Pittsburgh gave me a rash.

Its super-itchy and splotchy.  Like howlie rot.  All around my neck and down my right arm.

Sucks.

Otherwise the conference in Pittsburgh was great!  I got to spend a lot of time with a very dear friend, my favorite jelly donut.  Got a big hug from mein Doktorvater.  Spoke with a couple university presses about promise rings/early contracts, and they seemed at least open to the idea which is enormously exciting.  The airport shuttle driver called me "small cheese" as in "alright small cheese, here we are at the Omni" (he then said he would pay to talk to me long distance about southern bbq - cute).  That's right.  I am small cheese.  But cheese nonetheless.

And can we get a subdued golf applause for Mississippi's showing in the election please?  The presidential race was much closer than expected (kind of close to a single digit spread) and really, most of  us raging liberals here were quite pleased that the state wasn't called for McCain at noon.  In fact, it was the last of the deep south to be called.  Babies scoot before they crawl before they step.

Another lesson learned on election night: don't drink things handed to you by Greig or Scott.  Especially if they involve gin.  Especially if you have to teach the Protestant Reformation first thing the next morning.  Even days later, while calmly sipping Iron City Beers mit meine Kollegen the ghostly scent of gin haunted me.  Oh the humanity.  I still hear the screaming.