Every day should be conference day

Let me begin by saying that I'm not good at regular blogging. In my position at work, I sit and look at a computer screen all day, so I'm not usually in the mood to write more after work. Pile on that the things I *do* feel like writing about are pop culture related and therefore more suitable for the pop culture blog (see post below), and it doesn't leave me with much for my personal blog. Maybe none of this is relevant, but I guess I thought it was important to throw it out there. I'll try to be better!

On to my topic...

Last week I went to a work-related conference in Washington DC. The sessions and housing were at American University, so it was nice to see what another college campus was like. (It seems like AU has a great balance of a beautiful, intimate campus with an active social scene just outside its borders.) My good friend Bridget picked me up from the airport and helped me get where I needed to go, as well as introduced me to a cool Thai place. She was very gracious and courteous and it was great to see her! I also got to hang out with my friend Monica, who was awesome to me while I lived in VA last year. So, right off the bat, you can see why I enjoyed myself.

There were parts of the conference that left something to be desired, but I won't go into those because I feel I got something more important out of the week.

I really love the conference atmosphere. I love that even though I went alone and didn't know a soul my first day, by the second day I walked around having people say, "Hi Eileen!" I love that at a conference you are *encouraged* to walk up to strangers and start talking to them, and--thank goodness--they are very friendly and receptive in return. I love that you are surrounded by people who "get" what you do all day, and who encounter the same problems that you do. Mostly, I love that you can meet a bunch of great people and during your time there, life is good, and you can see the good in people. I can honestly say that everyone I didn't share a bathroom with was friendly, helpful, and just very, very nice.

I suppose the main thing I'm trying to convey in this horribly-written, completely ineloquent post is that the conference was a great lesson for me. It showed me that there are many genuinely decent people in the world, and that for all the jerks I encounter on a daily basis, there are people out there who are not. They are good-hearted, KIND people. If everyone acted like it was a conference every day, the world would be a better place.