10/3/03

Last night was dark, quiet and I had no interruptions from rabid badgers or crying babies. In short, I couldn�t sleep at all. Instead I pulled on my bathing suit and went out to see the sun rise over the bay, and followed it up with some laps in the pool. My attitude was much better after that.

Incidentally, googling �rabid badger� produces a surprising number of hits, including this useful information.

I bit the bullet and struck out on my own at this morning�s meetings. I spent the morning going to papers on everything from Django Reinhardt to Kiowa Ceremonial Music to Courtney Love. We even got into a discussion on Sleater-Kinney. Ethnomusicology has its good points.

One of my favorite things about these conferences results from the inevitable sound bleed from room to room. At one point I was simultaneously listening to Billie Holliday, Gangsta rap, music from rural Kazakhstan and something unidentified, which may have been some kind of Native American music. It makes for quite a soundscape.

After the sessions were over, I ran into an old friend and dragged him out to the local taqueria for some lunch while I hit him up for advice on job hunting, which was most educational and only a little horrifying. And I bought a 2000 page book that I�ve been wanting for ages. I have no idea how I�m going to get it home.

We also ran into an amazing demonstration/parade on the street outside the hotel against domestic violence. 50 or so women headed the parade dressed in wedding dresses and veils and carrying a banner. A marching band and flag corps followed. It was kind of surreal.

This afternoon is unscheduled, so I�m trying to catch up on some writing and maybe some sleep before heading out to dinner with friends. Tomorrow�s going to be a marathon, so it�ll probably be an early night.

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