... and here I am, floating around yet another strange city. Story of my life these days, it seems. I just got in to Ottawa-- my flight from Halifax was so early it bordered on red-eye. The flight was at 06:40am, so I had to leave the hotel at 04:30. And since last night was the final night of the conference, everyone was dragged out to a bar, so I really only got about two hours of sleep. All I want to do now is nap and shower, not necessarily in that order, but the hotel check-in isn't until 3pm. And it's 8:30am right now. They let me stow my suitcase, though, and right now I'm having coffee in the hotel restaurant. I might take a walk around town and get my bearings, maybe do a bit of shopping-- I want a new coat, and I feel like Canada is a good place for coat-buying.
So my combination jetlag-sleep deprivation aside, it's been a fantastic weekend so far. The conference was brilliant, in both the American understanding of the word and the British-Irish colloquial sense. Great papers, great talks, and an overall great group. It was small enough that we were able to really get a dialogue going, and rather than being like lectures the talks ended up being more of a conversation most of the time. A conversation that was continued at the bar in the evening. The whole tone of the thing was very informal and friendly; I originally brought a suit to wear for my talk, but then after seeing that the other conference participants were overwhelmingly in jeans, I went for a much more casual outfit. At first I was rather intimidated, because after all I'm just a lowly unpublished graduate student and maybe 75% of the people at the conference were professors who have books and monographs and journal articles all over the place. But everyone was very friendly and supportive, and there wasn't any distinction made between the Doctors and non-Doctors. So, overall, it was an incredibly positive experience.
I also got to drink some truly excellent dirty martinis and sleep in the most comfortable bed I've ever encountered, so that was pretty nice too. The only regret I have is not really being able to see Halifax-- I got in late Thursday night, spent all day Friday and Saturday at talks, and then left early Sunday morning. What I glimpsed of the town seemed very cool, so I definitely have to come back some day, maybe even for a proper vacation!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
Galway is in the grips of its semiannual week of nice weather right now! This means that it is sunny and in the high 60s-low 70s. Yesterday, I went to the beach with friends Jenn, Bri, and Jason and sat in the sunshine for about four hours. I wore a knee-length skirt and short-sleeved top, while Bri and Jenn actually wore bathing suit tops-- I thought it was too cold for bathing suits, but here you have to take advantage of any teeny bit of sunshine. Today it's supposed to be equally nice, though I have lots of work to do. (Especially since I spent yesterday sitting around the beach.) So, in order to enjoy the nice weather but also work, I am sitting outside a cafe with my laptop and books. It's a good compromise.
So why do I have so much work to do? Because I am going to a conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this week! Not only am I attending, but I am also presenting a paper. It's a serious, big-deal sort of a conference and I am actually pretty nervous about the whole thing. And after the conference, I am flying to Ottawa to do a couple days of research at the Library and Archives Canada, which is like the Canadian Library of Congress. It's all very exciting... though it's going to be a pretty darn busy week. My itinerary is as follows:
-Wednesday 16 September: I take a bus to Dublin and spend the night at the airport Days Hotel.
-Thursday 17 Sept: I fly to Halifax, Nova Scotia, by way of Newark. (I have a five-hour layover in Newark, which is just annoying. If it were much longer, I could leave and maybe go get a bite to eat in Brooklyn or Manhattan with one of my friends that lives there. But 5 hours is too short to leave, but too long to easily kill with going through Customs and security. Oh well.)
-Friday & Saturday, 18-19 Sept: Conference! Haven't gotten the programs yet, so I don't know what day I'm giving the talk, but it will probably be Saturday afternoon.
-Sunday 20 Sept: I fly from Halifax to Ottawa. I am staying in a hotel in Ottawa, not a hostel, because I honestly didn't want to go on a research trip so soon anyway. Lionel talked me into it, and I decided that having my own room and bathroom would make the prospect much more palatable.
-Monday & Tuesday, 21-22 Sept: Research at the Library & Archives Canada. I'm just going to be sussing out their collection, seeing if they have much that can be of use to me, and making contacts. Then I can decide if I'll need to go back later for more in-depth research. I still don't want to do this right now, but I admit that the nerd in me is excited to see a national archive. My hotel is like five minutes away from the Canadian parliament and supreme court and all that stuff-- basically where I am staying is the Canadian equivalent of Capitol Hill. Neat!
-Wednesday 23 Sept: I fly back to Ireland. I'm getting in to Shannon at 7am on Thursday the 24th, so I should be back to my flat before 10am.
Whew. Just reading that makes me tired... oh well. I'll manage I'm sure. And really, if the biggest complaint I have about my job is that I have to travel too much, things really aren't so bad.
Ok! Back to work!
So why do I have so much work to do? Because I am going to a conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this week! Not only am I attending, but I am also presenting a paper. It's a serious, big-deal sort of a conference and I am actually pretty nervous about the whole thing. And after the conference, I am flying to Ottawa to do a couple days of research at the Library and Archives Canada, which is like the Canadian Library of Congress. It's all very exciting... though it's going to be a pretty darn busy week. My itinerary is as follows:
-Wednesday 16 September: I take a bus to Dublin and spend the night at the airport Days Hotel.
-Thursday 17 Sept: I fly to Halifax, Nova Scotia, by way of Newark. (I have a five-hour layover in Newark, which is just annoying. If it were much longer, I could leave and maybe go get a bite to eat in Brooklyn or Manhattan with one of my friends that lives there. But 5 hours is too short to leave, but too long to easily kill with going through Customs and security. Oh well.)
-Friday & Saturday, 18-19 Sept: Conference! Haven't gotten the programs yet, so I don't know what day I'm giving the talk, but it will probably be Saturday afternoon.
-Sunday 20 Sept: I fly from Halifax to Ottawa. I am staying in a hotel in Ottawa, not a hostel, because I honestly didn't want to go on a research trip so soon anyway. Lionel talked me into it, and I decided that having my own room and bathroom would make the prospect much more palatable.
-Monday & Tuesday, 21-22 Sept: Research at the Library & Archives Canada. I'm just going to be sussing out their collection, seeing if they have much that can be of use to me, and making contacts. Then I can decide if I'll need to go back later for more in-depth research. I still don't want to do this right now, but I admit that the nerd in me is excited to see a national archive. My hotel is like five minutes away from the Canadian parliament and supreme court and all that stuff-- basically where I am staying is the Canadian equivalent of Capitol Hill. Neat!
-Wednesday 23 Sept: I fly back to Ireland. I'm getting in to Shannon at 7am on Thursday the 24th, so I should be back to my flat before 10am.
Whew. Just reading that makes me tired... oh well. I'll manage I'm sure. And really, if the biggest complaint I have about my job is that I have to travel too much, things really aren't so bad.
Ok! Back to work!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
the quest for a good chinese takeaway
I tend to write about things on this 'blog that aren't specifically Irish-- that is, things that happen in my life, but aren't unique to Ireland, or to being an American abroad, or anything like that. This is because my life really isn't all that interesting, most of the time. Yes, I live in Ireland, but much of day-to-day life here isn't all that different from life in the U.S. (I walk to the store and look right-left-right before crossing the street, instead of left-right-left. How exotic!) But lately I've been experiencing something that is rather different from my experience as a college student in the U.S. This is, of course, the quality of the Chinese takeout in Galway.
Now, don't get me wrong-- I have had some truly delicious Chinese and Asian fusion meals in this town. But those are generally found at nicer sit-down type restaurants. I'm talking about the kind of Chinese food that comes in paper box, from a place that's open until 3am and has a neon dragon sign in the window. I'm a big fan of Chinese takeout, and in college Jim and I tried every Chinese restaurant that was within walking or delivery distance of MSU. Recently, I've begun doing the same here... with disappointing results.
In the U.S., a dish like (for example) chicken and black bean sauce would be a stir-fry of thin pieces of chicken with things like bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, baby corns, and bean sprouts, tossed with the appropriate sauce. Over here, it seems to be more like: steamed pieces of chicken and steamed red bell peppers, green peppers, onions, and carrots, tossed with the sauce. Steamed veggies and chicken, while undoubtedly healthier, are also much more bland than stir-fried... and bell peppers and onions are not exactly uniquely Asian vegetables. This is something I've encountered at three separate restaurants. Sometimes the sauce is very good, which makes it a decent meal, but it's not what I'm looking for in a Chinese takeaway. (And sometimes the sauce is bland and watery and gross, which makes the whole thing a huge disappointment.)
Basically, I can get better stir-fry veggies frozen at the grocery store. And the store also has a nice selection of stir-fry sauces. So, I think I've come to the conclusion that if I'm craving Chinese food, I'm better off making it myself. Which isn't helpful for those days when you really don't feel like cooking.
In other news, I made a sudden impulse purchase yesterday, and consequently have acquired an awesome new hobby. I'm not going to go into details yet, because I'm an absolute beginner, but suffice to say that the fingertips of my left hand are really sore right now...
Now, don't get me wrong-- I have had some truly delicious Chinese and Asian fusion meals in this town. But those are generally found at nicer sit-down type restaurants. I'm talking about the kind of Chinese food that comes in paper box, from a place that's open until 3am and has a neon dragon sign in the window. I'm a big fan of Chinese takeout, and in college Jim and I tried every Chinese restaurant that was within walking or delivery distance of MSU. Recently, I've begun doing the same here... with disappointing results.
In the U.S., a dish like (for example) chicken and black bean sauce would be a stir-fry of thin pieces of chicken with things like bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, baby corns, and bean sprouts, tossed with the appropriate sauce. Over here, it seems to be more like: steamed pieces of chicken and steamed red bell peppers, green peppers, onions, and carrots, tossed with the sauce. Steamed veggies and chicken, while undoubtedly healthier, are also much more bland than stir-fried... and bell peppers and onions are not exactly uniquely Asian vegetables. This is something I've encountered at three separate restaurants. Sometimes the sauce is very good, which makes it a decent meal, but it's not what I'm looking for in a Chinese takeaway. (And sometimes the sauce is bland and watery and gross, which makes the whole thing a huge disappointment.)
Basically, I can get better stir-fry veggies frozen at the grocery store. And the store also has a nice selection of stir-fry sauces. So, I think I've come to the conclusion that if I'm craving Chinese food, I'm better off making it myself. Which isn't helpful for those days when you really don't feel like cooking.
In other news, I made a sudden impulse purchase yesterday, and consequently have acquired an awesome new hobby. I'm not going to go into details yet, because I'm an absolute beginner, but suffice to say that the fingertips of my left hand are really sore right now...
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