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listersgirlI'm back from Austin. How was Austin, you ask? I have no idea, since all I saw was the airport, my hotel, and the strip mall surrounding it. Oh, and a section of the highway. So exciting. I realize that I was at a conference, and the important stuff is supposed to be what happens inside the hotel, but still, would it kill us to be able to actually see the city that we're conferencing in?
One thing I can say, though, is that Austinites sure are fond of Valentine's Day. I went out Friday around dinnertime, and all I could see for miles were hand-holding couples. The line-up at the Cheesecake Factory, of all places, actually curled around the block (and that's not where I was going for dinner, don't worry). After leaving my last meeting that night, walking from the conference room to the elevators, I was confronted by thousands of baby couples dressed to kill who were at the hotel for some sort of dine&dance-type thing (which, incidentally, showed up a major flaw in the hotel construction, which was built so that all the rooms faced into an atrium, which housed the restaurants and ballrooms -- we could hear everything that was going on). Valentine's is not really on my radar, so maybe I've just never noticed, but I don't remember having seen that kind of intense celebrating before.
Anyway, the conference was good, for the most part. A little exhausting -- I never quite recovered from the 4 am start time that got me down to Austin, or all the travelling, but luckily neither did my roommate, so we went to bed early every night. Also exhausting was the constant socializing. If you're an socially well-adjusted person, you have no idea how painful it can be to enter a room full of people that you don't know (but should really get to know). Apparently I managed to cover up the stress pretty well, though, because a couple of people actually mentioned, in random context, what an outgoing person I was. Fooled you! Fooled you all! And I eventually ended up at the same banquet table as the only person at the conference who has a louder laugh than me. There was much shrieking. I'm sure the other tables were ready to kill.
The whole experience definitely brought my career anxieties to the fore, though. I wavered hourly between excitement over my chosen career and confusion as to why I had ever wanted to do this, between enthusiasm for becoming involved in my association and worries about what happens next. I think I'm okay now, but I'm still a little concerned about the future and whether I'll be able to handle it, or whether I'll just stay stuck in the same job for the next 20 years, which would be easy, but would kill me. Sigh.
Oh, I forget to mention the cheese. At the reception the first night, the only thing that kept me from crumpling into a ball of fast asleepness was the vast assortment of cheeses that were provided. Also there was a fabulous veggie plate with cherry tomatos, broccoli, and black olives (among other stuff). Yum.
In other news, I no longer have the will to alphabetize. This goes on much longer and I'll have to turn in my librarian's card.
One thing I can say, though, is that Austinites sure are fond of Valentine's Day. I went out Friday around dinnertime, and all I could see for miles were hand-holding couples. The line-up at the Cheesecake Factory, of all places, actually curled around the block (and that's not where I was going for dinner, don't worry). After leaving my last meeting that night, walking from the conference room to the elevators, I was confronted by thousands of baby couples dressed to kill who were at the hotel for some sort of dine&dance-type thing (which, incidentally, showed up a major flaw in the hotel construction, which was built so that all the rooms faced into an atrium, which housed the restaurants and ballrooms -- we could hear everything that was going on). Valentine's is not really on my radar, so maybe I've just never noticed, but I don't remember having seen that kind of intense celebrating before.
Anyway, the conference was good, for the most part. A little exhausting -- I never quite recovered from the 4 am start time that got me down to Austin, or all the travelling, but luckily neither did my roommate, so we went to bed early every night. Also exhausting was the constant socializing. If you're an socially well-adjusted person, you have no idea how painful it can be to enter a room full of people that you don't know (but should really get to know). Apparently I managed to cover up the stress pretty well, though, because a couple of people actually mentioned, in random context, what an outgoing person I was. Fooled you! Fooled you all! And I eventually ended up at the same banquet table as the only person at the conference who has a louder laugh than me. There was much shrieking. I'm sure the other tables were ready to kill.
The whole experience definitely brought my career anxieties to the fore, though. I wavered hourly between excitement over my chosen career and confusion as to why I had ever wanted to do this, between enthusiasm for becoming involved in my association and worries about what happens next. I think I'm okay now, but I'm still a little concerned about the future and whether I'll be able to handle it, or whether I'll just stay stuck in the same job for the next 20 years, which would be easy, but would kill me. Sigh.
Oh, I forget to mention the cheese. At the reception the first night, the only thing that kept me from crumpling into a ball of fast asleepness was the vast assortment of cheeses that were provided. Also there was a fabulous veggie plate with cherry tomatos, broccoli, and black olives (among other stuff). Yum.
In other news, I no longer have the will to alphabetize. This goes on much longer and I'll have to turn in my librarian's card.