- The part of the conference I was on the committee for was a smashing success - w00t!
- I think my presentation went well; I always have a hard time evaluating how my presentations go, but no one was snoring or throwing things, and there were some pretty good questions, so I call it good.
- My poster was popular and well-received (I nearly lost my voice).
- I got to catch up with a few friends, which was lovely!
- Dovie did pretty good overall in her grandparent's care; she still has no teeth and has decided not to crawl quite yet (phew! back to baby proofing just as soon as we unpack).
- I skipped out (or left very early) from most evening social activities, so that I could put Dovie to bed every night.
- Dovie is quite the charmer and even earned me some brownie points when I introduced her to people (never too early to start using your cute kid to your advantage, eh? ;)
- The biggest fiasco by far was trying to pump throughout the conference; there was not a private space for me to do so, and I only found one bathroom with an electric outlet (near the sink, far from stalls) in a bathroom on the other end of the conference center from where I normally was (and it was one loooong conference center). I ended up strategically skipping sessions so that I could go back to the hotel; lots of running around later, you'll be happy to know that my boobs did not explode.
- After being in the conference location city for a week, I did not, in fact, see any of the city. If not for local cuisine at the conference events, I would have not tried any of the local food either. It is almost like I just flew into the city and never left the airport.
- I spoke up about how difficult it is for parents to attend a conference which provides no daycare; there is some talk about possibly trying to correct this in the future. I sure hope this works as otherwise Hubby and I will have to alternate attending conferences (our babysitting arrangement was a one-time thing, only made possible by the location of this conference this year).
- At the end of the trip, we got to show Dovie off to some new relatives; she is quite a social kid and loved it all!
- We have vowed to not travel for the remainder of the year; if the grandparents want some time with Dovie, they will have to come our way. Which means we better actually celebrate the holidays this year!
The perverse incentives of academia
6 years ago

2 comments:
Glad y'all made it through in one piece - I'm truly impressed! :)
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