Living it up at the CDC

So, can you believe it... I'm back "in the south" this week! Yeah, I'm here in Atlanta for a training conference at the CDC! How exciting is that? The For-Real CDC! Anyways, besides the facts that I am a) the youngest person here, b) the newest to the lab, and c) one of the few who has never been to the CDC... I started out feeling a little... um... naive. But, now, I've been here a full two days, and I'm feeling a little more confident in myself. I mean, I know I'm not an idiot, but I do realize how much I don't know! Fortunately, the people here are all very understanding and patient with my questions and I think they actually believe that I know what I'm talking about! (Well, I do know to keep my mouth shut when I have no idea what's going on.)

The group of 22 attendees hail from: NM (me), AZ, UT, NV, CA, OR, ND, TN, KY, LA, MS, GA, SC, MO, IO, DE, NH, CT, and ME. (I'm sure there are a few I'm missing--hey, I've only been here two days, you can't expect me to have met everyone!) It's funny, because I can start talking to someone I already met... remember their state (that's Ms Connecticut, that's Mr Kentucky) but I still have to really think hard (or ask again) for their name! For the most part, they're all Molecular Biologists, so sometimes I find myself in way over my head!

And, of course, I had to be the oddball and stay at a different hotel! See, 2 of my coworkers suggested staying at the Holiday Inn (about 3 miles away) rather than at the Emory Inn (across the street from the CDC). And, I think it was a great suggestion because there's actually stuff to do here. It's by a really cute historic district (Decatur, GA) with restaurants, little shops, oh yeah, and a Starbucks and Cold Stone! While they're all stuck at a crappy hotel that is near nothing (besides the CDC). So what, I have to ride the shuttle to meet them in the morning... I get Starbucks, and ice cream, and dinner options! But, it feels kinda weird to wait around for my shuttle ride after class... while they all head up to their rooms.

I guess the best part is that I have Free.Wireless.In My Room! And, it's not slowpoke and moody like the one I mooch at my parent's house! So, I might even be able to blog! All week! Yay!
Hopefully I'll be able to come up with something a little more interesting for the next post...