Minneapolis Monday - Do I Get Sick Days?

2007-06-25 - 10:26 a.m.

So, folks, here's the small problem:

I am not able to fight off small children. If we get into biowarfare, I will be the canary in the coalmine. I am the person who will need you to wash your hands if we're sharing food.

So if you can understand me here, I've had class five days a week and then Saturday's 6 hour lecture was followed by two family barbeques (family dynamics are fascinating, aren't they?) and drinks over at a friends (mine was water, I was already tired).

Sixteen hour days and many children running around with what looked like the plague wiped me out. I didn't get up until 11am on Sunday, and I went back to bed twice. Needless to say, I didn't leave the house and do the fun things we had planned. Let's hope next week finds fun!

Minneapolis Monday - Art en Plein Air

2007-06-18 - 3:59 p.m.

Well, it's been a week, but I promised there would always be a Minneapolis Monday, and I didn't want to break it up already.

This Saturday, I went to the Stone Arch Festival across the Mississippi River. It was fun. There were a ton of different artists, most local. There were the usual local foods (cheese curds, anyone?) and things like lemonade and ice cream.

I was a little disappointed, though. I was shocked to see how much people were charging. Honestly, I'm always forgetting who actually comes to these events (mostly yuppies and people who were previously yuppies), and that they have money. Some of the stuff was actually worth the money charged, don't get me wrong. I just don't feel comfortable spending money like that, even when it's to support an artist. Unless I know them. And nothing out there really called to me. Except for the free samples of food. And a free tote bag from Qwest, because we need that with all our shopping downtown (read: walking to and from store).

I might try another adventure in art shows again, but I have to say I was a little disappointed. Maybe I just expect too much.

**************

Other news:
1) I've started guitar lessons (Mr. Cactus, any advice?)
2) I'm taking a trip the second week (first half) to D.C.
3) The Boy is waiting to hear back from one of his interviewers in the next couple of hours. Wish us luck!

Minneapolis Monday - a Go Go

2007-06-11 - 10:10 a.m.

So I'm going to try and do something "Minneapolis" (or Minnesota) each week, and report back on Monday to what I've found this summer.

This week, I went to Improv a Go Go. It's reminiscent of Pittsburgh's Friday Nite Improv, because it costs $1, and also because it's an amalgamation of the city's improvvers. Improv a Go Go has a different bent, however. There are no volunteers from the audience (except for those important suggestions), and it's three different groups each week.

This week, the three groups were different levels of improv, though all the same style. I'm curious to see if this is the Twin Cities style of improv. Every city has it's own character and flavor to improvving. All were worth seeing on their own, though, so that's a good sign.

There's going to be an Improv Festival two weeks from now. I'm excited to see so much liveliness in improv, and I'm thinking of making improv a part of my life again.

So there's your First Minneapolis Monday!

Cyber Reunions

2007-06-10 - 12:20 p.m.

There is nothing quite as strange as going through old phone books when you're moving and deciding to google someone you haven't talked to in more than ten years. I did a bunch of this when I was going through our stuff for the move, because, well, you always have that sense of curiosity.

Sometimes, it leads to the predictable "hey, what's up? You're married? Me, too! We're essentially the same people we were."

Others, you find out more than you knew previously.

There were a lot of people I met during one of my visits to a theatre convention in high school. I'm still trying to find some of them (I know I bitch about my name, but people with generic names are IMPOSSIBLE to find). But I did find this one guy, and oddly enough, he's studying for the bar, too. Oh, and married.

And a Federalist (caps?). He writes on a federalist blog and everything.

So maybe you've noticed a slight liberal bent on this blog. Or you think it's super-super-liberal. That's the funny thing about politics. If you agree with the person, they're probably dead-center, right-on. If you disagree with the person, they're way out in left (or right) field.

I've talked about this before, but I have a hard time aligning myself with any political party. I have a lot of liberal and conservative values. I probably lean more left than right, but I also find that being religious makes my viewpoint different than a lot of the people I know on the left side of the fence. For starters, I don't think we should worry so much about a woman's right or punishment when she gets pregnant: we should worry about the welfare of the child (yep, I said it). This means helping the woman stay healthy and have the opportunities she needs to make the best decisions for herself and the child. Not punishing her for getting pregnant, because that doesn't help anyone.

In a similar vein, I think we should stop treating pregnancy and children as a disease. It's a medical condition, yes, and I'm glad for FMLA. But it's an amazing moment. It's a new person coming into this world, and each child should be a good thing, not a horrible burden. I think we lose a little bit of what makes us a worthwhile race (the human one) when we say to a woman who is going through turmoil: you're on your own, and it's going to be a matter of money and shame for you. You can "decide," it's your "choice," but choose abortion, and we can pretend this never happened. And because it's your "choice," you can live with it, day to day, wondering if you did the right thing and coping with that on your own.

I've had friends who have had abortions. Some of the women are very clinical about it, and worried that I would dislike them for being that way. Some were just plain freaked out and needed someone to talk to. If you're my friend, you're my friend. You made that choice for the reasons you had. I sincerely doubt there are many (if any) women getting an abortion for a political statement or to hurt their families and friends. And back to religion, mine says "judge not, lest ye be judged." I try to do my best on that one.

But this "issue" is one of the reasons the Boy and I want to adopt. There are kids out there that people don't want. Not the cute little babies, who also need homes, but the older kids who don't get the parents they deserve. If you believe life begins at conception, you sure as hell shouldn't believe it stops at birth.

Then there's that part of me that's not in tune with my own religion at all. I don't think there's anything wrong with being gay. Yep, I said that, too. I don't understand how a monogamous gay relationship is different from a monogamous straight relationship. I could get into it, but I think my viewpoint above is probably more surprising than this one.

Yet both of these viewpoints are from personal experiences more than my family or my religion or my friends telling me what to believe. I was more maleable in middle school and high school. But it was formative experiences that made me feel the way I am now. And I think if you don't decide to sign onto a particular bandwagon, it's how we all perceive things that make us think the way we do.

I ended up reading my friend's blog that he's linked to. It was interesting. Unsurprisingly, there were things I agreed with, and things I didn't. I was sorry to see how much hatred he had for liberals. But I also can understand that in law school: no matter what you are, you often find yourself being the only one that thinks what you think. And if you're leaning conservative in most law schools, yeah, you pretty much ARE the only person to think the way you think. That sort of isolationism makes it really hard to think of people who disagree with you as people.

I think law school was a weird time for me, because it made me realize one of the reasons I never had a strong group of friends that I felt comfortable with is because I could never tow a party line. I just don't feel comfortable nodding and agreeing. It feels wrong and dishonest. And I've lost friends who couldn't accept me for having different views than them. I've lost friends who had to show disrespect to me and my beliefs, as well, and that hurts a lot. But I still believe that respect and discourse (rather than screaming matches) might find a middle ground, and that the things we have in common outweigh the things we disagree on. It's the sense of fun and life, the sense of being kind to others and caring more about the whole than our individual selves that should forge friendships.

Dude, I sound like a hippie.

Different Time Different Place Same Result

2007-06-06 - 7:17 p.m.

So some of you think that I never really cry. And to others, I've cried more than I'd like to think about. In my sorority, I was known as someone who just did not cry. Around some of my guy friends, I've broken down once or twice. And since I've been with the Boy (nearly five years, ladies and gents), the need for tears has been a lot less.

So of course, this is an entry about crying.

There's this one song, "If You Were Here" by Poe. It's the last track on her "Haunted" album. Everytime, I just can't help breaking down. I think I've listened to the song about 50 times, and EVERYTIME I can't help it. You'd think I'd learn, but no. And I listened to it today (I just listen to the whole album) and got hit again. Dude.

In my defense, it's a song about how much Poe misses her dad and wishes he could see how much he meant to her. He died in the 90's of cancer. It's got clips of his tapes that he made for her when she was a kid and he was on trips for business, talking to her and telling her how much he misses her. And at this one point, her voice cracks as she singing, and EVERYTIME, I lose it. I think of my grandfather and how much he means to me, and how he'll never understand that... Waterworks.

(Really, this would be very useful if I were an actress for a film and needed to cry for a certain scene. I'd have no problem. Just queue the song, and action!)

Do any of you have that one thing that can set you off? I know the guys are probably too manly, but is there a song or a scene in a movie that makes you feel a certain way, no matter how you're feeling previously? Tell me! I am nosy...

So Sometimes I Make Sense

2007-06-02 - 8:04 a.m.

And sometimes I don't.

I was typing yesterday's entry when I was really excited, and I didn't apparently make much sense. So!

The Boy had an interview that went really well yesterday. They want him to start August 1. He needs to have his thesis defended by then, in their preference. However, his defense date is September 14th. Which totally sucks, since they JUST interviewed him. He could have brought up the date earlier, I think, if he had this in sight in March. Now, granted, he is already working really hard. But I think the motivation factor is always much better when there's a new beginning in sight.

So I hope I've described what's going on better. And if you have a chance, ask whomever you think is in charge for the department to decide the Boy is THAT awesome that they should find a way around their start date for him.

Well, it's that time of day where I figure out what I need to do for the rest of it. Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

Minneapolis Monday - DC Monday - 2007-08-06
Okay - 2007-08-02
The End is Here - 2007-07-26
Two Years - 2007-07-23
Screaming to a Halt - 2007-07-21

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