SAA's again

So I totally just realized I never finished posting about our SAA adventures!

Saturday morning Anne and I were presenting at 10:30 am and got up around 8 am and made it to the hotel around 9:45 am. We left Judy at the hotel because she stayed out partying with the others and only got back at six in the morning - it would've been pretty mean to drag her out to the conference after a night like that.

We were pretty nervous but went and sat on the large patio outside the poster hall and quizzed each other on what we were going to say until it was time for our session and we hung up our posters.

My poster session was GREAT! I talked to so many people - I gave away what felt like dozens of business cards and received a dozen in return. I talked to a lot of people, and got some really wonderful advice and commentary. At one point I had TEN PEOPLE gathered around my poster, and I was rarely left alone for long (this is partially thanks to my wonderful friends Steven, Mike, Rich, Scott and Ginger - Anne was by her poster and Judy was in bed) but really I did have a lot of people talk to me.

At one point I was all fluttery because JAMES FEATHERS came by and talked to me. In case you don't know, James Feathers is a big deal and has written some serious papers, some of which we've read in Dr. Lipo's class. He asked some seriously tough questions, but as I explained my work he seemed interested and (dare I hope it?) pleased with my explanations. I'm VERY proud of Anne though - Dr. Feathers was so interested in her work he gave her his email address so that he could get a copy of her poster and discuss her work properly.

I also talked to Dr. Fraser D. Neiman who is the director of archaeology at Monticello who was VERY interested in my work. In fact he wants to use my techniques on his Caribbean plainware, and we've already corresponded about it. Is it rude to email him and ask how it's going? I'm dying to know!

The poster session was supposed to end at 12:30, but just as I was about to take my poster down a woman approached me and started asking me about my work and I was very happy to discuss it with her (I was having SO much fun, I didn't want to take my poster down), and then another woman came by and we ended up talking too, so it was nearly 1:30 by the time I finally finished up and took my poster down. Anne and I returned our posters to the car and then a whole party of us went to Sapphoro's for lunch. That time I got spicy chicken teriyaki and tempura mix (veggies and shrimp) and it was also very very delicious. Since we were all in such high spirits over the presentations we all got beers as well, except for Mike. Since he's half Japanese he went all ethnic on us and got hot sake and we made all sorts of stupid jokes about "how to drink" in other countries.

My sole drinking joke goes thusly:
An Englishman, a Welshman and an Irishman were drinking in a bar. Suddenly a fly lands in each of their beers. The Englishman pushes his beer away in disgust; the Welshman picks out the fly and keeps drinking. The Irishman grabs his fly by one leg and starts yelling, "SPIT IT OUT YOU BASTARD, SPIT IT OUT!!"

As you may have guessed, I don't have the best joke repertoire out there. But I like that one :)

After lunch we went to the CRM (cultural resource management) Expo and hobnobbed with the companies there. I've been corresponding with one and I'm going to apply and see if I get a summer job with them. That would be SO awesome.

We hit up a couple symposia before 5 and then we all separated to our hotels again. This time Matthew (a vegan) picked the restaurant and we headed out to this little Korean place we only found by the grace of my GPS unit (thanks again Dad, that was a great birthday present!) and we all trooped in - twelve of us in this tiny little hole in the wall! The food was pretty good for a vegan place. I had curried rice with tofu chunks (thank goodness I couldn't taste the tofu...I HATE tofu - the menu conveniently didn't mention that tofu was in there) and everyone tried all this exotic stuff.
There was some weird channel broadcasting on the tv and it was about food and the master or something like that and Matthew whispered to us it was some sort of Korean cult where all the followers keep vegan. I have no idea if he was serious or not, but we did make a lot of awful mobster and/or scientology jokes after that.

Then we drove to a BevMo and got booze - Anne and I got champagne to celebrate our poster session, and I also got a Golden Pheasant (shh, I love that beer!) and the others picked up more wine and beer before we all headed back to Anne, my and Judy's hotel room.

For awhile we watched Transformers, and then we switched to a Robin Hood movie and then I can't remember what after that. For awhile we just relaxed and talked but then Ginger and Judy wanted to go hula hooping and then that turned into everyone going out and walking to this park down by the river (and it was COLD) outside and hula-hooping there. I was too cold and grumpy to hula-hoop so I crouched on the ground with my back to the wind, watching the river rush past - it was really pretty.

We FINALLY went back to our nice warm hotel room and everyone left a little after one and I passed out.

Sunday we all got up late and went to hear the closing lectures at the conference. After lunch we were relaxing in the hotel room working on papers when Anne's friend Caleb called and asked if she wanted to hang out, and she did, so they left and Judy and I kept working. I admit it, I fell asleep and had a really nice nap.

At four o clock I got an email from Dr. Lipo saying for Jake, Judy, Anne and I to bring our posters for our 11 am class Monday morning so we could present to the class. So I immediately emailed back saying that as we had explained before we left for the conference that we were driving back Monday morning and would miss our 11 am class but Judy and I would certainly be there for the 7 pm class (Anne doesn't take that one).
At six o clock I checked my email again and there was another email from Dr. Lipo saying simply, "Leave early. Be in class."

There was no help for it, so I texted Anne and Judy and I started packing. Luckily we didn't have that much to pack, and then we walked over to the Mexican restaurant next door to have dinner. I had these AMAZING nachos (so ridiculously cheesy and yummy) and I forget what Judy ordered but we both had strawberry margaritas (I still prefer daiquiris) as well.

We were back in the hotel room when Anne came in and she was obviously totally unaware of the text so we had to break the news to her in person and her reaction was exactly the same as ours.

We were all packed up a little after eight and loaded up my car and settled our hotel bill before driving to the gas station across the street to fill up. I invested in two five-hour-energy shots as well as $7 of gummi sharks, jawbreakers, tic tacs and lollipops.

We got on the highway at 9:15 pm and arrived in Garden Grove (400 miles away) at 3:05 am. And I wasn't even speeding (I could've gotten there much faster if I had been, bud I didn't dare), I just hugged that speed limit for dear life, even in the grapevine, which is one of the most awful roads I have ever been on in my life, with the sole exception of those godawful cliff roads in Madeira that were one lane but two ways and nothing but solid granite cliff on one side and smooth drop to the ocean on the other.

After I dropped Judy and Anne off I made it home at about 3:30 am and it took two trips to haul everything upstairs. I did some rudimentary unpacking - I had to charge my phone and my computer and get the perishables we'd bought into the fridge and all that - before falling into bed at around 4. Unfortunately, between the sugar and the stress and the insane adrenaline high of driving 400 miles in six hours I just lay there, and saw I5 speeding past imprinted in moving pictures on my eyelids.

I did finally fall asleep and slept until 9 am, when I got up for class and somehow made it there through the haze and the sugar hangover. I was so out of it that during my presentation I was not only standing at an angle, but I was shaking and so discombobulated Dr. Lipo practically had to prompt every other sentence out of me. He wasn't too harsh on me and seemed genuinely pleased that I had driven us back like that. I think it was obvious that I was 100% out of it, and it was probably lucky that I had my pants on my bum and not on my head.

Somehow I got through the day - which I had to spend on campus - not falling asleep in my geographical statistics class (which is hard on the best days because it's from 2-4:20 which is when I naturally start sagging) and eating dinner at Panda Express (when I was longing for a home-cooked meal) and somehow focusing during my AGSA meeting. I took my second 5-hour-energy shot at 5pm and it worked for awhile, but I had class from 7 pm til 10 pm and we were learning GIS and I was so frustrated and tired and shaky I could barely do anything right. Brian was sitting next to me, and like an angel he patiently helped me and helped me until I got everything right. Even with Brian's help I was nearly crying from frustration, and when I got home that night I just got down on the floor and stayed there for a few minutes so I wouldn't have to do anything.

I was very, very glad to go to sleep that night...and very very glad I didn't have anything in particular to wake up for the next morning.

Well I'm glad I've finally gotten all my SAA adventures written down, but now I really do have to go to bed so that I can get everything squared away tomorrow before it's time for Britcoms and shrimp and salad.