The Summer

I'm not sure how this summer is going to develop yet. I have a training session to go to this week, and then next Monday I start teaching my one section of Fundamentals of English. I need to find another part-time job to fill in the income gap, but I'm not sure where to go for that.

My class runs from June 2 to July 25, which means it ends the Friday after my 20 year high school reunion*. I don't know if I'll be able to go. I want to--it should be surreal--but I don't know if I can swing it, financially or logistically. I may not get a chance to visit Minnesota until August.

*This isn't causing me any trauma yet. I'm sure at some point it will, but so far no aging-related breakdowns. Just the usual ones.

To the Bone!

So, here I've been in Minnesota for four days, and I've managed to eat twice my weight in various Thanksgiving foodstuffs. I've even been bad and had turkey--that's right, I've eaten meat--and I will again tomorrow. But after that, probably not until next Thanksgiving, if then.

But tomorrow night (Saturday) Michele and I are going to Carbone's in Lakeville for pizza and beer. We have a few others interested in showing up, but here is an open invitation to all who may be interested in and capable of meeting us there. We're aiming to get there about seven, and we'll stay until ten or eleven. Can't stay too late--driving for twelve hours the next day, starting B'n'F'n E.

So, all those in favor say "Aye." Or just be there.

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.