So, I am back from ASM. If you don’t know, ASM stands for the “American Society for Microbiology.” What I am referring to is the ASM general meeting. Last year I had a great time. This year, it was just okay. Seminars, symposiums, keynote speakers, posters… all the same things went on, but they just weren’t as enlightening as last year. I also think think the organization wasn’t so great this year. The Pseudomonas talks were scheduled at the same time as the majority of the Pseudomonas posters. Those were the two things I was looking forward to the most, but I didn’t have enough time for them both. Also, me and the PI got stuck with a Friday morning poster presentation date. Friday is the last day of the conference and is always poorly attended. Last year, we held court and had a lot of interesting discussions about our posters. This year, we spoke briefly to the people that trickled by. Overall it was still worth going. It’s always interesting to see what other people are working on. As a student, it is always interesting to see what things are completely over my head. Next year it is in Boston. (Sorry, no pictures.)