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| My first glimpse of Beinecke Library |
Me to My Sister: I was invited to give a paper at an academic conference in [expensive city]. I’ve never been there and I have a really good friend there
Sister: Sounds nice
Me: I’m not sure I can swing it financially
Sister: How much are they paying you
Me: I don’t get paid. It’s a career thing
Sister: If they invited you, they should pay you
Me: It doesn’t work that way. I pay them
Sister: You do?
Me: There’s a $350 registration fee and that gets me a group discount at a hotel but hotels are like $250 a night there, and I’d have to stay two nights at least and maybe three because my friend wants to show me around the city. I’ve always wanted to go there
Sister: Can’t you stay with your friend
Me: She has a roommate who sleeps on the couch. Rents are so expensive there
Sister: Well at least they pay for your plane ticket?
Me: No, they don’t do that
Sister: Then why would you go
Me: It’s kind of an honor to be invited, they’re really interested my research and I’d meet other scholars who do similar topics and hear what they’re researching, and maybe get my name out there and make some friends who work at universities who might tell other professors in the field what I’m doing or at least that work is being done. That’s the value of it. Plus I could put it on my resume. I figure it will cost about $2000 with food and rides to and from the airport
Sister: They don’t even feed you
Me: We get one lunch
Sister:
Me: Guess I shouldn’t go, should save the money to do research at Yale