I’ve been to conferences before (usually in a costume), but this is the first time I’ve ever been to a conference that is just for me. I mean, not me personally – KimliCon would be a terrifying yet hilarious experience – but a conference for people who are crazy into technical writing, documentation, punctuation, grammar, content-appropriate tone, and the Oxford Comma. I’m in love.

Last night was the Write the Docs party, and even though I was convinced that I would end up skipping it because neon anxiety, my feet had other plans and I found myself attending. Naturally, I ended up having an amazing time and meeting a ton of really cool people, all of whom do awesome things. Today is the second day of the conference, and I’ve learned a lot so far – I have a huge pile of notes to go through and turn into content to share back home. I absolutely want to attend next year, and will be working on the people with the money to bring some fellow owls with me, as I think a few people in particular would get a ton out of it.

During my down time, I’ve gone to Powell’s twice and explored the Dr. Martens store thoroughly. When things wrap up tonight, I’m going to head to the waterfront and relive some GTA (sorry in advance). I fly home tomorrow, and while I wish I had thought of extending my trip so I could have more Portland time, I miss my cats and Ed. Only solution: another Portland trip later this summer! I love this place. I could easily live here, actually – wandering through Portland feels natural. I usually feel out of place in Vancouver what with my lack of yoga pants/small dog/wads of cash, but here I’m not weird. I haven’t decided if that’s a good thing yet – I kind of love standing out – but there’s a lot to be said for fitting in, too. I could fit in here.

If nothing else (and there is so much else), attending Write the Docs has reaffirmed that I am absolutely doing the right thing – I was meant to be a technical writer, and I will continue to be the best I can be until such a time information is shared by hive mind and I am obsolete.