Houston

Beautiful spring weather, which is a good thing because restaurants are a two mile walk from the hotel. The last month or more has been intense for me both at work and in my inner journey, so I'm trying to take it very easy at this conference. It isn't a conference where I have a lot of professional organizing to do. I didn't sign up for a field trip this afternoon but instead am going to go for run in a little while and then work or write in my hotel room.

My paper this morning went well except that I forgot to look at my watch when I started and the chair didn't give me a warning before time was up. Despite the fact I was out of time I didn't cut the funny story out of my conclusion, but I told it so quickly that people didn't really get it. I could have done a better job of cutting my paper to the right length (18 minutes), but that really doesn't solve the problem unless I just read it, and that isn't the custom at this conference. Several people in the audience kept nodding, which I was pleased by because I was making some pretty complex points.

I ended up wearing a navy v-neck cotton cardigan over my camp shirt to look a little more professional, and felt comfortable with how I looked. I brought a dressier outfit but didn't even try it on--it just didn't seem like me. I got a nice compliment earlier in the day--someone I was in graduate school with told me I looked better even that I did in graduate school. Nice to hear 3 months before my 50th birthday.