Back home again

Teal deer up front: It was worth going. First off to be with a community of people I share an interest with (and I could volunteer a little help in a couple ways) and secondly, they voted to fund my research.

So I left the house stupid early this morning (an hour before I normally leave, and some people would call THAT stupid early, for some values of stupid). Most of the drive was easy and fine: 75 to the Indian Nation turnpike, and then back to 75 when that ended.

(Also: tons of construction on the turnpike, I admit I wondered to myself if they should have temporarily lowered the toll because of a less-than-optimal driving experience).

Then. Well. I was supposed to keep on 75 until Exit 3A, which would allegedly take me to 23rd and then 21st, which would take me where I was supposed to go. But then, I spotted a giant "21ST STREET DETOUR HERE" and thought, o crap, what do I do now?

So I got off. Turns out that put me on WEST 21st, which is considerably different (in both location and median income) than EAST 21st, where I was supposed to be. It dawned on me that I was still on the west side of the river, which was wrong. I drove around worried for a while, then found Old 66 - which took me across the river. But as it turned out, deposited me a good bit north of what I was aiming for. (I should have turned immediately I crossed the river but I didn't recognize the street name; it was different from what I had on my map).

So I drove around randomly for a while. I had left early for this very reason - I was a whole hour early for the meeting so I kept telling myself it was OK, I would find a place to stop and ask directions. Except I couldn't see any place that looked open. Wound up in downtown. Some of the streets were closed off for a bike race, others for what looked like a restaurant festival being set up. Still couldn't find any place that looked congenial to stop and ask.

This is a cartoon version of my mood at that moment:

I was doing what I had to do at that moment, but I was NOT happy. (I didn't cry but I was close. Though it's possible all the water in my body decamped to my liver or somewhere because my mouth had gone very dry, as happens when I'm scared....I didn't know where I was, I was afraid I'd get into really bad traffic, and just being in a strange place where you don't know how to get around is unsettling)

Eventually I decided all I could do was find a street that went SOUTH, since I knew I was NORTH of where I needed to be, and then figure it out from there. Managed to get onto Cincinnati, which, as it turned out, was on my map....so I found if I got to 24th, I could get there.

And eventually I did.

The meeting was good, as I said. Long....I thought it would only last a couple hours but there was a lot of business. (I wouldn't have had to stay for the whole thing, they moved my agenda item up, but I felt like maybe it was gracious to stay as I was a member of the group AND they were giving me money. And as it turned out, it allowed me to volunteer to do an extra judging task at the science fair (I'm there anyway....). As is often with these groups, I *think* was the youngest one there. It seems like these groups with a lot of volunteer stuff are mostly made up of Boomers and Silent Generation. Though I suppose they are more likely to have time; my generation is likely still raising teenagers and trying to build a career, and the generation after mine has small kids at home and is even more in career-building mode.

But at any rate: my research is being funded so I can start it in August. (Before then, I have summer school and also am trying to make the poster for the Prairie Conference). I do have to give a presentation on it to the group at some point, and I'm kind of committed to submit my results to their journal. But that's fine - a publication is a publication in this day and age of stuff being available digitally.

I hadn't packed a lunch but one of the other women wanted to run to Quizno's at the lunch break so I bummed a ride with  her and got some (probably way too salty for me, but whatever) macaroni and cheese.

Finally, when we had wrapped up all the business, I headed for home - this time taking a route someone recommended, which wound up going through what is probably the Hipster Part of south Tulsa (they had a small Trader Joe's and if it had been less busy I might have stopped as I have never even been in a Trader Joe's). But. All the parking was on-street (as in, right next to the lane of traffic) and parallel parking, and it was uncomfortable to drive with traffic on one side of me and parked cars on the other so I just kept going. And then I had the spaghetti of on-ramps, first 44 and then almost immediately after that, 75. (I don't like on ramps and off ramps. I tend to regard them as being analogous to take-off and landing on a plane - the most dangerous part of the process). Finally I relaxed when the traffic thinned out south of Tulsa...

but yeah, six hours in a car with a detour in deserted downtown Tulsa. I'm glad my proposal was funded or else I'd feel a lot worse about the day.