spynotes ::
  March 17, 2006
Conferencing part 2

I got off to a slow start yesterday, wandering into the conference and not seeing any familiar faces. But I ended up having a tremendously productive day, especially for me. My conference behavior has improved a lot in the last couple of years. I still WANT to sit in the corner and hide behind my conference guide, but now I make myself ask questions and talk to people. The beauty of that is that once you start, you get to know people and then the whole thing gets easier.

It is also a really nice thing to have friends farther along in their careers and who are willing to show you the ropes and introduce you to people. Breaking down the barriers of suspicion between colleagues can take a while, but once you get through to the other side, it is amazing how generous people can be.

The whole conference ritual sometimes feels a lot like a Jane Austen party scene. It�s always better to be introduced than to introduce yourself. You do this dance around asking about each others work when you�re not really sure whether anyone is interested interested. Sometimes there�s chemistry, but you can�t follow through too much until you know what you�re getting into � you don�t want to wantonly give away too many of your trade secrets. A certain amount of competitiveness can make people catty (although I�ve seen remarkably little of that here).

Suddenly it seems totally rational that the banquets are often dances. Jane Austen would be proud.

* * * * *

I got home and found that AJ had made me a pile of pictures. One is of a big green face sticking out its tongue with fuzzy green hair and spirals for eyes. �That�s supposed to be you, Mommy,� AJ said this morning. As unflattering as it might seem, it was a strangely accurate depiction of how I feel after a day of conferencing � hungover with an overindulgence of conversation.

The second picture showed a boy holding a flashlight (�Those are the light lines,� AJ said, pointing out the yellow lines extending across the page from the flashlight). There is a sky full of stars and a big full moon. At the other end of the page, just beyond the light lines is a tree with a door for a trunk. It is surrounded by a swarm of Zs. �That�s a tree and that (pointing to the door) is the squirrel�s house. That (pointing to yellow blob next to the door) is a bumble bee and he�s waking the squirrel up.�

Picture number three is a masterpiece. This is the solar system he drew in lieu of amending the one on the driveway, which has now disappeared in snow and ice. With some help from dad, he taped two pieces of paper together end to end. He begins with a large, smiling sun on the far left side of the page. EachOn the far right side of the page he has written, �S.S. (for Solar System) Yay!� All around the planets he has drawn balloons and swirling pieces of confetti. �It�s Venus� birthday,� he explained. �Venus is going to be the same age I�m going to be on my birthday.� �What are those lines,� I asked, pointing at some yellow lines extending from Venus towards earth. �Those are because Venus is shining on Earth so the people on Earth can see it.� We�ve been looking for Venus in the sky � a challenge on cold and cloudy nights, especially since we don�t know exactly what we�re looking for.

When we got up this morning, my husband pointed out the part of the lawn outside my window where AJ had tried to trample a heart in the snow outside my window for me. Apparently they spent part of yesterday afternoon running around the yard in circles with AJ yelling, �Let�s cross orbits like Neptune and Pluto!�

My boy obsessed with space? Why, whatever do you mean?

I love that little guy. It was so hard to leave again this morning. But I have to get my game face on again. In the interest of defending myself against snowy walks, I�m wearing my pants suit today.

Husband: You look like Ellen in that suit.
Harriet: Is there anyway not to look like Ellen in a pants suit?
Husband: Hillary wears a pants suit.
Harriet: And??
Husband: Oh. I just meant you look nice.

Concerns about my husband�s potential proclivities for lesbian, pants-suit-wearing talk show hosts aside, its going to be a good morning. The Shins are singing �Saint Simon� in my ears, which is taking me back to my commutes last spring to teach. Is it that things move forward for me in the spring every year or that spring wakes me up and calls me to action? I�m not sure, but as my train rumbles through the snow-hung world this morning, I feel like I�m emerging from hibernation.

5 people said it like they meant it

 
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