I've missed you...

It's been a while, no?
From getting ready for the Ribosome Synthesis conference, to the beach, to the conference, I've been really busy over the last several weeks. But the fall semester has officially started and I'm here to stay (for at least a while). That means finding time to write here might be a easier, or at least not as hard!

So last week I had the privilege of attending the 8th conference of Ribosome Biosynthesis in Regensburg, Germany. Now some of you may thinking, SWEET...Germany, what the heck is a Ribosome? But I think most anyone would agree, a trip to Europe is a trip to Europe, who cares what it is for!? The plane ride was incredibly long but once we got over there, plenty of great food, science, and beer made it all worthwhile!

I haven't decided how much to blog about the trip, but I have to share a little. Regensburg is probably one of the coolest cities I've ever been to. For it's relatively modest size (150k), it has a butt-ton of history! The Romans founded it in like, 139, and it managed to survive WWII bombing raids (of which there weren't many due to Regensburg declining economy ever since the Reformation and founding of the Americas). I mean, the stone bridge in the heart of the city carried foot soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Crusades over the Danube. I stood where Crusaders stood!! I posed in front of a wall that Roman soldiers leaned against while they consumed their rationed one liter of wine and cup of olive oil! How cool is that?! As I walked through the city and visit the buildings, I started to feel like everything was really antiquated and things are just falling apart. But they aren't- it is really cool how they've built around the history and preserved so much of it's history right into its present. It just hit me, my Dad would probably LOVE Regensburg. He is the kind who likes to read every (yes, EVERY) sign at a museum. Of course, these are in German- but I bet he would love it!



It is good to be back in the states though, I hate I had to miss a bunch of the kids at church going back to school and trying to make sure everyone was as happy as possible :) I also missed my wife after about an hour on the plane and then I really, REALLY missed being at work. Oh wait, NO I DIDN'T.


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Now playing: Nickel Creek - Doubting Thomas
via FoxyTunes

Germany, what?!

This weekend I registered to go to GERMANY in late August!! The conference wasn't even on my radar until about two weeks ago when my boss (Jeff) mentioned it to me and said he was interested but unsure of funding. Then Friday rolls around (mind you, Friday is the deadline) and he says, "Lets go!"

My first year at UVA I was able to go to a chromatin conference at Penn State, but I didn't present anything. That was easy, really easy. And fun. This time will be pretty different I imagine. I'm kind of anxious, rather, really nervous about this trip. I mean, this time I'm supposed to know what I'm talking about and begin networking. Really? The lowly graduate student? In a foreign COUNTRY? I've never presented anything to a group like this and there's a reason for that. I hate being in large groups of people because I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I hope I just present a poster so that I know what I'm supposed to do- defend it. I'll also be spending 4 entire days with Jeff. We get along and all... but we aren't best buds either. The only thing we have in common and talk about is science, does that mean we are going to talk science the entire time? DANG!

Not only is Regensburg the site of the 2009 Ribosome Synthesis Conference, but it is rich in cultural history. Located at the intersection of the Danube and Regen rivers, Regensburg dates back to the Stone Age and many of the historical edifices remain today due to it's relatively peaceful years during the bombing raids of WWII.

BMW has a plant in Regensburg that churns out a thousand 3-series and 1-series A DAY. Wouldn't that be cool to get a BMW as a conference gift? The registration fee is outrageous, I think it's a possibility. I mean, there won't be more than 200 people there, that is less than 20% of a day's productivity!




Isn't this random: according to Wiki, Regensburg's sister American city is Tempe, AZ. Gosh, I hope Regensburg is more interesting than that because I haven't heard of anything out of Tempe- or at least nothing worth remembering.... :)