somewhere in Vancouver

“Please remember, this is a nonsmoking flight. If we find you are smoking, we will ask you to kindly step outside.”
– Flight attendant on very, very delayed Alaska Airlines flight, successfully trying to lighten the mood

Hello from lovely Vancouver, where it is at least a time zone I recognize (or did, before last week’s trip, which I like to call “My Luggage Is Back in Newark and So Am I”). I’m attending a grantwriting workshop, which is delightful not only for the content, but also because I really really like school. I know, I’m weird. The instructor had to start pretending not to see my raised hand after the first two hours. She is handling it graciously, but I’m a nightmare student and I know it. I’m engaged with the topic in a way that verges on manic. Even combined with the lack of afternoon coffee, not even the fact that my body is just certain it’s seven pm when it’s really only four could slow me down. Maybe it’s time to think about getting that PhD…

Then again, some of those sentences are pretty hairy, structurally speaking. Do they frown on that when you write a dissertation, or is that considered a bonus?

want Zen? try traveling

laptop, wireless, hot coffee
morning sunlight moves through the lobby –
my luggage is in Newark.

at the Faculty Academy

I’m sitting in a lovely auditorium at the University of Mary Washington, reveling in being at a conference where I am not a host (and reveling no less in the power outlet right here in the arm of my seat and the no-fuss wireless access… cool… if I had a tropical drink it would be just like a vacation!). Cyprien’s showing us stuff I had no idea Flickr could do, and explaining stuff that I knew it could do but couldn’t work out how.

I’ve also seen the neat stuff faculty here are doing with their courses. Wikis, blogs, digital storytelling, moviemaking — it’s all here. The faculty are sharing the process, the ups and downs, what worked and what didn’t, all with frankness and humor. There’s a fantastic atmosphere of support and a willingness to learn from each other that’s wonderful to see. I’m thrilled and honored to be a guest here.

Take a look at the conference blog — we’re writing it as we go!

I’ve Got the Flu in Texas

Sounds like a country-western song, doesn’t it? Actually I’m almost over the flu, and also almost out of Texas. It’s been an eventful week of sickness and travel since the last long-ago post, but in ten hours I’ll be home (a fact that elicits mixed feelings, given that it’s already almost six pm in Dallas). I’m sure I’ll have more to say after I’ve slept some. Stay tuned.

1001 Texas Miles / Home Again

I’m safe at home once again. During the ride from the airport Friday evening, the North Bay delivered on its promise of being a welcome sight after a day of travel. It was the dark-and-foggy version, one of my favorites.

As Larry pulled into his driveway Thursday evening at the offical end of the road trip, his trip odometer read 1001.4 miles. He drove to Dallas to meet me and Peter, so we only get credit for 750 of those miles. It was still an awful lot of Texas.

Now I’m wading through email, so if you sent me any over the past 10 days or so, please be patient. I’m getting there :-)

The Adventure Continues

We drove from New Braunfels to Houston today. On the way we passed through Seguin (pronounced “Seh-GEEN”), self-proclaimed home of the world’s largest pecan. There is, however, another contender for the title. Interestingly, it does not appear that a pecan has to be an actual pecan (i.e., the natural nut of a pecan tree) to compete. In the interest of full disclosure I offer this information and allow you, gentle reader, to draw your own conclusions.

We also passed the young man in this picture, who (rather unfairly I thought) exclaimed in astonishment when I poked my head up out of the sunroof to take his picture. How exactly am I the weird one here?

Tomorrow, Austin. Remember: love the journey! I sure am.

Dr. Pepper Museum, Waco, TX

Dr. Pepper Museum, Waco, TX,
originally uploaded by Rachel Smith.

One of those photos I mentioned… More soon. This is the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas, where we frittered away a delightful and nostalgic 45 minutes or so. For more Waco pix, browse my Flickr entries. I’m new at that, too, so most of them are from this trip :-)

Lunch in Waco

Texas, that is. This week I’m on a road trip (emphasis on trip) with Larry and Peter (Johnson & Samis). It’s sort of a whirlwind tour of Texas – parts of it, anyway – that began in Dallas, takes us through New Braunfels, Houston, and Austin, and will end with me and Peter flying out of San Antonio on Friday. On our way from Dallas to New Braunfels today we stopped in Waco for lunch.

Waco is sprinkled with surprising architecture. The McLennan County Courthouse is lovely, although the main entrance is boarded up and one enters through a door under the stairs. Near where we had lunch we found a delightful building, an opinion evidently shared by many: it has its own website. The crown of the visit, though, was the Dr. Pepper Museum, an unexpected find that tempted us to actually park and go in. While Larry — who lives in Texas, after all — stood far enough away that he could disclaim any association with us two crazy Californians if worse came to worst, Peter and I snapped pictures of the soda fountain (and the actual soda jerk, who was a very nice young woman possessing the patience of several saints), the gift shop, the building’s façade, and each other enjoying our genuine fountain drinks. I had a Dr. Pepper (it seemed appropriate) which she mixed for me right there. Peter, ever adventurous, ordered a hot Dr. Pepper, also mixed at the counter, heated in a coffeepot-like thing and served with lemon. Wild.

I did take photos and will add those, um, let’s just say “later” since my schedule this week is so weird. Thank you, thank you to those of you who are commenting on and linking to my fledgling blog!

On the Road Again

(The following was actually written on Sunday, Feb. 5)

I boarded a bus this afternoon, from my beloved Sonoma County, Calif. down to SFO to catch a flight to Dallas. It’s a perfect day out here. I mean, perfect. The hills are greening, the cows and sheep and llamas and whatnot are glowing in the slanting afternoon light, the sky is California’s trademarked blue, and every vista is pastoral and peaceful. If it were a photograph you’d swear it wasn’t real. All of this has contrived to awaken this voice in my head that is now screaming, “Where do you think you’re going? Don’t you know this is the most beautiful place in the northern hemisphere?” Yup, I know. I’d climb right out of the bus window if I could.

This is what California, specifically northern California, does to people. Every time I leave I think I must be crazy to go. Every time I come home I’m so grateful to be back. During the trip back up 101 from the airport, no matter what time of year or time of day, is when I really feel it, especially after a long day spent trying to get here from wherever I have been. Sunny or misty or darkness-lit-with-a-million-lights-reflecting-off-the-bay, it’s just beautiful. Maybe it’s something they put in the water, but it makes you not want to live anywhere else.

Now I’m sitting in the airport, the screaming has become someone’s unhappy young child that no amount of iPodded Eric Clapton can drown out, and I’m already looking forward to coming home. We only have ten months’ worth of perfect days a year up here. I don’t want to miss a single one.

Lovely San Francisco

I spent yesterday in San Francisco, planning a Pachyderm presentation with Peter Samis and Larry Johnson. After the meeting Peter and I engaged in a spontaneous critique of the artwork on the wall in the meeting room (it was surprisingly good, given that it was hanging up in a hotel). Peter is wicked smart, especially about modern art, and endlessly creative. He has also met all kinds of interesting people (there is some photographic evidence to support this) and tells the best stories. Mostly he did the critique and I did my best to follow along and contribute where I could :-)

I’m not a city girl but I love SF. It’s just weird enough to please without being terrifying, and there is beauty around every corner.