My job as a grant coordinator in Urbana is fantastic. Not only do I work with some seriously smart people who challenge me every day, but I get to do such a variety of things - teacher trainings on gifted education, work with new teachers and their mentors, and last (but definitely not least!) American History professional development for K-12 teachers all over our area. One recent job requirement (yes, a requirement) was a trip to Atlanta for the National Council for the Social Studies Conference. Believe it or not, conferences are pretty darn exhausting. I want to squeeze in as many sessions as possible, visit the vendors for cheap new books, and go site seeing if time allows. Travel with my colleagues is especially fun, though this time we desperately missed Cynthia, who is now living the Stay At Home Mom life in Milwaukee! She and I shared many a bread pudding in New Orleans a few years ago....
Anyway, this conference trip was no different - GREAT sessions (one on LBGT issues that was just great and makes me want to live in Seattle), a great visit to the vendor area where I picked up books that are now itching to be read, and lots and lots of visiting Atlanta.
The first morning we were there I had the opportunity to hear John Lewis speak. This man spoke to the same huge crowd that heard Martin Luther King give his I Have a Dream speech, and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see him! (His talk was at 7:15 in the morning, 6:15 Central time, so you know how motivated I must have been...) But I couldn't get in! I didn't have a ticket for the special breakfast, and the woman at the door wouldn't let me in, even though I promised not to eat. :( I have to learn to be more assertive, because I really wanted to hear him! It all worked out, because I came back to my hotel room to pout and had breakfast via iChat with Brian and Ethan. LOVE high-speed internet access.
Our morning tour was of the CNN Atlanta Studio, which was so amazing. No Anderson Cooper viewings; apparently he's not even there! But the behind the scenes aspect of CNN is just fantastic, and we got to see all over the place. The director has to coordinate (I can't remember how many but it's a lot) of news feeds at once in order to bring you what you see every day. As with anything, I think the fact that they make it look effortless means they're doing a good job.
Anyone who has been to Atlanta knows that you HAVE to visit the World of Coke. Diet Coke is an addiction around the office (we're considering adding it to a list of job qualifications at upcoming interviews), and we were all very excited to go, though a little creeped out at the huge polar bear. And it's in pictures like this that I remember how freakishly tall I am compared to the normal person! I should be standing next to the bear to appear shorter...
The Atlanta aquarium was also by our hotel, so we had to make an appearance. I forgot how much I loved aquariums - the one in Chicago was a serious favorite when I was a kid, and I even went through a phase when I wanted to be a marine biologist. (Mostly because dolphins were very cool and I wanted to pet the otters all the time...)So you might be thinking, "What in the world was Ethan doing at this time?!" Even though he was in excellent hands at home with Brian (for only two nights, really), I did have some serious guilt, especially the first night, wondering what he was doing, if his cold was worse, was he expecting me to pick him up at daycare, if he missed me, if he would remember me when I got back...It was really great to be able to see him on the computer early in the morning - a very pixellated baby, but still a moving and shaking and fussing baby all the same! And we had a great day indoors together when I got back - it rained all day, so there was no decent reason to go outside. Not a great way to come back from 70 degree Atlanta, but a great opportunity to spend time with the little boy.
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