Me and Bucky the Badger Down by the Schoolyard

I'm back from our whirlwind trip to Wisconsin. Ironically, I don't think I ate any cheese while in the state. It was, in fact, warmer there than it was back home in Virginia but I think the entire state was just trying to make for a pleasant visit for us. Wednesday was a pretty good day for me. We did our "dog and pony" show for everyone and they were all receptive and happy that we came. That's always a good thing. After our meetings, I asked Bossman and Dan if we could go to the bookstore. Ok, more accurately, I insisted we go to the bookstore. I was on a mission for hockey kitsch. The Puddin' now has a very handsome Univ of Wisconsin hockey jersey (complete with a surly looking badger head on its chest). And I found myself a bright red Wisconsin tank top. The Puddin' claims that it's more like one of those sexy co-ed tops. So apparently, I've purchased a "Wisconsin Girls Gone Wild" outfit. Look for me on the next DVD sold on TV.

I was standing in line with these two great finds and the girl in front of me was buying strange things I've never seen before. So me being me, I asked her "what are those?!". She told me they were flashcards but I've never seen anything like them before. They were only a little bigger than my Kroger Plus Card (maybe 1" by 3") and they were all on a binder ring. Apparently it's a new way to organize your flashcards. I was stunned. The academic world had moved on and I didn't get a memo. There was a new weapon in the War on Unmemorized Declensions and no one told me! I felt .. so .. old. I have got to go to university bookstores more often.

Dinner that night was fantastic. I had veal (yes, I know, those poor cows) and it was the best thing I had eaten in ... forever. Sooooo good. We had a pleasant chat with our colleagues and all was well in the world.

I'm making good progress in the last Dark Tower book. People are dying (as was to be expected in the final book of a seven part series) but I manage to read about each one while on a plane. So the flight attendant is asking if I would like anything else to drink and I'm sobbing into my sleeve, huge tear drops falling onto the pages of this brick of a hardcover novel I've brought with me and I can only muster a head shake of no. They should have tissues in the arm rests of first class.