geography update

So...guess I'm going to school in northern Michigan after all. To the third snowiest city in America. I had four other geographical/school choices:

1. humid swampland school

2. cold-and-far-from-home-wingnutland school

3. bleak-desert-border-town-across-the-river-from-the-current-winner-of-the-most-dangerous-city-in-the-world-contest school

4. southeastern-urban-sprawly-military-zone school

Most important factor in my decision: none of these places offered to pay my tuition. Northern Michigan did. So, off I go. To Northern Michigan. Seven hours from home, and a beautiful drive...WHEN THE ROADS AREN'T IMPASSABLE DUE TO WINTER CONDITIONS. waaah-waaaaaa-WAAA-AAAH. (That was a sad trombone, in case you were wondering.)

But seriously. I'm excited. I get to be a teacher and a writer for a while. And shit, I grew up in northern Minnesota, so I have the cajones for it.

northern michigan

So, I have two acceptances to graduate school: Northern Michigan and Central Florida. Guess which one I'm more excited about? I didn't even contact the Northern Michigan people after I received the letter, I just thought, "Of course I got in to Northern fucking Michigan." ...why did I even apply there?

But as time drags on, and I wait for my other applied-to grad schools to make their decisions, I start second-guessing myself, like "Hey! maybe I should give Northern Michigan a chance. Maybe I would be fine dealing with a place like Minnesota, only colder, grayer, and snowier." I head to their website, trying to convince myself it would be okay, and am greeted with the following photograph:





I do not go any further into the website. I make no clicks. This photo seals the deal. Or doesn't, as the case may be.

that's a good one

This article about Tiger Woods cracked my shit up:

A Simple Plan for Tiger Woods: Play Some Golf

disclaimer: I have never in my life thought about Tiger Woods until now, but still found this extraordinarily funny. It's very anti-golf.

addiction

My Craig Ferguson addiction has gotten to the point that I'm regularly late to work, which is due to oversleeping, which is due to watching his show every night until 12:30. And also, I feel a touch depressed when his show ends on Friday night, because I have a whole weekend to wait for my next fix. And also, I shush my husband if he ever talks while Craig Ferguson is talking. So...it's affecting my work performance, my moods, and my relationships. Intervention time?

Nope-rah

I sent in the following tip to Jezebel.com today:

Not sure how timely this is, but I caught part of the Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday, with many of the actors from NINE, and although it features multiple Academy Award winning and nominated women, a lot of the initial banter was about what a genius Daniel Day Lewis is. The similarly talented actresses on the stage did not seem to be getting much respect, much respect at all. The questions to the women were along the lines of, "So...Nicole Kidman, what's it like to be married to Keith Urban? Did you bring your baby to the set?" "So, Kate Hudson, you're dating A-Rod. What's that like?" "So, women, what's it like to work with the great Daniel Day Lewis?"

It was interesting, I thought. Also interesting is how all of these super-talented actresses are starring in this movie together, but the entire plot revolves around the male character.

today

I have a soft spot for songs that talk about the kind of day that the singer had (or will have). They always seem like a good omen to me.

In college, I would have a great day whenever I would start it with a song by Beck featuring the lyrics, "Today has been a fucked up day, today has been a fucked up day, today has been a fucked up day" with different intonations, repeated again and again. That song brought me such illogically good luck.

My current favorite is that Black Eyed Peas song where they say "I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night, that tonight’s gonna be a good night, that tonight’s gonna be a good good night." Love it! How could I not get behind that sentiment? And it hasn't failed me yet...every time I hear that song, it's a good night.

The one that started it all, though, was "Today," by the Smashing Pumpkins. "Today is the greatest, day I've ever known, can't wait for tomorrow, I might not have that long..." So Buddhist, isn't it? The Smashing Pumpkins were my number one favorites when I was sixteen and miserable and not fitting in with the kids in the small town where I grew up. I would listen to this song before and after school and feel better. It also has the line "I'll tear my heart out, before I get out." Boy, did I love that. Boy, did that speak to my depressed, teenaged, stuck-in-a-small-town self. I read somewhere that Billy Corgan wrote that song when he was suicidal, which makes a lot of sense. You're in a dark place, and you write a song about deciding to keep living, and it helps other people through the same kind of shit. Not that I was suicidal, but the song helped pull me through bad feelings, day after fucked up day. And now, fifteen years later, I find myself in the city, with some fun friends, and lots of good omens about tonight being a good good night.

baseball!

Miracle of all miracles: on a whim, I checked the Twins website on Monday night to see if any tickets had become available to last night's playoff game. It was a few minutes to midnight when I checked, and I was told that they were sold out and sent to an online "waiting room." Then, at midnight, the screen changed, and I was whisked away to a page that produced two $27 tickets in the first row of the upper deck, on the third base line. We frantically typed in credit card information, and were even able to use the remaining $18 of a gift card toward the price. We got the tickets! and were at last night's game...scoring a spot in our usual parking lot, despite the absolute parking-related mayhem downtown, getting to the Dome with a few minutes to spare and not missing a thing.

The game was *magic* - that two-run Cabrera homerun? What the hell, man? Who is this guy? Every time he's come up to bat for the past month, I've looked over at my husband and said, Will Ferrell-style, "He's electric right now." He really is! I just read that he's taken whatever team he's on to the play-offs in four of the past six years. At one point, the ball boy was running over to get a stray ball, and Cabrera held him off and got it himself...he helped the ball boy out! Who does that?

And that twelfth inning...goosebumps galore. I love that Casilla and Gomez got to be the heroes, after such a rough year for both of them.

When it ended, after about ten minutes of applause and screaming, Cuddyer stood facing the crowd, and pointed out at us and clapped. Cabrera did a very theatrical double-bow. Punto was running around slapping the hands of every fan he could touch...it was just absolute magic. So many great photos of the night, too:

Carlos Gomez: airborne.


Joe Mauer: adorable.


Orlando Cabrera: airborne.



I love baseball. I love the Twins. That is all.