1200 Miles

Jeff and I have traveled 1200 miles since Thursday. We've see three capitol cities, we've attended both a juggling festival and a pinewood derby. We were stopped by three different cops (all three without tickets, thankfully). We had some great time with old friends and met a couple new ones. It's been both an incredibly enjoyable and incredibly stressful weekend. I'm exhausted.

We left on Thursday for Springfield, IL, a city that neither of us has ever been to. We arrived late and headed out to a late night dinner with a student that Jeff had just met at a conference. We were out until after 11. The next day, after lunch with another new friend, Jeff had a meeting and I wandered around around the city. After the meeting, we headed out of town. This was at 4 p.m. We were supposed to be in Minneapolis the next morning, a drive of nine hours. With the exception of getting a little lost once or twice, most of the drive went fine. Most of it...

On Thursday we had been driving down to Springfield when we had missed a turn in the road. It was dark and we hadn't seen the signs. Jeff pulled over on the side of the road with the idea that when it was clear we would turn around. There was only one car that we had to wait for. Then the car pulled in behind us and turned on its flashing lights. When we explained to the officer what the issue was, he said we should just u-turn and be on our way. We thanked him profusely and headed out. On Friday night we were almost to the Minnesota border when we were stopped for going 6 over the speed limit. The officer sweetly gave us a warning. Not three minutes later we passed a car that also pulled a u-turn and flipped on his red and blues. This time we had been going the speed limit but Jeff had forgotten to turn off his brights and had blinded the poor cop. By this point we were shaken. Jeff was apologizing the moment the window was rolled down. The officer laughed at our poor blubbering selves and send us on our way. We finished the rest of the drive at or below the speed limit with the feeling that we were cursed.

We arrived at the hotel in Minneapolis at 2 a.m. and dropped into bed. I was out in seconds. The next morning we picked up our friend Josh and headed over to Mondo Jugglefest. We go every year and always have a blast. This year I didn't take any pictures but we still had a great time. We met our friends Lon, Lisa, Dan, and Lon's parents there. It was a bit more low-key than usual but still did a fair bit of juggling. And watched lots of great tricks. After that ended we introduced Josh to Ticket to Ride while waiting for Dan to rejoin us. We had dinner with the two of them and then spent the rest of the evening telling stories, laughing, and enjoying. At 1 a.m. we reluctantly headed back to the hotel. I don't remember the last time I laughed as hard or talked that much. Fun!

This morning Josh met us for breakfast at our favorite french bakery Chez Arnaud. The pastries and desserts are just as lovely as they are tasty. I had a fraisier which is made of layers of almond sponge cake mixed with cream and strawberries. Mmmm. I also picked up meringue cookies and some cream puff pastries without the cream. Then we headed north to watch Lon and Lisa's children participate in a pinewood derby. My brother was a scout but I'd somehow never attended one. We had fun and got to see Logan win Best in Show for his angry bird car. After lunch it was finally time to head home. After the terrible driving and long rides, four hours home didn't seem so bad. I'm exhausted but it was well worth every moment. A busy weekend but one I won't forget for a while.

Then I'm Happy and Sad For You

It's been an odd weekend. A really odd weekend. It's been a weekend of both extreme happiness and extreme sadness. I've laughed heartily and I've cried miserably, within hours of each other. I've had warm bear hugs that warmed my heart and I've had consolation hugs that offered comfort.

My weekend started on Friday much like so many of them do. I had taken a half-day so we could drive up to Minneapolis for a friend's birthday party. The half-day was more fortunate that I realized. At 11:30 my department was called into a meeting to say that our boss had been let go. Now this was not just a boss the way I've had bosses before. This was a friend. We were all in shock. Some of the department was going out for lunch, just to get out of the office. I called Jeff to see if he could pick me up a bit early. I sent my now former boss an email to see if he needed anything. Jeff came right at the perfect moment, just in time for me to start crying. The office won't be the same without him around.

The drive up was okay but I was still pretty upset. Once we got up there though I was distracted. There was dinner at a sub place with a good friend of ours before heading over to the birthday party. We saw a ton of  people that we only see twice or three times a year. So it was an evening of hugs, good conversation, plenty of food and friends, with some Rock Band thrown in. Jeff and I stayed late into the morning, finally leaving the party around 3, which is only about six hours after my bedtime. It was a great time.

The next morning my body woke me up at 8 a.m.. Stupid internal alarm clock. We had plans to take the birthday boy out for lunch. Partly to celebrate his big round number birthday (which will remain unnamed) but partly because the party had also been a going away party. He's moving south. I figured that this would be the last time I'd see him for quite a while so I wanted to squeeze as much time as I could out of the weekend. Lunch was filled with great conversation. When we walked out to the parking lot I was sad again. I gave him a long hug and a Take Care but there was so much more I would have like to say. While I know we'll keep in touch via emails and phone calls, it will be a while before we get to spend time in person. And I'll miss him.

My sadness was short lived though as we headed up to watch the Huskers destroy Minnesota. I'm not really a Huskers fan but we were actually surrounded by them as we watched the game. It's odd to be in a house in Minnesota rooting for them to be crushed. But root we did. And crush they did. We had a wonderful dinner with friends, talked about sports and babies and knitting, then we headed back to our friends house to watch the Cardinals game and talk. We talked about some tough subjects but they were amazing. Jeff and I slept in the kids rooms that night, so I can now say I've slept on Dora the Explorer sheets.

They woke us for breakfast of homemade french toast and the chance to go see a trapeze school do some flying. On Friday at the party we had met one of their friends who trapezes as a hobby. He invited us out. Jeff and I had planned to leave on Saturday but watching trapeze outdoors was too much to pass up. We stayed. But our times were off. We arrived after they had taken down the net for the season. No trapeze for us. Instead we gave hugs and headed home. It took us two extra hours. The poor kitty had licked her food bowl clean by the time we had gotten home. We had only expected to be gone 24 hours. I hadn't been home in almost 72. And it was a weekend filled with highs and lows. It went from one extreme to the other. And sometimes that's okay. I know that this will work out. It's just odd right now.

Why the Circus Has Been Spoiled for Me

This past weekend we went to Mondo Jugglefest up in St. Paul, MN. It's an annual tradition for us. We started going at the insistence of our friend Lon, who has been going almost since the beginning. It used to be in February, right around his birthday, which made for dicey traveling but we always went. About two years ago they moved it to April (thank god) and we find traveling much simpler. It's a great trip filled with great friends.

Our group, not juggling

Mondo is the reason that circus jugglers don't amaze me quite as much. The festival is filled with people trying out new tricks, showing off old tricks, and learning from each other. At any one time there are probably 800 things flying through the air. Not surprisingly, you have to sign a waiver just to be in the auditorium. I've been hit by so many IFOs (identified flying objects) I've lost track. A majority of them have been from my own hand sadly, but you spend some of the time on the look-out for juggling props.

I've seen hundreds of unusual tricks done at Mondo. I've seen people standing on other people's shoulders and passing clubs to each other. I've seen odd object juggling (imagine juggling a feather, a potted plant, and a toaster at the same time). Every year I find something that amazes me. The hard part is that now when I go to circuses or see street jugglers, I'm not quite as impressed. My poor mother tried to point me to a gentleman juggling clubs one evening. All I could think is that unless he's on a unicycle or standing on a balance board, clubs don't really count.

I can currently only juggle three balls and do some basic contact juggling. I would like to learn clubs as well. I don't put in the time to get good at any of them, but each time I go to Mondo I come away inspired. These things are learnable. I've seen them done.

Ranting

I have a rant that I simply have to get off my chest. It's from this weekend. Now first I should let you know that I had an amazing weekend. I headed up to Minneapolis for the annual juggling festival up there and had a ton of fun. I got together with friends for dinner on Friday night followed by some geek shopping at a games store. We ended the night with video games.

The next day we met more friends up at the juggling festival and I spent the whole day working on my contact juggling. I've picked up a passing trick but its still so rough that I'll have to work on it for a while before I'm ready to show anyone. After the festival and the raffle we headed back to our friends Lon and Lisa's house for dinner, good conversation, and more video games.

Sunday we headed out of town about 11 and had lunch with my brother and his family. They bought a new house in September and I had to admit that it was our first visit up to see the place. It was amazing. The decorating they have done is just perfect. My sister-in-law (and brother) have great taste. We ate lunch with them but most of the afternoon was spent climbing trees, playing card games, and just talking.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend. It was only spoiled by one thing. The one thing I have to rant about. The hotel. Jeff and I stay in the same hotel every time we go up there. This time was a bit different though. There was a convention of Minnesota Football Coaches at the hotel. I was a bit worried when we checked in but the concierge put us up on a private floor. You know the kind you have to swipe your key to get the elevator to take you to. Yeah, swanky. Except that when we came back on Friday night we were shocked, and a bit disheartened to see all three rooms adjacent to ours open with the coaches drinking beer in the hallway. Now normally I wouldn't have a problem with this, but it was nearly 1 in the morning. Gone was the idea of a quiet night.

I put in my earplugs and tried to get some sleep. No dice. My anxiety had already kicked in. About 1:30 they decided to head off to a different party (woohoo) but the damage had already been done. I lay in bed from 1:30 to 3:30 in the middle of a massive anxiety attack. From 3:30 to 5, I simply forgot how to fall asleep. The anxiety had passed, I was just too tired to sleep. I finally dropped off for about an hour and a half but was up again at 6:30. This time I just stayed up. I was exhausted on Saturday but still had a good time. It just makes me angry though.

My mother would shush us children in hotel hallways at 9 o'clock at night. "Be respectful, people may be trying to sleep." She'd say to keep us from running and yelling past rooms. It was the same in the morning. We were always taught to be aware of how our behavior affected other people. We were quiet to be nice to them. I'm slowly learning that a large portion of our population was never taught this valuable lesson in common courtesy. Jeff called the front desk one night on a group that were yelling to each other down the halls after getting home from the bars at 2 am. That one had woken me up from a sound sleep with earplugs in. Another night we called the desk about the room above us where the group was blaring some sort of thumping bass music and jumping on the beds. It sounded like a full marching band.

Perhaps I'm an old grouch. I certainly feel that way calling the desk to complain about my neighbors noise. I keep thinking that I'm too young to be bothered by this stuff. So I pack my earplugs and pray for a quiet night. But I'm beginning to wonder if this has nothing to do with age. And everything to do with respect. I was taught to be respectful of others sleep and piece of mind. I was taught not to disturb people. That was just common courtesy. Lately I'm wondering if I'm in the minority on that one.

So if you happen to be vacationing in a hotel, and you see a women walk past with earplugs in and a grim look on her face, know that it's me. And try to keep it down.

What Fools These Mortals Be

We're dealing with a blizzard. It's been snowing off and on since yesterday morning and it's escalated into a full blizzard. Many of the interstates and highways in the state are closed. The rest are Travel not Advised. I'm a home listening to the wind howl. I'm also contemplating my upcoming car repairs. The Corolla decided that today would be a great day to die. It's not been a good day. I could use some cheering up. Thank goodness this weekend was so much fun. The memories help.

Jeff and I headed out of town this past weekend to visit friends in Minneapolis. Two of our friends were performing in a version of Midsummer Night's Dream and we decided last minute to go up to see the show. Jeff dropped me off and picked me up from work on Friday and we headed out right at 5. The roads were good and we made fantastic time. We got there early enough to spend some time playing video games with our friend Jon until we were all too tired to keep our eyes open.


The next day we met the same friend for some breakfast at our favorite little diner in Uptown and then went shopping. We ended up in my new Mecca, a fantasy game store called The Source. As we were heading in I turned to Jeff and said, "You're probably going to want me to hand over my wallet." I could have spent most of my life savings in that store. I left with just a book and a business card. I'll be back.


After some shopping we met our friends Lon and Lisa for a quick but wonderful dinner. Then left just in time to meet more friends at the theater. I had been warned that the show was a bit of a different version of the Bard's tale. I didn't realize how different. I wish we had brought our camera. This was a show to remember.


Our friend Megan played Hermia, a lead role, and was just incredible. She sang, she wept, she got kissed. And she was fantastic. It was incredible to watch her up there. Our friend Josh played Snout, the Tinker. He got a ton of laughs and played the role with a constant smirk. It was a great role for him. The show was unconventional to the extreme. Helena was played by a drag queen. The faeries were goth dancers. And the ending is a surprise that even I wouldn't give away. Needless to say, this version wasn't exactly what Shakespeare had written. The performance was pitch perfect. I laughed so hard my face hurt by the end. Everyone played their roles well. I only wish I had gotten some pictures.


After the show we headed out for a drink or two with Jon and our friend Dan. It was nice to just get a chance to sit and relax. We told stories and talked until about 11 and then Jeff and I headed back to the hotel. The next morning (after being rudely awakened by a drunken wedding party that decided that hotel halls are for yelling) we headed home along the back roads. It was a great weekend, filled with friends. I loved the show and loved the chance to hang out. I sometimes wish we lived up North. Sometimes. Not today though. I'm not looking forward to all that snow tomorrow. Brrr.


PS. If you live up in the Twin Cities area, they will be performing Midsummers again this coming weekend. It is well worth the $5 admission.

Mondo

I'm still on one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. I'm still not back in the office today although I am home from Minneapolis and settling back into my routine. This weekend managed to recharge all my batteries along with inspire me. I can't say that very often about a weekend.

I had Friday off which is why today feels so incredibly luxurious. Four day weekends are great because they feel almost too long. For a moment this morning I thought that it was a workday. Jeff had class that morning then came home at noon and we managed to start heading out of town by 1. The drive up was quick and interesting. Jeff and I spent much of our early relationship traveling all over Iowa and the Midwest, so being in the car and just talking is rejuvenating for us. The four hour drive flew by and we managed to get up to the Cities just in time for dinner. We went to Mongos in Maple Grove, one of my favorite Mongolian BBQ restaurants, mostly because I can mix in brown rice with my veggies to make for a tasty and nutritious meal. After Mongos we grabbed some ice cream and headed over to a friend's house to play hours of Soul Caliber (wow, those are some interesting outfits!) and talk. The main attraction for Soul Caliber was to laugh at the outfits and the women's dimensions. Late that night our friend Dan joined us and we stayed until late talking and had a very nice time (Thanks Jon).

Early Morning Mondo

The next morning was Mondo (hmm Mongos, then Mondo). We arrived pretty early so the festival was still pretty quiet. That gave us the chance to talk and juggle and just relax. I worked on some three ball but most of the day was dedicated to contact juggling (think David Bowie in Labyrinth). As the hall filled in around 10:30, we were approached by a group of high school students on a field trip to the festival. I wish I had those kind of field trips when I was in school. They were interested in the contact juggling but fascinated with most of the other toys we had. Jeff spent almost all day teaching one of the girls to use the poi. Right before lunch, we ran into a contact juggler that had some of the coolest moves I've ever seen. This man was amazing. I posted a video of his work at the end of this post (I didn't ask so I hope that's okay with Cameron).

Lon and his brother Scott, passing clubs

At midday we headed out to lunch at Leeann Chin, a standard lunch spot on Mondo days. Then back to the festival for an afternoon of juggling practice and talking. The high school kids and Cameron found us again and spent most of the afternoon hanging out with our group. It was a ton of fun and when the raffle started (the end of the Saturday event) we were all a little bummed. But our disappointment was short lived. Our group managed to win five of the raffle drawings including a new spinning plate for Bob and a new set of clubs for Josh. Jeff even won some little things. We haven't had a good luck year like that in a while. After the raffle we went back to our friends Lon and Lisa's house for pizza and more talking. We ended up there until well after 1 am, playing Beatles Rock Band and Mario Cart.

The next morning we took our friend Josh out to brunch for allowing us to stay with him and about noon we headed out after a quick stop at Trader Joe's and some other shopping. We drove halfway and stopped in Albert Lea to see my older brother. We just hung out and talked with him, his wife, and the kids for a while. Mandy, my sister-in-law made us a fantastic dinner and we sat out on the back patio to eat. They live out in the country so it was so incredibly beautiful and quiet and relaxing. After dinner we went for a little hike on their land and about 7 we got back into the car and finally headed for home. The cat was excited to see us and although it was nice to spend the weekend with Josh, it was nice to sleep in our own bed last night. This morning I've been cleaning like a mad women. I'm so full of energy right now. The weekend inspired me to practice my juggling more. Now if only I had taken more pictures.

Cameron from Ohio, the amazing contact juggler.

{Edit: I'm not sure why the videos loaded the way they did. Rest assured, they do work, after a little buffering}

Winging My Way North

I am sitting over my lunch hour anxiously watching the clock. In three hours I will be heading out of the office for a physical therapy appointment. After that I'll have dinner with Jeff at our favorite Mongolian BBQ place and then I go home to pack. Tomorrow afternoon we'll be winging our way north. I have a four day weekend and am getting out of town for a convention. I'm incredibly excited.

Every year Jeff and I go to Minneapolis for the annual Mondo Juggling Fest. The festival offers jugglers a chance to get together, work on their tricks, learn new skills, and show off. Jeff and I can juggle three balls and Jeff has taught himself the basics of club juggling. My hope is to refine my contact juggling skills and learn how to pass. Jeff's balance board quickly became a group favorite last year. Although we have a ton of fun learning the juggling tricks, the big draw is seeing friends and spending the day just relaxing and hanging out. We have a great group of friends up in the Cities and love any chance we have of getting together. Other than one year when we were in Hawaii, Jeff and I have made the trek faithfully, sometimes through some pretty terrible weather.

This year I'm really excited that the convention is being held in April rather than the usual February. I'm excited to see friends. But I'm also excited to be getting out of town. Jeff and I typically travel heavily in the winter. This winter, because of my foot, we've been home and the cabin fever had started to kick in. We haven't been out of town since Christmas. I'm excited and it just seems like the hours aren't passing fast enough. So there will be no post tomorrow (I'll be on the road) and most likely no posts until Monday. Then I'll have lots of pictures for you. I'll even try to get some video of the unicycle hockey game that always starts up. Or some cool juggling trick I noticed. But mostly you'll get pictures of friends (some of which read this blog) who may or may not be doing some fun juggling.

If by any chance you happen to be in the area, stop by and check the festival out. The $5 entrance fee will get you a lot of cool juggling and unicycle tricks and some even better people watching.

Literate Cities

It's not fair!

One of the big parts of my job is looking at rankings of states and cities to create marketing pieces for the state of Iowa. It is one of my favorite parts of the job and I find myself seeking out other rankings in my free time.

So I found one just recently that really interested me. Central Connecticut State University produces a list of the Most Literate Cities in the country. The school uses six factors to create the ranking: booksellers per 10,000 population, education level, periodical publishers, newspaper circulation, libraries (holdings, number, govt spending...), and Internet resources. Since my goal is to live in a highly educated city, this ranking is right up my alley.

Here is the issue. Two of the cities on the list are cities that I should be living in. Minneapolis and St. Paul have made the list for the last 10 years (the number of years the ranking has been done). These two cities consistantly rank at the top for affordability and education. I have a large number of friends in The Cities and truly love the atmosphere. Of course there is a catch, there is always a catch. The snow and the winter would be terrible for me. I'm not a fan of cold and winter and snow. And they tend (note I say tend) to be worse than we are in terms of total inches and number of storms.

So it's not fair. I originally wanted to move to the cities but the older I get the more I resist the winters. I've blatently said that this is the furthest north I plan to go. But we have friends in The Cities who try to convince us to move up. I know that this is just more fodder for them. I keep planning to go south one of these years. Perhaps Atlanta. It made the list.

For those of you interested, here are the rest of the Top 10 for 2009.

1. Seattle, WA
2. Washington DC
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. Pittsburgh, PA
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Portland, OR
7. St. Paul, MN
8. Boston, MA
9. Cinncinati, OH
10. Denver, CO

Catching Up

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I last posted. The internet is finally back up at home and I'm crossing my fingers that it will stay up. Work has been insane lately. I'm still working long hours and not catching up. No chance to post there. But it's also been good. For the first time in a long time I'm really enjoying what I'm doing. Perhaps I just need to be crazy busy all the time for my job to be enjoyable. 

Jeff finished his first class and did really well. He seems to have a knack for the subject. And to really enjoy it. 

We were gone all weekend in Minneapolis which is why I didn't post then. Every year for Father's Day our friends host a Trench party. Trench is a variation of dodgeball but with the added excitement of having people both in front of you and behind you. The game starts out just like standard dodgeball. But if you are hit you go to the outside area around the opposite team. Your teammates can pass you the ball to try to get the other team out. So you have to watch on all sides.The guys play and the girls sit around and talk mostly. Here are some pictures from the trip. 

The beginning of the day. It was warm and breezy and absolutely perfect weather to sit outside. 

And the end of the day. All the guys are exhausted. 

We stayed with friends (thanks Lon and Lisa) and had an amazing time hanging out with them and their two children. I got to play Hide and Seek with the kids, did crafts, and played video games. It was a fantastic weekend. On Sunday they took us out to see our first Twins game. Jeff has always protested "baseball in a can" but the game was a lot of fun. Here's the stadium.

The Twins lost but our friends and their kids got to run the bases after the game. 

The drive home was terrible, absolutely miserable. We even ended up with a ticket. (completely justified sadly) I made it up to myself by taking Monday off. And now I'm finally back on track. And you are all caught up. A great weekend with just a minor bump. 

Here is a brief video of the guys playing. 

Finding my Balance

So I'm back home. I'm a day later than I expected and I'm exhausted but it was a fantastic weekend. Friday was a tough day and I had not time to write anything. In fact, I took a half day of work so we could get up north before the snow hit. My plan was to leave at noon....but as they say life is what happens while you're making other plans. I didn't get out of the office until 1:30. We got on the road and only the last fifty minutes of our drive was snowy and slow. It worked out well. 

We hung out and had dinner with a friend of Friday night (Thanks Josh!) and then woke up early for Mondo the next day. Juggling was fantastic. The festival is so much fun mostly because everyone just brings their toys and tries out new techniques. It is all about just making an attempt at things. I dropped regularly and no one even batted an eye. If you do something badly for long enough someone will walk by and try to teach you. It is just one of those festivals where you can publicly fail over and over and everything thinks it is great. We have a great group this year and everyone seemed to have a great time. 

The main toy this year was Jeff's Rola Bola. For those non jugglers out there, a Rola Bola is a thin piece of wood that balances on a PVC pipe. You stand on the board and try to balance. Almost everyone there tried it out. Here is one of our friends attempting to juggle clubs on the board. (Now you're going to have to buy one Lon) We saw a couple people take a tumble off it but mostly everyone tried. I actually got to the point where I was doing pretty well. I'm not at juggling on the board stage but I can stay up almost as long as I want. Sorry no pictures of me on the board. There is a video at the end of Jeff playing on someone else's board. It is made out of a door. (it was massive)

On Sunday we went over to our friends house for breakfast and ended up staying all day. The plan originally had been to leave after lunch and head home but we were having too good a time. We stayed and had dinner with them, and then played some WoW at their house. We finally left around midnight and drove about two hours south. We finished the drive this morning and made it home by noon. All in all, a great trip. Lots of juggling, lots of hanging out. 

MONDO

Of all the winter months, February is my favorite. I love that because it is so short, it feels like spring is just around the corner. March starts to get warmer here and February tends to move quick. I have two family birthdays in February (my little brother and my little sister). In general it's a good winter month which for me is saying a lot. Did I mention that I'm not a huge fan of winter?

But one of my favorite parts of February is Mondo. Every year (normally in February) the Mondo Jugglefest is held in Minneapolis at Concordia University. And snow or sleet we almost always seem to make it up. Jeff and I have been going to the convention for at least six years now. The first trip I managed to almost learn how to juggle. The friends we go with taught me with tennis balls, meaning that I chased them all over the convention floor. I was so sore that night that I couldn't move. By the next convention I could juggle three balls. Now I'm slowly working on club juggling and three ball passing. I don't practice all the time but I love that I'm able to do some basic stuff. 

The convention is pretty informal with a couple scheduled activities. There are jugglers, unicyclists, and yo-yo artists.They always play unicycle hockey and they always do either 7 or 8 ball endurance. There is always an auction. But most of the time we just stand around and learn new tricks from the people around us. If you want to learn there will always be a someone who will teach you. I am constantly amazed by all the tricks I see. The convention can occasionally pull in a big name in juggling like Vova Galchenko or Ivan Pecel. 

No matter what, every year we have a blast and I get incredibly excited about learning. I love that this is a place were failing is not a bad thing. It's just part of the learning process. I've always said that juggling is just learning to drop less. I'm sure I've dropped hundreds of thousands of times trying to learn to juggle. And this year I'll do even more dropping. And I may even learn to unicycle. 

Movin' on Up

First I have to tell you that I love the thought of moving. The actual process kind of tires me but I love the idea of moving. I enjoy looking at different jobs in different cities and then trying to figure out where I would live and what benefits the city would offer. I have spent hours on http://www.realtor.com/ looking at houses I will never even step foot into. I've spent tons of time on sites like http://www.city-data.com/ and http://www.bestplaces.net/ looking at cost comparisons and demographics for the cities. I have made plans to move to hundreds of different cities...but still have never left Des Moines.



The tough question is why? Why haven't I moved if I love the idea of it so much. There have been a lot of different reasons (family, job, house) but the main one seems to be that I haven't found the perfect town yet. All cities have their advantages and their flaws. The cities where the climate is perfect and the job market is growing tend to be expensive. The cheaper cities tend to be in cold climates or have high poverty rates. Yes you get what you pay for. I'm just trying to find one where I pay the right amount for what I get.



So after saying all of these things, why on god's green earth am I considering moving to the Twin Cities? It has all the things I dislike, high cost of living, cold winters, huge size, snow.... And that's where I run into problems. Other than repeating snow, ice, and cold over and over I can't think of anymore problems. Higher education rates, good group of friends already up there, lots of entertainment, beautiful surroundings, and a fantastic job possibility are all on my positives. And one thing that can't be quantified. I love the cities.



I have fallen in love with a couple different cities in the course of my life. These are places that I knew instantly I could live in. The Twin Cities were my first. My first very vivid trip there was at 12. And I decided then and there that I would live there. The feeling was only enhanced when I visited again at 16 and saw the place as an almost adult. It just felt like the right kind of energy for me. San Antonio was my second love. It is strange that I would live in San Antonio (high poverty) in a second but you couldn't pay me enough money to live in Dallas. Likewise I could live easily in Seattle but would not even look at a job in LA. I can't even begin to fathom why the thought of living in Kansas City makes me shudder but would be okay with St. Louis. And of course my dream city would be tropical, on the ocean, and well-educated. Then again my dream city would probably be unaffordable.



So why am I writing this? I have a position I want in the Twin Cities. It would be a dream job, challenging and interesting. Varied and unusual. And now I have to decide. Do I apply? Do I subject Jeff to the cold and snow that he hates? Do I live in the cities I love even if it means frustrating winters and possibly long commutes? Suddenly the prospect of moving is that much closer, and that much scarier.

{Edit}: My apologies to Em for this one. She had left me some beautiful comments. Such nice words and somehow I went and deleted them. Stupid computer. Emilie Thank you.

OOOOklahoma

As I mentioned earlier we went up to the cities to see a play. We have two friends doing community theater and the play was Oklahoma. Now I haven't seen this play in years, since high school and now I realize that my high school may have tamed down their version. It was a classic Rogers and Hammerstein but I forgot how dark the play was in parts. And how sexy. Naked pictures and about 12 on-stage kisses. Any play that can mix old french pornography with gunfire is an interesting thing. This was Jeff's first time seeing it...like most plays. (not much a theater guy)

First and foremost I have to say that it is a totally different experience seeing a play where you know people acting. You pay far more attention to minor characters and catch lines that may have passed you by before. If you're like me you spend a good chunk of time trying to grab semi-decent photos (at which I failed. Sorry guys only a couple came out). There was no flash photography and we didn't have the tripod out there. Most everything was blurry. 

Both of our friends did fabulously. Our friend Josh told us he had a couple lines, leading me to believe two or three. Not true, he had many lines and a singing line as well. All of them went great. He looked like he was having a lot of fun out there and even impressed me with his dancing. There were a ton of moves they had to learn. Our other friend Megan had only one spoken line and one singing line but she was dancing up a storm...on her torn ACL. Give the girl credit for getting her steps perfectly (and smiling the whole time) with an injury that would have sidelined most athletes. 

Here they are below. Josh is in orange and Megan is in purple. In the first shot Josh is a little tough to see. He's all the way in the back. 

Again most of my photos didn't turn out. Stupid no flash rule!! :-( But it was a ton of fun to see them out there dancing and acting. Makes me think that I should tryout for a show. Not likely but at least something to think about. There was only one equipment issue but I have to give the actors credit, they ad-libbed beautifully and the crowd found it funny instead of distressing. The theater group is Off Broadway Musical Theater for anyone who is interested. www.obmt.org. They put on a fun show with rather elaborate (and homemade) sets and every does a fantastic job of acting and singing. 

All in all it was a fantastic weekend. We had shopping at the Mall of America, Dave and Busters for games with some good friends, Dave and Busters again for drinks with more friends, swimming, visiting, dinner, and a show. A perfect weekend. 

Flooding and Fun

We escaped Des Moines this weekend to head up to Minneapolis for a trench party. What's trench you ask? Don't worry I'll get there. First though I have to add some of the pictures we took on the way there and the way back of flooding in the state. Now we took I-35 which hasn't seen as much flooding as the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area. So there are no pictures of building underwater. But there are a ton of pictures of what look like lakes until you see the fence tops or trees sticking out of them. Here are just a couple pictures to give you an idea. 

These were taken from the car, so sorry about the medians. I didn't really want to stop and gawk. This last picture is an image of my office building. This river is normally at least half this size. My building is just shortly after the Chinese pagoda. While leaving the office (in an voluntary evacuation) on Friday, I passed more police and state troopers than I have ever seen in one area, the national guard, and the Red Cross. It is a never a good sign if you have the Red Cross, CNN, and the National Guard in your city at the same time. And again we are still far better off than other places in the state. 

Even with all the flooding we had a fantastic weekend. Some good friends in Minneapolis invite us up every year for a trench party. Trench is a modified Dodgeball where after getting hit once the person goes to the "trench" (an area surrounding the other teams players). They can then hit the opposite teams players from behind or the side. If one of the players catches a ball thrown by the person in the trench they are out for the rest of the game and one of their players who was in the other trench gets to come back in. I know a little confusing but it makes sense once you see it. It also makes for a much more exciting game. We always end the evening with great food and video games and normally don't leave until late. Sorry guys. Here are a couple trench shots I took. 

We also started Saturday with breakfast with a friend and then the zoo. Jeff took some great videos and pictures of the animals that I might post later. My favorite is a video of a wolverine moving a huge tree branch. Some of the animals were active and it gave me a chance to see the outside portion of the zoo. I got burnt, again. But the trip was great, filled with plenty of friends. 

Forecasters don't know anything

Since we have started flooding I have kept a very close eye on the news. You do that when you are waiting to see if the waters will take out your car and office. So I have been reading the predictions about when and how the river will crest. I wish I could say that the forecasters have been accurate. But if that was the case I would have been home both yesterday and today. No flooding today. Worked a full day, with only minor street flooding outside the building. It was rising so fast that I was a little worried but no need. A half an hour later and the street was almost totally dry. 

Now they are saying that it will be Saturday for the crest and it will be almost a foot lower than expected. That is today. Give it a couple hours and they'll be predicting the end of the world. You have to love weathermen. The only people who can be wrong over 50% of the time and still keep their jobs. 

I went out today in bare feet with my jeans rolled up Tom Sawyer style and wandered in the wet grass by the house. Nothing makes you feel more like a kid than playing barefoot in the grass. I even got the cat to come play with me. 

We were out of town last weekend in St. Louis, enjoying 90 degree sunny days and visiting Jeff's family. We had a fantastic visit and got to see his brother off before they head to China for six months. I also got to see my little brother who took us to a fantastic bar/grill called Pat's for breakfast. Shockingly I didn't take advantage of the $2 Mimosas. It's amazing the effect that in-laws can have. 

This weekend we are heading into what appears to be the opposite. We head north, to Minneapolis. The weather there has been cool (70s) and rainy. We are supposed to go up to play trench, a modified dodgeball. Okay Jeff plays trench with the boys while the girls sit and talk and eat and watch the boys make fools of themselves. It's a wonderful time. Let's hope the weather holds. Okay lets be honest, lets hope the roads hold. They closed I-80 today east of us. I'm hoping that I-35 stays intact. And lets hope that Minneapolis is even a little drier. I'm tired of flooding.