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Note #164: Outward bound (2026.10.26)
This is going to be a super quick note today, as I am getting ready to head to bed so I can wake up and catch a 4:30 bus to the airport. I’ve been running full throttle for the past few days trying to wrap up everything before heading off to my annual conference in the States. I didn’t quite get everything done that I wanted to, but the things that fell by the wayside can wait a week. The important thing is that my presentation and slides for my session on Wednesday are done, and I am all packed and ready to go.
We’re going to be in Asheville, NC, this year, a somewhat unusual locale for a big conference like ours. I think the idea was to give the community some love after Helene tore through the area. That was just over two years ago now, but that’s kind of the point. Right after a natural disaster, there’s plenty of funding and support for hard-hit areas. Pretty soon people forget, though, and support dries up, but the communities still need to rebuild. I get the impression that, physically speaking, Asheville is in decent shape now, but the economy could no doubt use the boost from hundreds and hundreds of folklorists descending on the area.
I also hear that Asheville is supposed to be very nice. They have a brewing district, that much I know (I already have a few places picked out to visit), and they also happen to have a fairly large concentration of Art Deco architecture for a city of its size. Add to this the fact that I get to see friends and colleagues I usually only get to see once a year, and I’m expecting to have a good time. I will admit that I have been very stressed over the past few days with all the work I needed to get done, but now that I’ve gotten it done, I’m feeling a lot more relaxed. The fact that I am not going to be scrambling to make last-minute changes to my presentation notes or my slides is a bonus. I’m not really looking forward to getting up in what is basically the middle of the night and then having to deal with airports and flying halfway across the world, but I am looking forward to getting there and having a beer with my friends before diving into the conference.
In the meantime, though, I should probably think about getting to sleep. I’ll see you all on the other side, then.