Just bought tickets to visit Minnesota for the 25th to the 28th - even though I really don't want to travel anywhere at the moment. It's not so much that I don't want to see the place as that I'll have to spend 2 days grinning at the professor and all the grad students and having those awkward conversations that I always have with people I don't know. And then of course there's the usual sleeplessness that comes with being in unfamiliar surroundings and the hassle with airport security and - . Bah, I know I bring all these things upon myself but I'm never sure if that makes it better or worse.