iPad Envy

Thursday evening, footnoteMaven was flaunting her tech toys: Droid phone, iPod video camera, and her iPad – I want one of those! I really, really want one!

Steve has one too. So does Dick. I want one... (photo courtesy of Cheryl Palmer)

I spent half an hour writing a query for Dick's GenQueries project in the hopes that I might win the iPad he was giving away. But alas, that didn't happen. Looks like I'll have to go out and buy one.

SCGS Genealogy Jamboree :: Part Two

It had been a late night on Friday and I skipped the first session on Saturday morning opting to attend the Blogger Summit (part one and two) and then the Live Podcast by Lisa Louise Cooke.

Lisa Louise Cooke and Chris Haley during the live podcast.

I had intended to go to Cath Trindle's presentation on "How Much Proof is Enough?" but didn't make it to the room on time. The next session I went to was "Neglected History" with Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak who discussed several people who have been “lost” to history – their important contributions have been pushed to the wayside with the emphasis on the more well-known people.

I was thrilled to meet Megan later and get my picture taken with her – and the photo was taken by Dick Eastman! Thanks, Dick.

At 6:15 there was a “special” session with Geoff Rasmussen titled “Brick Walls be Gone: Using Legacy's Research Guidance and To-Do List Tools” which I attended with Cheryl Palmer and several hundred other people. The Pavilion was packed with few, if any, empty seats. Most people were probably there because Legacy was giving away a netbook! I have been a user of Legacy for several years (since version 3.0) but had never really utilized the features Geoff discussed. I learned a few tips but didn't win the netbook.

Cheryl and I went to the geneablogger lounge and to our surprise found that no one was there! No geneabloggers in the lounge? We walked into the Marriott Grill and the only geneablogger we saw there was Randy Seaver and his lovely wife Linda. They invited us to join them, which we did and we had a very pleasant evening chatting with them. (Thanks, Randy.)

Me and Randy. I didn't get a picture of Randy and his wife Linda together...

On Sunday, I didn't attend any sessions!! But there was a good reason... In April of this year, when I had lunch with Craig Manson and Sheri Fenley, Craig had mentioned that he had never been to his grandmother's gravesite. She was buried in Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, which is not far from Burbank and just happens to be the largest Memorial Park in the World! I told Craig then that if we both made it to Jamboree I'd take him to the cemetery! I made good on that promise Sunday morning.

Craig and I left the Marriott at nine o'clock and breezed through the traffic, which was pretty light even for a Sunday morning. Rose Hills has an online database of interments and we had looked up his grandmother so we knew the section and plot number. Even so, I stopped at the gate, which had an attendant, and was given a drawing of the cemetery and directions to the gravesite.

After one wrong turn we made it to the right section. It was on the side of a hill so I went to locate the grave while Craig waited in the van. But I couldn't find it. I counted off the rows and spaces several times but came up with nothing except a blank space. I really didn't want to tell him that I couldn't find a grave marker but I did. We then returned to the gate attendant and asked if there was a marker for his grandmother. The response was brief and blunt – No. And I wondered why she hadn't mentioned it the first time, but I didn't ask. We returned to the site so Craig could view the area and I took a couple of pictures for him.

More than a little disappointed and with more questions than answers we returned to the Marriott in time for lunch. Craig then had an interview with Lisa Louise Cooke for a future podcast and I skipped the final session for the day.

Craig Manson and me.

To mark the end of Jamboree, a little celebration was held courtesy of Susan Kitchens who surreptitiously provided a bit of bubbly for the occasion. And then I reluctantly departed, happy to have met so many of my online friends but sad that it all had to end and hopeful that we'll meet again someday.

Having some fun! Contrary to appearances, I had only a few small sips of the bubbly... Susan is more than a little crazy – but in a good way! Thanks, Susan.

SCGS Genealogy Jamboree :: Part One

It was early Thursday afternoon when I arrived in beautiful downtown Burbank (well, actually at the Ramada Inn) and met up with Cheryl Palmer who was to be my roommate for the weekend. Cheryl had originally planned to team up with Sheri Fenley again this year (they were dubbed “Thelma and Louise” last year) and they were graciously going to allow me to barge in on them! However, Sheri was unable to attend (we missed you, Sheri).

Me and Cheryl Palmer.

Later in the afternoon, Cheryl and I went over to the geneabloggers lounge at the Marriott and schmoozed with the other geneabloggers. I was going to try to keep track of everyone I met but that goal went down the tubes after the first few minutes! The excitement was palpable. Everyone was thrilled about meeting or reuniting with online friends.

A group of us went across the street to George's Greek Cuisine for supper after picking up our registration packets. There wasn't enough room inside for us and the other customers so we pushed five or six tables together in the outside dining area (on the sidewalk). There were so many conversations going on with smiles and laughter all around. Then it was back to the geneabloggers lounge for more chatting and greeting the new arrivals.

One of the highlights of the evening occurred when Elyse Doerflinger arrived. She had graduated from college earlier in the day and was on cloud nine. But Tami Glatz had a surprise for her that literally put Elyse over the top. During the NGS conference earlier this year in Salt Lake City Tami had gathered the signatures of many of the “top names” in the genealogy field. At Jamboree the geneabloggers were invited to sign the book also. Many people not only signed the autograph book but most of them also wrote a personal message of encouragement and congratulations to Elyse. It was a wonderful thing for Tami to do and Elyse was nearly speechless, at least for a few seconds! Shortly after the presentation to Elyse, Cheryl and I called it a day.

Tami Glatz presenting the genealogist autograph book to Elyse Doerflinger.

Friday morning we returned to the Marriott for some more schmoozing. Class sessions began at 1:30 and I went to “Cases that Made My Brain Hurt” by Megan Smolenyak2 wherein she described some of the more challenging characters she has had to track down.

For some reason, I skipped the second session. For the third and final session of the day, I listened to Cafi Cohen talk about the importance of “Cousin-Connection Genealogy” and the possibility that it could help you break through a brick wall. Her primary emphasis was on researching the siblings of your ancestors and locating the descendants of those siblings.

After a little more schmoozing in the geneablogger lounge, I joined footnoteMaven, Kathryn Doyle, Schelly Talalay Dardashti, and Daniel Horowitz for supper. And then it was back to the motel for a good nights sleep!

It's Over...

This weekend has been fantastic! I've had the bestest time ever meeting genea-bloggers as well as other genealogists and even attending a few sessions! It's been such a great time, I really didn't want it to end. I think many of us felt that way.

Thank you to the Geneabloggers Swag Bag Team of Amy Coffin, Thomas MacEntee, Joan Miller, and Denise Levenik for putting together a wonderful assortment of items for us. Another thank you goes to the Sponsors for providing that swag!

I'll post additional photos and more information in the very near future. Thanks to everyone for an absolutely amazing time!!!!


in front: Miriam Midkiff (AnceStories), fM (footnoteMaven and Shades of the Departed), Becky Wiseman
the others: Kathryn Doyle (California Ancestors.org), Cheryl Palmer (Heritage Happens), Denise Levenik (The Family Curator), Elyse Doerflinger (Elyse's Genealogy Blog).

Thomas MacEntee (Destination Austin Family and Geneabloggers), Joan Miller (Luxegen Genealogy), Becky Wiseman, Randy Seaver (Genea-Musings), Miriam Midkiff (AnceStories), Craig Manson (GeneaBlogie), and Susan Kitchens (Family Oral History).