Thoughts and Words Ill-Sorted

I’ve decided that academic conferences are an even stranger breed of get-together than the cocktail party.  I happened to know or know of a number of people at the one this weekend, but they didn’t always know me (I was a long-ago student of theirs, I read their book, etc.), so I frequently found myself standing near two people who were busy talking shop a bit indiscreetly.  Then, of course, I’d wander by another group, the aspiring grad students who were hoping someone would come along and point out Professor So-and-So, whose work they’d read but whom they couldn’t identify in person.  Lots of murmurings about the job market, about the “future of the profession,” and a talk or two about the future of modernist studies (which I took notes on merely to give Sydney a good laugh; those kinds of talks are always amusing for those not in the field).  Given the massive size of so many English conferences (the major meeting of the profession will take up 10 huge hotels in a major city), I was glad to be in a slightly more intimate setting, and with so many panels I wanted to attend!

I did feel slightly like Superman, though, playing both mom and academic this weekend.  I’d stand around in heels and dress clothes for a few hours and then run up to my room, put Katherine in the backpack, and head out for a walk around town with my family.  Once when we came out of the elevator and into the lobby there was a sizable crowd waiting to go up and they let out a collective “Awwwww” when they saw the pink head peeking out of my jacket.  And then there was a big laugh.  But I didn’t have to force my way out of the crowd!

Erin

Maybe Detroit has some possibilities after all — see this interesting piece from Newgeography.com.

Sydney

Although we spent an hour stuck in traffic in Montreal we made it home by eight last night.  Katherine gave us pretty decent sleep, so we’re gearing up to tackle the next things on our schedule this fall–and don’t worry: there’s always something.

Erin

Lack of sleep notwithstanding, I did make it through my talk yesterday and it went perfectly well.  Although I had struggled to nail down a point of interpretation for myself all week, the fact that I was drawing on my dissertation material made it really easy to field questions.  I had to sit out a session or two later in the day to give my brain a rest, but we went out as a family later in the evening, took a nice brisk walk, and picked up some fun groceries.  Then, thankfully, Katherine only woke once or twice in the night.  We all needed the break!  Not surprisingly, I felt a lot more prepared to take in the panels this morning.

Erin

We thought we’d been slowly working on improving Katherine’s sleep habits after they took a nosedive about a month ago (due, our doctor said, most likely to growth spurt, developmental changes, and that sort of thing).  But last night we barely got a chance to close our eyes, since she wanted to kick and play all night long–and holler if we didn’t play, too.  On the upside, I didn’t have any trouble getting up in time for the first session.  On the downside, Sydney and I look like we got hit by a truck.  We are hoping I get an adrenaline rush to help me get through the paper this afternoon.  More than anything, though, we’re flabbergasted: how can she bop along all day while keeping us up at night?  Don’t kids need to sleep?

Erin

We arrived in Montreal an hour or so ago. Katherine likes looking out the floor-to-ceiling window and watching the cars drive by below us. She also would clearly like to jump out the window. At some point she’s going to need to develop at least a little fear of heights.

Sydney

We’re headed to Montreal for the weekend.  Although I would love to visit the famous botanical gardens and try out my French, I’m afraid I will, most likely, spend my entire stay in one downtown hotel, listening to and giving talks.  Sad, isn’t it?  Sadder, perhaps, is Sydney’s plight: caring for a teething Katherine in a small hotel room all weekend.

Bad as I make it sound, I’m actually thrilled to go.  It’s the major annual conference for my specialty (modernism), and there are at least a hundred talks I would like to attend (depending on my ability to concentrate that long).  I am glad to see that I will know a number of people there . . . but I realized that some of the schools to which I’m applying for jobs may have representatives at the conference.  Combine these concerns with a severe lack of sleep from the last few nights and it’s no wonder that I’m still dinking around with my paper.  No pressure!

Erin

Sydney’s idea of comfort when I start to do a mommy-worry:

“Stop worrying.  There may be something to worry about, but there’s no rational reason to worry.”

Thanks, Honey.  Very reassuring.

Erin

Anybody know what a “racially visible group” is?

Sydney

Life is comprised–at the moment–of job search stuff, teaching prep, occasional dashes at dissertation work, final garden clean-up, and, of course, Katherine play.  So you won’t hear much from us until that scene changes.

But on Thursday we’re going to be making an expedition to Montreal, where I’ll give a paper and attend a conference in a downtown hotel, dashing upstairs to my room every few hours to see how Katherine and Sydney are faring.  Now that the initial job materials have been sent out (with a few things lagging behind) I’m getting excited about this conference–and nervous.  I realized that pretty much everyone I know in the field and nearly all of my advisors will be there.  I want to make sure I deliver well in case my advisors–who just wrote me letters of recommendation–or potential employers show up to my panel.   On the other hand, I’m excited to sit in on papers from professors I haven’t seen since college and be surrounded by people who know my area of specialty better than I do.  Let’s hope Katherine lets me get enough sleep to take advantage of the opportunity.

Erin