The meeting is officially over as of yesterday evening. The actual lecture part was over the evening before that. The trip up the mountain was not what we expected. One of our five vans broke down, necessitating one driver and another person making unplanned trips back down with an extra load or to return with another car. I am grateful to Myrrha and Daniel B. for volunteering to do these things. Without them, I would have had to drive back up the mountain (a 2+ hour drive each way) with a migraine already well underway.
I think the meeting itself went pretty well. Behind the scenes there were some rather nasty glitches which were mostly taken care of before people noticed, and we also had a couple of minor, noticeable but merely annoying, glitches. I was highly stressed and lost enough weight that my wedding ring was falling off my finger (so it is temporarily off until I put a couple pounds back on). There are still some tasks/tidying up items that need doing, but I expect to be unemployed within a week. I learned a lot, and have a list of changes and advice to convey to the faculty members on my departure. I don’t anticipate repeating this learning experience.
I have two weeks to do five weeks’ worth of reading for the adolescent lit class, which after the last two weeks of conference-related madness will seem like a piece of cake.
I calculated that if I get 100% on my history final (this Monday), and receive at least 2/3 credit for the “participation” portion of the class that I will have an A. Not that it matters, but taking pride in my work has become a habit.
The weather continues to be peculiar. We had that one week of insanely hot weather, a week of normal weather, and during the conference it was COLD and RAINY. We had many disgruntled attendees. But that, at least, was not anyone’s actual responsibility, just an unlucky coincidence.
My plum jam turned out really well, and we now have sufficient blackberries for me to try a batch later this week. The flavor isn’t as good as some years (see the weather comment), but will be nice enough in the winter. There are blueberries ripe also, and I think I still have some time to buy a flat or two of raspberries from the local farm. The apples are starting to ripen…
The dog is happy to have me home today. I am happy to be home. I will miss our wonderful guest (Gio, that means you), and his grandmother — they left this morning. I will also miss my new friends Julie, Laura, Zhenya, Alina, Richa and Jacqueline. I hope I get to see them all again someday soon.