Now I'm at this conference, which was a bit of an adventure to get to. My flight was late, so the car rental company I had a reservation with had closed, and I had to get a car on the spot from another company that was still, lucky for me, open. Then I had to drive up through the San Bernardino National Park at 1 in the morning. I realized at some point that this trip is actually stretching my comfort zone more than the Haiti trip. When I go to Haiti, I know who I'm meeting, and how I relate, where I will sleep, what the meal and bathroom protocol is, etc. The conference situation is totally new. Getting here itself was a stretch. One might even argue that the 'language' is unfamiliar, since there are numerous technical terms which I don't know or am just learning. This irony is underscored all the more by the fact that I just got back from Haiti the night before last, and then immediately turned around and came up here. In a few minutes I should go and register for this thing.