PAA

I am back from Detroit, where PAA was held this year. Detroit was a lot better looking than I expected. It was, of course, empty (particularly the restaurants). But the architecture was really cool. Except for the conference hotel, which resembled an M.C. Escher drawing--ironic, really, given that it was the GM building. Oh, GM, when will you learn???

So, the short version of the conference:

-Wednesday: Went for a run in the best hotel fitness center ever (new machines & great view), followed by yummy dinner in Greektown. Amy and I gathered leftover food and found a church at which to donate it, doing our good deed for the week. Briefly visited the mixer and met a Wellesley grad before heading to bed, exhausted.

-Thursday: Went to a great morning session on data collection, met with a coauthor for lunch, presented a paper, had dinner with Lisa & Melinda at Slo's Bbq (yum!), drinks with a couple of fellow demographers.

-Friday: Went for a run at 6am, followed by volunteering at the info booth (it saved me the cost of registering for the conference!) Went to the cohabitation section where Amy presented our paper brilliantly. Had coffee with my future postdoc mentor. Attended Kathie's awesome PAA address, then to the Detroit Institute of the Arts with Lisa & Scott, back to the conference hotel for Kathie's party. I ended up staying there until 1am chatting with Dohoon.

-Saturday: Up at 6am to practice talk, gave said talk which went okay until the discussant revealed all the flaws that I had skipped over in the talk. Attended a session on health in which I saw perhaps the worst talk ever, then on to a great session on education. Took a taxi back to the airport with Yingchun & Yilan.

Overall, I had a good time. I always have a great time at PAA. It's amazing how good the conference is, particularly when compared to other conferences (ASA, ESS). I constantly see people I know or at least know of, the quality of the presentations is pretty high, and I'm never at a loss for something to do. And while Detroit is not the best place to visit, it gave me an excuse to visit a city I would not have a reason to go to otherwise. Yay.