diff --git a/linked/JSphere b/linked/JSphere index 8aaff16..da00f20 160000 --- a/linked/JSphere +++ b/linked/JSphere @@ -1 +1 @@ -Subproject commit 8aaff16b699212af3e5f6338117f8bdb216e04e5 +Subproject commit da00f201f3ff0a4ecdd87cf02eebfe320b8ff36c diff --git a/src/SUMMARY.md b/src/SUMMARY.md index 0d0016c..db2d567 100644 --- a/src/SUMMARY.md +++ b/src/SUMMARY.md @@ -157,3 +157,4 @@ the "right button" would not work. --> Web](diary/spring_2024_ideas/rethinking_the_web.md) - [Rust](diary/spring_2024_ideas/rust.md) - [Spring 2024 Activities](diary/spring_2024_activities/index.md) + - [IMC '24](diary/imc_24.md) diff --git a/src/diary/imc_24.md b/src/diary/imc_24.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b532ae6 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/diary/imc_24.md @@ -0,0 +1,191 @@ +# IMC '24 + +I am on an A380 flying back to Los Angeles at 0.9 mach. +IMC '24 just concluded yesterday. +It was nice in that I heard several interesting talks, met enthusiastic people, +and ate random Spanish food at the conference. +I also gave a talk, which mostly went as planned. +It was unfortunate in that I got sick midway through the trip and +struggled with jet lag despite having stayed in UTC+1 for +4 days before the conference. + +Let me recall the mishaps I experienced leading to the conference and +the journey in Europe. + +## Funding issues + +The \$2000 trip was originally not funded at all. + +After my paper was accepted, I asked three departments of DKU for travel funds, +and got none. The main argument is I have graduated. +I offered a proposition to the executive vise chancellor, saying that +I would put DKU as my institution. +Apparently, they did not recognize the significance of having papers in +conferences this prestige, although I did not find any DKU papers in +conferences at this level. +With that, DKU officially have zero direct contribution in my paper, so +I decided not to list them as my institution. + +This was at one point a huge time eater and upset moment. +It is especially upsetting because I got a personal offer to +partially fund my travel, in exchange for DKU being listed as my institution, +which would have looked very shameful. +However, this is understandable because I know DKU is experiencing a decline in +administrative efficiency. +Though, Italo also thought it looked bad, and listed DKU in his institution. + +Eventually, I followed Harsha's advice to apply for a student travel grant from +IMC, and fortunately got it. +This twist, however, caused delays in my preparation for the conference, and +had time implications I would discover later. + +## Visa shopping + +IMC '24 was in Madrid, Spain, but I did not got a Spanish visa. +This would normally have meant I would not be able to enter Spain at all. +I was at the conference thanks to a workaround for Schengen visas. + +I applied for the Spanish visa through their official agency, +got rejected because of minor issues, and estimated that the time line for +visa appointment rescheduling was unrealistic. +Not only that, they appeared to not now what they were doing when +I was at the visa center, and blocked my rescheduling due to +their government-grade service website. +This is when I started to think about giving up with the Spanish. + +I checked the rules for Schengen visas and countries that +process visas quickly, and eventually chose France. +The visa went through smoothly and quickly. +The only downside was I needed to stay in France for the same number of +nights as I did in Spain. So, I was forced to tour Paris for 4 days, +a strange thing to say. + +This is not exactly visa shopping because +my 4-night stay at Paris makes the visa application legitimate. +This is apparently a thing. +Later in the community session in IMC, +I heard Christophe talk about how one could get a visa appointment for +Norway or some other Nordic countries when the visa topic was brought up. + +## Paris and how I got sick + +The flight to Paris CDG went via Dallas DFW, and +the DFW-CDG flight was an uncomfortable 8 hours. +I got the worst seat, between the window and the aisle. +No posture was comfortable. +The food was also pathetic; both my neighbors left most of +their meals untouched. + +What was worse? +American Airlines people had very little tolerance for +passengers hanging around. +To relieve the stress in these long-haul flights, +I usually do these small standing sessions for +around ten minutes at the back of the plane. +This plane, however, was configured to have no room at the back, so +I hung around the food lounge and the emergency gates in the middle. +Flight attendants would just go by and tell me to go back to my seat. +One of them even stopped by to say they cannot have people camping around. + +This could have been a cultural thing. +There was a fat man in a suit sitting near one of the gates I hung around. +I was standing there leaning on the jump seat drinking juice, and +he stared at me. +After a while, he got up, so I left him some room to go to the lavatory. +Instead, he stood on my face, and said "go somewhere else". +"This guy thinks he owns this place," I thought. +I stared at him, had some more juice, and walked to the gate on the other side. +Apparently, fat Americans simply get offended when you appear near them and +get face to face. + +When I got to Paris in the morning, though, the chaos began. +Since the AirBnB reservation starts from the afternoon, I decided to +hang around a park between the airport and the place I stayed at. +It was a very rural area with wind blowing across. +I did not bother to put my puffed jacket on, and got a bit cold. +Maybe I should have taken it more seriously at the time. + +The lunch at a random restaurant proved Paris' food to be much cheaper than +that in Los Angeles. +This continued to be true throughout my stay, even in more central areas. +What annoyed me was the lack of local food. +Near the place I stayed at, it was all Pakistani, Indian, and Turkish food. +Even near La Louvre, I walked in a huge block of all Asian food. +I was like "what the heck is going on with this city? Where is the local food?" + +On the second day, I toured Musée du Louvre for 4hr. +Unfortunately, it turned out the museum sells tickets with time slots, which +is basically reservation. +Since I spent the time before the trip desperately preparing for my talk, +I only booked the tickets on the day I arrived and +got the late 13:30 entrance time. The museum closes at 18:00. + +Having a late entrance to the museum did not bother to +make the whole tour ultra long. +I only woke up at around 10:00 due to jet lag, and +walked around the piss river after my breakfast. +Paris is really coherent with the styles of roads and buildings. +I kind of see why people like the city and find it romantic. +In the museum, I saw beautiful NSFW oil paintings and took selfies with +the tiny painting people line up to see. + +On my way back though, I got into trouble. +I was taking the same metro line that I went to central Paris with. +It stopped at a station and never resumed. +Eventually, the driver said something in the announcement and +people looked upset, some of them getting off. +After a while, everyone got off and started waiting on the platform. +The driver got of the train and walked to the other end, and drove it back! + +I assumed there was a problem with the train, and waited for +the next one like many other passengers did. +The next train came, and we got on. +And, the announcement from the driver started… +People were upset, and eventually got off. Some left the station. +After a while, the driver said something to the crowd, and some people got on, +so I followed them. The train drove back to the previous station! + +Okay, so I realized there was some problem with the line and +what the driver offered us was to drive us back to the previous station which +had transfer options. +In the monitors that displayed information, +I finally saw the English translation of the announcement. +It said that the line was partially shut down due to an unattended bag, and +that the service would resume after some time. +I went to the platform to wait for the service to resume, but +got systematically kicked out by the people shutting down the line. +Some of them knew English and explained to me that I need to change my route. + +I had to take another metro line and transfer to a bus. +That bus station for the exact bus line I needed to take was also moved, for +some reasons, and it took me a while to figure it out. +With the rush and mishaps, I also took the wrong direction once and +missed a bus because of not waving for it to stop. +The supposedly 50min trip took 2hr, and by the time I got to +the place it was already 22:30. +I apparently did not learn this lesson that public transport in +a language I completely have knowledge of is a guaranteed disaster, and +did it again later in my trip to the airport. + +This was when I woke up and felt something stuck in +my throat the next afternoon. +I realized it was almost a cold and it became dangerous to my talk because +I lost my voice. +I had had trouble speaking for extended periods of time in the days leading to +the trip when I practiced my talk, but this one was finally the bomb detonated. +I could hear my mumbling talk being very deep when listening to +the recording of my practice talks. + +After a day of rest and not getting better, I decided it was time to +do something other than hoping for self-healing. I asked my AirBnB host. +She typed a line of text on my phone and told me to go to +a medicine store nearby and show they this text. +I went there, went in line, saw the guy behind a counter, showed him the text, +and told him I had a throat inflammation in English. +The guy replied in French, went to the back of the store, and came back with +some medicine. +So, I bought that medicine and took it according to my host's instructions, +basically trying random drugs. +I also aborted all my travel in Paris and stayed in bed until I left. + +## The talk