First of all, I have to credit my husband, Pete, with the
initial inspiration for this title. He has long remarked that he would like to write
a satire on grad school life with the above title (likely an intertwining of
rom-com and dark satire). However, that being said, this title has been a very
apt description of my life over the past few summers. We just attended two
beautiful weddings over the past two weekends, in one of which Pete acted as
officiant and married the couple. (Back-up grad school plans now updated to Pete (officiant) and me (baker)?)
Luckily, academic conferences offer almost as much interest and
entertainment—if not joy— as weddings. They are an odd, intense microcosm of academic
life, acting as a social outlet, a wonderful venue for building connections in
your field, and an intense overload of scientific stimulation and information,
which can be both exciting and overwhelming as you dash from room to room
across the conference center. Trying to negotiate the many concurrent sessions
can feel a little like a feeding frenzy—you dart in and out, trying to snatch
up the most valuable pieces of information, always keeping half an eye out for
what other morsels might be available.
One of my favorite conferences thus far in my academic
career was the AFS (American Fisheries Society) conference that I attended in
Seattle last summer (2011). It comes to mind now primarily because Pete and I
just moved to Seattle for the fall for his last field season, and in a weird twist
of fate, our daily ride to the University of Washington campus takes us along a
beautiful bike path by the lake, and also happens to pass right by the car
impoundment lot where I got my government truck impounded during AFS. An ironic
reminder of a wonderful conference. Our move up to Seattle warrants a brief aside,
since our powers of creativity and problem-solving were called upon during the
drive. The situation: a heat wave in California with temperatures reaching
100F, broken AC in our car, and two panting cats. The solution? Drive the
longer (but much more scenic) route up the coast… and ice the cats.
 |
| Cheesie being iced |
 |
| The Humboldt coast |
In any event, the AFS conference was the first large
scientific conference I had ever attended, and I was not sure what to expect. It
was a somewhat similar moment to the first time I went to Vegas, which was on
our way back from a hiking/birding trip in Guadalupe National Park. Since my
only knowledge of Vegas was based on movies such as Ocean’s 11 and the gambling
drama 21, I worried that I was not dressed nicely enough in my t-shirt and
jeans. Pete just laughed at me. However, in the case of an academic conference,
my preconceptions of what it would be like were much more accurate. Dress code
was what you might expect from a group of outdoorsy people hitting the city—fleece
was prevalent, and the male uniform seemed to be a plaid short-sleeve dress
shirt and khakis/jeans. What I love most about academic conferences is the buzz
of excitement that pervades the air, which comes from, I think, the exchange of
interesting ideas and the fun of gathering with so many like-minded people.
Given the large number of engaged friends we currently have,
I expect the summer trend to continue. I’m not sure yet which conference I’ll
attend next summer, but I am sure (and am daily reminded) that I will look
carefully for any faded red paint on the curbsides of the city. Suffice it to
say, it’s embarrassing to get a government truck towed. New proverb: red paint
at night, not a conference-goers
delight.
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