Arrival
Twenty-five hours after leaving Corvallis, I’ve finally made it to Florida, site of IUI 2009. Taking the red-eye in order to sleep on the flight totally and hilariously back-fired; I haven’t fallen asleep since Thursday night. Instead, I got a haircut in Portland, then wandered about the city for a bit. The number of shops closing up downtown is a little frightening, it looked an awful lot like Michigan did when I was back over the holidays. One of my favorite boutiques, Same Underneath, totally cut their inventory to just a handful of relatively tired-looking styles. Not a good sign.
I got to PDX way ahead of time and got some work done, then boarded a plane on which my legs simply couldn’t get comfortable (that has never happened before, I usually fit just fine into the tiny amount of legroom). Four restless hours later, I watched the sun rise behind the smudged glass of ATL:
Sunrise in Atlanta
The flight down to Fort Myers was exciting, we got stuck on the runway for an hour when an engine wouldn’t start. All was well, though, and looking down on gulf-coastal islands made me wish my camera wasn’t stowed in the overhead. I took a cab ride from a local artist, originally from Italy, who proudly showed me a regional publication with his face on the cover: it was without a doubt the most interesting taxi ride of my life. Now I’m at the Sundial resort, staying in someone’s condo and searching for vegetarian options from the bar menu. Also, prepping for tomorrow’s day-long workshop, after which I really need to finish up my presentation. I’m getting nervous now that I’m here. But! This condo has a screened-in porch with a lovely view:
A view from my porch
February 7th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Haircut? How is Alex doing? I’ve been reading about all the store closures and it is sad and scary. You’re going to do great! Relax and try to enjoy yourself. Is the weather nice?
February 7th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Alex is well, a popular salon (Dirty Little Secret) just closed downtown and he picked up two of the stylists that had worked there, he said their clients have really increased his business.
It’s actually really cold here right now, but everyone I’ve met so far seems really cool, and I don’t think I’ll have any time to get outside anyway. I have a midterm and class project due when I get back, and a paper deadline looming.