Pittsburgh

As if there wasn't enough excitement in my life, I head off to another amazing destination spot tomorrow. Yep, you guessed right (from the post's title), the beautiful city of Pittsburgh.
I've never been to Pittsburgh, and really, have never felt a desire to go. In my ignorance, I picture the city very Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: smoke stacks, concrete buildings of gray, people walking around in heavy, long plaid coats heaving soot, and cold weather that includes unforgiving and unrelenting wind. As I've been told, the downtown area, where the hotel and convention is located, is nice and fun, with a lot to do; or conversely, the entire city is a drag, waste of space, and boring, and there's not much to redeem it.
But clearly, as events this week have indicated, I am fated to go there. This weekend, according to all the signs, big things are going to happen in Pittsburgh. First of all came the weekly e-newsletter from The Onion, and it's ridiculously timely, above-the-fold headline: "Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack." Check out the article at: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/41676. Then, come to find out, the best band ever will be playing in town on Saturday night. Yes, people, U2 will be ripping it up at the city's Mellon Arena. (That news courtesy of Joe.) Also: it's National Chemistry Weekend at the Carnegie Science Center (I got an A in chemistry); Pitt vs. Syracuse Saturday afternoon (Syracuse was shown on my TV instead of ASU the other weekend); and An Afternoon with Augusten Burroughs (an author who was featured in Entertainment Weekly, my favorite magazine).
Call them omens, fate, foreshadowing, precursors, signs or indications, but something big will go down in the Burgh of Pitts this weekend, and I'll be there, and ready, for it. Hooyah!