Conference Time

I am heading off today (well, tomorrow since I have not been to bed yet) to Ottawa, ON (Canada) to present work on new material with a colleague (and great co-author) Shanly Dixon at the Canadian Game Studies Association annual meeting. We get the hot spot for presenting – the session just before the wine and cheese =) Usually a well attended time slot given the social nature of a good conference.

While we have been working on this presentation for the last two months, and have done alot of reading, note taking and ethnography, I am still extremely anxious to actually stand up and talk. From the ridiculous “what the heck should I wear” to the paranoia infused “what if they think I’m an idiot!”, the stress of any pre-conference usually manifests itself in some of the strangest ways (from hives to verbal repitition).

So, it’s off I go to continue to tweak our presentation – torturing my wonderful co-author with last minute questions and doubtful rebuttals. But I must say, of all the jobs I have had, regardless of my persistant fear of public speaking (which I am told I hide quite well), I would still not want to do anything else!