Arrival at conference

So I'm typing this from the Uni of Rochester having arrived safely, but without my luggage including all my clothes, comfortable shoes etc. 24hours later and they still haven't found it, but they're hopeful. I have my carry-on luggage, so I can do stuff, buy stuff and take photos. The flight was sleepless and about 28 hours of exhaustion-inducing sardine-like pleasure. So far, no jetlag. After the awful news, just before flying, that my uncle has been diagnosed with cancer, my brother tells me that at least I should still be able to visit him after I return.

My poster is pinned up and ready for my session tonight and I recognise lots of attendee names. I walked around the city of Rochester earlier and all I'll say is that the original, in Kent, UK, is infinitely nicer. I've been approached by 3 drunks for money. Actually, I found that the eastern side of town looks quite nice. I've sat waiting at bus stations for a total of about 3 1/2 hours already and ended up taking a cab to the campus because the relevant bus seems to live in the universe of Harry Potter.

In summary, plenty of exhaustion and stress to wind down from, but the others here seem in the mood to do just that, so I expect it'll be good.