Side note: Straightaway I realized that this particular meeting was going to be different than the meetings I had attended in the past (2009 and 2010). First of all, until now I had always attended with my supervisor and at least one student from our lab. This time I was attending alone and going in I wasn't sure about this because I always felt intimidated by the size of the meeting and the caliber of the research presented there. Beyond going it alone this year I spent more time than ever before attending symposia and special lectures throughout the conference. But mostly the thing that was different about this meeting was me. In years past I had always felt that I understood relatively little of what was presented at Neuroscience (in the big talks) and smothered by the sheer number of posters I could visit (thousands in each morning and afternoon session). So this year I can't tell you how happy I was to find that I was having considerably less difficulty engaging with the material. It felt accessible - that I could understand and take something from it. I no longer felt like the wide-eyed student but more that I was attending a research conference with my peers. This is nothing short of incredible! And I guess it makes sense, I'm approaching the end of my PhD and probably should feel a bit more established as a scientist. Still it's a great feeling!
Next I attended two special lectures: one on ethics of inter group behavior (it was more interesting than it sounds!) and the other about sex differences in the brain. From there I needed to walk around and let my brain digest or at least do nothing for a bit. I made my way down to the huge halls on the lower level where all the vendors and posters were housed. Now visiting the vendors at Neuroscience has become a bit of a tradition. You make your way up and down the aisles where you'll see every type of equipment, software, as well as companies that will provide you with any reagent you might need or will process tissue for you. I find it's the best place in the world to collect pens. Yes, I always come away from the meeting with at least 30. :) I talked with several vendors about a variety of topics including special feed for laboratory animals, those who work with the USDA branch that manages animal welfare in the US, St Jude representatives who were advertising post doc positions as well as Eppendorf (they have the best pens that look very much like pipettes).
After that I went in search of a Fedex store where I could get my poster reprinted. I was able to make arrangements and was promised that it would be ready early on Tues morning. My poster session was Tuesday afternoon so that would give me enough time to pick it up and make it back to the conference.
I breathed a sigh of relief that I would have a non-crumpled poster to present. Here's to looking professional! I figured I would go back to the conference but curiosity got the best of me and I decided to take a walk. I wanted to locate the Metro stop I'd need to take to where my mom would be staying in Silver Spring, MD, when the conference ended. Within two blocks I saw it and decided to go in and purchase a SmarTrip card. We have Snapper cards in NZ and they have Oyster cards in London but in DC it's a SmarTrip card for taking the Metro. With minor setbacks I was able to purchase the card and load some money onto it so I would be ready when I left the conference on Wednesday. From there I walked down to the National Mall via the Sculpture Garden because I'd been staring at it on Google Maps and wanted to see it for real.
I returned to the hotel and messaged my friend Meredith who lives outside of DC. She was so sweet and offered to drive into the District and pick me up so we could go out to dinner. It was so fun to catch up and see a smiling face that I knew!
No comments:
Post a Comment