I leave at the crack of "why would anyone be up at this hour" on Friday morning for Kzoo.

I am not giving a paper. I am not chairing a panel.

People keep asking me why I am going out there. Kzoo was my first ever academic conference. It is the biggest one I have ever been to. It was the first conference I travelled to with a prof and the next year it was the first time that I ever travelled alone. I have been scared, overwhelmed, academically starstruck, inspired, lonely and amazed while in Kzoo.

But mostly I am going to remember why it is I am trudging through grad school. That seems to get lost sometimes and I want to get that academic inspiration feeling that I get after an interesting panel or schmoozing with other medievalists.

I have been thinking lately of changing to 18th century. I know, I know. But I want to head out to Kzoo and see if it still has the same kind of geeky thrill for me that it always had. I want to wander the booksellers and wish that I had unlimited funds and a means to carry all of those books home (and a single empty space on a bookshelf to store them!)

So I am doing all the necessary prepping (and primping and shopping) and I am driving out there all prepped with new music and books on CD and I can't wait to get there. No paper. No panel. Just me in Kzoo figuring things out.