so ross just called....

to tell me that our power is out.
good thing we have a fireplace! it is also dependent on electricity to keep the valve open, but it will take D batteries when there is a power outage. i am so glad we got the most efficient model. it keeps our upstairs VERY warm.
ross is hoping to get the mantle finished this weekend.

also good thing it went out AFTER my alarm went off and i got to work...i really need to take measures about putting batteries in my alarm clock.

i am very happy today, mostly because i found out this morning that jonathan coulton is coming to play in the twin cities at the end of the month. i've been wanting to see him forever. i am VERY excited.

going to the gym yesterday didn't happen because my work-out clothes were all in the dryer. need to plan better about these things. so i will go today because yesterday i missed my class and went to the grocery store and made chicken with creole rice and eggplant parmesan. it is an interesting thing to me. i have found that i get cranky when i have to think about what what i want for lunch at the last minute. i really resent paying for my lunch every day so i have become very dependant on having leftovers around to take to work. having extra food around so that i don't HAVE to cook makes me very happy.

it occurs to me that minnesotans have different definitions of a LOT of words. their standards are just different. a minnesota goodbye is one that takes an hour....and then another half-hour in the driveway. minnesota nice is nice and welcoming and helpful to your face, but can backstab when you aren't looking or keep you at a distance.
i'm thinking we need a few more of these:'
minnesota cold: this seems to me 20 degrees or lower. temperatures above this, even though they may be below freezing, tend to get thought of as "chilly" or even "nice" after a month or so below 0.
minnesota spicy: something other than ketchup or salt in your food. not that there aren't a few exceptional minnesotans out there craving more, but in my experience most minnesotans simply can't take the heat.
any other suggestions?

also i am REALLY craving to see a movie in the theater just now.
things i want to see (half of which are probably already gone)
twilight
gran torino
nixon/frost
coraline
the reader
the wrestler
slumdog millionaire

Viva le National Inquisition!

i simply cannot express
how happy i am that the national inquisition is once again at large.

see there's this guy named allan piper, who some of you may remember from high school. allan is, in the simplest terms, a genious in every way. he re-wrote hamlet in the style of dr. seuss as a one-act play in high school. he and i took vocal lessons from the same teacher and he always had these AWESOME songs....like the hippopotamus song from flanders and swann.
and he wrote and produced the national inquisition, a zine with WAY more wit and imagination and saavy political humor than anyone has any right to at age 17/18. allan made up interviews to find out exactly what bo knows, cast baby crocodiles in the guise of soviet coup members, critiqued bush and clinton policies and came up with a yearly fall fashion feature. it was brilliantly funny. i still have a copy of the originals from 1991/1992.

read it. enjoy it. love it.