Story of a conference presentation
It is 2 a.m. and I am standing in front of the mirror, rehearsing my maiden talk for the conference tomorrow. Cup of tea on the bed side has turned cold as the nausea from staying up late and butterflies due to rising tension won't let me consume it. On the bed are lying my unpressed clothes, which I am to wear tomorrow.
3:00 a.m. and there is a power outage to make things worse, a common thing in Pakistan , I feel nervous and shaky--I start praying....
Power is back at 4:00 a.m. By 5:00 a.m., I have pressed clothes, showered, changed and calming myself with words like no one would be listening, its not their field and I seem to have memorized every word of my talk so why fear and yes, I feel a bit stable.
Staying idle makes me panicky so I clean the room and it's 6:00 a.m.
I rehearse for the last time, pack things and grab a taxi for the venue...
4:00 p.m.: My name is called...
4:15 p.m.: There is an applause, Q/A, praise--I feel so light, text my supervisor every detail and head back.
I sleep till 1 p.m. the next day (luckily a sunday).
3:00 a.m. and there is a power outage to make things worse, a common thing in Pakistan , I feel nervous and shaky--I start praying....
Power is back at 4:00 a.m. By 5:00 a.m., I have pressed clothes, showered, changed and calming myself with words like no one would be listening, its not their field and I seem to have memorized every word of my talk so why fear and yes, I feel a bit stable.
Staying idle makes me panicky so I clean the room and it's 6:00 a.m.
I rehearse for the last time, pack things and grab a taxi for the venue...
4:00 p.m.: My name is called...
4:15 p.m.: There is an applause, Q/A, praise--I feel so light, text my supervisor every detail and head back.
I sleep till 1 p.m. the next day (luckily a sunday).
