I'm off to Kansas City for Matt & Stephanie's wedding this afternoon. This will actually be the second time I've been through K.C. The first was when I flew there, only to drive 3 hours for the High School National Championship debate tournament in Topeka. I have fond memories of Topeka (not just because of my fancy trophy either) - we kept asking people what they did for fun in Topeka, and they all said "Oh, we go to Kansas City." Bizarre. Also, to betray my stunning lack of knowledge of world geography, I didn't know until we arrived at the airport that Kansas City was in fact in Missouri.

The Iraq War hit a little closer to home this week. Recently, I had the discussion that it was only a matter of time before most of us would know someone who was injured or killed in the fighting. Then, I got an e-mail telling me that an aquaintance from Georgia Tech was killed by hostile fire on Wednesday. I feel funny reacting so strongly, since I didn't really know him well. Most of my friends knew him because he was Georgia Tech's undergraduate student body president. I knew him because he escorted me during the weekend of Field Training Exercises with the Army ROTC. I was there observing as a reporter for the Technique - he taught me how to use night vision goggles and shoot an M-16. I asked him and the other ROTC students about their aspirations and their fears and their reasons for joining the Army. I didn't print too many of their responses because they seemed too personal to be public. Its a sad day whenever someone's life is cut short by violence. And a little shocking when a member of your generation is that victim.