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So the Society for Ethnomusicology conference is in Columbus, Ohio this year and I'm going. I'm not presenting a paper this year (thank goodness!) but I'm excited to see "conference friends" who I only see at these things, listen to new papers, network a bit, look for jobs (!) and perhaps most important and exciting, see my dad, brother, and best friend. I have been excited about this trip for a while, and it's about to happen (I leave on Wednesday). I miss my dad and brother a lot and I'm not sure why. Of course I love them, but honestly, I see them a few times a year and that's usually good enough for me. But I always see them in Texas; I rarely go to Ohio because of money, time, and taste (I prefer Austin). Columbus is perhaps the closest thing to a hometown that I have, even though I've only lived there for a cumulative three years. But still. It's a hip, artsy town with nice people, smaller cars than Texas, and (getting) good food. It's pretty. And my dad lives there, and I'm really just thrilled to see him. It's scary when a parent grows older, and to watch him change makes me nervous. And maybe I'm more neurotic about it than most because I'm already one parent down (my mom died in May of 2001), but I really want to treasure this time with my dad: we're both adults, we have similar interests but we're different enough that we're learning a lot about each other and we're both coming to terms with the other person (as in, we're no longer trying to change each other; we are who we are). I think this is a big step in a family relationship and since my family is just my Dad and my brother (I have a great uncle who I see every couple of years and then there's my mom's brother and sister, but they're not nice and I haven't seen them in who knows how long). So here's hoping for a fun (and productive) trip!