Why I absolutely love my job

While Walter's been writing these incredible blog entries that make me fall in love with him all over again, I've been traveling cross-country with WGS students. Five undergraduates and I went to Valdosta, GA, this weekend for the Southeastern Women's Studies Association conference, where they all did a great job of presenting their research.

We stayed at the La Quinta, which is quickly winning out over Hampton Inns in my book. La Quinta has a free continental breakfast (which we all know is of the utmost importance to me), free high-speed internet, AND they allow pets. And even more impressively, this particular La Quinta had an afternoon happy hour with free beverages and hot chocolate chip cookies.

Damn.

I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the students--we talked about everything from why they're feminists to Rachel Ray to Duke's mayonnaise (which will be the topic of its own entry sometime soon).

And then here's the best part: on the way home, Sara, Jamie, Meg, and I randomly got off the interstate and found a carnival in Jasper County, SC. So of course we stopped and engaged in some greasy carnival fun.


Meg and I rode the Octopus, which was so violent that at one point I thought that I was going to pre-emptively throw up the elephant ear that I hadn't yet eaten. I managed to hold down the nausea, though, and did not repeat the infamous Taco Bell parking lot incident of 1998. However, Meg and I did scream so loudly that the guy running the ride let us off early.