Ok - this is it. No more travelling for a couple of months. I’m fed up with it. Am on a train back from Geneva, having only a couple of days previously got back from Chicago. I’d gone over to Geneva to talk to a bunch of graduate students from three different universities about academic publishing, and how understanding the job of the editor and reviewers can increase the chances of getting a paper accepted. I really enjoyed putting together the talk, as it allowed me to describe my job as editor - the talks I usually give are all about my research, and yet the biggest drain on my life-work balance is the journal, so it was actually nice to be able to talk about that. They gave me a fantastically impressive bottle of wine as a ‘thank you’. Sadly, I couldn’t bring it home in my hand baggage (I always travel light). So whoever cleaned my hotel room last night will hopefully enjoy it on my behalf...
Chicago was good. Slightly traumatic as I have a problem recognizing faces and recalling names, and for some reason, I was particularly debilitated this time around. It had nothing to do with the 4 large glasses of wine, 5 huge martinis, 2 equally huge Margaritas, 6 regular beers, 1 medium Sake, and whatever else I can’t remember drinking over the course of 4 nights. And I’m glad to report that it wasn’t me who fell off his chair (his Jack Spade was undamaged, I believe - unlike his reputation...). There were several highlights: eating at Boka, having coffee on the 96th floor of the Hancock Building (which is cheaper than paying to take the elevator to the observation platform, which is only 4 floors above the café), meeting up with old friends. Oh... the science wasn’t bad either!
And to end this post on a sad note. The last time I went to Geneva, back in April, the hard drive on my MacBook Air failed. This time, the MBA worked flawlessly. More flawed, however, was my iPhone; the mute switch detached itself in my hand within moments of arriving. It must be something about all that alpine air...
