Reflections from BlogHer Food in Austin

(all photos were taken by me)

This picture and the seven images below are shots from my weekend trip to Austin, TX for the BlogHer Food 2013 Conference. It was fantastic and inspiring. I met so many people from different walks of life who blog about a variety of things and have all arrived at the conference for different reasons. Some people blog full time for a living and have always held some form of employment, whether for themselves or others, in a writing/photography capacity. Others were brand marketing wizards and navigated the brand networking circuit like pros. And then there was the category I belonged to, the corporate cog looking for an artistic release.

Austin has a great scene. People are young and friendly. There is plenty to do if you love music, art, food, and pop culture. How can I improve San Jose after seeing this? How can I be surrounded by the entrepreneurial spirit and go home to my very routine job? The Silicon Valley can be a harsh place for the liberal arts minded female. Let's face it, if you can't code software, develop an app, design hardware, or invest in the next big software/app/hardware thing, then you're not going to be somebody here.

One of the biggest things I take away from the conference is that I still like what I do. I like that I blog about San Jose and the South Bay. I live the quintessential Silicon Valley lifestyle. I work for a tech company and I always want more. We are an eager and ambitious lot here in the "Valley." I want to be more and do more. What will this translate into? When I decide, you will see. But the Silicon Valley will just have to make room for me because I can't code a single line of software and I'm still here!

In the meantime, enjoy these scenic shots of downtown Austin.

 

 View from my hotel window.

 

 Lit trees lined 6th Street

 

 The lobby of the grand Hilton Austin Hotel

 

 Foodies drink alot

 It's all about Tex-Mex in this town

A city needs an identity like a blog needs a purpose.