bitter magnet

the annual MTL annual research conference (or MARC, as it is now known) was held in waterville valley (NH) yesterday (and, technically, the day before as well). However, yesterday we really didn't do much discussing about research, it was more a day of skiing, eating, drinking, more eating, and later more drinking (and dancing!) :) Hey--sounds like my kind of conference! :)

Anyway, since I went on the later bus (we got to Waterville yesterday at like 2pm), I didn't go skiing. I didn't want to get up early, and plus I didn't want to risk injuring my knees or any other crucial body parts to my running (I know that injuries are not that common, but i am a klutz, so...). when we got there we just dropped our stuff in the assigned condos (i got my own room, with a king-size bed and TV!) and then went to a coffee shop, and basically stayed there talking (with joyce, vikas, annie, and later xin) for like two hours. the thing was it was cold outside and i already had seen the area around waterville (it was my 4th time there), so i wasn't so gungho on walking around anywhere. when 5:00pm finally rolled around, we all got up to go to the welcome reception at the conference center. i wouldn't have been so interested in going if i hadn't known there was going to be an open bar there. :) so i went and got a rasperry smirnoff ice (didn't know they came in flavors!) which tasted more like raspberry soda than anything else (i downed it quickly!). the hors douvres were good, they had these quesadilla-like things with spinach in them, and they had served them with sour cream, so how could I pass up. :)

after the reception, there was the dinner itself, which featured a speaker towards the end. the dinner was this chicken thing with potatoes and carrots..ok but a bit bland. i saved myself for the dessert, which was strawberries & whipped cream on what looked like dinner rolls. i actually liked it, because the bread was more salty than sweet (a lot of people disliked it for that same reason) but the portion size was too big so I only ate about 1/2 of it (gee, haven't I become Japanese? :) )

and after the dinner, there was an "informal gathering" at legends (the one and only bar at the little resort), to which we did a bunch of different things (i drank a hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps, watched a bunch of folks shoot some hoops in this teeny little arcade-like basketball game, talked to some people here and there and then hit the dance floor for like ~2 hours :) ). it was pretty fun, since a number of professors, staff, and students alike were out there dancing...let's just say, not your stereotypical mit geeks. :)

anyway, we ended up staying pretty late (the place closed shortly after midnight) and i ended up going to bed around 1am. despite that, i got up at 6am, since i had to shower and get ready for the breakfast. at 7 i headed off to the conference center to enjoy my bacon, eggs, and pancake (they had a full-fledged hot breakfast waiting there!). i'm glad i got there early cuz the food apparently ran out. also, i got first dibs on the MTL jackets they were giving away (everyone there got one, but the Women's size smalls were really quick to go). they looked pretty nice..bright red color with the MTL logo. I actually wore it inside the conference room for a while (it was FREEZING in there) since i was cold and I dind't have a sweater.

anyways, the conference itself started, we had a guest speaker to talk about MEMS/NEMS who was pretty good, and after that were the student presentations and poster sessions. as usual i kind of zoned out during the poster sessions and spent the time rehearsing my own presentation (i was the session chair for one of the afternoon sessions) and chatting with other folks from the lab. at 1pm we got to go to lunch, which i was pleased to say was some pretty decent lasagna (in previous years, we always got different kinds of sliced bread and cold cuts as a make-your-own-sandwich ordeal). we didn't get the various kinds of desserts though (just a few kinds of cookies), but that's probably a good thing (don't want to see half the people there in insulin shock in mid-afternoon).

at 2pm the sessions started again, which was when i had to go up and give my schpiel on molecular & nanotechnology. i tried not to make it boring and i tried to keep it short and everything. i guess it went ok, and afterwards i got a little glass paperweight thing (as all the other organizers/session chairs recieved) with the MTL & MARC logo in it, as well as our name. I must say they look pretty nice! Mine's on my desk at home now.

anyway, at 4:30 or so the conference was over, and we all got back on the buses to MIT. we ended up getting back to 39 around 7pm or so, after which i trudged back to SP with my suitcase in tow (it was windy as hell outside, but i wasn't about to sit around and wait for the SafeRide). after i got back, i just kind of chilled and then Joe came home soon after. we enjoyed a quiet dinner and then just watched some TV. tomorrow's friday...yay! :)