After my three hour nap yesterday (footnote 1) mon compagnon de chambre and I stopped by the College of Arts and Sciences happy hour.  The Vice-Dean of the College invited me to his Labor Day Chiggerfest party-thing.  I was instructed the bring my own life jacket and side dish (footnote 2).  And the Dean-Dean re-invited me to his football tailgate.  He also explained to me the alcohol rules for the MSU campus.  There is a common misconception that it is a dry campus.  It truth (footnote 3), it's a jumble of rules and regulations about what type of alcohol is allowed in various zones.  Hard liquor vs. beer.  I think there are little white zinfandel jurisdictions scattered about but nowhere you'd want to be - Aquaculture's nutritional science wing, for example.  Anyway,  it turns out that the A and S Dean's tailgate is technically in the hard liquor zone but between the Provost's dignified presence (apparently it's his favorite tailgate, though his wife is head of the organizational committee - there's an organizational committee!?) and payoffs to law enforcement, beer flows freely.  I'm getting pretty psyched about the first home game.

As the happy hour event began to wind down (my tab was $4!) a bunch of us junior faculty went to a new bar/restaurant for dinner.  I had my first catfish po'boy.  Decided for sure who my new best friend is going to be (footnote 4).  The very best part of the evening though was the over-21 wristbands they gave us.  I needed a philosophy professor to help me put mine on which was a little embarrassing.  Printed on it was the following:

Ross Kelley & Hosford Attorneys, PLLC

323-0844

Starkville, MS    Westpoint, MS    Tupelo, MS

Awesome.  

I think I'm magneting it to the refrigerator.  Roomie pointed out the only thing that would have topped this is if they listed a bailbondsman.

Okay, off to watch the Biden announcement!

Footnote 1: It sounds decadent, yes.  And certainly I will flaunt it as evidence of how academic life ain't half bad.  But it was entirely necessary given that I'd only had four hours of sleep the night before after being up super late prepping my Ancient Egypt lecture.  The lesson learned is that one can spend hours scouring the internet for the perfect image of a mummy (you want to see the shriveled body of course but not one that's too gross or has hair or fingernails as to be upsetting - 8 am is too early for 4,000 yr-old hair and fingernails) and the students will be just as unimpressed as if you had simply drawn one on the chalkboard.

Footnote 2: I'm envisioning an afternoon of swarming, biting, disease-vectors, near-drowning, and cold slaw.

Footnote 3: This is more of just a note to myself to remember to start more sentences this way.

Footnote 4: She's awesome.  We're taking our respective dogs for a hike tomorrow in the wildlife refuge tomorrow, weather permitting.  Tropical Storm Fay (or as my Mom calls it: Massive-Hurricane-that-is-headed-straight-for-you Fay) needs to take a time out.  Or make a right turn.  Alabama always gets all the breaks.