so ross just called....

[2eclipse]

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

Comments

[ibukij.livejournal.com]

Coraline is opening Friday.

[rengetsu.livejournal.com]

Oohh i want to see Coraline, Slumdog Millionaire, and Gran Torino too. My parents saw Slumdog Millionaire and said it was great.

It's been so long since we went to the movies that I don't even remember the last movie we saw in the theater, lol.

[eltanin.livejournal.com]

I'm a transplant to MN - well, my family came here when I was 1, so I did grow up here – but I don't have the familial influence on my Minnesotan behavior.

Good-byes: Yes, they tend to linger. My family's good-byes are pretty fast. We don't dawdle. I rarely, rarely ever cry at good-bye. I've only cried at closing gate once at Ren Fest, and that was because a beloved cast member was being forced into retirement (more tears for injustice than anything).

Nice: wow did you peg that! There are some truly sincerely nice people, but they tend to get screwed by the back-stabby ones. I think I'm in the middle of that spectrum, and Chris and I are working hard at breaking our "minnesota nice" tendencies.

Cold: Oh, so true! After a week of sub-zero temps, 20 is balmy!! :) In the spring I usually go without a coat once it hits 40.

Spice: Also quite true, but that also has a lot to do with the ancestry in this state. A lot of Scandanavians - pretty far from the parts of the world that produce hot spices! I personally can handle really hot horseradish, but I'm a wimp when it comes to chilis :P

It's fun to get your perspective on the culture here, even though it's not always flattering!

[kurosawa2005.livejournal.com]

I am trying to catch all of those except for Twilight. Gran Turino was excellent, and I enjoyed that one quite a bit. Wrestler was a bit of a depressing movie, but very well acted. Nixon/Frost and Slumdog Millionaire are next on my to do list.