Hello everyone. I am really happy to be at San Jose for Netroots Nation. I am in California for the first time. San Jose is so beautiful and sunny. The whole place reeks of a smile. My hotel is very satisfying both staff service-wise and room facility wise. It was a little hard to adjust from flying and get used to my new schedule. I was tired such that I chose not to attend the robot tech museum welcome party. However, my dream came true. Day 1 is a great start. It is a little hard being a first timer. You wonder if you will fit in. However, the first training session for newbies with John Brougher was incredible.
Everything he said made total sense. He was kind, down to earth, and encouraging. It was easy connecting with people. They were proud, inspired, and fascinated with my point of view on our political society and my special interest of healthcare, environment, and immigration reform.
I met Joan Mccarter, Markos Moulistas, and Sam Seder. I was glad to meet them and have a great conversation about my interests and how they inspire me. I connected with progressives trying to get money out of politics and medical marijuana legalization. They valued my optimistic perspective and I feel am already moving people to make changes with a hopeful outlook on the big picture. Thank you all for making this happen (Gordon, navajo, socaliana, Jamie G etc).
I know I came to the right place, even though I am disappointed that the David Pakman show apparently cannot make it. David Pakman is one of my most important inspirations. I was looking forward to making friends with him, speaking Spanish (he is argentinian), and talking about piano/politics. There is always next year.
The only challenging thing so far was finding a lot of kossacks to connect with and go to lunch/dinner with. I have not met navajo or other kossacks wanting to meet me. However, the day is still young and there is a dailykos caucus tomorrow.
Friday and Saturday are pretty much set in terms of which sessions I want to go to. Time is passing quickly.
Navajo, and other kossacks, I haven't met, please let's meet soon. Let's hang out together.