 Hello fans, welcome to the last video of 2019. WAS 235 is exactly one week away. And as with every year, I am not at all stressed with having to prepare all of my talks, pack, get my family situated, and travel. Just like last year, I'm making the exact same mistake. I'm giving three talks. One talk about flares, one about SETI, and one talk about stellar astrophysics with tests. I'm excited about all three. It's a lot of slides to prepare in one week. I'm also really excited to go to Hawaii. I haven't been there in like four years. Looking at the meeting website this morning, it says there are 3,419 people signed up for WAS 235. If that's not the biggest, that's got to be close to the biggest WAS ever. So I thought I'd share just a few tips today about how to survive WAS. All right, number zero, of course, has got to be be prepared for the meeting. Pack smart. The meeting is in Hawaii. Bring a hat. Bring sunglasses. Buy some sunscreen when you get there. But also remember the air conditioning is cranked inside of these convention centers. So even though it'll be 80 degrees outside, bring a light sweater. All right, tip number one is to plan each day. Be engaged. With such a large meeting, it can be overwhelming. And if you don't look at the meeting app or the block schedule, usually there's a big schedule somewhere in the hallway, you'll get confused and burned out almost immediately. Tip number two is really a tip for myself. Go to at least one talk every day and talk to at least one poster presenter every day. Now this seems ridiculous. It's a meeting full of talks and posters. But given the variation in the schedule, there's definitely days where there's not anything that's obviously related to my work. And especially during the end of the meeting, burnout starts to set in. And making sure that I engage with at least one person and one talk, that seems like a good minimum. Fight the urge to check out. It can be really hard. Number three is a subtle point, but maybe like good life advice. Define your own success for the meeting. For each day and for the meeting as a whole. Set goals that you can actually control for the meeting, like going and talking to people, getting the bravery up to ask a question during a talk. Those are metrics of success that you can control. It's really easy to walk away from a meeting like this, burned out and disappointed that maybe you didn't achieve the things that you wanted to. Don't let other people's experiences define what is success for you. The AAAS is not good for a deep dive on a subject, even if it's your area of expertise. The short talks and the huge meeting size means that you're going to be overwhelmed with ideas. So the best strategy is to just try to broaden your horizons and broaden your network. Okay, tip number four, go to the beach. It's Hawaii. It's amazing. You know, wear sunscreen, but go to the beach. Tip number five is always a rule for any of these meetings, but I think it holds especially true this time. Be respectful. Hawaii is a diverse and fascinating place. There's a lot of international tourism. The state has an amazing history, but also a complex history of colonialism. Astronomy in particular is embroiled in really big conflicts related to telescope building on the islands. There's likely to be some protesters. Remember at very least that during this conference, we are guests here. If you're unsure about the politics or what the right answer to any of these issues are, my advice to you is listen. I intend to do as much learning and listening as possible, both about astronomy and about the social issues surrounding it. All right, that's it for me, AstroVlog 2019. I will see you all bright and early in the new year for daily videos from AAAS 235. See you there.