Last night, when we returned from yoga, AJ started crying, as he noticed that he had forgotten to finish drawing the orbits of his latest driveway solar system creation. He starts them over and over again because with each version he is dissatisfied with something. In the first, he forgot to cross the orbits of Neptune and Pluto. In the second, he didn�t like the way he drew Earth�s land masses.

He came down this morning in his pajamas and carrying his box of chalk. The first thing he wanted to do was finish his picture. But as he pulled off his pajamas and struggled into his jeans and T-shirt, the snow began to fall. By the time we were bundled into hats and coats, half the pictures were scoured away. Defeated, he returned indoors and was comforted with his father�s offer to tape pieces of paper together so he could draw inside instead.

I caught the train that left shortly after 7. It was crowded with usual drivers avoiding the snow. As I started up my computer, I found myself in a conversation with my seatmate that lasted until I arrived downtown. We talked about music and children and computers, but mostly about music. It was surprisingly pleasant.

I�ve heard a number of interesting papers and the quality of presentation � speakers who are actually good at speaking � is unusually high. I�ve seen a couple of old friends andmade a couple of new ones and bonded over similar (but not too similar) research interests. I talked to someone from a good university publisher who�s interested in looking at my diiss and someone else who�s interested in having me speak on a panel at a conference next year.

I so used to hate these things, but when you work alone and away from a university, it�s pretty great to be around other likeminded people. Plus this conference is my subspecialty, so it�s especially fun.

And then there is the added entertainment of the surrealism of the city spilling into the hotel � the two men dressed as leprechauns wandering around carrying baskets of muffins, the abandoned paraphernalia � bent umbrellas, torn shirts, the odd sock. Combined with academics draped over chairs, sitting in corners with computers, caucusing in the middle of aisles forcing the traffic flow to break several laws of physics. I�m missing tonight�s sing-along in favor of having a drink with a friend. At least, I hope I�m having a drink with a friend. She has my coat. If she doesn�t show, it�s going to be a long, snowy walk.

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