated a large portion of funds towards the creation of my first-ever professional speaking demo tape (you can see the 10 minute video here if you haven’t seen it yet).
Gratitude #8: Meeting Like-Minded People
I left off the last part by telling you that while I was engaged in a conversation with Ruth (see photo), I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Lorelle VanFosset and Wendy Piersall (who you will remember was interviewed here just a few weeks ago). (Photo credit: Michael Martine).
When I arrived to my room earlier that day, I had used my portable TTY to find out when Wendy would be arriving. I couldn’t wait to meet someone who just gave a fabulous, authentic, heart-stopping interview here at Adversity University.
That’s when I learned Lorelle was with her in the car. I had known about Lorelle, the famous Wordpress expert, for quite some time so I was really excited about meeting her as well.
At one point, I was distracted (yes, even though I am reputed to be a very focused conversationalist, I do allow myself to get distracted from time to time) because I noticed a flurry of activity taking place at the Club 71 hotel next door. Curiosity got the better of me and that’s when I discovered Lorelle and Wendy had just arrived in style (Wendy is the one with blond hair).
Liz enthusiastically greeted them and brought them over to where we were all gathered. That’s when I met Wendy for the first time. Not 
surprisingly, We connected right away - how exciting to meet someone I just interviewed just weeks ago!
Not to be outdone, Lorelle (the one with red hair) lost no time introducing herself, “Wendy told me all about you!!”
Like what happened with Wendy, I felt like she was my long-lost sister. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Were we all separated at birth or something? (Lorelle’s photo: taken by Chris Cree).
Around 7:45pm all of us went to the FuelMyBlog event, very generously hosted by Paul and his associates. That’s where I tested my rusty pool table skills.
Stephen Smith and I were somehow thrown 
together as a team, the prize of which I cannot remember exactly. Since we lost, it didn’t matter anyway.
The evening ended rather late and I escorted Joanna Young back to the hotel, taking more pictures along the way. As you can see, downtown Chicago was positively ablaze in lights, the likes of which I hadn’t seen since leaving New York in the late 90’s.
Tired but elated, I went to bed Thursday night knowing I had a full schedule the next day.
Gratitude #9: Meeting the Geek!
The next morning, I accompanied Stephen Smith to Macy’s where we were scheduled to meet Phil Gerbyshak, the famous relationship geek. He was with Susan Quant, a good friend of his. Suddenly turning playful, I whispered conspiratorially to Stephen, “Let’s sneak up on them and see if he recognizes us.”
After a few minutes of standing in position, we waited for a few minutes. He was busily looking through the assortment of materials that would go into the making of a customized notebook and talking to Susan.
It wasn’t long before he finally looked up and saw us standing there. A look of recognition spread across the geek’s face, setting off firecrackers. All of us ensued in a huge hug-fest, right there in the open. It was hilarious. Good thing innocent bystanders weren’t in the way during the frenzy! (Photo Credit: @Stephen).
Well, Phil was true to form - not once did his smile falter throughout the conference. It seemed that he knew everyone. He would invariably say, “This is Wendy, Lorelle, Terry, Karen, Chris, Liz, etc.” and kept going like that until every single person was mentioned. I was incredulous. He sure lives up to the relationship geek brand name!
After we got a free customized notebook (all we had to do was ask about how it was done and each of us took one home for free - Levenger was having a in-store promotion - imagine that!), we decided to go out for a cuppa coffee at Borders, just down the street.
That’s when Stephen got a phone call from Chris Brown, a blogger from my hometown. She had just arrived from Ohio and wanted to know if she could join us. But of course! She’s the gal in the red jacket.
Gratitude #10: Opportunity to Make Many New Friends
I couldn’t believe I even hesitated to attend this conference. Had I stayed home, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet, oh gosh, so many people. Because the conference was only 3 days and over 100 people were there, it was virtually impossible to meet every single person.
Rather than listing everyone I had an engaging conversation with (there were many) and running the risk of forgetting someone, you know who you are. I am grateful i got to make a connection with each and every one of you. I look forward to strengthening the bonds of our new friendship and providing moral support whenever you need it. From time to time you will be mentioned here at this blog and if a photo was taken of you, that will go in here too. Don’t ever hesitate to call on me if you need a place to stay in Ohio or something. I’ll be there for you!
Having said that, I absolutely cannot leave out three very special people because they have been long time subscribers to Adversity University. Here they are:
And there’s one more person I have to mention even though she couldn’t attend the conference this year. Arrangements were made to meet a die-hard fan of Adversity University, Corinne Edwards, who managed to clear her schedule to meet twelve of us at a Greek Restaurant for dinner Saturday night. (Photo L to R: Michelle Vandepas and Corinne Edwards)
It was a very special moment for me because I knew she was dealing with the situation of her best friend on her deathbed. Thank you Corinne for coming out to meet us. I am forever grateful I had a chance to meet you in person.
Gratitude #11: Thanks for Feeding and Hosting Me
As I mentioned before, Karen very generously opened her home for me to stay two extra nights (Sunday and Monday), giving me the opportunity to cut my hotel stay short and save some money. She treated me like a King and provided me with a comfortable bed and my own bathroom. She also drove me to the airport and dropped me off when it was time to leave. Thank you so much Karen! (Photo of Karen Putz with her cute little dog).
Last but not least, I also want to thank Lorelle and Wendy for inviting 
me to Wendy’s house Monday night so that they could babysit me while Karen ran around like a headless chicken tending to Mom duties. I helped Lorelle clean and chop up the vegetables/fruit while Wendy cooked. The end result was a royal turkey feast complete with mashed potatoes, salad, fruit and cake.
After dinner was over we all sat in Wendy’s living room and picked each other’s brains, with Wendy and Lorelle asking me about my speaking career and me asking them about their respective businesses. It was a fun, engaging night!
Thank you Wendy for treating me like a member of the Piersall family and having me over dinner. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to connect with you and Lorelle on a deeper level.
Lorelle’s parting words were, “I love you.” Yes, I know. I love you guys too!
Well, that’s all folks. If I keep going, I’ll end up posting a million more words and photos and never get done. If you’re so inclined and you want to see more photos of the conference, head on over to Flickr. I have to warn you though, there are almost a thousand photos to sift through!
Simply put, it was an extraordinary 5 days in the Windy City, the experience of which I’ll never forget. Thanks to everyone who touched me and for opening your arms, welcoming me to a sea of new faces. I love each and every one of you.
Food for thought: Have you reached out and hugged someone today? That person will have one more reason to be grateful.
This post (see link below) was written and copyrighted by Stephen J. Hopson at: Adversity University Blog
End of the Week Gratitude Theme #27 (Part II)
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