All aboard.

So, I’m sitting in the Detroit airport right now. The Northwest terminal is *huge.* There’s around 80 gates. Of course, I deplaned at gate A12 and right now (my flight isn’t until 12PM so I expect it’ll change soon enough) is at A67. I opted to walk the terminal rather than take the shuttle. It was good exercise.

The RA was awesome and awe-inspiring. I’m not sure I have the brain power at the moment to really sum it up and talk about it the way I’d like to. The days were long, yesterday especially, and I was up at 3AM so I could make my 6:40AM flight out of D.C. But I will say that it was an honor and a privilege to participate in the world’s largest parliamentary body. I was able to help chart the course for my union, speak at the Illinois caucus, put in to speak on the RA floor (but they called debate before I had a chance to speak, damnit!), see Obama speak, suggest a new resolution for next year, and despite the 10-12 hour working days, the early mornings, the insane prices of food in D.C., the beds that made my back hurt, I’m energized about unionism and ready to get started. There’s a lot to do this year and I’m super-excited to be part of that. (See, you can tell how tired I am when I’m resorting to words like ’super-excited’.)

Too much travel.

Mostly so I can keep it straight myself, here’s a list of places I’m going to be through August:

June 30-July 7: Washington, DC
July 30-August 4: Boston, MA (with a trip on the 31st to MIT)
August 29-31: Seattle, WA

And I think I’m missing one in there somewhere.

It is the end of the semester. I have one of my seminar papers done, and am in good standing with finishing the other. Unfortunately, I sort of have to hold off on it, as it’s a quantitative paper, and we’re not learning the techniques I’m using until the last week of class. I can pick it up fast, but statistics and (quantitative) research methods are really something I have to be taught, I can’t just learn it by reading about them.

What else?

My gender and sport class is still torture. Earlier this month we actually made the instructor cry. So, instead of paying any attention at all, I’ve been writing bits and pieces in class. Maybe I’ll get around to typing it all up.

So, that’s really all I’ve got; except for the fact I’m on campus and really just… have no motivation to get work done. Not a whole lot of work to get done.

Travel

Well, to my surprise I’m now co-author on a paper that was accepted to a regular session at the ASA (American Sociological Association) annual meeting this fall. Which means that, well, it’d be very very good for my career if I go to the ASA annual meeting this fall.

The bad news is that it happens before fall semester starts. Before loan money comes in. While all grad students are poor.

So, basically, what I’m looking for is two things:

1. Someone who is willing to put me up in Boston from July 31 - August 4 (this is the ASA conference, plus a section pre-conference, which I’m submitting a paper to).
2. Someone who is willing to put me up in Seattle (or nearby Seattle) from August 29 - 31. This is when PAX is. I will have money by then, but I think it would be more fun with other people, even if it is a working trip. The beautiful thing about using adult female video game players as your thesis participants/subjects is that your field work is at… events like PAX.

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?