8.5 hours to go ...

till i board a plane to Calgary. Then it's off to Frankfurt enroute to Lisbon Portugal! Next week I am attending the 6th European Conference on Grain Legumes. This is the biggest conference I have ever been involved with. It is really fun that I am actually starting to know a few people in the legume research community rather than just know of them on paper. It is funny to finally meet someone work you've read for several years and don't even know their gender.

After the conference, I am in Portugal for another week. I plan on heading to the southern coast, finding a room in a little beach town and having a 'writing retreat'. My thesis writing is really needing some attention and I've been too consumed with work and personal matters here at home to start, so I am going to use this opportunity to hopefully get caught up a bit. The idea of sitting at a little sea-side cafe with a laptop really appeals to me. Not only am I hoping to get caught up on my thesis writing, but a little blog writing as well. I'll keep you posted!