The Women’s Conference: waiting & watching from afar

Yesterday was a “Day Of Transformation and Healing” and “A Night at at the Village” at the Women’s Conference.

What an absolutely amazing event; unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to attend. I had to leave Deepak Chopra’s talk early for a rehearsal; the rehearsal was scheduled after his talk but I was told I was needed immediately–which was not even close to the truth and which meant I sat in the convention hall waiting around for 90 aggravating minutes. I couldn’t even get online to hear the rest of his talk on the Women’s Conference website. I promise to get my notes turned into a blog post as soon as possible.

Above is a photo of “How Do I Look” host Jeannie Mai during rehearsal. Her glasses are so clear you can put your finger right through (but you might poke her in the eye so be careful!). It’s all about style she told me. We also talked about Vietnamese food and I invited her to visit with me the An Lac Mission Buddhist Temple in Ventura in February for a huge festival celebrating the visit of the Jade Buddha.

When the rehearsal was over, I wasn’t allowed to stay at the convention center: I had to leave my car there and be driven back to the hotel where I had to stay with the other women in one of two hotel rooms until I was called in almost four hours later for my hair. I couldn’t even go to my own room.

At least today I thought I’d be able to attend the Main Event and blog it for you (and me!) Instead, I’m watching it just like anyone else might–online. What is different is I’m able to watch it from the beautiful Hotel Maya on the water across from downtown (see photo above) while I’m waiting to hear from someone from the Women’s Conference about what’s going on.

I would buy a ticket using some of the $1500 the Style Network gave me last night except the Main Event has been sold out for months and yesterday I overheard several women trying to get in. Tickets on Craigslist were going for hundreds of dollars.

What were some of the highlights?

Well, Eve Ensler –Playwright, Performer, Activist– definitely put my bad hair day into perspective. Last year she was at the conference with a full head of hair. Today she’s lost it all from chemotherapy.

First Lady of California Maria Shriver spoke movingly about the recent loss of her mother.

And it turns out Maria Shriver is also a huge fan of Mary Oliver, Pulitzer Prize-Winning & National Book Award-Winning Poet, who read some of my favorite poems to an appreciative audience. Here’s the text to Mary Oliver’s poem “Summer Day” which she read for us.

In a conversation with Diane Sawyer, Anchor of ABC World News introduces The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor, Former Associate Justice and The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice told some great stories, O’Connor in particular when she discussed the sexism she experienced when she first passed the bar and was looking for work. At her first job as  a lawyer, she had to work with the other women over in the typing pool!

I heard Matt Lauer ask some hard questions of the candidates for California Governor, including a request for a cleaner campaign; while Jerry Brown was willing to agree, Meg Whitman waffled and rejected the audiences applause.

I don’t think I’ll wait too much longer before I go over there and try to buy myself a ticket for tonight’s Minerva Awards.

As you can imagine, I have a lot more to say on this subject. But I’m biting my tongue. Let’s see how long that lasts.

Tags: How Do I Look?, Jeannie Mai, The Women's Conference