A day of vacation
Oct. 14th, 2012 10:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccastareyesI'm out of town this week for a conference in Reno, Nevada. So some observations.
This may be the first time in a while that I've slept well before an early-morning plane flight. See, one of the ways my anxiety messes with me is that fear of being late. Once I'm at the airport, I'm fine*, but until then I am a nervous wreck. It's a bit better if it's not an o-dark-hundred flight, or if I'm staying with someone and they also have my flight schedule.
But this time it was glorious. I got something like 5-6 hours of sleep (about as much as I'd expect for having to get up at 4 in the morning), and promptly got up and got ready. My only regret was not budgeting in time for breakfast (whoops), so I had to wait until I got to Philadelphia to grab something.
Of course, I did forget my travel scissors and iPod charging cable.
Travel was surprisingly painless. Besides the fact that my trusty eReader's screen was broken when I dug it out, so now I only have three books with me. And I finished two on the plane out. (I'll need to find a newsstand for the way back, or take advantage of my cross stitch or Nintendo DS.)
I haven't seen much of Reno, I admit. I went right from the airport to the conference hotel, which was pretty close to the airport. So there were some lovely mountains that, without a car, I'll have to admire from afar. Also, as it's Sunday and the conference doesn't start until Monday (besides receptions and registration, and a couple of workshops, only one of which was interesting and, of course, that was the one I had to register for and didn't), I haven't made many connections with other astronomers to go do stuff.
But this is a resort hotel, so there's all kind of stuff. Much of it involves gambling -- this is Nevada, even if we're not in Vegas. (Truefax: the Reno airport also has slot machines and stuff.) There's also a pool and minigolf and an arcade and enough parking that walking anywhere else is a bit daunting. (I may do so anyway: having some cereal in my room would save me some time and money in the morning, rather than buying a pastry from the Starbucks**). I walked around this morning, noting where to find food and wondering how quickly the cheap and quick places will get mobbed on lunchtime on Monday. (This happened in Puerto Rico; getting lunch during an official lunch break or breakfast right before the first morning sessions was hellish: at least this place isn't as spread out as the resort in PR was.)
Now I'm at a bit of a loss, short of checking the internet for nearby supermarkets. My room is nice, though I wish it had a way to heat water for tea (a coffeemaker works). It may, in fact, be bigger than my apartment. (I am exaggerating, but not by much.) There's a pool, but I want to give it a chance to warm up, so that means after lunch. The grad student reception with free pizza isn't until 4-6, and registration doesn't even start until 3. So I have 5 hours to kill. I might go swimming, but I want to give it a chance to warm up a bit. And it feels a bit silly to sit in my room and write on the Internet while I have an actual free day of freedom, rather than attending talks and trying to make conversation with people who might have jobs.
* My brain allows for lateness beyond my control. Spending an hour on the tarmac so I miss my connection is fine. Getting to the airport late because I thought the flight left later is not.
** Of course there's a Starbucks in the hotel.
This may be the first time in a while that I've slept well before an early-morning plane flight. See, one of the ways my anxiety messes with me is that fear of being late. Once I'm at the airport, I'm fine*, but until then I am a nervous wreck. It's a bit better if it's not an o-dark-hundred flight, or if I'm staying with someone and they also have my flight schedule.
But this time it was glorious. I got something like 5-6 hours of sleep (about as much as I'd expect for having to get up at 4 in the morning), and promptly got up and got ready. My only regret was not budgeting in time for breakfast (whoops), so I had to wait until I got to Philadelphia to grab something.
Of course, I did forget my travel scissors and iPod charging cable.
Travel was surprisingly painless. Besides the fact that my trusty eReader's screen was broken when I dug it out, so now I only have three books with me. And I finished two on the plane out. (I'll need to find a newsstand for the way back, or take advantage of my cross stitch or Nintendo DS.)
I haven't seen much of Reno, I admit. I went right from the airport to the conference hotel, which was pretty close to the airport. So there were some lovely mountains that, without a car, I'll have to admire from afar. Also, as it's Sunday and the conference doesn't start until Monday (besides receptions and registration, and a couple of workshops, only one of which was interesting and, of course, that was the one I had to register for and didn't), I haven't made many connections with other astronomers to go do stuff.
But this is a resort hotel, so there's all kind of stuff. Much of it involves gambling -- this is Nevada, even if we're not in Vegas. (Truefax: the Reno airport also has slot machines and stuff.) There's also a pool and minigolf and an arcade and enough parking that walking anywhere else is a bit daunting. (I may do so anyway: having some cereal in my room would save me some time and money in the morning, rather than buying a pastry from the Starbucks**). I walked around this morning, noting where to find food and wondering how quickly the cheap and quick places will get mobbed on lunchtime on Monday. (This happened in Puerto Rico; getting lunch during an official lunch break or breakfast right before the first morning sessions was hellish: at least this place isn't as spread out as the resort in PR was.)
Now I'm at a bit of a loss, short of checking the internet for nearby supermarkets. My room is nice, though I wish it had a way to heat water for tea (a coffeemaker works). It may, in fact, be bigger than my apartment. (I am exaggerating, but not by much.) There's a pool, but I want to give it a chance to warm up, so that means after lunch. The grad student reception with free pizza isn't until 4-6, and registration doesn't even start until 3. So I have 5 hours to kill. I might go swimming, but I want to give it a chance to warm up a bit. And it feels a bit silly to sit in my room and write on the Internet while I have an actual free day of freedom, rather than attending talks and trying to make conversation with people who might have jobs.
* My brain allows for lateness beyond my control. Spending an hour on the tarmac so I miss my connection is fine. Getting to the airport late because I thought the flight left later is not.
** Of course there's a Starbucks in the hotel.
