Clandestine Blog Entry

All right, so I'm writing this from a secret hallway in the Hilton. It is filled with useless junk, like a white wicker seat wrapped in tulle (hello 70's!) and a silver pelican. Why am I hiding out here? Because the Hilton loves air-conditioning. I, on the other hand, do not. I can see the time and place for air conditioning: summer and south of the Mason-Dixon line. Unfortunately, none of these two conditions hold in MONTREAL, CANADA. Good God. I found this hallway and it has no air-conditioning. Some would call it stuffy, I would call it just right. So anyway, I was a nitwit and changed my hotel for my last night in Montreal. I am staying by the airport, which is a little ways out from the city. This was a mistake. Not putting the hotel here, no, but changing from the charming Champs-des-Mars to the Hilton Montreal Airport. I should have known not to trust anything connected to Paris Hilton. Sigh. They charge you for everything, including the wireless that is allowing me to complain to all of you right now. That said, I had a delicious run this morning and got to watch The Queen last night. So the conference was a moderate success. I did an okay job at presenting my own work. Directly after my panel was the Euroskepticism panel for which I was the discussant. After being scrutinized for an hour or so, I felt remarkably at ease. Yes, no one was going to fire any tough questions to the discussant. Plus, I love an audience, so it was all gravy. And I did just say that. So Ryan Seacrest watch out. I think being an MC really is where my future is. Afterwards, I met up with Jae-Jae and headed to the reception at McGill University. It was very swank. There was free wine and caviar, as well as an impressive cheese tray. And that my friends is why studying European politics is a smart thing. The hall also looked like it was straight out of Harry Potter, which added to the mystique. Loved it! Jae-Jae and I then went out to dinner and it was lovely. She gave me a lot of great tips for conducting field work in France and pointed me to some great literature on party strategy. After our dinner, I wanted to dash back to Paris and get back to work! Jae-Jae is my new girl crush. On Friday I did absolutely nothing. I felt so drained from my running around and presenting that I felt justified in downloading the final episode of America's Next Top Model. I then went out to dinner with Sarah, Jae-Jae, Jae-Jae's co-worker at Iowa, and a bunch of UCLA people. We ate Ethiopian food and had copious amounts of wine. Life is grand. Saturday I explored Montreal. The city is nice, but I wasn't overly-impressed. Perhaps I didn't see the right things? I feel badly for not making the most of this conference. I didn't know whether or not I should go to panels on Saturday given that I didn't have the right clothes (aka, jeans and a polo shirt). I felt if I went to the panels than I would have regretted not exploring the city. And I explored the city and now I regret not attending the panels! Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I should have at least attended one! Oh Jen! Today I've been doing work for Atran and getting excited about London. My flight leaves at 7:45 and I am hoping for some good food (I seriously love airline food) and a nice movie. Then it is back to work for me. Now I must go back to reading trials...must stay awake...zzzzzzzzzzz

Exhausted in Montreal

Well, I am exhausted and I am in Montreal. You want proof? Too bad! I took down the picture of me because it was so horrible. So why did I leave gay Paris ? Well, I'm here for the EUSA (European Union Studies Association) Biennial International Conference. Tomorrow, I'll be pulling triple duty: I'll be presenting the perennial favorite, "Consonant Federalism," chairing the Euroskepticism panel, and acting as the panel's discussant. When I first decided to apply for this conference, I thought, Montreal, how beautiful! Actually, it is FREEZING, windy, and rainy. The good part is that my hotel is a real find; it is very charming. I cannot really enjoy it though because I am EXHAUSTED. It is 11:40 pm Paris time. Sigh. Montreal is the strangest place I've ever visited, I can say that without a doubt. It is as if Ypsilanti and France crashed into one another. I have never seen people that look like they are from Ypsilanti speak French. It's like a twilight zone. The cars look like they are American, but they stop to fill up with "essence." My head is spinning. I don't know what to think! Tomorrow I will get a better look at the city and I can make a better inferences. Also, I have to type out my notes for the discussant gig, but I can hardly keep my eyes open. Finally, I cried on the plane. Why? Because the movie I was watching touched me so, that's why. What movie did I see you query. Well, I don't know if I can tell you. You see, I don't know if we are that close. All right, all right! If you insist. I was watching Freedom Writers. You know, the movie with Hillary Swank that made $2 at the box-office? In my defense, I wasn't the only one touched. My whole section of the plane was RIVETED. Moreover, as I watched it, my own life didn't seem so bad. I also had this feeling that I wasn't doing anything really important. Usually, I'm at peace with this. Yet at this moment, I didn't want to read another paper about navel-gazing Swedes or decentralization and its (putative) effects on identity. And on that high note, I will type these notes. A bientôt!