AERA 2010: Day 4

Today is the day of my first AERA paper presentation at the 10.35am session. I am worried about two things. One is about how my presentation would go and second is about my eye. My left eye which I had poked last night was still painful when I blink and it was becoming red. :( But my eye will have to wait, my presentation comes first.

The Presentation
I found the room where I would be presenting, Plaza Court 3, Sheraton Hotel. I was the 3rd of 4 presenters to present. I was pretty nervous. My boss was there to give me support. Soon it was my turn to present. Once I started, instinct just took over. Just as the "5 minute left" marker was flashed at me, I started on my Conclusion slide lol. Each presenter had 15 minutes to present and I was the only presenter who finished it in 10 minutes haha. It was a big relief when I was done and also when my boss told me that I did a great job. :)
After the session, as I was leaving, two American ladies caught up with me and wanted my name card so that they could contact me. They said they were impressed with my presentation and thought I was better than the pros, succinct and on track. :) That's a really nice to hear. :) Just then, another group of Thai scholars came up to me and asked for my name card too and hope to email me about my presentation. They congratulated me for a presentation well-done and then proceeded to take photos with me! That's a surprise lol. All of a sudden, I have fans haha. :P


The Eye
I have to deal with my eye now as it was really uncomfortable. I sought help from the information desk at the Colorado Convention Centre. The lady at the counter, Susan was most helpful as she had been through a similar experience and we found the nearest emergency clinic which I could walk in today. I went to Urgent Care at Blake Street. My colleague, Luis was very nice and accompanied me to the clinic. We arrived at the clinic, just after 2:15pm and by 3:45pm, I was seen by the doctor. It was confirmed that I had scratched the cornea in my left eye. He was more worried about infection happening. He prescribed me antiseptic eye drops to apply 4 times a day, 2 drops each time for the next 7 days. We went to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription. As a result of my "field trip" to the clinic, both Luis and I missed two sessions which we wanted to attend. :( Sorry Luis but I really appreciated your help. :)

The Dinner
Since it was close to 5pm Denver time (7am Singapore time) and we had missed the sessions that we wanted to attend, we thought it might as well go for an early dinner at Rocky Mountain Diner. It is American food, done Colorado style and has won awards. As I was feeling relieved that my presentation went well and I have treatment for my injured left eye, I felt hungry lol. I ordered the Pan Fried Chicken (US$12.99): 1/2 pan fried chicken with mashed potatoes, vegetables, biscuit, honey butter and soup which was Turkey Posole for me. I tried, I really tried my best but I couldn't finish my food haha. I had to pack home a quarter of the chicken lol.