I'm sitting in the Charlotte airport with my wife waiting over three hours for our flight to Memphis so we can drive another hour back home. Travelling home is never as poetic as it seems like it should be, especially when you want to move away from that home.
But the conference...it was great. We both presented wonderful papers, and my wife created a good bit of buzz for herself with the paper she gave. It was great, and I was very proud of her. Mine went well (not like hers, though), but it probably could have gotten a better reception if it had a better title. A paper titled "John Smith and the Liminal Coastline" isn't going to bring in the crowds anywhere. But if I had called it "Cannibalism CAN be Funny: John Smith, Sailors, and the Genesis of Southern Humor," I'd have had a line of people trying to get in. But oh well.
Williamsburg itself was great--especially the time we got to spend drinking eighteenth-century style with our friends. And if the ale at Chowning's was any indication, our American forefathers drank well (I recommend the Tavern Ale), and if the food at King's Arms was accurate, they ate pretty damn well too. Just remember, don't be like that couple we sat beside and walk out without paying. That was crappy -- I don't understand how people could do that. I mean, I DO understand that people steal every day and it's really no different, but
there's something odd about stealing restaurant food. Because what you're really stealing is trust, and that's worse than stealing goods. You have this waiter or waitress (the gender-neutral form of this word is "waitron," but I can't use it--I just can't) who is concerned only with making sure you have a good meal, and they trust that if they treat you well you'll tip them in return. I guess, really, leaving without tipping is just as bad as leaving without paying at all, only noone knows you did that except you and your waiter. Anyway, I don't want to go off on a rant about this, but you people who ate at King's Arms on Friday night, April 18, 2008, you suck.
Jamestown was awesome, especially because the old guy who was working out at the site was asking ME questions. It was the first time in my life that I felt like a legitimate scholar outside of academia. Here was this guy, probably a retiree, who worked out at the Historic Jamestown site and ha
d his little notebook of answers he could use to make sure people knew what they were looking at out there, and he was listening to me. It was pretty cool. I think I was also in a good mood because I sweet-talked the woman working at the information desk into letting us in for free. Five of us. Who knew that knowing that John Smith had his balls blown off in Virginia would save 5 literature instructors $50 one day. Thanks, John. I'm trying to bring your rep back, buddy.
One last note on Williamsburg. We had gorgeous weather during the conference. I mean gorgeous. We stayed 2 days extra to make sure we got to do all the things here we wanted to. The minute, and I'm not exaggerating, the minute the conference ended, it started raining. And it didn't stop the rest of the time we were there. Then, fittingly, as we boarded the plane in Newport News, the sun came out. Nice.
But the conference...it was great. We both presented wonderful papers, and my wife created a good bit of buzz for herself with the paper she gave. It was great, and I was very proud of her. Mine went well (not like hers, though), but it probably could have gotten a better reception if it had a better title. A paper titled "John Smith and the Liminal Coastline" isn't going to bring in the crowds anywhere. But if I had called it "Cannibalism CAN be Funny: John Smith, Sailors, and the Genesis of Southern Humor," I'd have had a line of people trying to get in. But oh well.
Williamsburg itself was great--especially the time we got to spend drinking eighteenth-century style with our friends. And if the ale at Chowning's was any indication, our American forefathers drank well (I recommend the Tavern Ale), and if the food at King's Arms was accurate, they ate pretty damn well too. Just remember, don't be like that couple we sat beside and walk out without paying. That was crappy -- I don't understand how people could do that. I mean, I DO understand that people steal every day and it's really no different, but
there's something odd about stealing restaurant food. Because what you're really stealing is trust, and that's worse than stealing goods. You have this waiter or waitress (the gender-neutral form of this word is "waitron," but I can't use it--I just can't) who is concerned only with making sure you have a good meal, and they trust that if they treat you well you'll tip them in return. I guess, really, leaving without tipping is just as bad as leaving without paying at all, only noone knows you did that except you and your waiter. Anyway, I don't want to go off on a rant about this, but you people who ate at King's Arms on Friday night, April 18, 2008, you suck.Jamestown was awesome, especially because the old guy who was working out at the site was asking ME questions. It was the first time in my life that I felt like a legitimate scholar outside of academia. Here was this guy, probably a retiree, who worked out at the Historic Jamestown site and ha
d his little notebook of answers he could use to make sure people knew what they were looking at out there, and he was listening to me. It was pretty cool. I think I was also in a good mood because I sweet-talked the woman working at the information desk into letting us in for free. Five of us. Who knew that knowing that John Smith had his balls blown off in Virginia would save 5 literature instructors $50 one day. Thanks, John. I'm trying to bring your rep back, buddy.One last note on Williamsburg. We had gorgeous weather during the conference. I mean gorgeous. We stayed 2 days extra to make sure we got to do all the things here we wanted to. The minute, and I'm not exaggerating, the minute the conference ended, it started raining. And it didn't stop the rest of the time we were there. Then, fittingly, as we boarded the plane in Newport News, the sun came out. Nice.
1 comment:
Hey man, first comment, right on. Williamsburg sounds sweet. I'm glad the conference was fun, that sounds awesome for Sarah. Nice work on getting the blog up, talk to you soon.
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