What I didn't realize until right before landing in Palm Springs is that it is quite literally an oasis in the middle of a desert. Palm Springs is beautiful; I woke up to a view of tall, thin palm trees against the backdrop of purple mountains. The architecture in Palm Springs is refreshing. Being a desert resort, the buildings were built akin to those in small Mexican villages with colors such as bright blue, yellow, and terracotta constrasting against the green palm trees and cacti. The conference was both intense and stimulating. We were completely immersed in social psych research from 8 AM to 7 PM everyday. Besides short 15 minute coffee breaks and a lunch hour, we were going from lectures to lectures with poster sessions in between. Good connections were made during the trip, while new ideas were dreamed up. I feel a combination of excitement and fear about my future career.
Highlights of the trip:
- Tanning by the pool during lunch breaks
- Walking around at night...without a jacket or coat
- Meeting people that I've cited in my papers or want to work with in grad school
- West coast seafood
- Going out drinking with former colleagues (now professors) and former GSIs
- Yummy fruit smoothies
- Shopping for souvenirs and doing other touristy things
- Finding strawberry gummies at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport!!!
- Star-gazing from the plane at 32,000 feet altitude
and just to update on my 101 in 1001....
#6 & 7: Go to the doctor's/go to the dentist: I caught up on these last weekend. I finally asked my doctor to look at my back (I have chronic back pain) and am starting physical therapy this week.
#4: Drink no caffeine for 1 month: I started over Christmas break because I knew my family in New York don't buy pop or really anything with caffeine (except tea, which I'm not partial to). For those who thought I couldn't go without caffeine for a month, boo-yah! ;)
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