bronwynrh | *cough* *sniff* *ah-choo!*

I am sick. Sick. Sick. Sick. I was sick all weekend at the meeting in Minneapolis. I was fortunate, though, because I presented my talk Saturday morning before this sinus infection really took off.

A synopsis of my weekend. . .

1) My talk went really, really well. I got a great response from the conference attendees, both in person and through Clay. One scientist went so far to say that the work that Clay and I presented was the most original work he'd seen in the field in years. How cool is that? I got to talk with a lot of really nice people, some of whom I've met before, some I only met this weekend.

I met Eugene Nester, considered the father of Agrobacterial studies. He mentored Steve Winans, who mentored Clay's Post-doc, who of course is now mentoring me. So he's like my academic great-grandfather. He's a distinguished looking gentlemen whom many young scientists like myself revere as a god, but then you meet him and realize how cool he is and that he's human - but a really fantastic one. He's also well-known for his collection of Northwest native American art.

So anyway, as my cold developed into something more flu-like and settled into this sinus infection (complete with fever and body aches - yay) I was doing my best to make the most of the opportunity to talk with some fantastic scientists, friends, colleagues.

I noticed that I tend to start few conversations at these meetings. I do start some, but I most often wait for someone to approach me, or I simply join a group and listen. I learn a lot just by listening, but I also found that several of these scientists were very interested in me, too. Very cool.

2) When going through security at the Minneapolis airport, fevered and feeling quite under the weather, something on my person tripped the sensor in the walk-through metal detector.

A list of all items on my body at the time: sneakers with plastic insoles, socks, denim jeans, underwear and bra, turtleneck, two bracelets (one silver, one gold), one wristwatch and one gold necklace.

Something in the above list tripped the sensor. Anyone want to guess what it was?

So I had to sit in the chair, take off my shoes - I told the security officer that there were insoles inside, so she wouldn't be freaked when she saw them instead of seeing the flannel lining of the sneaker - the shoes were sent off and checked out while my legs and feet were wanded. I then had the legs-apart arms-out wanding, front, back, left right. Do you know what tripped the sensor yet?

My bra.

"I have to touch you here, since it beeped"

um, ok

At this point, I was trying very very hard not to crack up. I remember there were times in Saudi Arabia when my orthodontic braces would trip the sensors. But never an underwire bra, for chrissakes.

I now understand the motivation of the woman who stripped off her sweater, shirt and bra at such a checkpoint in frustration. The devil in me wished I could do the same as a joke, but I didn't particularly feel like being arrested, nor did I feel like showing my bosom to hundreds of strangers, Clay and several colleagues from the meeting.

3) Our flight out of Minny was delayed by an hour because our dear president landed in Air Force One, so the airspace and runways were cleared out. We saw the plane right after it landed, watched it taxi all around the airport until it settled at a distant hangar. Then we saw the motorcade - complete with the requisite black suburbans.

It was a cool sight - how often does one get to see Air Force One? Clay and I wondered if the parties or the taxpayers have to pay for all the pre-election travel of our president as he stumps for his party's candidates all over the country. I just know we're the ones footing the bill, but I really think the president's party should have to pay for stuff like this. Presidents have more important things to do than hop about the country attending pep rallies - especially if those pep rallies aren't even for their own reelection, but for that of other candidates. I figure he's not really doing the country's business on these trips, so why shouldn't the party pay for it?

I know, they all do it. But I still don't like it.

Ugh. Does anyone know where I can find a new set of eustachian tubes? Mine are completely plugged up.