it was the best of times, it was the worst of times

so, it will not be news to some people that i have had a yucky sinus infection for almost a week now. i finally went to the doctor on monday and got some antibiotics and now i feel only moderately better. but. . . for better or for worse, i will be hitting the road en route to the icis conference in baltimore in roughly t minus 7 hours. in just over 24 hours, my talk will be over, and in just over four days, this week that represents the culmination of a lot of stress will be done. this will make me happy.

i think it will be much to early, but still very likely that when i get back from MD, the countdown to summer will begin. essentially, this is a list of all of the important deadlines and travel dates that will occur before summer hits. each year, it's shocking at how it simultaneously makes things seem insurmountable and within sight at the same time. in essence, it will look something like this:

graduate research exhibition: 14 days
grant due: 25 days
amelia & andrew's wedding: 27 days
talk for imaging center alumni event: 41 days
last day of classes 47 days
matt's graduation: 52 days

for some reason, matt's graduation has become the event that signifies the start of summer for me this year. it's completely arbitrary given that finals week over almost two full weeks before, but that's how it's gonna happen this year, i guess. so. . . yeah. sometimes i really don't make any sense to anyone except for myself (and sometimes karen and kara, but that's only because they have inside tracks to my brain, i think).

also, i have to admit that seeing the familiar iowa sites is fun, but who is this crazy guy - and is he or is he not in a prison when he's in council bluffs?

also - mom and dad can correct me if i'm wrong in this, but for some reason i suspect that my grandma & grandpa got married in nashua. isn't that right?other points of interest:

we played regional golf my junior year of high school in pocahontas
we used to go dancing in clear lake on "teen night" at a place that i barely remember but think was "lou's lounge"
des moines is where i went to drake for a while
cedar falls is where the university of northern iowa is at - where my dad went to school for a time
i had no idea that mallard had a sign that said "we're friendly ducks." that's awesome.
dyersville is where the field of dreams is at, if you couldn't tell.
ames is the home of iowa state university.
i've definitely seen the goo-goo-dolls, sugar ray, and fastball at the iowa state fair. don't act like you're not impressed.
altoona is where kara's coffee shop is at.