Seattle

I had a good week in Seattle; attending the annual conference of ALISE, where I gave two papers, and the Midwinter conference of ALA. I hate leaving Hawaii during the school year since I have to miss class, and usually deal with a long flight. Seattle is about as close to Hawaii that I can get, though, so I should not complain (although the red eye is not the way to go for night owls). ALISE and ALA were good conferences this year, so I had a good trip.

I also enjoyed being in Seattle. Hawaii is great, but I miss some of the urban stylings of other cities. I didn't make it to any museums this time, but I saw the opening of Seattle's Sculpture Garden (fun, but it is nothing compared to the ones in Minneapolis, New York or Jerusalem!), a few fine new and used bookstores, and enjoyed peoplewatching (I miss black clothes); and a bit of shopping (can you say "clearance sale?!). The chance to schmooze with colleagues, and talk about each other's research, teaching tips and personal lives made it very worthwhile.



One of the highlights of this trip was checking out the new Seattle Public Library. Many of my colleagues thought that it was cold, and that it would not age well. They might be right, about it not aging well, but few interesting buildings do. I thought it was a great public space. I took over 200 photos there, and posted quite a few on my Flickr site. I am looking forward to my students' reactions.

Now, I just have to dig out my inbox and deal with all of the committee work I said yes to.