What will the rest of the weekend hold for me? Stay tuned!

To be fair, I did have the trip planned long before I knew about the party. I can’t really get a refund for the $450 ticket either. I am staying at Chez Simon (aka my friend’s house), so my out of pocket expenses will not be too bad other than gas and meals (Thanks, Kat!) IZEA is sponsoring my ticket, so if you have ever considered making money on your blog please sign up for SocialSpark and friend me. You can also leave a comment here letting me know you’ve joined. There are plenty of ways to monetize your blog and other social networking hot spots to generate money/buzz, but I understand you have to make your own choice about what works best for you.

I had a great time signing up for the different panels that are available for the Interactive track a few weeks ago. Some of the names truly cracked me up. Personal Favorite? There is one called, Bloggers: How Not to get F_ _ _ed. Love it. I will be there on Saturday at 5:00 PM, and will without a doubt be reporting back. If you’ll be there too, shoot me a message and we can meet up.

I know there are lots of you who have plenty of big blogging conference experience. Is there anything I really need to know before descending on Austin? I already know that SXSW is huge. It’s going to be crazy. Traffic is going to be crazy. What should I bring? Here’s my short list: laptop, crackberry, ipod, pens, paper, business cards, swag. What else? I was hoping to get an Xshot (yes, that’s my affiliate link) before next week, but I don’t think that is going to happen in time. I have heard that they are great though, and would definitely come in handy at a place like this. Since I am without, be prepared for a ton of bad self portraits, people. I apologize in advance.

I’m not really signed up for any big parties either. I really want to attend the Facebook one. I clicked their link on the site, but I assume it’s pretty hard to get into considering how many other people are trying to get in. Speaking of exclusive, I also hear Perez Hilton is having another fabulous bash this year (date, location and time still top secret) with the likes of Tori Amos and perhaps Katy Perry. That would definitely rock. Love him or hate him, you have to admit it is going to be THE place to be. I heard last year over 90,000 RSVPed, and only a few hundred actually made it in and partied until 7:00 AM. Hey, he obviously knows how to throw (and publicize) a good party.

If you’re a SXSW insider, please spill any hints, tips, or fun facts in the comments below. I’ll see you there. I’ll be wearing my follow me @laurie_pooh Twitter t-shirt next Saturday (March 14). Look for me!

P.S. I did a little extra digging, and here is a list of 2009 SXSW parties. Also, Jake McKee/Community Guy, wrote a great SXSW Survival Guide, and Dave Delaney has 5 Crucial SXSW Tips posted on his site as well. These are all great reads to get ready for the conference.