San Francisco - Part 1

It's Tuesday December 6, and we have so far survived 2+ days in San Francisco with a baby. The flight went pretty well. Emmaline got sleepy about halfway through but was too interested in everything going on around her to fall asleep for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, she was not happy, and Chris and I took turns holding and rocking her. It felt like a flashback to her first 2 months of life, when she was much fussier and had a hard time falling asleep. In fact, that's kind of a synopsis of how she's been this whole trip. She is mostly happy but when she gets tired it's a challenge since we're often out and about.

Monday morning I didn't have any talks to go to right away, so I went for a run while Chris scouted out a good place for coffee. I had a nice run, with a half mile on a street so steep the sidewalk had stairs! I am not in shape for that kind of gradient, but the view at the top was worth it - the bay, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, and a beautiful crystal clear morning! I met Chris and Emmaline at the Blue Bottle coffee shop - they roast their own coffee and have 'siphons' for brewing it. It looked like an alchemy lab. We just got drip coffee, but it is brewed to order and was really delicious.

After I went to the meeting, Chris took Emmaline on an adventure across the Golden Gate Bridge! He said it was really windy and she slept most of the way. Today they went to Fisherman's Wharf, so she is getting to see all the sites! She has progressed a lot in the last 2 weeks. She is super grabby - she will reach for anything within 1-2 feet of her (watches, nalgenes, coffee cups, menus, airplane tray tables, etc). It is amazing that now when she wants something, she just picks it up (and puts it right in her mouth). Also yesterday, she was on her tummy and pushed up to her hands and knees! She is so active! But so cute too - she makes the cutest noises :)

The meeting is going well for me. I've been to some interesting talks (& some not so interesting), and have made some good contacts during the poster sessions. I'm trying to focus on meeting people and networking! I have a few leads, we'll see where things go. I think the name badges for people like me should say something like "Looking for a job" instead of "Member". Tomorrow and Thursday there will be even more sessions relevant to the Amazon and drought, which are my current interests, so I'm looking forward to that. I've also had some failures - like when I spilled coffee all over my bag and then put the bag on, therefore getting coffee all over my white jacket. Or when I sat in a session for 10 minutes before realizing I was in the wrong room. Or when I went into the "mother's room" to pump and was in and out before the two women already in there were done, giving me mammary envy. I often feel like I am equally on the cusp of having it together and completely falling apart.

Anyway, I need to get to work on my defense - I am defending on the 19th!! Yikes. Chris is out with some friends, and I'm watching Emmaline (which is pretty easy since it's past her bed time!). I feel very fortunate to have such great friends, who my husband also gets along with! :)