Well, DC, it was fun. Ok, not a lot of fun, but still, it was decent, and it may happen that I'll be back your way again. But for now, it's onwards and upwards. Almost literally, depending on your view of things.

Work and life demands are pushing The Wife and me north to Pittsburgh. I'll be at the same, world-renowned think tank (yes, I actually do get paid to sit and think about shit), and The Wife will be running an economic development initiative for a partnership between the state and the local universities.

Why there? Why now?

Why not? Seriously. DC's been fine, but the more time you spend here the more it gets to you. My particular peeve is that, somehow, despite the diversity, most of the people you see all look somehow the same. The same outfits, same sort of look, roughly the same age, all carrying the same books/magazines, and all headed towards roughly the same job: helping the government spend money. Of course, I do that last thing (well, I like to think I help find ways to AVOID spending money stupidly), so I can't complain about it too much. But after visiting other cities, you realize the country is full of people doing great things that have nothing to do with the vagaries of federal politics. Even the radio is different; it's not a 24/7 barrage of "analysis" about the latest idiotic statements from whatever senator got a burr up his or her ass that morning.

Pittsburgh had a job option for me, eventually had one for The Wife, and has housing that's around 30% cheaper than DC. Throw in some great schools for a shot at a PhD, a livability that is far and away better than DC (seriously, I can barely imagine the relief of not having to spend 45-60 minutes going SEVEN FUCKING MILES to work), and you can count me sold.

Oh, and they have a brewery in a church. (Serving excellent pizza, btw.)

There's a chance we'll hate it. But you never know until you try. So, please pardon the already spotty posting. I'll try to update y'all on the move, but it's been nuts already.