This past weekend I was happy to
experience my first ALA Midwinter conference.
Going to conferences can be expensive, but
I took advantage of registering with the student
rate before I graduated.
Since the conference was in San Diego,
I drove down & stayed with a college friend, Jessica,
who lives pretty close to the convention center.
It worked out perfectly.
I started out the conference with an author panel.
It was a fascinating discussion; I especially loved hearing
David Levithan.
A view from the convention center
as I looked through my registration packet.
When I wasn't busy with conference discussion
groups & meetings, Jessica took me to explore
a bit of San Diego & La Jolla.
It was so awesome to get to catch up with her
& see more of Southern California.
Back at the conference, one of the highlights
was an afternoon with
Nancy Pearl & Neil Gaiman.
Afterwards I took my copy of
The Graveyard Book
to be signed & got to chat with @neilhimself
about his upcoming episode of Doctor Who.
Total nerd euphoria.
I love these bike racks.
Inclined moving walkway at a grocery store.
Offspring of an escalator & airport walkway?
After one final discussion group,
I snapped this photo on the balcony of the
convention center before heading back up to Bakersfield.
The job center offerings, networking,
participating in discussion groups,
sitting in on committee meetings,
catching up with old colleagues & professors,
author events, and of course all the free books
made ALA Midwinter a really great experience.
Now I'm back to the job searching!
