PTSD

Actually, I know why they call it the Windy City.

1. Have managed to fit eight days worth of stuff, including various dvds and books, into a small suitcase, a neon green duffle, and my laptop case.

2. Have used my sister's favorite t-shirt to make my computer all shiny and clean.

3. Have updated my hostel reservations to make space for my mum, who has decided to join me for the weekend. (She will use any excuse possible to spend time in Chicago. Much like me.)

4. Have gotten out clothing to wear on the train. Decided on head-kicking boots, for obvious reasons.

5. Have finished one paper, almost finished two more, and given one up as a lost cause for which an outline and a poster will have to be sufficient.

6. Have caught up with rss feeds. Feel like I'm bailing a rowboat using a spoon. May need to edit the subscriptions.

7. Have charged various things that need charging, read various things that need reading, and reserved various things that need reserving.

8. Have gotten a cool new haircut, a pair of great earrings, my great-grandmother's costume pearls, and a very nifty heirloom ring (about which there is A Story) from my mother. Am well equipped to be funky and bohemian while wandering the city this week.

9. Have plans to revisit old haunts (Lincoln Square, Unabridged Books, Rogers Park, the Green Mill, and the Art Institute) when not sitting in panels or the hotel bar. Shall not be eating in any overpriced tourist establishments.

10. Have already seen all of the Chicago Top Ten Attractions. Have also seen the next 15 on the list. And most of the following 20.

Suspect that I am not the intended audience for such things.

11. Shall be rooming with Fantastic Fellow Grad Student and sundry others. Shall be drinking with many other academics.

Shall also, at some point, give three presentations and a poster session. And sleep. Maybe.

Labels: academia, conferences, list

posted by Elizabeth @ 12:48 AM