Life...so tough Or Continuing Airport Saga

She was reimbursed.

yes, i will be reimbursed for the original ticket, which is, however, less than the one way ticket i had to buy because of the stoopid canada visa, or a lack thereof. why through canada? i don't care where i fly through, it was the cheapest ticket to vienna, i thought we don't have visa with canada since long ago... i know we don't with mexico anymore and talk of canceling them with canada went on at the same time... anyway.
if they can find a way how to cheat the system, they will reimburse me as much as they can for the new ticket also... but maybe they won't be able to, dunno.

got to the hotel, slept 3 hours, went for dinner.. i thought i'll be back in my room by 10pm latest, but it's almost 1 in the morning. that's how these 'conferences' go. i couldn't leave either, dinner was quite far from the hotel, so i suffered through. now i still have to prepare notes for the morning. my speach is first, just after the opening. i am by far the youngest, and the only non-historian, so that's where i'll put my niche. in poli sci and ethnology - i'll present my model and ask them what they, as historians, think of it. at least it will be a great feedback for my diss that this model was developed for in the first place. not that it's finished quite yet, but feedback is always good. so i better get to it. wish me luck, i feel like a walking dead.

Aw.....

So, can you leave the conference after your speech?

errr...no. but at least the pressure will be off. i feel so inadequate here. they are all well established professors, most of them devote their professional life to history of one country or even one minority in one country...and they know the central european history in and out. and here am i, the youngest, the only one who hasn't even lived back then... who didn't read enough about that...whatever. i think i'm just filling in the space here for their 'international conference' - which is a requirement of british university departments - they have to fulfill some quota on publications, and some on 'esteem' - international workshops fall under 'esteem'. they are translated into these traveling workshops that noone cares about, that are based mostly on dinners, receptions, and drinks (with work inbetween) - yet i do not want to make an ass out of myself. in any case, 1:10am, gotta prepare and sleep. can't do more at this point.

well, i thought she was too scrawny for the Kill Bill role. She didn't persuade me she could do that in real life. That role needs a real woman. I don't like Uma Thurman or the scrawny type in general. can you tell?

Tell that to the studios...

I'm not sure where your conference is, but good luck in dealing with all this.
Hope the talk ends up being useful, and that you get some sleep fairly soon, preferably not when you are mid sentence at the podium.

Dasha - all those established professors with their unfathomable knowledge and you're among them! Why were you selected/invited? Obviously you have something to offer.

OK, you'll be fine... <smiles>. I mean, you're 'outside the box' in so many ways already anyway ... you are in a different niche, from a different place, from all of them collectively ... so that actually gives you lots of leeway. Cause they all know you're by far the youngest, who didnt live through all that, and the only non-historian to boot, as well ... so they'll probably be well ready to suspend their usual expectations/norms anyway ... you know, like they're looking at the extended family's talented, but alternative benjamin ... he dont need to worry about going out on a limb sometimes.

And even if the worst comes to worst, I'm sure they'll be quite happy to, you know, see it as more proof that politicial scientists cant hold a candle to them historians, they'll actually be quite pleased to do that ;-). And as last resort you can just bore them with lots of rigid methodological stuff that historians usually dont have to bother with, that'll put you right hors concours, they wont even go near digging into any of that

so i presented. historians were sort of baffled by all my models taken from rational choice theory, slapped on theories from ethnic studies, in a framework of comparative politics approach (comparing on the level of governments and leaders) and in the historical context... but there's only so much that works in each discipline for me, so i had to merge them.
some even admitted it might be useful (that is groundbreaking, because historians usually plug their nose and spit in chagrin when approached with political science model or theory). there was one other political scientist, with whom i talked about my model and all over lunch... so i guess one could say it went actually really quite well.
meeting for dinner in 1/2 hour - gotta bank on that and sleeeeeep.

Sounds great!

Good job.

Sleep well!

I knew you could do it, dag! Congratulations.

I'm echoing Mac--and after eight hours of sleep you might have the sense to agree with us.

Course it did! Just like we said it was gonna be ... <smiles>

Thank you, dear people of a2k, for believing in me more than i did.

just got back from an outrageous dinner - in an ancient Inn. For appetizers they brought us frog legs, beef tongue with radish, and liver pate, mushrooms, radiccio, and endives and and adn...things i wouldn't recognize even. then i had some deer (disclaimer: all deer hunting is strictly regulated in slovenia. one has to be from an old hunting family to even qualify for taking the exams, then take exams, and then be allowed to hunt in overpopulated areas only.... i asked about that before i ordered...just so you know). The guy next to me had, however, 'young horse', which was rather unsettling for me (i rode horses for four years, it's almost like eating one's child to me...but i can see how others don't feel quite the same way. obviously, otherwise they wouldn't be eating it... or would they? he was german.... uh oh.... who did i offend now? better go to bed). wine was flowing - and slovenia has outstanding red wine, kinda like a dry cabernet, but with an unbelievable aroma to it. and a stroudle made out of bulgar wheat and sour wild cherries - may not sound thrilling, but believe me... it was to die for.

i think we spent more time in meals than in workshops. european conferences...that's how they go. tomorrow i get to go home for a day, though! hurrah.

oh yeah. and i was told by another guy that my perspective was very refreshing and that their first workshop (this is 2 out of 3) sorely missed such a thing.... ha. so much for learning from my mistakes - next time i'll be probably scrambling around to get a paper done at the very last moment again...

BTW, has anyone been in Ljubljana? It is one gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous little town. Very 'Central European'- meaning full of habsburg architecture, two or three rivers, large squares that in the summer are full of music and little stands with trinkets and crafts... highly recommended.

When will you ever learn, you silly woman?

Hello from Ljubljana airport. On my way home, still tired - though it is kind of a residual tiredness at this point. my eyes are tired more than anything. wish i could pull them out of my head and soak them in chammomile tea for a good while. tonight i get to sleeeeeep until i cannot sleep anymore. schweet. one of the guys at the conference found out i have a blog and now they all keep asking me what i will write about them and all got the address. talk about pressure. my intention was to write about fashion - the 'conference blue' outfits and about glasses and watches... now i clearly cannot do that, can i... maybe a moderate version of that. sigh. ok, boarding, gotta go.

Well but do they have the address of A2K? Write it here, looks entertaining. (I've been to plenty of conferences, recognize what you mean already...)

Poor dag. I hope you're getting some sleep on the plane.