all together… surprising

I was in Cincinnati this past week with Aiden Enns. That’s not really all that true actually because I wasn’t “with” Aiden, more just at the same conference as him. Which is cool. Along with thousands of other people so… I was just in Cincinnati. At the CCDA Conference. Alongside Aiden. The point being, it was a cool conference with cool people and dearauntjemima why do I still use the word cool. Time for some new vocabulary.

Some things I’ve noticed, or learned, in the last few days:

• When your mother in law gives you peony bushes from her garden that she no longer wants, it is not a good idea to plant them in the dark at 7pm on a Sunday night because you’re antsy from being in the car for 9 hours coming home from a conference where you mostly just sat in a room for a plenary or a workshop for 3 days straight. My “garden” looks like “shite” this morning.
• Downtown Cincinnati looks a lot like downtown Perth or Thunder Bay except for one carved out town square that has a rather out of place European looking fountain stuck in the middle of it. Deviate from that square and you run into a lot of empty, sad storefront. As much as the tourist bureau folk behind the city slogan “Cincinnati: All Together Surprising” (not) would have you believe that it looks like this…

it doesn’t.

• Some Americans are crazy. Given the serious dearth of coffee shops in the above mentioned gut of a downtown, I wandered around on Saturday afternoon for a beautiful sunny hour, trying to kill some time before my next meeting. I ran into a group of protesters holding signs and placards with, no joke, sayings that included “Obama is a socialist” and “My America is Free” (what does that MEAN??) and various other brainless comments on the nation’s health care system and how it should not become a national program. As buses full of politicians pulled up to the hotel, and the police on horses trotted around and looked official, patriotic music filled the air and some canned country crap caused people to cry. They put their hands on their hearts, took off their hats, sang along to a diddy about America being free and beautiful. And they cried.
• Always bring your camera on trips. You will regret leaving it behind when you’d like to have proof in later conversations to show people just how crazy some Americans are.
• Not all Americans are crazy. I met some inspirational and brilliant ones who affirmed my thinking and work and I am really grateful for that.
• I found a school to do my Masters with! That is neither learned, nor an observation, but I am excited.

I am really glad to be back in the land of good coffee and sleeping in a bed with someone that doesn’t mind if I accidentally punch them in the middle of the night (both an embarassing and awkward story for another place and time.)