Here in Atlanta

I’m writing this blog in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The heart of the city, in fact. Peachtree Center. I’m in the mall lobby, surrounded by Christmas trees, pulling as much wifi as I can from Caribou coffee. Drinking a chai tea. I’m still mostly off of caffeine, despite the aforementioned chai tea. And I’m still sober as all get out. Aside from the two margaritas I had last night at a fancy, Mexican restaurant. Spoken like a true alcoholic, I suppose? Not really. I splurged. It’ll probably be months before I have another margarita. Why am I splurging? Well, dear reader, here I am at another academic conference. My second in three weeks. Talk about a world traveler.

First, the beautiful city of Columbus, Ohio. Next, the beautiful city of Atlanta, Georgia. I don’t mean to make you jealous, kind reader, but the chai is hot, the Christmas music is blaring, I have a few hours before I have to head to the airport, and so I thought I’d pen a quick blog. Well, type.

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There’s not much to say about these conferences. I can’t deny that it is fun to see some of the other people who do what I do for a living. To learn from them or with them. I’m not much of a networker, but there are some smart, funny people I get to connect with at these things. Some friends from Penn State. Some friends from Minnesota. So that part is nice.

And it’s fun to give a talk and then talk about that talk with smart people. Lots of talking at academic conferences. As one might expect.

Oh, and I had a hotel room in skyscraper with a view of the city. I arrived in Atlanta the day of Rosalynn Carter’s funeral. There was all-day traffic jam. Traffic jams are best viewed from the window of a skyscraper.

I got some solitude. Caught up on work. Found a deli that made a serious reuben sandwich. A serious turkey sandwich, too. I devoured both. Again, I’m splurging. I splurged on video games too. Played lots of Civilization on my computer. Watched NBA games and fell asleep alone. The solitude was nice, of course, but I always miss my family. I don’t like being away from my family. I’m a homebody.

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I’ll be relieved when I’m home. I’m always relieved to get home after these things. Unpack the suitcase. Suffocate my cats with hugs. My wife and children too. That’s usually my favorite part of traveling.

I’ve been a professor for almost ten years now. It feels like it. I’ve made it to the part of my career where the shiny newness has all but faded. I’m more attuned to the routine of it. The work. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Being a professor is so unlike being a high school teacher. At least for me it is. Sitting here in Peachtree Center, eagerly awaiting a taxi ride to the airport and my flight home captures that difference powerfully. This is not something I’d have been doing on a Thursday afternoon were I still a humble public educator.

This is either my second or third time in Atlanta. I can’t remember. A fine city. Now I’ll leave you, kind reader, to stare off into the distance and await a taxi drive to the airport.