Approximately eleven minutes after the limos deposited us back in Bloomington, I was at my in-laws’ dinner table, some lovely roast chicken steaming on my plate. After getting up at 3 am (again), two plane trips and a car ride–twelve hours worth of travel–I was wiped. And starving. But the other places at the table [...]

I’m on the plane home, and I’m finding myself wishing that we could have stayed a few more days. But for now I’m content to sleep—I think I’ve gotten a combined ten hours or so of sleep since leaving for Indianapolis at 3:30 Friday morning, and it’s Sunday now. Maybe it’s the sleep deprivation, but [...]

As I was walking back to my hotel room late Saturday, I ran into a science writer I had met the previous day at the conference. His name was Brandon. He asked me where he could get a drink this late at night. I actually had little idea of where to do this, since all [...]

One moment is hard to pick because this trip was one incredible moment. A standout moment for me though was the impromptu drumming jam on the patio at Trader Vic’s. Not only was it fun, in a tribal way, but we sounded great. It started off with base beats on the table with our hands. [...]

Kathryn Middleton Upon posing for a picture with Wallace, I said, "Cheese," and she said, "SEX!" Saturday, 1:04 pm (Pacific Time) Born on a small farm in Montana, Betty Wallace attended a local college and then traveled far North into the snowy depths of Alaska where “all the men were,” the ones who hadn’t been [...]

The clock strikes noon as hundreds of science writers gather at tables under the piercing Palo Alto heat. As the suns rays attack my black cardigan, I make a B-line towards the shade. I sandwich myself boldly between two strangers at a table conveniently under a large tree. Normally, your mother tells you to avoid [...]

I woke up with a jolt at 3:30 am after Friday’s reception. Thoughts had been condensing in my mind while I was asleep. The discomfort I felt over food and fermentation the night before had worked its way to the surface of my skin and made it twitch and curl. I felt so out of [...]

Imagine if you will a relatively small journalism class. The students are friendly, but really don’t go out of their way to make conversation. Well, this is pretty much the type of class we had before we left for our trip to California. After the meet-and-greet dinner for the conference, a number of us went [...]

As a journalist, I’ve always liked reading other people’s work because it has helped me understand the various angles for a story. Unlike most hard news, the science beat involves finding new areas to scope out, new discoveries to show audiences … and for me a fresh view on a community with vast opportunities and [...]

I’ve worked at a big laboratory before. I’ve been at dinners with science writers (and out for cocktails with them), I’ve mingled at parties with them (and played drinking games with them), and I’ve talked about career possibilities with them (and about how things are going with the family). I know many on a professional [...]