NC

Last week I went to Charlotte, NC for a conference. Here are a few highlights:
First off I stayed in downtown Charlotte and took my first taxi ride (at least that I can remember) to get there. Luckily the taxi driver wasn't a creep! Here is a photo from my hotel room window.

A few other photos downtown - including a couple of cool statues they have around downtown. I really like the one with the baby.

The whole point of going (and submitting almost $900 for reimbursement) was so I could present this lovely poster. It is all about the literature review I have been writing so much about - which I think passed as my comp 1 (I say think only because I am waiting to see if I did enough minor editing for my advisor to pass me).

Other cool conference highlights. I actually got to meet a lot of people - some of whom might actually want to give me a job in a year from now. I also got to participate in a paraeducator special interest group and now I am part of a couple projects related to that - with people I have been reading about for a year. Sort of like meeting a movie star for a new researcher like me. Go ahead and call me a nerd!

I had kind of a weird flight plan to get to Charlotte. I travelled through Detroit. The craziest part of that was walking through a psychedelic tunnel - similar to the one in the original Willy Wonka movie (the part where they are on the boat and Wonka is super creepy).

I really think it is a hazard for those prone to seizures, but it made travel slightly more interesting. I was really excited that I didn't have any travel troubles (last time we had more than our fair share). This time 3 of my 4 flights actually arrived early - WOW!

I have to revisit the cost of this conference. I am not complaining - especially since I didn't have to pay for this out of my pocket, but for those of you who think that professors are rich you might want to perk up. First off you have to understand that professors are obligated to complete lines on their vita (also called a CV similar to a resume) if they want to keep a job. You do this in a number of ways (publishing, presenting at conferences, service, etc.). The irony about this is it is extremely expensive to do many of these activities. Consider the year it took me to write my paper and it isn't even published and has a good likelihood of getting rejected or need another revision. I don't think all things I will get published will take this long, but time is money and that is an expensive line on my vita. Then each conference, $900 is on the low end. It all adds up over the years to a lot of money to keep a job, get promotion and tenure. Good thing I love learning and working or this would be a drag!