Gratitude (Nov. 18 - Nov. 24)

1. Punctual and affordable shuttle ride to the airport
2. Good flight from RAP (Rapid City) to MSP (Minneapolis)
3. Good food and place to work during my layover in MSP
4. Good flight from MSP to DCA (Reagan Washington Airport)
5. DC Metro ride from DCA in Virginia through Washington, DC to Greenbelt station in Maryland.
6. Complimentary shuttle from Greenbelt to the hotel
7. Good night's sleep in hotel
8. Breakfast buffet
9. Time in morning to relax and get work done before the workshop starts
10. Texting with my wife throughout the trip
11. Being able to (barely) walk to Baskin-Robbins from the hotel
12. Many great conversations with the leaders of the AAPT Workshop
13. Many great conversations with my fellow physics teachers
14. Advice to start with only one thing rather than the entire firehose of ideas from the workshop
15. Free books, flash drive, and websites from which to draw future ideas
16. Active engagement ideas and materials for my upper level courses
17. A little time to walk along the National Mall on the way back to the airport
18. The Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial
19. Hearing from the founder of the Physics Education Program at Ohio State, from which I benefitted as a graduate student
20. Discovering that Physics Education Research has a history dating back more than 40 years.
21. Nice conversation with a fellow passenger returning from a HR conference.
22. Good dinner in the Minneapolis airport on the way home.
23. Encouraging, entertaining, and useful presentation on software for enabling group work.
24. Lunch with colleagues before the presentation
25. Encouraging, entertaining, and useful presentation on common group dysfunctions and how to deal with them