The MI Winter and My Experience with Poster Presentations

I'll start with something positive: the temperature rises above freezing (almost) every day.

I'll then proceed to something negative: the clouds WILL NEVER GO AWAY!

Even the native Michiganders get restless this time of year. This is when they all go on vacation....and most don't go skiing, I can promise you.

I remember when some buddies of mine and I went to Panama City for spring break when we were in college (some of us never really left college, but I digress...don't you want a spring break every year though?!??!???!!!!). I remember how many Yankees were down there. I mean those folks were EVERYWHERE!

That and people from Kentucky, who undoubtedly are some of the most backwoods folks I've ever encountered...and that's saying something. I'm fairly backwoods myself.

Anyway, lot's of Yankees. I knew why they were there. It's cold where they're from. I just didn't fully appreciate the desire they must have had to get there. I thought my friends and I were excited. We were. Afterall, we got to go down to FL and party for a week. The Yankees, they not only got to go down to FL and party for a week, but they also got to get out of these damned clouds for a week.

In other news: If you follow the blog you've read below that I get to go to D.C. to present my dissertation research. Now, this isn't a formal, stand in front of 300 people and speak presentation. This is a poster presentation. Evidently, poster presentations are the kind of presentations commonly found in the "hard science" fields (i.e. chemistry, biology, etc...). How do I know this, you may ask. I'll tell you how.

Last year I got to go to a research summit that is somewhat similar to the one I'm going to this year, although the one this year is much bigger. Last year I was asked, along with some other students, to do a poster presentation of my research. I was the only business student there. The rest of the students were from "hard science" fields. They all showed up with these 3' x 5', glossy, slick, professionally done posters to hang on the boards. I showed up looking I'd just stepped out of Sanford and Son with a bunch of posterboard cut-outs and ribbons to use as lines and connect the cut-outs. People probably thought I was from Kentucky.

Not cool.

However, nobody ever told me what a true poster presentation consisted of. I should have asked, I know.

Anyway, this year I know better and am doing the same slick, professional looking poster that I'm sure everyone else will have. I'm movin' on up like George and Weezie.