Decided to go to the gym, got all ready, and dressed accordingly and got there and the place is full... which means there are two people there, one doing the treadmill and the other the weights (it is that small). In retrospect I should have gone there earlier, but will try to go there later, maybe around 6:15 am, after I finish writing this.
Yesterday was a good day. The flight arrived about 30 minutes earlier than expected. By the time I peed, walked to baggage claim and retrieved my luggage, it was 1:18 pm, the time my flight was supposed to arrive, and my pickup shuttle schedule time. After going to a couple wrong places I found the shuttle counter, where they were having walkie-talkie issues, so they were slower than usual (I was immediately reminded of New Mexico time, which I thought was Santa Fe time)... eventually they gave me a receipt, called the shuttle guy and two minutes after I walked out it arrived. The airport is extremely close to the downtown area so it took us a few minutes to get to my hotel. The driver, Greg, a jolly burly man, explained to me a few of the sites in the trajectory.
I walked into the hotel lobby and was impressed by the sheer scale of the place. Hotel Albuquerque is an old hotel near Old Town, that has had some extreme expansions (mainly an addition to a 11 story tower, from which I write to you on the 9th floor). At check in they asked me if I'd like to get switched to the Best Western, and that they'd comp two of my nights if I did so (they were overbooked) and I declined - mainly because I knew this would also be the place where some events would take place. Walked through the extensive lobby, passed one of the restaurants in the property (I believe there are two restaurants and at least one bar), got into the elevator and went up to my floor. My room being the first one in the hallway, on the side of the building with balconies, near the ice machine.
It was a bit after 2 pm when I got into my room, so I inspected it (Aveda products, how perfect, I was about to go on the Rosemary Mint rotation from the Shampure, and they have the RM here - note to self, steal as many as possible). Room is nicer and larger than I expected, with the usual hotel comforts and a bit of a South West flair in the furnishing. I don't imagine I will be spending too much time here, though yesterday I did... it took me two hour to unpack (I was slow), and decide what to do, so eventually I went downstairs to check out the gym and the pool. The gym, as mentioned, is tiny, but workable. The pool is enormous, and when I got there there was only one older man at the opposite end I was. Found some towels and found a spot to put my stuff, and went for a dip... the water was a bit cold, but I got used to it. As I had my contact lenses on, I did not swimming properly, did some floating and some backstrokes, and really wished I had brought my goggles. it would have been nice to swim laps. Eventually I got out of the water and laid town to warm up, dry off. The breeze picked up and it got cold for a bit, but eventually the sun warmed my face and body. Incidentally it was then I started to feel my throat, which right not is quite painful. I think I caught something in the airplane, it was a sneeze-fest, and I forgot to get some Airborne, which I always bring in trips. Now my nose is running too, not sure how that will work out at the gym.
When I got back (was there maybe for 30 minutes), I texted Paul Catanese, my buddy from the New Media Caucus whom I knew would be here. He had just arrived from a tour, so we met shortly after at the lobby to go for dinner. The girl at the reception suggested us a place, a small local place around the corner, but she gave us a very weird way of getting there, and we almost did not know if we could safely cross the main road, so we backtracked. The place, called Monica's something (I do not remember) reminded me of some places in Santa Fe - basically someone's house turned into a restaurant, with a small weird entrance and a narrow passageway to the main eating areas, all fragmented into rooms of varying sizes. The food was great, fast and yummy, and very affordable (I had a combination platter with a tamale, an enchilada and a taco). It sure was a nice upgrade from the airport salad I had (a Thai salad with nice fresh greens, with ginger and watercrest, extremely light).
As always, Paul and I had a million things to talk about. We've been working together with the NMC since 2009, and because he is in Chicago we see each other outside conference times too. We are also close in age, he is a couple years younger than I am, and we graduated from our MFA programs the same year, so our experiences, albeit different, parallel well. We arrived at the conclusion that were could be the only two people in ISEA that was not showing or presenting. We realized that this was a research trip for us, to see what this group of people do and if we want to join them or emulate some of their approaches with the NMC. And of course meet people, refresh our teaching references, have fun, etc. Paul is the type of person who knows people everywhere, and he is very good with names. I remember faces but only remember certain names. I think it is because he has lived both in the San Francisco Bay area and now in Chicago, two interesting metropolitan areas with tons of stuff going on, and my only claim to fame is my few years in Detroit, and many years in a bunch of small towns.
Earlier in the day Paul had met a few CAA crossovers and other people organizing the symposium events, so he told me we were invited to go/crash an artist party at a hotel. Paul had rented a car, so we walked back to the hotel and went to this party. The hotel was called Park Central, and it was a very posh, boutique hotel with a high hipster quotient (where ours is more traditional/tourist friendly). The party was on the rooftop bar, and at the end of the lovely balcony there was a roped off area. We were there for a few hours, and I actually ran into people I knew. Lynn Cazabon, who teaches at UMBC and whom I met years ago in Florida (I was a graduate student and she was applying for a job there, and whom I encountered a year later as I interviewed for a job where she taught), recognized me and introduced me to her collaborator (I imagine also her partner) and a bunch of other young artists who were in "the show" (they all seemed to have foreign names and accents). She asked me if I was in "the show" and when I told her I just came to attend, she said "good, we need more people like you!" in a genuine way. When I relayed the information to Paul, he laughed and we agreed that maybe we were the only audience the entire conference would have, besides the ones from the inner circle. I think that most people are either here for "the show" (met a couple of guys, Fernando from Union College in upstate NY, and Daniel Miller, I think, from Chicago, who were in town just for a few days), or they are here for the talks.
Soon after I saw another familiar face, the always lovely and fun Stephanie Rothenberg, who participated in the "Cybersex: What's Art Got To Do With It?" panel I chaired at CAA a couple years back. She told me about the current stage of her "Labor of Love" project, how it was probably gonna be shown at the Sex Museum soon, and we talked about all kinds of stuff relating to sabbaticals (she also has had hers recently), online dating, and career stuff. She told me she was also at "the show" but also doing a presentation and moderating a couple panels. That is something I find interesting about this conference, the ability to wear many hats. It seems like this is a group of friends and professional acquaintances who are doing very interesting things and want to promote one another. And even though most people have an academic affiliation (Stephanie is in Buffalo), this seems to be an event more centered around art and artists, than the academy. Which is quite refreshing.
One other person I met was Andrea, I did not get her name. She is one of the local organizers, a professor at UNM, and a totally fun person (great smile, great outfit, lovely sunglasses). She gave us a coaster with some information on a project her students were making, which I believe to be some sort of scavenger hunt with text messages, where each point reached gives you a sticker that in turn gives you a discount on a particular beer in bars where conference get togethers will take place. She said the activities to be completed aimed to get you to get off the phone and actually meet locals, which I thought it was a great idea. The project is titled "Bio Ethics of Beer" and you can find out more information by going to ecobrew.org .
Eventually Paul and I ran out of steam. It was close to 9 pm here, so 10 pm his time and 11 pm my time, so we headed back to the hotel, where I tried to go to sleep. Cross your fingers I feel better soon, will have to hunt for some C vitamin and throat lozenges soon.
- posted via iPad
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