Nutter Center!

It appears that John McCain will name his running mate in my former home of Dayton, Ohio, Friday afternoon. Who he'll choose is anyone's guess (although, I find Kay Bailey Hutchison intriguing).

But the real news here is where Senator McCain is making the announcement: at none other than the Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University, my alma mater!


The author (after a long night in Cincy), his advisor, and a diploma (finally!)

The Nutter Center will always hold a special place in my heart, because after like 15 years and a heck of a lot of patience from my advisor, I finally graduated on the floor there in 2007! It was a great day, and only a little hazy because the night before, my sisters in law took me to some wild SW Ohio beer celebration that was thinly veiled under the guise of "Church Festival."

Now, in the interest of equal time, Obama ventured into the Nutter Center earlier in the campaign (It'll be interesting to see who packed the gym with more supporters. Geez, Dayton's really getting a lot of 2008 swing state love). Barry also balled with my beloved Carolina Tar Heels earlier this year, which was pretty freaking cool.

Well, anyway, Go Raiders!

Wright State's Alumni of the Millenium

Saturday night, my beloved graduate school alma mater bestowed upon me a fantastic honor--naming me the 2008 Outstanding Alumnus of the International and Comparative Politics Department. Needless to say this was a thrill (see photo of me accepting the honor above).

I do have to wonder about the process--I'm reminded of when Matt Doherty won the Carolina coaching job after like 7 guys turned it down!

I was nominated by my thesis advisor, Dr. Laura Luehrmann, who already deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for her Ghandi-esque patience as I took my sweet time finishing up my thesis, or as I like to call it--the cure for insomnia.

The terriffic event included an open bar (and here I thought only Catholic schools knew how to celebrate) and a great dinner spread as 15 honorees from all disciplines within the Wright State College of Liberal Arts were feted. After receiving my award, I gave some brief remarks about the students, faculty and facilities of Wright State and how the quality of the education you get from the school is truly dependent upon your own goals and aspirations. In my case, my goal was to simply graduate and I almost messed that up! Thank God for people like Dr. Luehrmann.

"Yes We Can!"

The trip was an overwhelming success and right up my alley. As anyone that knows me can attest, I've never met a microphone I didn't like.

Go Raiders!