Kzoo, Round Four

...Four trips to Kalamazoo in five years. And I've managed to survive every one of them.

A good conference -- a nice chance to catch up with colleagues, though I really should have made it to more Anglo-Saxon oriented sessions. I did manage a few fascinating ones, though, including the ASSC session, in which I learned that the colloquy was interesting. I'm so glad I found this out -- I've only ever read it in the context of my first Old English class: "here is some easy Old English to prove that you can read this stuff." To find such a fascinating take on it from Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe was phenomenal. Also went to a great roundtable on "Is Beowulf Postmodern Yet?" -- an interesting question, and one I think that's quite relevant, particularly to my own work. The dance was quite a bit of fun as well, though I didn't last quite as late as I usually do...

I missed out on Middle English read aloud (and they were doing Tale of Gareth, too...). First time I've missed that in a few years. I also learned that there actually is quite little to do in Kzoo besides the conference, though I found yet another nice restaurant to enjoy : Old Peninsula Brewpub and Restaurant. They had some fascinating beers -- my favorite being the Red Raspberry (a combination of Sunset Beer, which is kind of caramel flavored, and Raspberry wheat beer).

I managed to add a good number of books to my personal reading list -- which at some point I'll probably post. However, I made it back to NY with only one purchase (a miracle!!).

I also learned, while driving the 12.5 hours to and from Michigan, that there are certain things one should never say in the car, as they may induce panic in one's colleague. For example, when navigating for your colleague, if she is driving, do not respond to the name of a city with "but that's in the opposite direction." Another bad comment: "What the heck road are we on?"

But yes. We survived the long journey, and I am now safe and sound at home. More soon, that might even have to do with Old English...

Oh, and in other news -- David Blaine survived. But he didn't break the record. Sigh. The whole thing kind of sets off my claustrophobia, though...