on the road again...

i wish it could literally be "on the road" and not on a plane instead, but whatever... this weekend is a break.

in 13 hours i'll be on a plane to wisconsin for a math grad student conference. my advisor's paying (*and* he's the keynote speaker, so that'll be entertaining)... 1.5 days of socializing with other math grad students who like the same kinds of math that i do (sounds like the epitome of fun, right? :P). the conference is just saturday/sunday, but i'll be in WI tomorrow afternoon up through late monday... i'm staying with a friend of a friend, so hopefully we'll all get along alright.

there's also definite plans to have lunch with amanda (my budapest semester roommate, now a bio grad student at madison, haven't seen her in 1.5 years), there's hope to meet up with patrick (math grad student at madison, friend from budapest semester, who i haven't seen in 3.5 years), and there's a slight chance of crossing paths with ben (madison math grad student and REU friend from my summer in texas, haven't seen in 5 years).

no matter what, no computer for the weekend means no answering tons of emails, and no ability to work on half my homework (since a large part of it is programming), which means i'll be forced to just relax for a few days (and be swamped when i get back, but whatever...)

here's my one problem: i like driving. if i'm travelling within the same continent, 90% of the time i drive. i'm used to being able to throw everything i could possibly need for 4 days into the trunk of my car. if i take an airplane, it's generally for a LONG trip to another country (although there are exceptions). summary: i'm NOT good at packing 4 days of stuff into one carry-on. i feel lonely without at least 6 books with me and unprepared that i can't have an extra layer of clothes in the trunk of my car "just in case"... i'll get over it.

i should have sooo been asleep hours ago... oops.

back monday -- a fantastic weekend to all y'all!