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Anticipation

Even though staying current and sharing with my professional community is part of my job description, I have always felt that attending conferences was a perk of my job.  Travel is more wearying than when I was in my twenties but I love walking around a campus (regional meetings) or a big city (national meetings). Lately my attendance has clustered in the Spring and in August.

I have a regional meeting coming up next week. It is a quick meeting but it is full of people I have worked with over the decades; I'm not sure if seeing old friends qualifies as networking but I do love it.

The week after that I go to a national meeting to present a talk in San Diego, one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to. 

A month later I go for Ombudsperson fundamentals refresher training (which I have done at the start of each of my three-year terms) in Miami, a city I have not yet been to. That training is intensive, centered in the hotel hosting us so I won't get out much but I will enjoy the little that I do.

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