Project 365: Day 18

I have to say, having states like the Dakotas, Kansas, and Nebraska has it's perks. On one hand it's a lot of ground to cover, but on the other hand... it's a lot of ground to cover! For example, today I had one meeting at 11:30am. I had time to wake up early, do Yoga, and get some work done before heading to the meeting. Then after about an hour and a half, my "work" for the day was done and I was on the road for a 4 1/2 hour  drive to my next locale.

Now a 4 1/2 hour drive isn't typically my idea of a fun time, but I have to say, I kind of enjoyed it. It  gave me lots of time to listen to NPR - which I really love - and just spend some good quality time with myself.

Had I been in Chicago or St. Louis, I could have had three appointments today with barely any time to think - let alone turn on the radio - and so I'm thankful for the occasional trip that involves some serious time on the road. Of course driving through the Dakota's isn't necessarily the most efficient or effective way for me to use my time, but on the other hand, I think there is huge value in making social calls to our customers and absolutely hate for my first visit to be after they are already funded for an instrument. I think it's important to build that relationship with them beforehand, so that we have a good foundation when it comes time to do the real work together. So I really don't mind coming out to places like this every once in a while, and actually.... I kind of enjoy it. 

Tonight, I'm staying in Fargo. Thanks to a great recommendation by my customer, I had dinner at HoDo's downtown during their monthly "Science Cafe." It's a little event put on the by College of Arts and Sciences at NDSU where faculty members are invited to speak about their research in an informal setting. Tonight the speaker was Linguist Dr. Erin Conwell talking about how children learn language and it was pretty interesting. Definitely a nice change of pace from eating dinner by myself all the time - AND I sat next to a girl who was from Taiwan! We had lots of fun talking about how much we miss Taiwanese food!  After the talk, I took a little walk down Broadway in Fargo and snapped my picture of the day: