"Times Square" Digital Artwork by BZTAT

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. ~Seneca

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

BZTAT and Frugal Dougal with staff (Lynn Haigh) at the Shorty Awards

Everyone expected me to be at the Shorty Awards. I did have a pretty public appeal for help to get there, after all. And everyone expected @FrugalDougal‘s staff to be there too (nominated in the non-profit category). But it was a complete surprise for all of us when the phenomenal fund raising pooch showed up himself at the Shorty Awards!

I discovered that the CDO of the #PawPawty is no shrinking violet at human parties as well. What a good time we all had in New York!

Neither  Dougal nor I came home with a Shorty Award, but we certainly had a good time celebrating as finalists. Dougal and I had a great time with his staff, Lynn Haigh, and Nancy Heltman (tweeter for @VAStateParks, who was nominated for a Shorty award in the Government category).

At the Shorty Awards

We met up with some other “tweeps” as well during our adventure to the Shorty Awards.

Shorty Awards Tweet-up

Shorty Awards Tweet-up

Shorty Awards Tweet-up

I also got to see my niece, who is studying costume and theater set design at NYU, and who I am convinced is going to be famous some day.

BZTAT and Travis Boatright

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to New York, and I took lots of photos to use for reference in making some digital art. Watch for my NYC series of works to come in the future.

I want to express my deepest thanks to all who helped me get to New York so that I could experience the Shorty Awards in person. It truly was a very special opportunity to be able to represent the wonderful pet community on Twitter at the Shorty Awards.

Although the Shorty Awards tended to favor recognizable Twitterers over creative users of the medium, and an unusual number of ties was somewhat disconcerting, I think the whole process was a fun and exciting adventure.

Thank you to all my followers who made the Shorty dream come alive for me.

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

This video was filmed in Chicago, but it characterizes the feeling that I have as I write today from New York City! I am here for the Shorty Awards Ceremony, which begins tonight at 7 pm EST.

If the Shorty Awards judges go solely on the number of popular votes in making their decisions, I don’t have a chance. The guy in first place has many more votes than I do.

But if they consider the love and enthusiasm shown by my followers, I would have won it a million times over.

Somewhere along the line in this quest for a Shorty, it stopped being about me. It started being about all the folks who helped me get to the Shorty finals and to New York City.

I take all of you with me. Please live vicariously through my tweets (Follow #bztatnyc on Twitter), as you are here with me every step of the way.

No matter what happens, today is gonna be a good, good day, and tonight is going to be a good good night! It is all because of you!!!

Thx for the adventure!

Life is an Adventure!
BZTAT