CHI 94 took place in Boston, MA. I never got around to writing a trip report, so these pages don't contain much information apart from some pictures and a descriptions of the first day there. While the rest could be entertaining as well, I don't think it will ever get written. An interesting spin-off from this trip was the CHIVAS project.
Friday
Friday had been a tiring day. I had to get up early, around 7.00 MET, travel to the airport and fly to Boston. I was a bit anxious because I only knew the name of the hotel I was staying in, no address or telephone number, but this turned out just fine. After I check into the room I decided to go over to the Conference site.
At the Conference site I worked my way over to the SV Lounge, a place where I would spend a lot of time in the next week. Mark and Marian, our SV Co-chairs, were already on the job. I still remembered Mark from a brief meeting at InterCHI the year before.
On Friday it's usually the more experienced crowd that seems to be there. They know they should get their hours in early, in order to have some time during the conference. Therefore, there were mostly people I knew, and people who knew me. Kinda like coming home after a long leave, immediatly shifting into that familiar feeling of knowing each other. The pleasantness of meeting each other was nicely balanced by the work. Interesting jobs such as counting tutorial notes and collecting piles of paper lay ahead. Being good students we usually started out by analysing the work thoroughly before taking it on. The chain-gang for making the piles might be inefficient! We wouldn't want that, would we.
Later that night, I decided I really needed a night at the town, to clear of all protential jet-lag problems. Four of us ended up in some strange place near Government Center: The Hong Kong Wok and Lounge. The habit in this plave seemed to be to order a large bowl of undefined liquid and ice, get straws for everybody, and enjoy. Bostonians told us later that we had encountered the infamous "Scorpion Bowls". For me, this was just the first strange things that happened to me that CHI.
Pictures
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| David, Sharon & Hans | A rowdy bunch in Whiskey's |
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| Same place, same people | Rob & Hans looking tired in the SV Lounge |