He Had Me At Hello: Harry Connick Jr At Bllissdom

My plane landed smoothly in Nashville, TN on February 4th, which happens to be my birthday. The day had not gotten off to a great start. My lovely husband picked that as the time for him to rudely express his  frustration with me for an ongoing conflict. Like my anxiety is not all ready over the top trying to leave my family and all the obligations behind for a week.

I was determined to make a fresh start to the day. When I opened up my computer at the airport I observed a delightful amount of birthday greetings for me via facebook, twitter and emails.

Luckily, my roomie for the conference went along with the plan to stop at the nearest liquor store before we got sucked into the vortex to another time continuum called Gaylord's Opryland Resort.You'll have to check out her collection of Elvis wines and read about our finding our room escapades. Our romp through the bio domes rainforest to find our room while toting numerous bags left us moist and frazzled.

I like to unpack and organize as soon as I get in the room. But whacking our way through the jungle in the hunt for our room in the Magnolia section left me in need of an RP (rest period) with feet up on bed. Too geared up to really rest, I decide it's time to get the party started.

Ice was located. Glass tumblers (so much better than plastic or foam). Bliss (in room) bar and a refreshing beverage helped cool us down. We reviewed our Blissdom schedules and made some strategic decisions....ladies.start.your.engines!

There were ice breakers, business card exchanges, babies in strollers,lots of laughter and photogramommies run amok with their pro style cameras intimidating the heck out of my pocket sized digital. I won a cookbook by Food Network's George Duran who surprised us with a couple of cooking demonstrations at our humble gathering.

Friday there was so much to take in. People, computers, seminars. I felt like the snotty girl pulling up my twitter while my instructor chattered on, but it was what we were supposed to do. Not only is Twitter  handy for finding your roommate in a sea of women, it was up my alley to receive snarky ongoing commentary in real time (hey, it's what we do). I was amazed constantly by the creativity and genius around me.

Now the ladies (and the token men) were all a flutter anticipating the arrival of Harry Connick Jr and his band for our private concert. I thought it would be cool but in the back of my head I was all, man couldn't they have reeled in Justin Timberlake? I'm crazy for him and his sometimes sidekick/producer Timbaland. They are Tennessee boys and do gooders so I thought they would have been a good fit.

Harry Connick Jr & his awesome band

And then it happened. His handsome self took the stage and he had me at hello. Launching in to a self deprecating message of admiration for strong woman who know how to get things done. His charm grew by the minute as he spoke of the influential females in his life including his wife of 20 years, 3 daughters, his accomplished sister serving in the military. This guy was the real deal.He related how he was happy to be speaking to a group of communicators who could muster their brains, compassion and technology to make significant contributions to society.

Harry Connicks band

OK so they didn't sound like Justin Timberlake, but at that moment when it felt like they were playing individually to you it more than made up for that. The fact that the band members were each so expert with their particular instrument made them a dream team to listen to.

As Harry closed out the show and wandered around to the photo line in the back the rest of us slowly made our way out onto the dance floor with a new DJ taking over.

Our fun was so irresistible that before we knew it several of the band members had come through the middle of the crowd to join the crazy dance party that was ensuing. I'll give them a lot of credit for courage in dropping it like it's hot in a gigantic vat of estrogen fueled by some liquor and a corporate post Harry adrenaline surge. It's a wonder they didn't get eaten alive!

Who would have know that  Harry's band members enjoyed dancing to Justin Timberlake tunes as much as I do?