Writing....

So, my promise to myself is that when I finish this paper, I will write a long blog post. I hope this will be a good incentive... Right now I am in what might be termed the Sloughs of Despair. (Is that from Pilgrim's Progress? It should be, if it isn't.) I keep telling myself that this is my chance to share with my committee everything I've been thinking and feeling excited about Thailand and everything... I just don't know if it's enough. I feel stupid with every word I put on the page. But I can't stop putting them there. My plan is: write the damn thing and just, turn it in. I can edit later. I need feedback. I need to be done.

And I want to buy a fun book to read on the plane. This is another goal.

Tired

So I meant to get to the hotel I'm staying at right now and catch this blog up, but I realized I have to get up at four am to catch my six am flight and so I'm going to go to sleep instead.

Highlights to act as place holders for myself when I write my Epic San Fran Post:

Angles: this city has them. (My legs are killing me.)

Ponderings on: what on earth possessed my parents to trot all four of us kids from the international airport to FIsherman's Wharf back in 96? That is quite a hike!

Speaking of Fisherman's Wharf: the seagulls are some of the most frightening things I have EVER encountered. They are also huge.

The conference: was awesome. So was my presentation. (Seriously, I actually enjoyed myself. I told one of my mentor-type peoples that I would preform my paper and by golly, I did!)

And finally:

Walking, walking, yay, going to Golden Gate Bridge! Wait, what? Is that the Pacific Ocean?!

Details to come.

I love San Fran

More to come. But I really like this city! Walking on these hills was certainly a challenge!

More Airports!

Last night I locked myself out of my apartment. This was not conducive to my plans for packing, cleaning, writing and tying up all the odds and ends that manifest themselves right before a major trip. Then I woke up and realized I was cutting things REALLY close in terms of when I was arriving at the airport. (I got to my gate 5 minutes before the stated boarding time. Not usual for me. I generally like to be at least an hour early.) The security folks were super nice, though. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met nicer.

I offered to transport the materials for my program’s grad booth at this conference. (They said they’d pay for the checked bag, so why not?!) So I’m trotting through America with my computer bag and a poster stand. People keep asking me if I’m a musician. I wish I was that cool. No, I’m just a wannabe academic making my way to a conference.

I do love airports though. I’ve never been through Atlanta before. It’s huge! For some reason I expected it to be like Raleigh’s International Airport, which is pretty small. Atlanta’s got TRAINS taking you between terminals. And nice restaurants that are fairly reasonably priced. I’d forgotten what southern accents sound like. My own sneaks back when I talk to people here, without meaning to. (I’ve kept the y’all but not the rest, generally.)

Ang Syu Kyi has apparently been released from house arrest. I must look this up when I have internet access.

There is a wireless network here in the Atlanta airport that purports to be free and official. But I’m afraid to connect in case it isn’t. (Also my Safari said the security certificate isn’t valid, and my dad has told me stories about such things.) So I’ve been kind of working on a lot of different things. My paper. My thesis. My resumes. I am so excited though that it’s hard to focus on any one thing for long. So I’m taking a few minutes to write this. And then I’m boarding soon. Next stop Phoenix!

Later:

Phoenix is awesome and has internet access. Also, it looks pretty, so I want to come back here sometime. (I had to change terminals so I consider that I have "been" here.) It's so brown! All the hills are this golden brown color.

Also, it is hot here. I was thinking about how interesting the clothes people wear are. I mean, I started in Philly, so I was wearing fall clothes (including a jacket). The lady next to me on my last flight started in Raleigh so she was wearing sort of between season clothes. And the man next to the window was wearing summer clothes because he started in Florida. I don't know why, but that just struck me as awesome, but basically, I'm in my "travel ftw!!!!" mode so just about everything strikes me that way.

Next stop, San Francisco!!! That should be interesting. I have to navigate a train with my bags and the poster holder thingy. Also, it will be dark. Epic times ahead, I'm sure.

Coming soon: Walking in San Francisco

I'm so excited. First real time on the West Coast!

(I'm not sure if that 12 hour layover that one time really counts.)

Boring

I get bored too easily. This makes writing hard.

Haha, this blog, as a result, is boring also.

I've been learning a lot about myself. I'm not quite sure I like what I'm learning. It feels like I have to decide how fully I want to participate in life. And I'm just not sure. I don't like that.

Crunch Time

It annoys me when Microsoft Word does not recognize important words like "assemblage."