This past weekend, I was able to attend the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Conference in Seattle. I was presenting a piece of my thesis on the Literary Monster as Message panel, which was pretty exciting. As per request, here follows my brief recital of my adventures.
When I left home, it was three in the morning. My flight left before six, and I had to leave myself enough time to make the hour drive. I made it easily through security, and in no time I was settled on the plane. I hate flying--it always makes me feel sick--but I was so tired I did not care. To say I slept like a rock would have been putting it lightly. It was well into the afternoon by the time I made it to my destination (I had a three hour layover in Houston) and found myself making my way towards the light rail. I ended up in the company of an older woman, who had come to Seattle to see her son; I helped her navigate the rail system, and my own worries about traveling in a strange city were placed on the back burner.
Getting off the train, I found myself in a ... difficult position. I had been unable to use my wheeled luggage, because its handle had broken, and so found myself carrying both my laptop bag and my carpet bag a mile through the city's heart. Every step seemed to be moments away from danger, since so many eyed my possessions as though evaluating their worth and ability to be stolen. By the time I arrived at Hotel Five, I felt dead on my feet. Check in went quickly, and soon I was collapsed in my room. But, as such things always go, I had to find food. I eventually made my way to a nice little Mexican restaurant, where I ate a spicy beef burrito. (For those of you who know me, this instance is particularly stunning, since I am known for loathing spicy food.) When I made it back to my hotel room, though, I was surprised to discover that someone had hacked my Paypal and used $120 of my money to buy Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I was upset almost beyond consolation. (I am still waiting to hear back on whether or not I will get my money back.)
When I finally fell asleep, I spent the night tossing and turning as nerves ate at me. In the morning, riding the bus proved to be an adventure. Drunken stumblers, vomit, and even someone smoking weed added a distinct element of local color to the ride. By the time I arrived at the conference itself, I was expecting who knows what--perhaps more trouble. After the first panel, I was able to meet one of the other members of my panel, and we decided to get lunch together. We talked about monsters, phd programs, and the eccentricities of Southern life. It was fun. I felt better about my presentation, if only because I would not be in a room of total strangers.
My actual presentation was, in many ways, laughable. Since it was the first panel on the last day, no one came. Well, that's not true. The moderator, the head of the panel, another presenter's husband, and one other scholar attended. I felt ... let down. I had expected this conference to be as magical as my visit to the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference, but it wasn't. It was proving to be an entirely different experience. When it came to lunch, Katie and I decided to go to lunch together. While I had been waiting for her, though, I noticed another girl. She was talking to someone about Middle English, but was soon abandoned. I decided to invite her to lunch, and she was so relieved. We ended up hitting it off, and she is also applying to one of the programs I am looking at.
By the end of the conference, I had gained new and exciting friends. More importantly, though, I had discovered an idea. I am going to try to function as an editor a book--a collection of essays on a particular subject. We'll see how it goes or if I'm just plain crazy. A pending publication, though, would be an amazing standout on a phd application.
