plenary

plenary: complete in every respect; absolute; unqualified, fully attended or constituted by all entitled to be present (as in a session during an academic conference)

oh academia. How bizarre you are.

Gathered in a stale hotel-conference room with distractingly-busy carpet, sit two-few water glasses atop a panel-table focused in front of twenty odd scholars, professors, and students. Bored. They look bored. The people, not the glasses. I ask the panel moderator for another water glass, and he forgot. So, I looked over my notes and fiddle with my earring. Nervous. Mild, but still nervous. Quietly, the audience listens while Xander presents his paper on narrative criticism in the video game Final Fantasy. Then it's my turn. I take in a gulp of air and begin. Why anyone wants to hear me ramble on about depictions of gender in country-western music and how the soldier is used as a terministic screen in understanding/naturalizing hegemonic masculinity is beyond me. But surprisingly, they clap and ask questions. I'm glad Xander was there to further bolster our discussion. We read and edited each others' papers.

So what exactly am I talking about? Well, my friends, in early April I attended the Northwest Communication Association's Annual Conference in coeur d'alene, Id. My rhetorical crit paper was accepted earlier this year and I traveled with a few other LC students and our professor Belinda Stillion-Sutherland to present my paper. We had an awesome mini-van, comfy hotel beds, and plenty of good food (surprisingly northern Idaho has delicious Greek cuisine and egg burgers @ Hudson's Hamburgers). I thanked my professor before, but I simply want to express once more my gratitude for her encouragement. I wish LC had more professor such as her. As bizarre as academia is, attending this conference was a growing experience that I am glad to have under my belt.

pictures from our drive:

tri cities

the lake

dust storm