Back in "da Burgh"

Ah, Pittsburgh, the City of Champions.

I’m back in the city where I lived for almost 15 years while learning, and then doing research in, epidemiology.  It’s my first extended time here since I left for New Hampshire in 1996.  In fact, it’s only the second time I’ve been here at all since then, following a celebratory weekend honoring my dissertation advisor in 2003.

The reason I’m here is Netroots Nation 2009, the fourth in an annual series and the third I’ve attended.  I participated in Las Vegas in 2006 (it was then called YearlyKos) and in Austin last year, but missed Chicago between those two.

Things are still ramping up for the official beginning tomorrow.  This morning, I spent a bit of time helping out with the preparations, breaking down a couple of pallets of some sort of snack food that will be included in everyone’s goodie bags.  I’ve already seen a few familiar Kossacks, like teacherken, ct, and side pocket, and met others (among them ex-Pittsburgher Dreaming of Better Days, blue jersey mom, and jlms qkw).  The last addressed me by nom de blog, though I didn’t know her; she remembered the story of my rotator cuff and my incapacity to tie it back.  That was in February, but it apparently made an impression.

And then there’s the Seattle Kossack I ran into at, of all places, Fallingwater.  Which, of course, gives me an excuse to display a gorgeous photo of a spectacular place:

I was heading back toward the visitor center after an enjoyable tour, which brought me past the next group of visitors.  As I approached, who should pop out of the gaggle approaching the entrance but my good friend mcjoan?  Not merely a local, but a local-kid-made-good ... she’s a highly respected front-pager at dKos.

Though I’d tried to recruit other NN09 attendees to join me on the trip to Bear Run, I hadn’t been successful.  Doing it on Tuesday before a Thursday start was poor planning on my part, I suppose.  Well, Joan obviously hadn’t seen my diary, so she found her way there separately.  I didn’t hang around to hear her impressions as a first-time viewer of Mr. Wright’s masterpiece, but I’ll ask her sometime or another.

Now I’m off to get ready for a big group dinner with a mob of Kossacks, and then tomorrow we dive into the meeting itself.  More later, I hope…

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