Ottawa

I'm currently in Ottawa for the American Fisheries Society conference. I presented my research yesterday, and it went pretty well...better than if I would have presented at the same time today when all the fire alarms went off and everyone had to evacuate the conference center.

I've been having a good time even though I came here only knowing one or two people...I've met a lot of great people and even made a couple of promising professional contacts. Now I just need to figure out how to land a professorship in Canada (did you know professors here don't have to go through tenure? How awesome is that??).

Other than that, the most difficult part of this conference has been getting my clothes to fit. My belly is definitely growing, and although I'm too small for maternity clothes, I have to use creative combinations of rubberbands, safety pins, and belts in order to get my pants on. I thought I felt the baby kicking last night when I was going to sleep, but it is hard to tell whether it was that or my stomach rumbling...during the past week or so, I have been hungry constantly. I feel like I'm back in college where I had to eat 3000 calories daily just to keep from having blood sugar crashes. Clearly, this kid has the appetite of its dad (though I guess its mom has never been known for her wimpy appetite either). :)

Off to the student social. Free alcohol and food. I'll be abstaining from the alcohol, of course, but plan to more than make up for it with free food.