Sunday, October 07, 2007

I Guess I Am

My almost-brother Hammer posted a list of sayings connected to those who may be Minnesotan. Here are those I could relate to:
  • You measure distance in minutes.
  • Down south to you means Iowa.
  • 75% of your graduating class went to the University of Minnesota.
  • People from other states love to hear you say words with O's in them.
  • You hate Fargo but realize that a lot of your family has that accent. (A lot.)
  • You assume when you say "Twin Cities" people know to where you're referring.
  • You know what uff-da means and how to use it properly. (Hello? I'm 75% Scandahoovian)
  • You know that when it comes to AM, there is only WCCO; besides, what else do you need?
  • Everyone you know has a cabin.
  • You are proud that your state makes the national news 96 nights each year because International Falls is the coldest spot in the nation.
  • You have refused to buy something because it's too "spendy." (Greg loves that one)
  • Your local Dairy Queen is closed from December through February.
  • You instinctively walk like a penguin for three months out of the year.
  • Someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there.
  • You know more than one person that has hit a deer. (Who has hit a deer would be the correct way to say this. Sorry.)
  • Your dad's sun tan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead. (My dad's sun tan stopped in 1988. Again, sorry.)
  • You have apologized to a telemarketer.
  • You may not have actually eaten it, but you have heard of Lutefisk. (Again: Hello? I'm 75% Scandahoovian)
  • You know what Mille Lacs is and how to spell it.
  • Nothing gets you madder than seeing a Green Bay sticker on a Minnesota car. (I wouldn't say nothing, but . . . very little.)
  • You have worn shorts and a parka at the same time.
  • Your town has an equal number of bars and churches.
  • You know how to say Wayzata, Mahtomedi, and Shakopee.
  • You always believed that vacation meant "going up north." (Only because we rarely had vacations.)
  • You call highways freeways.
  • Your town has an annual festival honoring a fruit, vegetable, or ethnic food.

I just heard of a corresponding list for living in Oklahoma. I'll report it soon.

3 comments:

Anskov said...

Jason: I saw your comment on my blog. I am not sure if you knew but I took inspiration from you and have been living vegetarian for the last 2 1/2 weeks. My vow is to not eat meat until Thanksgiving day when I run the 5K Thanksgiving day race and then chow down on turkey.

Indian food is a great way to insure you get a lot of protein. I would suggest suvir's first book "Indian Home Cooking" - it's a great collection of recipes from all over India. He also has some recipes listed on his website: www.suvir.com. The biggest key to getting the flavor right I found was to locate fresh curry leaves. We Westerners always think of curry as powder - that too strong mix of spices that was the haphazard invention of the Brits during colonization. If you have an Indian grocery store in your town (some general asian groceries may carry them too) go out and buy them - they have an amazing aroma and add so much to the cooking.

Let me know how it goes for you.

Jess said...

Ha. I love these regional lists. Did you ever see this one? I posted it back in the day (on the old--and moronic--grad school blog):

http://jesssmith.blogspot.com/2006/04/i-love-buffalostumbled-on-these.html

Jason said...

Matt-
I'll check that book out. How's the new plan working for you? I hope it helps on the marathon.

Jess-
That's a funny list. I'm glad the weird stuff is explained, because without that I'd be lost.