My workshop went decently, I think.  I hope.  People told me I did a good job but when I'm up there I usually feel as though I'm getting the "you're a fucking idiot"-type stares and that kind of blows.  Even though I know that people are especially brutal in questions during workshops as a way to prepare people for the job market and for conferences.  But still.

Luckily though, I wasn't really too too nervous or anything.  Not how I normally would get.  I guess there is at least that one positive thing about apathy kind of taking over my life.

I did get a lot of good feedback, and people did remark how this idea that I have has so many moving parts, and that I will probably need to go from macro- to micro-level data and analyses.  Which, honestly, I kind of figured even before I started this.  There are too many things at work here to explain this possible relationship using Congress (/each chamber) in the aggregate.


I would like to read the rest of Monday's articles and get a draft or something close to it of a reaction paper done tonight, so I could just edit and stuff before I head down to UC tomorrow.  Someone suggested I get work done while down there and I kind of scoffed because hell no.  I'm going down to PA to actually have fun for once, not to just relocate to do more work.

Does this mean I'll probably not have the front-end of my IR paper done by Monday, when it is supposed to be turned in by?  Yeah.  Do I care?  Not right now, nope.