This may sound shocking coming from me, but I might actually repeat this experience. Dee and I flew to New Orleans last week to present at the National Science Teachers' Association national conference. Yep, it sounds like a big deal 'cuz it IS a big deal, especially for those presenters who would rather chew off their own leg than speak to a bunch of adults and pretend to be an expert. Since chewing off my own leg was not an option, and I really did want to see New Orleans, I put on my big girl panties (as my dear friend is wont to say), xeroxed my handouts, kissed my family goodbye and was off to N'Awlins.
Result? I survived and pulled my own considerable weight. According to an audience member, I even spoke for 15 minutes straight. That might not seem unusual given normal circumstances, might even seem low at that, but these were not normal circumstances. The audience was 100 members strong-a full house, not an empty seat to be found (okay, one or two maybe). I am proud of our presentation and might even consider doing this again.
On the other hand, we saw lots of New Orleans (French Quarter, River Walk, Garden District, Warehouse District, French Market) and I continued to collect people. Some collect salt shakers, Meri collects shot glasses...Me? I collect people. On this trip, I caught a techie, a young mother and her even younger child (hello, migraine), a Boys' Town drunk, two Mad Hatters, and I almost reeled in a distinguished pilot-trust me, there are not as many of those as one might think. My husband is clearly the exception to that rule. Dee told me to quit making eye contact, but that is soooo hard...
