Around the World

2005-09-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

My Mind is not here

2005-02-21T07:07:00.000-08:00

I don't know where my mind has gone. But it is not here. Maybe it is still sleeping. I should still be sleeping. There is nothing like sleep to get rid of a blue funk, to avoid homework and to help you stay awake when you have to go to class much later. I should not have stayed up till after 2 am. But I did. Remarkably, I have remained awake all day. I think it was the black tea. I have discovered it to taste good and have caffiene. Works quite well since I cannot have coffee with icecream for a while. I found an interesting read online to keep myself amused during history. Most of my fellow blogonauts have entered a hiatus of writing. I have a new blogonaut friend. Hooray. But that sad part of it all is that I stayed awake for all of class and didn't miss anything. Atleast I don't think I did. Just another discussion about just another atheist philosopher. (Thanks for that observation, Jon.) Now in Morality, the teacher likes to talk. And I can blog. We are supposed to be doing a presentation right now. But he's talking, and killing class time, so I think I'll be ok with it. Somehow, I think Plato is not gonna have as much of an impact here as it did at TAC. I've gotten what I need out of it, and no one will get much out of this class either. Happy Plato and Aristotle reading day!

Rain in February?

2005-02-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

-It’s turned to snow now. Yesterday was nice weather. Colorado type weather. Warm, not windy, made inside feel stifling and hot, and windows were open all over. The fog moved in, and then the rain clouds. By the time I walked outside this morning, the ground was soaked and the rain continued all day. Sometime this evening, it turned to sleet, and now its snow. White, fluffy snow, coating everything, driving down through the glow of the streetlights and flies up your nose as you breathe in. Underneath all this white fluffy stuff is a layer of slush and water. It makes it fun for sliding around corners in your car, but sliding with the soles of your shoes isn't so easy. The snow is too wet, too heavy, and half the time it's not snow. If it cools down tonight, all the ice that forms will be fun in a bad way. But if it gets more snow and is all nice and fluffy, then snowboarding at Mt. Kato is going to be a grand adventure! We shall see. But it’s still odd to have seen rain in Minnesota in February, especially above all the dead brown grass and dwindling dirty snowdrifts.

In Minnesota They Play Broomball

2005-01-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

Broomball, dear children, is a wonderful sport involving a broom and a ball. It is played on a sheet of ice such as a hockey rink or a frozen pond. The point of the game is to hit the ball with the broom and make it go into the goal. Who ever does this the most wins. (Note - this game is nearly always played in teams, so the team with the most goals wins.) Regular brooms are preferred for this sport, though people have considered using push brooms and there are some that would argue the advantage to being able to shove the ball further ahead while running down the ice. They are also useful for goalies and defensemen trying to clear the ball out of the area in front of the net. However, push brooms are rather inefficient in closed quarters and crowded spaces, thus the regular broom prevails in most broomball games. They have made special shoes for broomball that have special suction cups on the bottom of them, making it easier to run and maintain balance on the ice, which become slipperier as the game goes on. Most people prefer not to wear these shoes or spend the money on them, and spend most of their time running and sliding and covering great distances quickly. The art of sliding, falling, and using the boards or other people to stop one's self is a skill highly valued in the game of broomball. Though broomball is not yet an accepted Olympic sport, many Minnesotans hope fervently that it will become one in the coming years. If it does, you can be assured that every member of the United States Olympic Broomball team will hail from a small town in Minnesota.

In Minnesota They Have Ice Storms

2005-01-08T15:08:00.000-08:00

Ice storms, my dear children, are atmospheric occurrences when ice sheets of varying sizes drop out of the sky and wreak havoc on the poor populations below. Minnesotans are dependant on ice storms to furnish the surfaces on which they play their favorite sports: Broomball and Ice Hockey. (No one in Minnesota figure skates; it’s not a real sport) Indeed, these fine creatures believe they have Mother Nature so well trained that she will never disobey, and will continually dump arena-sized sheets of ice into the same outdoor locations year after year. Why bother making your own ice, really, when the sky can just drop six months' supply into your outdoor arena? The problem arises when the ice doesn't fall where it is supposed to. As you can imagine, sheets of ice six inches thick and the size of an Olympic ice rink can cause quite a few problems and snarl traffic quite admirably. This, my friends, is why, when a Minnesotan complains about ice storms, you'd better listen closely and take them seriously!

Its Perfect Weather for Sailing

2004-12-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

I went to bed at 4 this morning. At that time, you could already hear the wind whipping around the end of the building which is our wing and shrieking into the first floor vortex under our window where it was held captive by the corner of the building. Silly me, I thought it would dissipate by morning. Waking up at noon, the wind had not abated, nor was it displaying any signs of doing so. According to the internet {hooray weatherbug?} wind speeds were around 20 mph with a wind chill factor of 19 degrees gusting at 38 mph. YEAH RIGHT! That's down in Mankato, 10 miles away, down hill, away from the junction of the two rivers, and in a calmer area. On top of this hill, {sorry, you can't convice me that this is the "edge of a valley"} gusts had to be in the 60's. My baggy JNCO pants threatened to act as sails sweeping me off my feet, balancing the lift of my unzipped vest that flared out behind me like a pair of wings. Getting out of a car was fun, well, requiring a lot of energy at least. I didn't even have to close the door behind me. Not to worry, it isn't so hard to walk in wind. A slight lean will compensate for any balance inequalities. Simply beware when turning corners. That's when you will fall over! This miserable weather has made many girls fearful of walking outside and across the parking lot to the Caf. So, what do my roommate and I do? We open all the windows and watch our posters pull away from the walls, our pictures bend in half, and our plants nearly uproot. We must be weather elementals! Running shrieking in the rain, slipping, sliding and taking pictures in the cold, and inviting the wind to come inside and play, we aren't your run of the mill beings. All I have to say is: Its fun! But I wouldn't want to live a life of it. I will be like the National Guard, on call to play with the most serious of weather.

Just Get Away for a Little While?

2004-12-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

The phrase of commercially influenced persons who begin to feel oppressed by their situation, "I need to get away from it all" causes warning signs to spring into the minds of psychiatrists and dollar signs to dance in the eyes of travel agents. Born of a generation constantly in motion and convinced of the possibility of buying one's happiness, escaping 'reality' seems to be the primary motivation in those actions of a person that deviate from the routine. This "need to get away" is also reminiscent of repression. Obviously being a modern trend, these tendencies and desires among humans bring fear to the heart of the less than casual. Will men eventually get to the point where nothing is faced up to, responsibility is taken for no situation, and diversion, vacation, and fiction are the primary pursuits of mankind? I, for one, would derive no pleasure from "having fun all the time." Yet how many do you know who would revel in a world in which the papers never had to be written, books never had to be read, alarms never had to be set for 8am, there was no drinking age, no driving age, plane tickets were free, and Margaritaville was an everyday place? Procrastination is like masturbation. In the end, you are only screwing yourself. Yeah, but its fun while it lasts. And what if it lasts forever?

Bir Bura

2004-11-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

I need a beer. Does anyone want to go to Munich with me this weekend? Oktoberfest is over, but they still have the best beer in the world. And dorm life, aside from depriving your from beer really makes you crave a tall glass of frothing weissbeer in a beer garden behind the Cathedral. Ahh, memories. I need a beer.

Proximity

2004-11-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

I have, Lucky Me, found a space in the close(er) freshman parking lot in which to station my poor car. I took all the bumper stickers off him yesterday. Unfortunately, it did not improve his temperament enough to convince him to allow the passenger door to be opened from the inside. I shall wait two days until I make the 15 minute walk to the parking lot, and then I shall escape to Mankato again! Mwah-ha-ha-ha. And this time, I shall remember to call the roommate and let her know I am avoiding her. Well, maybe I'll just tell her I won't be around... My travels now take me to the conjoined buildings, where I will study languages beneficial to me in voyages to other lands.

Ode to internet, outlets, and airport amenities.

2004-11-08T06:11:00.000-08:00

Airport security is not an amenity. It’s an extra, frivolous waste of my tax dollars. Yes, I do pay taxes, probably a lot more that most of you do. *It may be my college fund, but its still taxable!* Among all the useless things I give money to the government such as public education, FasTracks, Congressional salaries, the TSA is the most imbecilic of all. I can’t believe that millions of dollars are spend yearly to pay some grouchy redhead to tell me to take my shoes off. They cleared security in Minneapolis; I don’t see why I should have to take them off in Denver, where the security waits are much much longer. Grouchily, I am informed that metal is not the dangerous item being searched for. Well, what if I keep plastic explosive in my shoes to help my corns? On a more serious note, the forced and humiliating de-shoeing of the air travelers is reminiscent of the communal gymnastics performed by Japanese industrial workers or the entrance of holocaust victims into the concentration camps. The extended wait did not suit me well either. I would almost rather face the dangers of airborne explosions, terrorist attacks, and the like, than have to deal with security system that cannot maintain three simultaneous running lanes and effectively process a small line of people at a busy airport on a Sunday night.

On the bright side, I am filled with glee to find an outlet that is located near my gate so that I may plug in my laptop, and, with the aid of my slacks and collared shirt, proceed to use my laptop in that official looking manner of a business traveler. I am even more overjoyed to see that the man who was formerly using this outlet has finally boarded his Vancouver-bound flight and vacated the only chair near the outlet in which I am now sitting.

I would sing the praises of a Wi-Fi network in the Denver International Airport, but alas, it seems to be faulty. The AT&T wireless server refuses to assign me an IP address. Fine, I will move closer to the Red Carpet Club and try to latch on to the T-Mobile signal that emanates from their fine facility! None of my money is going to AT&T. That’s your problem, suckers!

Alas and alack! There are no outlets located near the Red Carpet Club and its elusive internet access.

In the Discovery Store

2004-11-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

I'm in my own little world!

2004-11-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

And its closing in on me!

Everyone's Dad Should be a Pilot

2004-10-31T23:29:00.000-08:00

You've all seen my "where in the world have I been" Map. (If you haven't scroll down to the bottom of this page.) I've been places. Granted, there are many people in the world who are more widely traveled than I am, but I don't need to join the army to see the world! My Dad is a pilot for good ole UAL. *Many prayers to the deity that they clear the bankruptcy courts soon and with flying colors. - Maybe without red though-* As such, he and his family get to fly free -standby space available- but free. And so, we got to see the world. Now that he's retired, our seniority is even better, and I get to enjoy it as long as I stay in college. Not only is that a good reason to be a super senior, it’s my Number 1 reason to stay in college. That's why I'm goin' home this weekend to catch the first snows of the season up in the good ole Rocky Mountains at some of Colorado's finest ski and snowboard resorts! Free flights baby! All the way! I've realized though, that some people don't travel as well or as much as I do. My roommate has never been out of the country. Some of the other girls in my section are amazed that I drove my car back from Colorado. Its only 14 hours. That’s not even how long it takes to get from here to Turkey or Italy. You just have to stay awake the whole time for it. One girl is scared of driving her car from South Dakota to Iowa in the summertime. The other girl from Colorado doesn't think she could do it alone... Its weird how so many people get their small mindedness ingrained into them and think nothing of it. At least they stay out of trouble, which is something I wish I could do more often. Speaking of all that- A lot of girls/women/college age people wish they could go to Europe. I've been there at least 5 times and I don't see why anyone would make it their hearts desire to go there {especially if they had to fly coach!} - Perhaps its cuz I've never seen Ireland- The water tastes bad. There is no traffic etiquette. Their cars are tiny. The public transit systems are dirty and over crowded. The streets and cities don't make sense. They don't speak our language, or any other civilized language. (Italian is the language of barbarians!) Everything is incredibly expensive, especially the bottled water. And since it’s so dang hot and they don't have air conditioning anywhere, you really want to drink the water, which tastes like oil and river water. Cheap lodging? Nice. Extensive public transit? Nice. Railroads going all over the place? Nice! Seeing a different culture? Nice. Buying beer out of vending machines? Very Nice! Pickpockets that make a living off American tourists? Not so nice! Ah well, it’s a tough world. You always want what you don't have. Right now, I'm wishing for a 4-day weekend or something. Enough to make the 7 hour drive down to Kansas and visit 2 friends and get back here on a decent amount of sleep. Or enough make the 14 hour drive to Wyoming and see another friend. I like traveling! Always gotta be in motion, this one. And now, the motion I'm gonna make is to bee-line it to my beautiful bunk and get a record five hours of sleep before class tomorrow.

Road Trip!

2004-10-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I drove my car from my home to my school. ~Now, I’ll have you know that I am accustomed to long drives, not having gone to school that is closer than 10 miles from my house since 6^th grade, but the Colorado-Minnesota trek was a little more taxing than the typical hour-long commute in Denver {by about 13 hours!}

By the time I arrived back in my dorm, I felt like a really tired zombie. One never really realizes how much effort goes into holding on to a steering wheel. The aching buttocks? -That can be understood… Sitting for 2 days is not so good for that which is sat upon. However, it is a little known fact that the steering wheel does nothing to support your arms, which are, of course, sticking straight out in front of you. Semi drivers have the right idea – putting the wheel down low and then resting your hands, on the giant wheel that is comfortably placed at knee level. I should be a semi driver when I grow up!

Another rant – Iowa! Speed limit: 65! What on earth were they thinking!?!?!? The whole dang nation drives 75mph, yet the state that is most boring, most empty, and most farming or small town oriented slows people down. Hello! It’s a huge fine if you drive your farm equipment on an Interstate Highway Anyways! Next time I drive across the country, South Dakota, here I come! Their speed limit is 75. And then I can add another state to that beautiful map I have posted below… How nice!

Dark and Light

2004-10-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

I admit it.... I did go over to the dark side... But I only went over to pick up a few things. I'm back now. Really!

Where I've been

2004-10-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen those magnetic maps on the backs of campers or RV's that show which states have been visited by that mobile home and its owner? Yes? No? Maybe so? Well, here it is: the human version: *Not that I am going to paste it on my forehead as a trophy of my travels... Though I do take pride in it!*

As you can tell, one side of the family is from the East Coast, the other is from the Upper Midwest, I have been to both Disneyworld and Disneyland, and I've practically driven across the whole country trying to get to college. Oh, and my Dad has a penchant for taking family vacations at least 500 miles away from home. When it all comes together, this is a representation of where the humble Village Idiot has been, at some point or other, in the Good Ole United States of America:

On a global scale, this is where I've been in the world. Yeah, I'm much better traveled if you only lokk at the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

And, as you can see, Europe is about the only place outside of North America to which I have been. Thus, I give you a map specific to my travels in Europe.

I had fun with this. It’s kinda a lighthearted type of amusement for the amateur traveler that doesn't require internet games or travel guides. Check out this awsome website and Try it for yourself if you like! *And no, I don't expect you to wear it on your for head, your camper or your own blog if you don't like!*