"In Too Deep"

Well, this is a most hateful time of the year.  Too much snow outside to do spring activities, but not enough snow (and nobody is in the mood) to do winter activities.  Right now, I'm watching the local news channel talk about Oak Fungus.  As it turns out, the only way to prevent this is to prune the trees in the fall.  A little late to broadcast this "news."  So, because nothing is going on here, this is a good time to go back in time and recall another old college memory...

The year was 1987....We were listening to "Gotta have Faith" by George Michael, "How can I get you Alone" by Heart, " and we were "Livin on a Prayer" with Bon Jovi.  Big hair bands were still in, like Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again."  But, new a new "pop-artist" sound was emerging..."Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle, and "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany.  So, music was big in the 80's.  And so much better than today's "Kay-dollar sign-Ha", but, I digress...

Anyhow, it was around this time when my friend Wendy and I learned that Genesis was touring and doing a show in Detroit.  It was their "Invisible Touch" tour!  Man, to see Phil Collins live singing Land of Confusion, Invisible Touch, and Tonight, Tonight, Tonight!  Unreal!  We HAD to go!  So, we had a friend who had a friend with a car and could get us there.  We didn't know this friend of a friend, but, hey, she was our friend's friend, she had to be cool!  We scored the tickets, and all met up to head to Detroit.  Getting to the concert was crazy.  The friend was from some little small town up North and she had no idea how to drive in Detroit traffic on a Friday night.  I remember sitting in the backseat just sweating and praying we wouldn't die.  So, we get to the concert and find our seats in the back of the balcony.  Couldn't see a thing, but, we could hear it fine, and we thought the concert ROCKED!  The driver girl disappeared, we didn't see her the entire concert. It's probably hard to imagine it, but, this was 1987 and there were no cell phones.  If she disappeared, she disappeared.

So, the concert ends, still no driver.  We walk back to where we had parked the car, and she's not there.  We just stand there for a long time waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally, we see her.  As she approaches, she's with a group of people we didn't know, and they're all taking turns smoking something that is not a cigarette.  She finally gets to the car and stares at it for a long time.  Wendy and I were only 19, from the U.P., and neither of us really wanted to drive out of Detroit after the biggest concert of the year.  So, in our youthful wisdom, we decide that this girl, who is high as a kite, would be able to drive better than either of us.  We were not correct.  She somehow made it to the freeway, with Wendy and I grabbing the wheel and yelling at her, and her laughing the entire time, but that's when things got really weird.  She slowed down and practically stopped.  Freeways in Detroit do not have "stopping" lanes.  They have 6 side-by-side lanes of steady, fast, crazy traffic.  We managed to talk her through the act of pulling over to the side of the freeway, where we were still at risk for getting hit.  At that point, I just remember Wendy and I screaming at her for being so stupid and high, and reluctantly getting in the driver's seat to drive home. 

actual photo of Chrysler Freeway out of Detroit

Anyhow, first time driving the "Chrysler Freeway, I-75" out of Detroit!  Fun memories!  What did I take away from that event?  A concert tee shirt that shrunk so much I never even wore it once.  Oh, and "don't do drugs and drive!"  Oops, I mean, "don't do drugs, ever!"

The Letters of Spring

I always forget how much I love spring until it actually arrives. Granted, there's still those nasty giant heaps of snow in the shade with grass and mud in it, but hey, you take what you can get. It was a beautiful 50 degrees in the cities today, and I was pleased to see there actually is life on campus outside of the book-it-to-class-to-avoid-frostbite-and/or-windburn-and/or-wet-shoes people I've seen for the past 5 months. Wow...long winter! To keep this week's blog creative, I've decided to travel back in time to 4th grade (or senior year Creative Comp.) and write one of those "letter" poems about spring where the stanzas of the poem all start with the letter of what is being described. (We did this using our names alot. All I could ever think of for "K" was "kooky" or a ghetto-ly spelled "krazy." It wasn't until last year I discovered how perfectly "Ke$ha" fit there.) Disclaimer: this isn't really a poem, so un-prepare yourselves for a cool rhythm or rhyming words.

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cored a sweet new spring jacket at Macy's last weekend in Appleton, and became a Godmother! I shall now put glitter in all my cards as a fairy godmother would...or a certain $omeone else would.

racticed driving into the city by myself a couple weeks ago for the first time! All went well, all are alive. Believe me, this is blog-worthy.

eveled in the gorgeous-weather in La Crosse this past weekend. Got some ice cream (it actually melted outside instead of freezing more!), went into some cool shops, strolled down by the river, attempted to fly a kite, sang the top 20 hits from memory, and walked around downtown aimlessly to find a restaurant for 2 1/2 hours only to end up at Hooters. This weekend was a Perfect 10 :)

f my calculations are correct (meaning Dad, you will be taking me home promptly on May 11th, right? RIGHT?!), I will be living in this dorm room for 34 more days. Bittersweet... But next school year's place of residence will be in the BRAND NEW dorms at UW-L! (Thanks for winning the lottery Dakota!) I'm so excited. It'll probably smell new all the time. Until I bust in with my awesome Island Margarita room spray of course...or just margaritas. Hehe...

ow taking showers and washing dishes are even more enjoyable thanks to the mysterious radio that was placed in the bathroom. I'm impressed nobody's stolen it actually. So guess who's day is made better every morning when Blow or Hold it Against Me comes on mid-shampoo? This girl's right here...

oing to class...the nice weather is not a motivation for this. But as of today, I only have 4 more PoliSci night classes, 5 more 8 am boring lab sesh's, 9 more lectures to learn about sexual dimorphism and other things, and 9 more times to hopefully hear the quietest kid in the world whip out some golden Spanish to earn the entire class 100%s on our 4 page research essays. (Oh yes...this happened.)

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So Spring has sprung in the Superblock, which means only a few more weeks left to live it up in the cities. This includes clubbing...hopefully no one gets stabbed these next times though. (Oh yeah, by the way Mom and Dad...)

Spring Break...proceed with caution

Wow is it ever nice to be out of the cement cube in which I dwell in...even if it be for only 9 days. I have made it to my first college Spring Break! Now, before you get worried and perhaps censor the rest of this blog, the craziest thing I've done so far is flip off an ignorant driver on Hwy 51 on the way back from Mercer. Rebel...I know. But oh my gosh does it ever feel amazing to be home. Sure, there's not much going on, and all my friends aren't even in Minoc, but I'm enjoying every second and every aspect of my break:

1. My bed. That I don't climb up to. That doesn't creak. That's not made by a sketchy brand called "Hotel Motel."

2. Peanut butter toast and Eggo waffles. Need I say more?

3. Tivo and Netflix on Demand. (Sergio and I are making our way through a list of "Movies that Take Place in One Room." Thanks, Stumble Upon!)

4. Luxurious Cottenelle. And non-automatic-flush toilets.

5. Driving!! And yes, the road rage is still very much in me.

6. Dakota. I mean we've got some pretty intense Taco Tuesday-ing and "Ellen" planned, how could I not appreciate us being reunited?

7. Spending time with Sergio. In addition to our list of movies, we also are on a mission to find the world's greatest grilled cheese. Which we think lies in the kitchen of Minocqua Brewing Company... we're gonna test out that theory... probably on Wednesday. We better calm down before we get hurt, I know.

8. The family. Oh gosh, how I appreciate just being in their presence. This was the longest stretch of time I've ever gone without seeing them. (53 days to be exact, and I actually got to surprise my mom on Thursday morning because she didn't know I was coming home early. So much fun...it felt like Christmas morning again, I was so excited to see her and to hug her again!) Whether it be watching The Bachelor finale with Mom and B, playing a board game with both sibs, going out to lunch, cooperating with Dad to do the dishes by hand because the week I come home of course our dishwasher breaks, or strolling through Timber Ridge with Ty (still can't believe I got him to agree to take a walk with me), I LOVE being with them. Which is a blessing and a curse because it makes it 82 times harder to leave them. Sunday please don't come... :(


People keep telling me that second semester flies by, and I'm already halfway done. Once I get back, looks like it'll be full speed ahead! Bring it on.

Aurora Borealis

The last time I went to the River Valley Bank drive through, I was left with the irritating farewell of, "Have an incredible day!"  Really?  "Have an 'incredible' day?"  Wow!  When was the last time I had an "incredible" day?

Well, I stewed on this for awhile.  At first I thought, the last time I had an "incredible" day was the day Brittany was born, 14 years ago!  Every day since has been rather boring, routine, mundane. I've had plenty of incredibly "bad" days, that's for sure.  I thought about my mom's illness, my sister's divorce, the problems with my own kids, the struggles with my work, and I thought, "yes, I have had many "incredibly" BAD days, thank you!  And, with going to work, laundry, grocery shopping, vacuuming, changing sheets, dusting, window cleaning, and all the minutia of life, every day is just "average" at best.  Or so I thought...

When I was driving home from work last night thinking about this, all of a sudden, the sky filled with light.  The light was rolling wave upon wave, different colors, pink, green, yellow, white....Then up and down steaks, like the kind left-over from fireworks, then horizontal steaks, like the kinds waves would make.  Suddenly, I realized I was witnessing the "Aurora Borealis."  The "Northern Lights."  I turned my radio off.  I didn't want anything to distract me from this view. 

I suddenly felt humbled. I felt ashamed.  How could I think that I haven't had an "incredible" day!  God has given me incredible days and moments every day of my life! What about the time Kayla sang "The Chipmunk" song solo when she was 4 years old?  What about the time Tyler woke up and told me about his dream when he was only two?  What about the days when Brittany smiled when Tyler walked into the room and she would run and grab his hand and look up and smile and play with him all day long?  What about the time my dad fell in love again and got married and I saw him truly happy again?  What about the day my sister had two baby girls after being told she would never, ever get pregnant?   What about the time my brother and his new wife had their baby boy after giving up hope and deciding to adopt?  What about the time Tom looked at me and asked me to go to the high school dance with him when I was only 15 years old, and told me that he loved me a few years later?

These are just a few, a fraction, a rare glimpse, into the number of "incredible" days or moments I've had. There are too many to list! How dare I scoff at the River Valley Bank tellers for their prescribed recital of "Have an incredible day."  What gall I have!

God showed me this night, though the Northern Lights, that each day holds something incredible.  And I hope, Kayla, you are never so ungrateful or unaware like I am, to think that your life is average and ordinary.  I hope you hear God every morning and are filled with the understanding that each day is incredible!

I think the River Valley Bank girls are spot on!  To all:  "Have an INCREDIBLE day!"

That's The Way It Is....

Why haven't we blogged lately?  It's like anything else (especially exercise), once you get out of the routine of doing it, it gets hard to get back into the routine.  So, what's happened since the last blog?  Well, the Christmas Holiday was fun, relaxing, fueled with good food and treats.  I really hated for that season to end and I had a hard time taking down the tree and the decorations.  It signalled the end of relaxing, and the beginning of "back to work." 

I brought Kayla back to school in early January to begin her 2nd semester of Freshman year.  I was not surprised that we saw other students getting out of the car with only a backpack and a duffel bag, but not for Kayla.  No, No.  We had to borrow a laundry cart to fit everything she brought back to college for her last semester in the cities.  Suitcases of clothes, bags of food, a TV, more clothes, boots, laptop, and all of the Christmas presents that would help her make her last semester in the Twin Cities dorm more do-able.

For me, this time of year is my busiest time with my work.  I spend the first 8 weeks of my semester trying to just stay caught up with lessons, grading papers, preparing labs, etc.  I can't believe that it is March and we haven't blogged.  We kept meaning to, it's just hard to get back in the swing of things.

Saddest thing to happen lately...Kayla went to Chicago to meet Taylor and Dakota for the Kesha concert.  Unfortunately, the Amtrak train was late and the girls missed the concert.  It was one of the few times where Kayla was so sad, yet there was absolutely nothing I could do to "fix it."  I guess, "that's the way it is."

When Kayla was 8 and was diagnosed with diabetes, I remember that sad feeling of knowing there's nothing I can do to fix it.  I will always remember the day I drove her home from the hospital.  It was just me and her in the car, and on the radio came the JoDee Messina song, "That's the way it is."  Since that day, that has sort of been "our" song.  So, Kayla, I'm sure this song doesn't compare to "We R Who We R" but, just try it.  It might make you feel a little better...

Click on this link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReBk36jv35g

Second Semester is here! In March....

I sincerely apologize to the many groupies who love us so much and have been disappointed by the lack of blog for, well...2 and a half months. I'm sorry! Don't disown me! I'll make up for it in this one. (Meaning, I'll blog as I usually would, you'll read it as you usually would, you'll forgive me, and continue to follow like the devoted fan that you are.) All is well. And, on my behalf, my last blog in December was criticized for being "too long." You know who you are, (insert squinty-eyed smug-faced emoticon here). I'll proceed...

Second semester is well under way, so I'll do a quick run down of my new-to-you classes.
(Oh, and as a disclaimer, I know my schedule rocks and looks easy-no Monday or Friday classes- but even though my actual "class time" is not overwhelming in the least, the following classes PLUS the research thing equals a lot of work. Case and point: I haven't even got to watch Modern Family OR American Idol OR Desperate Housewives in 3 weeks. Sad...)
Evolution and the Biology of Sex Well, it's just as it sounds! I have this on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning, and I thoroughly enjoy lecture (usually) because it involves me sitting in one of the coolest new buildings on campus drinking coffee and listening to my very funny and relatable professor talk about science in the context of sex. The content isn't super hard, it's an intro Bio course so it's a lot of mitosis, genetics, etc., but she also throws in some sexual dimorphism and homosexuality hypotheses. Throughout the course, we are trying to scientifically answer why, evolutionally, sex exists. (As one girl responded in my lecture on the first day, "To get back at somebody!" Okaaayyy...)
Spanish Communication and Composition Sadly, so so sadly, this is not my favorite class. I don't mind the homework and readings, it's basically a literature/writing/history course taught in Spanish, instead of just grammar, which is very different from the past 5 years of Spanish I've taken, but I just don't understand the point of going to class. I wish I could tell you what we do in class that's challenging and beneficial, but I just don't know. On a good note though, my teacher is extremely sweet, from Venezuela, and knows Spanish like none other, which means that her fluent, rapid, and very authentic speech has improved my listening skills even more. Alright sweet, that'll my new point of going class. :)
American Democracy in a Changing World Difficult!! For a Pol 101 class, this class is very deep and intellectual, and being that I didn't even know the differences between the Republican and Democratic parties until this fall (I know, embarrassing. Mom, Dad...talk to the siblings about this subject pronto!), it is definitely my most challenging class. And the most difficult to force myself to go to...considering it's from 6:30 to 9 pm on Tuesdays, so late! I'm learning a lot, but right now, I find myself only wanting to talk about Scott Walker and his psycho dictatorship ways... I best end this here.
College Algebra and Probability Okay so I thought this was going to be easy, I mean it's algebra, right? Wrong. First, this is a correspondence class which means I teach myself, and second, college algebra isn't even on the same field as high school algebra. At least at the U of M it isn't. So this class takes a significant amount of time for assignments, and I really have to be self disciplined. I'm working on it...
Research Long story short, I was 1 out of 50 freshman chosen to assist professors in their research as part of something called "CLA Freshman Awards Program." I'm working, along with a few other girls, with a professor in the Department of Speech-Hearing-Language Sciences on a research experiment. It involves young children and their repetition of non-words. I have weekly lab meetings for this, and the assignments we receive require sufficient time, so since I am getting paid for it, I treat it as my job.

And there you have it. After 8 weeks of these, I am now a mere 9 days from a highly-anticipated Spring Break back home. Spring Break will also mark the last "break" where I will be returning to Minnesota afterwards. For those of you who are unaware, I am transferring to UW- La Crosse next fall, and I'm very very excited. It's actually kinda cool...I get to experience 2 colleges! That's 1 more than most people and 2 more than many other people! My reasons are varied, from me realizing I'm more of a city-visitor, not a city-dweller; missing my home state and the authentic Wisconsin environment; Minnesota not offering a Bachelor's program for education; and finding out the the 2nd biggest college campus in the nation was in fact, not what I prefer. Don't get me wrong, I'll never ever regret my decision to experience a Big 10 School my freshman year, and I'm relishing my last months here as much as I possibly can, (ie: whole-heartedly taking on the persona of, excuse my language, a "club whore.") All I know is that even though I realized this isn't where I'm supposed to be in the future, it's where I'm supposed to be now, because more than anything, I can feel myself maturing and growing as a person more than I ever could have imagined.

And really, what are the chances that someone picks the right college on the first try? There are 2,474 four-year higher-education institutions in the nation...I mean that's only a .04% chance!

The Annual Christmas Card

Once again it's time to create our annual family Christmas card.  As usual, I'm running late.  I procrastinate every year, because I always argue with myself on doing the card.  Should I just send a plain Christmas card and sign our names?  Well, what about the people who I don't see but I like to keep in touch with?  I should write a little update of what's been happening with our family.  If I do that, it'll take me forever to write in people's cards.  Maybe I should do a Christmas letter?  Well, if I do that, it always has a tendency to come across as "bragging" and the whole year sounds fake and fabulous.  But, then again, why would I write about the bad stuff that happens?  Everyone has bad times and nobody wants to hear about other peoples problems, they have problems of their own.  Everyone does.  So, the letter will just have the highlights of the year.  But, what about a picture?  Do we have a picture of all 5 of us? 

This train of thought made me consider not doing a Christmas card this year, but, then each time I get a card in the mail, I feel guilty.  So, two nights ago, I went on-line and finally made a Christmas card with a picture and a Christmas letter.  I ordered it, and it will arrive on December 20.  By the time people get it, people will be taking their cards down.

Oh well, better late than never. 

Maybe next year I should just resolve that I will do a card and start working on the card early in November.  Besides, I like having the cards.  They make good memories of us and they're fun to look back on.  Sometimes I am embarassed by what I put in the card, but, I still plug away at them each and every year.

Well, tomorrow I drive to Minneapolis to pick Kayla up for the winter break!  I am so excited!  We're going to a nice dinner, then to a play and I'll stay in the dorm with her for the night.  How cool is that!  On Friday we will stop and do some Christmas shopping on our way home.  It'll be the perfect start to the week before Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone!  (PS:  At least I don't make the family do crazy pictures like this...)

Snowpocalypse

"Snowstorm racks Minn.
In Minneapolis, 17.1 inches of snow fell, the fifth-highest total in city history."

Even if I hadn't woken up to this headline on the front page of The Minnesota Daily newspaper on Monday morning, I feel quite confident I would've been well aware that the metro was the target of a massive blizzard this past weekend...considering I became trapped in the dead eye of the historical storm that ultimately made sports history forever. Let's journey back to Saturday, December 11, 2010 shall we?

One of my best friends, lets call her Dakota, was visiting me for the weekend from UW-La Crosse and we had plans to travel to the nation's largest mall on Saturday to do our Christmas shopping. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into as soon as we stepped outside of Frontier Hall...

No, that's a lie. We knew. Considering the wind and snow made it nearly impossible to walk to the bus stop a few yards away from the dorm and the Rt 16 Bus even got stuck on the way to the lightrail station and we had to walk a block or so to the station, we knew it was just the beginning of a monster. Our thoughts were further confirmed when the lightrail was stuck for about 15 minutes on the tracks on the way to Mall of America. Alas, Christmas shopping needed to be done, Dakota wanted Johnny Rockets, and I needed a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory premium apple. Priorities people.

Fast-forward to 4:00 pm. The stores started to close, very "Titanic-esque" pulling down their gates to refuse customers any more service for "the safety of the employees." Just then, I received a text from a friend back on campus, "So...MetroTransit is suspended." (Note: MetroTransit is the ONLY public bus transportation system in the Twin Cities. They have a monopoly.) Thank God the lightrail is NOT included in this suspension, so we booked our butts and bags to the lightrail in the parking lot of the mall only to shove our way onto the train that has about 5X too many people. Here, we learned that the train has been sitting there for about 45 minures because oh, I don't know...there was a WRECK a little down the way! Eventually, the train started to move, and since the lightrail only goes downtown, not to campus, I texted my friends back in the dorm to look up the cab service numbers to send a cab downtown to pick us up. New Text Message: "No cabs are running. Some won't even pick up the phone." Alright, so now panic starts to insue. We are crammed into a tiny lightrail car with 100 other people, heading to a place that isn't even home and....the lightrail gets stuck, multiple times. Claustrophobia? Hey I'm Kayla, nice to meet you.

Part 2 of the journey begins when the lightrail finally gets us safely to the downtown stop. Some people on the train said they are going to walk back to campus so, instead of dropping $100 on a hotel for a night, we decide to attempt to make the trek and follow them.

Apparently these people are Olympic sprinters and hurdlers. As they bound over snowbanks and fly across snowy, icy, intersections, me and Dakota are panting far, far behind, tripping over our Uggs, nearly slipping on corners, shopping bags hitting our legs and further slowing us down. Funny, considering I'm so athletic and Dakota so nimble and quick...we get left in the dust, or in this case, powder. We trekked about a half hour and as we looked around, we realized we were in a scene from The Day After Tomorrow. People were walking in the middle of the road, cars in ditches and the few that were moving had tires stuck halfway into the snow. For a while, I knew what road we were on and kinda had some bearings, but then the city decided to be a brat and change Washington Ave into 4th St without any warning. With windblown faces, runny noses, freezing hands, soaking wet boots, and no sense of direction, we ducked into the sole establishment open on the street we were on, The Corner Bar.

We indulged in some refreshing beverages (pop), energy-enriched sandwiches (grilled cheese) and hot chili (yep, just hot chili.) We indulged very slowly, relishing each moment in the safety of indoors until we had paid our bill and had no choice but to embark back into the wretched environment outdoors. Using my context clues and a map of a random part of Minneapolis, I got us to the right road to get back to campus. Problem: it's an exit ramp. Solution: Being that there were no cars, we trekked and slid down the exit ramp, facing the would-be traffic head on. (Note: Dakota had fallen like 3 times at this point, at least this lightened the mood.)

Sweet victory. We saw, through the flurries, to an overpass that read "University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus." I literally screamed out in joy, "We made it!!" We then had to crawl underneath a fence and walk across the Mississippi River, but eventually we burst into Frontier Hall Rm 193, Christmas purchases in tow, with chilled bodies, stressed out minds, parched throats, and quite the story.

I end this post with some pictures: 1) An extremely flattering one of Dakota and I after we stripped off our durable, reliable winter jackets that got us through the storm, complete with appropriate facial expressions and a complete mat of icy, snarly hair on my head.

2) What happened shortly after, about 2 miles away from our dorm, to mark sports history forever as the day the Metrodome caved in and tore open.

3) TCF Bank stadium, about 2 blocks from our dorm, in the midst of being prepared today to host the Vikings and Bears in less than a week.

Mom comes tomorrow :) Safe to say I am ready to be home for the holidays.

“How far we travel in life matters far less than those we meet along the way.”-Anonymous


More or less, this past Monday I made it back from volunteering in one piece. And, being that I'm a huge believer in everything happening for a reason, I'm so happy I got mixed-up on the route home again, I met such an intriguing woman! Upon boarding the bus, I told the kind and cheery lady driving exactly where I needed to get off so she could maybe give me a warning. With a smile, she agreed. We began to talk, she asked me if I had just moved to the city (Gosh, am I really that obvious?) and I told her the abridged version of my life: From a small town in Wisconsin, here for school, studying Spanish, that's why I was way out at a bus stop in Northeast Minneapolis, etc. She then told me she happened to be from Eau Claire, and came to the cities a while ago to attend the U and study psychology. Never got to hear the end of that story, some new passengers boarded and were confused about the fare. Anyway, she pulled back onto the road and asked me if I had a computer, and proceeded to flash me the back of her clipboard that was covered by a sticker saying, "Need a Ride?" followed by a URL. "I have a blog," she told me, "It's called 'Picking Up Strangers' 'cuz, well, that's what I do!" I was instantly intrigued and began asking her about it. I then informed her that I, in fact, blogged also, and gave her a quick run down of Tale of Twin Cities. Surprisingly sad to end this bus ride, I thanked her, spread some holiday cheer her way, and couldn't wait to get on my laptop and check out her site. I spent at least an hour reading through months and months of her blogs, laughing at the crazy people she encounters, the contests she holds (this past one if you "found" her on a bus and told her a secret phrase the winner got a Brett Favre jersey--not that I woulda've wanted to win that one), knowing more about the routes (apparently route 2 is the one with crack heads on one side and college kids on the other), and some fun facts about Jeanne, The Happiest Metro-Transit Bus Driver: she likes to collect stuffed animals and bring them on her routes to give to little kids who get on. How cool! If you have some time, check it out, you won't want to stop reading about her encounters: http://www.pickingupstrangers.com/.


I'm getting so attached to my kids at the school! Cases and points: 1) This Monday, Enrique Iglesias was in town (screw being poor), and after I told the girls (yes there may have been some screams), we started talking about music. They ripped out a sheet of notebook paper and filled every line with their favorite Spanish songs that they insisted I download. My Recently Added playlist on the pod is now full of canciones nuevas. 2) As we were walking out to busses, I was talking to one of the girls about how I'll see her next year, to have a good Christmas, etc. My heart warms a little bit at what she said before we parted ways, in English: "Oh, um, I wanted to tell you that I think you got better at Spanish." Aww, I heart her. And, 3) One of the boys finally worked up the courage this week to yell across the room to me, "Ay, Senorita! You got a Facebook?" "Yesss..." "What's your Facebook name?" "Pablo I'm not allowed to add the students..." Something about those Latino boys... :)


Well, now that I'm all warmed up on my writing, I suppose I should start thinking about finals like the rest of the student body and start cranking out my final paper for my Latinos in the US course. How ironic that I hate this class to my core....

Beware of the Christmas Bell Ringers....

This time of year, when I see all of the Salvation Army bell ringers outside of the grocery stores and Wal-Marts, I think back to my first year of college.  I worked at the grocery store and there was an older guy, mid-50's I guess, who wore a Santa hat and rang the bell outside the store.  One night, I dropped in some change and struck up a conversation with him. As the weeks went on, I would talk to him on occassion.  For some odd reason, he asked for my phone number, and weirdly enough, I gave it to him.  My friends thought it was strange when he started to call me.  (So did I, but, I wasn't sure why.)  Then, he started to talk to me about his career.  He said he used to be a police chief in Detroit and he saw many things and he could tell me some stories that would really freak me out.  He said he was an ice fisher and he asked where I lived because he wanted to deliver some fish he caught to me.  At this point, my friends said he was a weirdo and I better stop communicating with him.  Then, one strange night came when he asked me to meet him for coffee at a local McDonalds.  I actually went to the McDonalds, with my friends secretly nearby.  The man told me that he had a surprise for me in the trunk of his car. He then proceeded to walk with me out into the dark parking lot, open up the trunk of his car, and he showed me some ice fishing supplies.  He also said that he had some long-underwear for me to wear, and he wanted to take me on an ice fishing trip.  He thought I should get into the back seat of his car and try on the long underwear.  Well, at that point, I gave my freinds the signal and they pulled up in their car and I jumped in and drove away.  I had to change my phone number and lay low for awhile so the guy couldn't contact me again.  I quit my job at the store, too.

Well, I share this story with you because it's just a weird memory I've always had of my college days.  I was way too innocent and almost got in some big trouble because of it. 

Anyhow, everytime I see the bell ringers for the Salvation Army this time of year, I think back to that story and that creepy, Santa hat, ice-fisher guy!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I submit this week's blog.

I literally could write a gratitude list that does not end, so, I hope all my friends and family know how thankful I am for their presence in my life.  I am just listing a few, but this list is not all inclusive:>  (In other words, don't be offended if you're not listed, you are, I just ran out of space.)

I am thankful for:

• Brittany, for making popcorn for us when we watch TV, and then asking me to "help" her make it.
• Tyler, for going to see Harry Potter with me, even though it was obvious he was embarassed to be with his mom at the movie theater.
• Kayla, for living her life with clarity, joy and purpose, and for coming home on Thanksgiving and spending so much time with her family.
• Tom, for helping me move my mom into a new apartment on the day after Thanksgiving, and never complaining even once.
• my Mom, for giving me lots of stories to tell, and for teaching me forgiveness and how to laugh at the hard things in life.
• my Dad, for being one of the few people who I can really talk to, and for making sure to spend as much time as he can with the kids when we're together, teaching them card games, poker, and really being there with the kids.
• Jane, for making my dad so happy.
• Denny, for making me laugh every time I talk to him, and for not getting mad at me when I forget his birthday.
• Julie, for making me laugh every time I talk to her, and for having the best sister talks in the world.
• Barb, for whatever she did to raise her son to be such a great husband and father, and for being one of the best people in my life.
• Audra, for making my brother so happy, and bringing Ebben into this world.
• Todd, for making my sister so happy, and for bringing 3 more boys into our family.
• my work, for allowing me to do what I love, and to support my family while doing it.
• my students, for bringing me true joy in my work, and for inspiring me to work as hard as they do for their success.
• my church, for making me feel like I'm part of a greater family.
• my God, for grace. 

My cup overfloweth...

The Annual Giving of Thanks

I told Mom last week that I knew I was growing up because all I want is to be home for the holidays. Thanksgiving day we drove up to Wakefield to see the whole family and overeat, just like every year before. Sunday night before I came back to MN, we decorated the Christmas tree as a family while drinking hot chocolate, just like every year before. Thank God for traditions. Whether it be hanging ornaments on a lit tree or hearing Gramma Barb sing about the "big, fat turkey on Grandfather's farm" after overindulging in pumpkin pie and Grands, traditions keep your family's idiosynchracies alive and thriving even in the midst of change. (Enter college!) So, this is my preface to talking about the first holiday where I had to "come home," and how incredibly great it was. Enter blog:

First, don't travel by bus near the holidays. Every seat will be taken, you will have to sit on a broken seat by someone who will, of course, fall asleep and thus, will spill over onto your side during the trip that will take 90 minutes longer than expected. Though, seeing Dad waiting in the frigid cold outside at the bus stop the second we arrived made me instantly forget how crowded and uncomfortable I had felt for the past 5 hours, I was simply so happy to be home.

Thanksgiving Day, in addition to being filled with pinwheels, potatoes, turkey, a cranberry mold (yes Mom, the cranberry mold is worthy enough to be in the blog. It was delicious and looked cool), and me sharing my college stories (this means the stories of the famous Foam Party) with the aunts and cousins, it also left me thinking about everything I had to be thankful for. First, the opportunities I am offered every day attending college in a city, and the experiences I've had and will have that will create lasting memories. I know many people would love to be where I am, and really don't want to take being here for granted. And of course, even more importantly, I am so extremely thankful for the people in my life who I love. These past few months being on my own have really made me realize how truly blessed I am to have a life filled with people who love me, support me, inspire me, make me laugh (or cry in a good way), listen to my issues, offer advice, step in when needed, and have personalities and quirks that I can't imagine not being present in my life: Mom & Dad (you know how important you are to me, a blog can't even begin to describe it), Ty (still as smart-aleky as ever, but I know that your cry for help on the definition of the word "thoroughfare" was really code for "I love you Sis!"), Britty (even though my old wardrobe has found a new home in your closet and I kick your butt at ping-pong, we rock as being sisters, right? GloZell would agree), my beautiful best friends from home who I've missed to my heart's core (I love how nothing has changed, we still sit around, eat, do nothing, watch Titanic and laugh about EVERYTHING, even our dad's names), the incredible boyfriend (we just rock mi hombre, people are jealous of how fantastic we go together...and not to mention how fine we look together, too), and of course, a fabulous new addition to this list, my terrific new friends here at the U (we do things like a boss, brought back Britney, invented socioproductivity, well...just see the last 3 months of Facebook statuses.) Honestly, SO much to be thankful for.

Alright, snap back to reality. Literally, coming back from a 6-day break for like, 14 days of class, studying, and finals is just...mer. BUT, an exciting aspect to my return was moving in a new roomate! Hey Marina :) The first day we met, way back in September on the first day of Freshman Seminar, we realized we were scary similar. Like, if we were to make a Venn-Diagram of "Kayla and Marina," it would be an almond, only the middle part. We both are coffee-afficionados (holla!), weirdly in love with our professor's mind, from Wisco, are blonde, die-hard for the green&gold, are in honors yet ironically terrible procrastinators...the list goes on. So, we told Frontier Hall what was up, that we were meant to live together, and proceeded to totally deck the halls of our newly-reorganized room. We went all out-- Christmas lights, a mini tree, candy canes, paper snowflakes, Christmas smells (no! we do NOT have an illegal candle that is holiday scented!), and even a Poinsettia! (It's practice for the fish we want to get.)

Let me wrap up this all-over-the-place blog with a little wisdom from this professor that we both really enjoy...let's call him Pat. He is my favorite professor here so far, and his class feels the most "college-esque." He really makes me think and I always walk away from class feeling really inquisitive and scholarly. So, instead of class yesterday, we had individual meetings with him to discuss our final papers. I'm writing mine on why only 35% of students who go to four-year universities actually get their degree in four years. We got to talking about why our society set the 4-year standard of graduation in the first place and he said this, "You know, if you think about it, college is the only time in your life where society actually wants you to think and figure stuff out for yourself. You have your whole life to work, to follow society's rules, but here they are actually approving of you being in a setting where you have the ability to challenge anything you want!" Take from it what you will, but this statement really spoke to me for some reason, and kinda fits in my previous theme of giving thanks...for the right here and right now.

The Family Meeting

Well, Kayla, you just missed out on another fine "family meeting."  You can imagine how excited Tyler and Brittany were when I called the meeting.  Immediately Brittany looked confused and asked what she did wrong.  Tyler sat back with his arms folded over his chest and I could see his wheels spinning trying to come up with something to say to mock me for calling a "family meeting."  All he could come up with was, "Could I be Bobby Brady?  He was my favorite."  Not funny.

Anyhow, the purpose of today's meeting was to institute (once again) "quiet time."  This was met with moans and groans so loud you would have thought I was pulling out their teeth one by one.  For those readers who aren't familiar with quiet time, this is a one-hour period each night where there are no cell phones, no computers, and no TV.  It's supposed to be a one-hour time frame when the kids can focus on their homework and not get interrupted.  Tyler acted like he never heard of it, so I explained that there will be no electronics. So, he said, "Well, if there's no electronics, then we have to shut off all of the lights, too.  The lights run off electricity." 

I think after having the week he had, he better just accept quiet time and zip it!  I had a phone call from his band teacher saying that he has not gone to his trumpet lessons and we had an e-mail from his German teacher saying he's not "working up to potential."  When I asked him why he's not going to his trumpet lessons, he said, "It's because I can't play the trumpet."  He joined band thinking it would be an easy A.  Then when we asked him what's going on in German class, he said, "The teacher just doesn't like Manfred."  (His German name is Manfred.)

So, we are beginning the process of an attitute adjustment here in Minocqua.  Even with me.  I was not looking forward to the day when you graduated, but now, I am really looking forward to the next graduation from LUHS in 2014!  If we make it!

Lost in the city...yes, again.

You know how they say do something every day that scares you? Well, I'm taking that to heart every time I embark back to my middle school after the traumatic trip home this Monday. Allow me to explain:

Volunteering went fabulous, as always, but it happened to be the first time I did it after the daylight savings time change, meaning it gets darker way earlier. Now, I had thought I had figured out the bus system, but that was in the daylight of 5:30 pm when the sun was still out. This week however, the sun had disappeared by the time I started to embark back to campus from the school. So, all happy and whatnot with a few more Thank-You cards in my purse, I got off at the stop I had always been getting off at to get back to my dorm. Well, I thought it was my stop. As soon as the bus pulled away, a few expletives ran through my mind, and perhaps came out of my mouth along with my breath that I could vividly see because of the frigid Minneapolis temperature. I realized that I had absolutely no idea where I was, that because of the stupid darkness I mistook my bus stop for a totally different stop that I was not supposed to be near. Being the smart girl that I am, I started to walk. Why Kayla, why?! Why would I start to walk?! I think I thought that maybe I would eventually hit a landmark I knew. After a few steps I figured out, why would I know any landmarks?! I'M NOT FROM HERE! I instantly started to panic and called my friend from across the hall. The worst was when she asked me where I was and I told her, in a shaking voice in-between tears, the intersection I was at and her response was "Ohhhhhh noo Kayla." Want to know where this small-town-girl-thrust-into-the-metro was in relation to campus? Take a look. Point B is my dorm, my destination. Point A is where my frantic self was crying.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Minneapolis&1s=MN&1a=E+Hennepin+Ave+%26+12th+Ave+SE&1z=55414&1y=US&1l=44.99144&1g=-93.23458&1v=INTERSECTION&2c=Minneapolis&2s=MN&2a=701+Fulton+St+SE&2z=55455-0358&2y=US&2l=44.97027&2g=-93.228614&2v=ADDRESS

YEAH, I KNOW! Now that you can see where I was, hopefully now you can feel my pain and fright. It was 6:00. Dark. Cold. I was hungry and in a bad part of the city, so I am told. I don't even feel ashamed that I cried. I was totally entitled to bawl and call my dad from a random bench sobbing about how much I am not cut out for the city. I literally was just gonna give up. The thought actually crossed my mind, "I can't do it. I'm done. I'm just gonna sit here and cry." And then some sort of sense kicked in and I realized I wasn't in a video game and had to get back, obviously! After multiple confusing phone conversations with the girl I basically owe my life to trying to explain to me what buses to take and where to get on and off, 75 minutes and $7.25 later, I was back, and completely a wreck. I ate my baked potato in a blur and was completely a mess of emotions.

So all's well that ends well, I guess. I survived, barely didn't get mugged, and my friend even made me a beautiful yellow-construction paper map/direction sheet of how to and, more importantly, from the school. I'll be testing out that, along with my emotional endurance and night intelligence each time I volunteer from now on until May. I really can't let a terrible experience like that ruin something so great, so I'm not going to let it. Plus, Mom and Dad made me put campus security in my phone and made it clear that the next time I get off at the wrong spot, don't pretend to know where I'm going.

New college lesson: I suck at sense of direction. And still suck at the bus.

I know we've been talking about movies this week.  I told you to watch the movie, "Milk" and you did and liked it.  So, I have to tell you to watch another movie, probably my favorite movie ever; "Mask!"

You really have to see it!  Julie and I watched it so many times when we were teens, we communicated to each other by reciting lines in the movie.  We would say to each other, "You're so stupid!  Rube Walker!  You threw away Rube Walker, Ben!"  Or, "You!  You're going to take care of things from now on!"  I know it doesn't make much sense, but there weren't a lot of channels back in the 80's and the cable stations would show this movie over and over. 

The other thing we did from seeing this movie was recite Rocky Dennis' (the main character in the story) poem over and over, substituting in things from our day to day life.  His actual poem was this:

These things are good: ice cream and cake, a ride on a Harley, seeing monkeys in the trees, the rain on my tongue, and the sun shining on my face. These things are a drag: dust in my hair, holes in my shoes, no money in my pocket, and the sun shining on my face.

But we would say things like, "These things are good:  eating Pringles from a can, sitting on the couch, and the sun shining on my face.  These things are a drag:  holes in my pocket, Denny sitting on the couch, and the sun shining on my face."

I laugh when I think about the 3 of us (me, Denny and Julie) growing up together.  Watching you, Tyler and Brittany growing up there's a lot of similiarities.  Especially the inane inside jokes or petty fights between the three of you.  Remember when you kids would humiliate each other by simply calling someon an "oat?"  I would have to break up big fights between you guys and when I'd ask what started it, one of you would cry and say, "She called me an OAT!"  It doesn't make sense to anybody but you three. 

OK, that's what I'm thinking about now and that's my blog for this week:>

$ick on this routine week

Being sick in college sucks. There's nobody here to wait on me hand-and-foot, run to Moto and get me lots of medicine, or run me up some diet Sprite with a straw. Instead, I endured classes the beginning of the week, and lucked out majorly today with having my class cancelled (thank you karma!) So, I walked my sickly little self over to the pharmacy today and bought some meds, and the next thing I know my darling friend from across the hall was waking me up at 5:30 pm to go to dinner. Turns out it wasn't worth it. It was "Spam-alot" dinner at the dining hall. Why? Please, does anybody enjoy the meat from a can? So we went and got some fun ice cream treats to watch the CMAs with instead. (I'm pulling for T.Swift and my main man Kenny.)

Anyway, not much new has happened over the past week, so being sick without Mom and Dad to take care of me has been my most recent "new experience" in college. Well BEFORE I got this nasty cold, I've discovered like, 3 new places to do homework on campus! (Who knew there was a library like 30 yards from my dorm?! And REALLY comfy chairs next to where the... Korean Dance Club... practices?! ) And it has been so extremely beautiful outside that me and my friends have taken quite a few walks by the Mississippi river. We've learned to love and take advantage of the free movies at the theater, this past week they played the incredibly cute "Despicable Me." (Unfortunately, we sat by the most descpicabally stinky person in the human world. It wasn't even funny. I had to breathe into my box of Milk Duds.)

Speaking of humans in this world, I'm sure you all know that one of my favorites is Ke$ha. In case you were wondering, I'll be seeing her gorgeous self at the House of Blues in Chicago in February. Yep, have I crossed into groupie territory? Just as well, I don't thinkg it's possible to be any more obsessed. It's called the "Get $leazy" tour. I'm so excited. You can't imagine the immensity...we'll be tearin' it apart. :)

OH. This week I've also learned to always check and re-check and double check that my headphones are actually plugged into my laptop BEFORE jamming to "Oops I Did it Again" in the library. At least it wasn't "My Humps" or something REALLY embarrassing...

Cliche Good Feelings

So, I just walked in (in my boots, mind you) from a gorgeous November day with a purse full of red and yellow construction paper cards decorated with markers, crayons, and cloth leaves. No, I didn't just get back from Trinity Preschool, circa 1996, I just got back from running mock interviews for the Spanish-speaking students at the middle school I've been volunteering at. All the kids at the school are participating in an event called "Biztown," which teaches them about finances and the professional world of careers and such, and today was the day they interviewed for the positions they want. Some wanted to be radio DJs, telling me about their experience in "mixing beats," and others wanted to be designers, CEOs, and IRS agents. They told me they want to give speeches like Barack Obama, their idol is their mom, they want a career where they can boss other people around, and that the hardest part about the job would be getting the job. Some kids were in it for the money and prestige, those were my "mayor" candidates and others wanted a job that was easy and allowed them to directly connect with their customers, like owning a gift store. It was so much fun, and I realized that everytime I work with these kids and translate and help them and learn from them, the more I love it and the more I can't wait to continue doing it in the future. Call me lame, but the letters like this from the kids inspire me:

"Dear Kayla,
Hi this is Rose. Thank you for interviewing me today, I really appreciate your time. You really make a difference.
Your Friend,
Rose"

or

"Dear Kayla,
Hi my name is Jasmine and I want to thank you for your time and helping me understand. I don't know if you are gonna give me the job of designer but thank you anyway. I also thank you for saying that I make a great designer.
From,
Jasmine

PS) Look at the cover see I really can design!"

or

"Dear Kayla,
Thank you for coming to NEMS today and volunteering your time. You are quite incredible. You really care about the youth. I believe my next interview will be much better because of you. Thank you,
Alondra"

Templates or not, these cards make me happy. So cliche, but maybe I really did make a difference.

Well what can I say? I'm quite incredible :)

On this beautiful, sunny fall day...

Today I went to a funeral for a lady in town.  She was well known, well loved, and had 4 children and many grandchildren.  At the start of the funeral, each grandchild got up to talk about their grandma.  The ages ranged from about 9 years old to adults in their late twenties.  Each grandchild spoke so eloquently, everyone was impressed and touched.  Some spoke about favorite memories, about waking up at grandma's house in the morning, playing games with her, her favorite sayings, her baking and her cooking.  Some talked about what they learned from her life and how they are the person they are because of her.  They made her sound like the most wonerful person in the world, and I've no doubt that to them and many others, she was.

I didn't know the lady who died, but, listening to the stories about her at her funeral, I learned a lot about her.  She was an ordinary lady who simply lived and loved taking care of her family.  She spent time being a wife and mother, and then spent her days being a grandmother.  She cooked big meals that helped to gather the family together, she baked special cookies to delight the grandkids, she planned vacations each summer to bring the family together, and through these simple, routine things, she built up traditions that shaped every member of her family. 

Wow, what a legacy.  Sometimes I think, "Am I doing enough?  Am I doing anything that really matters?"  And after today, just listening to those grandkids talk about how their grandmother made them better people by simply being involved in their lives, I think I might be doing OK.  So, I might not make it to be a missionary oversees (who knows for sure, though) or I might not make my big mark on this world, but I do know that I've raised a good family.  And I do know that I'm looking forward to being the kind of grandma this lady was.  And now I think, if that is all I have done when my time is over, that will be enough. 

At the end of the funeral, on this beautiful, sunny fall day, each grandchild released a balloon in honor of their grandmother.  The balloons floated up into the sun and I watched them until they were out of sight.  And I felt peace, and I know that I am exactly where I should be right now in my life.

Seasons

This week has been fairly routine.  Denny and Audra came over with the new baby, Ebben.  He is really adorable!  I wish you could have been home to see him.  We are hoping that they will be able to come and visit sometime over Christmas, as long as the weather isn't too bad for traveling.

I'm getting used to having only two kids left in the house, but both of them are so busy sometimes it's almost as if nobody lives here anymore.  I don't know if you know this or not, but, Brittany has pretty much taken over your room.  I think she likes the bigger bed, and having her own bathroom!  Did you know she started playing the piano again?  We bought her a Justin Bieber songbook, and she's been practicing much more now than she was before.

Tyler's been his usual self, I don't know who he takes after.  This morning we were without power because of the big wind storm, and when I told him to get out of bed, he said, "I can't get out of bed until I can take a shower.  I need to be fresh."  He is driving me crazy, yet he likes to tell me, "you're driving me to drink!" 

I think this weekend we'll finish cleaning out the basement.  We started this project last week and I felt kind of sad doing it.  I know you wanted to have the basement cleaned out for you and your friends.  Remember when you drew up plans and had furniture, TV, and rugs all drawn into your outline of the basement?  Well, we probably won't do anything like that even now.  We're just getting rid of all the things we should have gotten rid of years ago.  We've been able to play ping-pong down there now, so, we have a pretty good start on it.

See, life is pretty much routine this way.  Just getting ready for the snow to fly and for another long winter.  I do like living here where we have the change of seasons.  The change from fall to winter, then from winter to spring, really help me appreciate the days in between.  In a way, families also have seasons.  We had the season of being newlyweds with just the two of us, then we had "baby season," that changed to the long season of "kids", and now we're in "teen season."  I just hope it's a long way off before "granparent season!"  Ha-Ha!  Have a great week, Kayla!  I love you!

Slowly learning more about this Metropolis...

So many interesting stories and events transpired over the last 7 days here in the Twin Cities. Where do I start? Hm, well first, why didn't I go to school in Florida? I HATE Minneapolis weather and wind. As I walked to class last night at 3:45 pm AND this morning at 7:40 am, the sleet/rain/hail/snow pelted me from all angles and I thought, "How could this get worse?" Then, as if God was punishing me for those Facebook pictures Mom enjoyed looking at, a fierce and never-ending gust of wind blew my umbrella inside out, then back again multiple times, each time spraying me with the water that it was supposed to be protecting me from. I couldn't help but start to laugh, was this a joke? Needless to say, I looked like a insane homeless girl, hair whipping around fiercely in the wind, pretending to go to school with a broken umbrella. Sad. Screw you Minnesota weather. Screw you.

Saturday was spent waiting in line from 10 am to 3 pm to see someone very important speak. Yes, as the chalk that colored many of the sidewalks stated, "The President is Back." We saw Obama! We were in the presence of the President of the United States! I still don't think the reality of how rare this is for so many people has hit me. It's kinda cliche, but when he was delivering his speech I felt so uplifted and enlightened, another one of those "college revelation" moments. All I could think about was how lucky I was, that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I never would've experienced it if I wasn't here.

Sunday night. From Wisconsin, in Minnesota. Packers vs. Vikings, 7:20 pm. Me and 5 friends naively think, "Oh! No one else in the world will want to watch this huge rivalry game at a Buffalo Wild Wings! Let's go!" A 45 minute bus ride and a near-death street crossing later, we arrive at B-Dubs only to hear the host, dressed in nasty purple and yellow, tell us "There's no tables until after the game." Great. We trek AT LEAST 3 miles over hills and valleys, parking lots and road medians to arrive at an Applebees. (Not that there's an Applebees 10 yards from our dorm or anything...) We get the worst waitress who brings our appetizers AFTER our dinner. First half of game is a back-and-forth battle, lots of excitement. We want to try to make it home during halftime, but lo and behold, buses STOPPED RUNNING to the city we were in. We decide to suck up the fee to pay a cab, and call the service, who says they'll be there in 10 minutes. We pay our bill and go wait outside, keeping an eye on the game through the windows of Applebees. We watched the game in this manner for an hour. The cab never came. In the meantime, a group of pirates walk out of the restaurant next to us. "Are we in Saw?" "Do you wanna play a game?" (The picture sums up our waiting experience.) Finally, a friend comes to get us, and his car is running a half-an-inch below empty. 3 gas stations we stopped at were closed. Can't catch a break. We make it back to the dorm just in time to see the pass by Favre into the endzone, scream in horror, then (because you all know how the game turned out) cheer like maniacs. A series of unfortunate events, resulting in the most intense laughter any of us had experienced in a while.

OH! OH! Guess who made it back to campus from volunteering on Monday without hyperventilating in the middle of Minneapolis OR having a 19 minute phone convo with Dad at his office desk as he explains how to make it back to the dorm? BOOM! ME! Yes, that's right. I WILL get the hang of this, little by little. Next week my goal is to NOT utilize the city bus map I got, I looked like an idiot standing on the corner with this enormous map in front of me that covers more of my body than my Halloween costume.

What an eventful week, and this weekend I'm heading over to Madtown for this little holiday coming up. It'll probably be boring and I'll have nothing to report :)