Toyota Semester 2

The view in Hermosa Beach. Not so bad.

Goon Squad Sarah and I were sitting on the couch of a really gorgeous Hermosa Beach hotel, thinking about blogging.

We go way back. We met at the second BlogHer, the infamous one in 2006 in San Jose where the air conditioning didn’t work in the conference rooms, where there were about four sponsors, and where all kinds of lifetime friendships were formed while sitting around the swimming pool.

Sarah in San Jose. Oh my gosh, she looks like such a baby!

We talked about how things have changed. How at that BlogHer, there were very few people who had had books published, and those books were from before they started blogging. About how the outside world hadn’t discovered blogging yet.

Of course all of that has busted open. Now we go to bookstores and see many, many books by people we know. Having a friend appear on the Today Show or in the New York Times is cool, but far from novel.

I never bothered to watch the movie 127 Hours, because self-amputation isn’t on the list of things I want to see with my own eyes, but my friend CC relayed the main message to me, a message I think applies to all of us all the time.

The rock-trapped guy realizes that everything he has ever done in his life, every decision he has made, has brought him to this situation.

Who knew that when we first signed up for Blogspot and hit publish for the first time that we would do it over and over and over again? Or that Sarah and I would not just meet in San Jose, but also in Chicago, Washington DC, New York and San Diego?

Now we had Toyota bringing us to a beautiful spot in Southern California, letting us drive their pretty new cars, having their executives speak to us, and asking our opinions – all because we hit publish over and over and over.

Sarah on the beach. As a former Floridian, she says the water is too dang cold.

It’s semester 2 of TWIN, the Toyota Women Influencers Network. I’m happy that I’m along for the ride, and happy to meet cool new TWIN members like Elena (CiaoMom), Glennia (with whom I have been tweeting forever, but had never met), and Kate (The Guavalicious Life).

Every decision in my life so far has brought me to this point. To a gorgeous beach on a glorious day with a good friend. To friendship, to intimacy across the miles, to sharing our lives through the highs and lows. And I’m happy to be here.

*****
Just a reminder that 100 Cars for Good is still going on. They’ve given away dozens of cars to non-profit groups so far, with many more to go.

I love love love that the voting for each organization is just for one day, so you don’t get endless reminders from friends and supporters to “go vote ONE MORE TIME!” Nope. You vote once, on one day, and then immediately find out if your organization got a car or $1000. Pretty cool.

Disclosure: I was selected for participation in the TWIN community through a program with Clever Girls Collective. I did not receive any compensation for writing this post, or payment in exchange for participating. The opinions expressed herein are mine, and do not reflect the views of the Toyota.