So there's this island...

There was a moment today when it occurred to me I was stuck in a nightmare. I sat in a small conference room before a projected screen, filled with people many levels above me, people with power, and there I was about to give the second demo of my career. I knew the material in an academic way, but academic is not the same as having a reliable and repeatable presentation.

I stuffed down the part that said, "You don't know what you're doing. You don't deserve to be here." But you know, there's always an echo.

And so I sat, and listened, and did the best I could, knowing there is much to learn, feeling just like I showed up naked to book report day. And I read "Island of the Blue Dolphins" when I was supposed to read "Where the Red Fern Grows."

I will say that they were kind.

This is a very strange world I have found myself in.