I was offered a violin position in a mariachi band the other day.

Since this started as a way to talk about my travels, I must first mention that there will be travel posts within the month. My current travel plans for the next year go something like this:

• Tuscon, Arizona -- Kitt Peak Observatory -- October 19th-26th
• Long Beach, California -- American Astronomical Society Meeting -- January 2009
• The banks of the Danube River -- Lehigh Philharmonic Orchestra Tour -- May 2009
• Split, Croatia -- International Conference for Physics Students -- August 2009

I'm still traveling, which is exciting. I want to take advantage of this as much as possible while I can, especially those free trips.

* * *

What else can I do with this blog? I do so much more than travel; I think it might be worthwhile to throw in a few things outside the realm of travel once in a while.

I promise soon there will be thoughts and reflections on graduate school. Trust me, I have a lot.

I have to also introduce you to the most disturbing aspect of the internet that I have found lately. Please greet my traffic feed. It's over there on the right side of the screen. It shows me where my readers are. The fun part about that is I can zoom in on them. I tested it out yesterday at school. I was pinpointed to Lehigh's campus, but at least it didn't get my specific building. I'm amused. I pretty much know who is looking at this thing anyway, so it is just a way to see those random worldwide hits.

Oh, by the way. I'm in Philadelphia! Tonight is a short trek over to Camden to see Weezer and supporting acts. Excitement! But before that...shopping. That's right, I'm going shopping.

Now I am caught up on my travels, but what about the rest of my life?

I suppose I should apologize again for my tardiness.
My regrets, dear Internet. You've longed for my tales of going to Nashville to accept an award. I am so sorry to have kept you waiting.

Less than eleven hours after landing from my Polish adventure, I was back at the airport (reportedly, my suitcase was there, too...but I was going to have to do without the amenities in it).

I got to Nashville early, even though my flight from Philadelphia was delayed taking off. On the short trip to Philadelphia I sat next to a flight attendant who pretty much thought that she was sitting next to greatness by talking to me because I do stuff with physics.

Anyway, I made it to Vanderbilt, after getting ripped off by a cab driver. Vanderbilt is beautiful. The only drawback is the ridiculous humidity of the region. It turns out that the only obligation on me was to have lunch with some administrators and two of the other finalists for the award. I had a free weekend in Nashville.

One of the other finalists was there with his brother, and they were kind enough to let me tag along on their adventures. They are from Kansas and seem to be really great guys.

We did various ridiculous things throughout the weekend. Friday night we went to drag races, which was beyond hysterical. Video:

We tried to visit every bad tourist attraction that we could find. This included the Pantheon (yes, in Nashville) and Grand Ole Opry (which was ridiculously expensive, and we just went in the gift shop). There was also a wax museum that we tried to infiltrate, but that was certainly not worth the cost either, especially since I've been in a wax museum this year.

It was a good trip. I met some nice people, made some good connections at Vanderbilt, and added another tally to the list of "Free Trips Due to Physics". It's a growing list.

Next post will include the beginning of reflections on graduate school.

By the way, if you know how to please feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed. I'm going to be more regular. I'm now taking fiber via Quaker oatmeal. No, really. I decided to keep this ol' blog 'round for a while. I hope to extol some witty remarks upon your screen that make it worth your while to read.