things that are making me happy

i love me some movies. and i love that i know at least 50% of these:



and i think i've seen at least 2/3 of those. are there really 270, though? that seems like a lot. thats a joke, right? how many did you get? how many have you seen?

thanks gawker.

dream apartment - 52

a few months ago, i told my roommate that we should have big chairs in our house - the kind that make you feel really really little. kind of like this. but bigger. that would be awe-SOME. in fact, i might make that a goal for 2011: sit in a really big chair that makes me feel like alice in wonderland. where can i find some??

i love you the best

well it appears i am officially stuck in fargo. its wednesday and i have two more days of working at my parents house since i can't get back to boston. originally, i was rescheduled to fly back to boston on thursday night. now, there is apparently a storm in the dakotas on thursday and potentially friday. it might even start today. who knows? anyway, i called delta to avoid the storm (which is moving to the east - ergo, over minneapolis when i'm trying to go there). plus, remember that i need all these stupid miles before the end of the year. so, now i am going from fargo to salt lake city on friday morning and then flying from there to boston landing around 5pm on friday. i actually kind of prefer this whole thing because 1) i am flying less and 2) i'll be in boston on friday night. i have plans to do absolutely NOTHING, but that alone sounds really fun. it'll be a busy week next week and the week after, i am going to be in columbus.

so, assuming i actually get out of fargo on friday morning (fingers crossed, knock on wood), everything should work out in the end. but we'll see...

anyway, here is some nodak news for your enjoyment.

• i heard about this movie called prairie love making its world debut at sundance. here is the trailer. apparently it was filmed in why not, minot, where i was born. looks intriguing, eh?
  

Prairie Love trailer from Dusty Bias on Vimeo.

• apparently north dakota is #4 in the rankings of states where home prices have increased in the past year. for all the others, check this out.
• its also a state with one of the lowest divorce rates (MA was numero uno, which kind of surprised me)
  
• this article is about how there are lots of jobs in nodak, but not enough places to live. ironic, eh?
• seems like nodak is diversifying and making it attractive to incorporate your business here. im actually not sure how i feel about that because of this...
  
• don't read this story if you're afraid of the "s" word, but if you're not, its excellent to explain why the bank of north dakota is doing so well. and there is a clip from michael moore's video, as well
• on the same note as above, this article also discusses the bank of nodak, which is doing quite well. thats a good article to explain how it all works
  
• and here is the final article explaining about the bank

ok, enough about that. i have to get back to work.

[song by jonny lang since he's from nodak]

things not really making me so happy

for one, this blizzard:

December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

that hit the east coast last night and today. it is preventing me from getting home to boston. sure, i'm always glad to have more time in fargo, but i have a CRAPLOAD of stuff to do at work, in boston, and in general and this is kind of screwing up my plans. as of right now (mon evening), i am scheduled to fly back to boston on thurs evening at 5pm (the same flights i would've been on tonight). they originally wanted to have me leave fargo at 11am on thur and get to boston at 7pm, which is all fine and dandy for getting in to boston early, BUT it means i would miss a day of work. even working from home is better than commuting all day, so i asked to take the later flight. now i'm wondering if that was a good decision or not because... it turns out that i have to fly to salt lake city (SLC) on friday morning at 5:55am. this is after i land in bos at 10:51pm the night before. the flight to slc is my last mileage run EVER because i've decided they suck and just waste time, money, and gas. (but also i'm hoping i'll just fly a lot more for work next year and not have to do them ever again.)

anyway, this whole thing bums me out because 1) i don't get to be in boston very much at all and 2) i was supposed to meet my little sister this week. now i have to reschedule it for monday, which sucks because next week is super dooper busy at work. the week after that i am in ohio and the week after that i might be in california. time is just flying by much too quickly.

and that is not making me happy. there isnt enough time in the day

driving the last spike

sigh... christmas is over. and its kind of sad. today is monday and i am supposed to go back to boston tonight. i am about 45.8% sure that i will actually make it home tonight and thus am feeling lackadaisical about my day. i have sooo much to do - work, christmas cards, pack, exchange gifts, etc. and if i knew for total sure that i would be leaving, i would jump out of bed and get going. but i'm not positive and i'm tired. so i'm kind of like.... eh... just laying here. oh and i am meeting people for lunch, too. and i have to buy chippers for my coworkers. lots of stuff going on.

i was going to write more, but i actually do have to get up and get going. so, instead, i'll put this article that in-forum tweeted last week:

North Dakota sees population jump to near historic level, Minnesota sees even bigger jump

Published: December 21, 2010 10:52:37 AM CST

North Dakota’s population jumped nearly 5 percent in the last decade – resulting in the most residents the state has seen in eight decades.

North Dakota had a population of 672,591 people as of April 1, according to 2010 Census data revealed this morning.

That’s up from 642,200 people 10 years ago.

North Dakota hasn’t had a population this high since the 1930 Census when the state had 680,845 residents.

Despite the growth, North Dakota still ranks among the least populous states in the country, showing the third fewest number of residents, the U.S. Census bureau reported.

Wyoming and Vermont showed the lowest populations of any state.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s population continued to grow as it has for many decades.

The Census Bureau recorded a statewide population of 5,303,925 people as of April 1 – up 7.8 percent since 2000, when the population was 4,919,479.

Starting in February, census data will be released on specific communities, even down to the street-level.

For more on this story, read Wednesday’s Forum.

so there you have it. writing more in a day or two from...?

things that are making me happy

so this video made me laugh



i love steve martin (he's just like my dad) and he's so fun you just want to be friends with him. and it made me smile.

state of mind

so some genius made this video. its been around the interwebs for a while, but thought i would put it up so i can have a copy of it in the future. i LOVE it because i can relate to 95.7% of it. the other 4.3% is new since i graduated from northeastern in 2004. but the rest is spot on. feel free to ask me for stories sometime. and despite having some bad feelings about nu, i'm starting to get over them and want to be involved again. maybe i'll take some classes or go see some old professors. hmm... good idea.



do you keep in touch with any of your profs from college?

hot fun in the summer sun

so after our fun weekend in florida over thanksgiving, my mom mentioned that maybe next year for xmas the family (the 6 of us) will just go somewhere for a week and rent a house together and spend time together instead of doing the big christmas exchange gifts thing. i think this is a FABULOUS idea. i imagine we'll stay stateside, but in case we want to go somewhere tropical, thought i would link to this site which has some great pictures of island oasises. oaisees? hmm..

ah crap. now i can't remember which place this is. i think st. maarten. i've never been but it looks fabulous. i'd love to go somewhere to get some more stamps in my passport...

and i've actually been to this island: aruba. its nice, and i'd go again, but no need if i don't have to...


i'll have to remember to look at these pics in a few months when the winter doldrums have taken over. but until then, i'm happy for the snow. oh! today (as i'm writing this not when you'll read it) was the first time i have seen snow this school year. love it. AND when i breathed out, i could see my breath. memories...

but re: the islands... what place do you want to go to most?

i see you drivin' round town with the girl i love...

i have a headache. and i need a drink. not sure that those two things should be mixed, but it feels appropriate right now.

despite all sane objections, i am flying today (mon, dec 20). and not to fargo. in fact, i left fargo during my long-awaited winter trip home to take a RIDICULOUS trip from fargo to minneapolis to milwaukee to atlanta to san diego. tomorrow i am meant to fly from san diego through salt lake back to fargo. i am doing this silly trip because i am so so so so close to getting gold status on delta. it only seemed natural to take advantage of ALL of the stupid flying i have done this year to actually make it worthwhile in the future.

here are the benefits that i get by getting better status.

i don't even know if they're worthwhile! i sure hope so. i've become a point whore and rewards are addicting and feed my addiction. its horrible!

holy crap. i just looked at my account online and i need 8,258 miles before the end of the year. my crazy-ass flight from far to msp to mil to atl to san was going to give me something like 4,000 miles alone. then i have the return flight to far for another 2,000 miles and then i'm flying to salt lake on new years eve for the day so that i can go hang out (i've never been and then i'll just have 4 more states to go to!) for the day before returning home. that nets me about 4,000 miles. i just checked the delta website and it *should* equal 8,292 miles. wow. that would be amazing if i just barely make gold status. i'm gonna have to still call to make sure it happens. otherwise, i would then be
not
someone
you
want
to
talk
to.

here is a picture of me on the flight.
i needed a mirror so photo booth worked just fine. i should start doing that. take a picture of myself on all my flights. we can tell how bored i am by them. i'm slightly exhausted and wondering just how crazy i am.

oh! actually, i have this video saved that i keep meaning to watch about frequent fliers...

oh my gosh. that is HILARIOUS. that is exactly me right now. and all the people around me.

thanks to upgradetravelbetter for the link. i can totally relate. and i have WAY MORE miles to do than that guy!

crap. i think i'm getting sick. i have a drippy nose. and the woman behind me keeps coughing. NOT GOOD. see, this is why this whole flying thing is stupid. and its soo not green. i try really hard to be a green person. this is actually really really bad for the environment. at least i'm being forced to read and do stuff online. otherwise i'd just be home socializing, drinking, or watching tv. remind me of these things the next time i come up with a stupid idea like this. oh, and for those of you doing stupid things like me, here is a link to an article to get the most out of your miles.

things that are making me happy

so i totally LOVE this song by cee lo. this is the unedited version (parental warning!) because i think its better than the "forget you" version. but if you watch the video, its not mean, its cute and sweet and its a really awesome r&b song.


i didn't add this cd to my xmas list, but i obviously should have... what do you think?

dream apartment - 51

bibliophile? me? i don't think so... BUT... this is pretty amazing.

no title

NEVER in my life have i had difficulty falling asleep on a plane. i am not asleep right now and it is making me very very very very very very irritable. i've had less than 3 hours of sleep am on my way to my family christmas and am very tired. this is not making me happy. i may just flip. oh and its cold. oh so cold. and i normally dont MIND being cold. ugh. i'm so upset right now. the kid next to me keeps nudging me. i finally told him we had to figure out a way to share the arm rest. he took his arm off of it and i was like, you can use the armrest, just dont go PAST the arm rest. armrest or arm rest? i guess armrest works. anyway, then he is taking up my foot space! AND this kid isn't even that tall or big. UGH.

but thats not all. the woman behind me keeps KICKING MY CHAIR. i mean, how old are you?? i have turned around 30 times to catch her eye and say something but she's busy reading her book. i'm about to spend about 40 hrs on a plane in the next 2 weeks and now, all of a sudden, i am not looking forward to it.

oA;LIJWE;OAIN;WOIA;OWIJEF;IW;ICDI;;WHTNFV8PU;AFIHW;

thats me being upset. i need to sleep. i'm going to try after i finish this.

so last night i was busy after work, then i went to borders to buy some gifts for my family. kc and the sunshine band came over to help/watch us (read: ryan) make a long island iced tea cake. higgi was in the middle of making 3 different types of cookies. i hadn't eaten dinner (it was after 9pm) so i grabbed a burger from down the street (skip it, next time) and had some cookies, as well. we attempted to watch players game a little bit. homie was there - actually drove JUST for it - so that was cool. it also meant he wasnt sending me updates, but i guess he could've.... hmmm... anyway, at 1130 i said i had to excuse myself because i had to pack. kc left and i was soooo tired. i went to bed but of course i didnt go to sleep right away. i think i was asleep by 1215. and less than 3 hours later my alarm went off. i had to rush pack, shower, and get to the airport. it was a rush but i did it. and i was planning to get at least 3 hours of sleep on the plane. but i'm too cold. and people keep bumping me. and i'm cranky.

things that are making me happy

i think i've written before that i love the movie newsies. my friend from high school, emily, and i have loved this movie since 4th grade or something like that. 7th maybe? anyway, i LOVE spot collins and this is the reason why i have known christian bale YEARS before batman and the machinist. oh and the guy from doogie howser is in it (not nph).



thanks buzzsugar for the reminder!

things that are making me happy

i find this product hilarious. and necessary. but not at all. the site i found it on titled it "because drinking from a wine glass is way classier than drinking from a bottle." which i mostly agree with. i don't agree in reference to champagne mini bottles. in france they're called "pop" bottles, but because of the sound not anything to do with midwestern soda pop. i bet this thing has a lip, though. thats not super cool.

would you drink from this??

dream apartment - 50

so don't get me wrong - i don't actually love this couch... i prefer couches with soft arm rests so i can lay my head and i don't love the green flower/tree/live thing print, BUT i DO love the idea of a couch/sofa at the end of the bed. whats the difference between a couch and a sofa? and i think my dream apartment would have to have a bedroom big enough for a couch at the end. or maybe a hope chest. i do have one of those from my gma - my grandpa gave it to her for their 35th anniversary. its very nice. hmm... now i wonder what i should do. what do you think? other options here.

jenny was a friend of mine

so as i'm writing this i'm watching diggnation. i'm a few weeks behind, admittedly. oops. i've been busy. anyway, they reshowed an episode when jimmy fallon was on and every time i see this clip or watch him on his show (which isn't often), i just think "he's really cool. i wish we were friends!" and that has to be a cool trait to have. for people to just see you and think "he/she would be AWESOME to hang out with." i'm pretty sure no one thinks that when they pass me on the street. i'm ok with that.

anyway, other people who i think this of include:
hmm... who do i think would be a cool friend? (aside from my actual friends, of course)

...


...


...

OK. i guess i don't think that of a lot of people. or at least off the top of my head. oh wait! i thought of one. kevin spacey. yep. i'm sure you are all aware of this, and thats ok. i love me some spacey. in fact, last weekend when i was in dallas... wait, back story: so, in my family, we love movies, and whenever we go to movies together, after a preview, we give a thumbs up or thumbs down to indicate if we are would watch the movie or not. so, when w and i went to see a movie and a preview for kevin spacey's new movie came on, before i even saw the preview, i put a thumbs up. w laughed. she put it down because i was obvi judging it on the actor not the story. get it? its funny. ha ha. ok. i've had a bit to drink as i write this. it was super funny to me.

oh right! theres another person i really want to be friends with. she rides my bus and is always super coiffed and well-dressed. she's got grey hair, so i'm guessing she's in her 40s or 50s. she is a trendy dresser and every time i see her, i tell my roommate that i'm going to talk to her. he is deathly afraid that i will scare this woman and force her to get a ... what are those things called? ... lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll oops. didn't know i was holding a key down. restraining order! that's it. she must live around me because i see her on the bus. but now that i think about it. ... i haven't seen her in like 3+ months. hmmm.... i hope everything is ok. i'm not going to go talk to her, but i saw her at cvs once (its on the bus route) and i wanted to casually talk to her and invite her over for some drinks, but i didn't. i don't want to scare anyone, of course.

who else?

as an aside, i'm on a us airways flight from dallas to phili. not impressed. the flight attendant is ... ok. he was giving me a bunch of wine, but he seems not super happy to be here. ok, fine. maybe you're having a bad day. the main issues include 1) there is no internet. i've been flying delta a lot and its becoming a standard issue for me. you will probably read this HOURS after i write it which is just so... old-school. and 2) i'm in first class because i don't fly us air anymore and wanted to use my miles. and a) the first class seats aren't as big and b) ... there was something else that annoyed me. i can't remember it now. overall, not impressed with us air. BUT i DO like it more than united. united is def my least favorite airline right now. just an fyi.

oh c) you can't get in and out of the window first class seat without the aisle person getting up. i think you can on delta. ergo, less room.

oh! chelsea handler. yes, i think she would be fun to hang out with. she might make fun of me, but she has a lot of great connections and would be really funny. i think. maybe not... oh and jon stewart. fo shizzle.

ok. flight is ending and i have to shut down. who would you want to be friends with?

[by the killers]

inner smile

AWESOME weekend. i will most likely post this later, but am writing it on sunday afternoon and had such a fun time this weekend. except for one thing which i just remembered: i didn't get any pics of my bf from college and i. oops. she has one, but good luck getting it from her... :)

anyway, w moved to dallas last summer for work and i've been promising to go visit since she went, BUT we all know that any time before now, i would probably have melted. so it kind of worked out when she had a weekend free up and i needed to use miles on my us air account (or risk losing them) before dec 31. so i used up 37,000 miles for a 24 hour trip. i left saturday at 10am and got to dallas at 3:50. my brother told me that bill simmons was in dallas signing autographs for his book, but we just didn't have time to go. sorry, homie. w picked me up and we went back to her place to take inventory. even though she moved in july, she hadn't fully unpacked and when we planned my trip, i promised to help her unpack and organize everything. we figured out what she needed in her apt (bookshelves, things to hang art, actual art, etc) and headed out. we went to target and best buy and tuesday morning and found a really cool painting thats kind of a little sexy. after dropping everything off, we headed out for dinner at this cute mexican place (obvi - its texas!) and then went to this cool independant theater to see black swan. you can take it or leave it if you want. i had high expectations and was kind of like... eh... BUT we got a bottle of wine that we drank during the movie and that was fun.

we got home around 11:45 and agreed to work on her apt until 2am. i gave whitnee a bunch of tasks and then started on organizing things myself. i was good ol' tired around 2, so i went to bed. woke up around 8:30 and we went to starbucks which is in her apt building and then showered and did some more organizing and cleaning of her place. we then left for downtown to go to brunch. this was the only disappointing part of the trip - we went to a mexican place that has $1 mimosas and... they sucked. apparently it was common to have bottomless mimosas in dallas and then some govt agency shook their finger so now they're all $1. and $1 it was not worth. i asked the waiter if maybe they had used old prosecco or something and the guy explained that it wasn't as bubbly because they added orange juice to it. we were like, "no shit, sherlock." but what we really said was "yes, we've had mimosas before." little does he know we are the QUEENS of mimosas. they were flat and he goes on to tell us that when they make the batch of mimosas, they use all brand-new open bottles of bubbly. that solved it. they premixed a BATCH of mimosas. you dont do that. thats sacrilege. so he gave us a free one, which, to be honest, we all know i'm not going to pass up, but they are bad. we then got a FLUTE of margaritas. which was awesome. 5 different glasses of diff kinds of margaritas. that almost made up for the bad mimosas. almost.

after brunch, we went to the dallas museum of art. i have free entry because i'm a member of the mfa which gives me reciprocity to 13 or 23 different museums around the country. i explain my free entry to the person at the front desk and she's like "oh, i've never heard of that. i'm a volunteer" and she takes my card and says "oh yes, it says dallas museum of art" and gives me a free entry band. then i say "well, its for two" and she's like "oh, you're right." and hands whitnee a band. i look on the back of the card and, of course, there's nothing written about dallas museum of art. sah-weet! i mean, i really do get free entry, but maybe i can use that at other museums, too...

anyway, we cruised through some exhibits because the flute of ritas took a bit long, so we had to hustle to the airport. it was a nice museum with a rothko and some pollack (not dissimilar to the mfa in boston) and some african masks that we spent a bit of time in. (the exhibit, not in the actual masks. can you imagine if i was IN masks at a museum?? they would probably kick me out permanently.) then we cruise to the airport and i hope on my flight to phili in first class. boom boom pow. nice. so, overall, awesome weekend.

[song by the group texas]

cupid's chokehold

luckily, i'm spending 9 days at home over the holidays. usually, i go home for xmas and stay through new years (my most hated holiday EVER), but this year, due to work, i'm heading home BEFORE xmas and back in boston on the 27th. kind of weird, but i guess it'll be ok. oh crap. this reminds me i have a TON of xmas shopping to do... anyway, this year will also be different because the past 2 years, i have been "living" in fargo so all of my stuff has been there and i had plenty of time to just BE in fargo. not this year. it'll go quickly. AND now a new wrinkle: i am sooo close to getting gold status on delta. i am thinking of trying to find a place to fly while i am home for xmas so that i can get some extra miles to make it... i might call delta this week and see how that would all work out. i think i have 4,000 miles to travel before dec 31 (besides already booked travel). where should i go?

speaking of delta, i'm really enjoying them lately. all the people are always friendly, they're helpful, and they keep upgrading me. right now i'm on a flight and i wasn't upgraded, but i'm in an exit row without a seat in front of me. then the guy in the seat diagonal in front of me is super big, so the girl who was sitting next to me couldn't see the tv, so she moved. so i have my own aisle, too! i guess that doesnt really have anything to do with delta, but i am feeling a lot of love towards them lately. and here is an article about how they're upping all the technology for their flights. LOVE it. whats your favorite airline?

anyway, i love the holidays. and winter. and just going outside and being cold and then going inside and taking a warm shower or getting under dozens of blankets and drinking a warm drink. love it. the holidays were always happy for me. oh! but this is NOT making me happy. this link here says that santa clause conquers the martians is one of the worst holiday movies!! gasp! i LOVED that video growing up. it was so good. have you seen it? what did you think? i agree with all the other decisions, i think.

also, this is frustrating to me - netflix is now blocking some of the special features when you rent a dvd because they want people to buy the dvds instead of renting them. crap! i do like watching the special features, but mostly i like having the subtitles (specifically when i'm watching a foreign film, but also so i could put french subs on so that i can read along with it).

on the other hand, this site seems pretty cool - you can add subtitles to any video online. pretty cool.

i wasn't planning for this to become a random blog, but now that it has, here is one more comment on the interwebs... there is an article about this woman (19 year old - is that a woman?) who is in love with serial killers. so, obviously i am interested in reading this article. well, don't fret dear friends and family. this girl is CRAZY. i will admit i'm interested in writing to someone locked up because i want to understand his/her mind, but i have no desire to help them or become engaged to them. if you want to read more about it here, check it out. and i have no complex to try and change them.

oh, final bit of randomness. one of my favorite tv shows, chuck, is going to be having a mini-marathon on nbc on dec 27. you should TOTALLY check it out. to get you prepped for that, here is a fun chuck video.

things that are making me happy

so i'm in the air as i write this. and its the holidays. and i love the holidays. i love love love love christmas. and i don't even mind (knock on wood) getting stuck when i'm flying. as long as i get there. for some reason i obviously equate those two things together. one of my favorite things is holiday decorations. i'd say christmas decorations, but i dont really know what's "christmas" vs. just "holiday." at our holiday party last weekend, my roommate said "can we have just holiday music and not christmas music?" and i was like, "umm...." because i have NO IDEA what would be one thing and not the other. i am really without religion. for me, christmas isn't about christ. its about decorations, being nice, giving gifts, snow, being with family, etc. nothing symbolic or religious for me.

so, ramble ramble ramble. holiday decorations are making me happy. and i LOVE this idea:
how CUTE is that?? and so creative! and i'm pretty sure higgi would HATE it. haha. it makes me want to do it in our apartment, but don't worry - i WONT. maybe in my room. probably not. no time. orrr... maybe i do it in april or something. yes. THAT is a good idea. here are some other "creative" xmas ideas...

dream apartment - 49

love love LOVE bathtubs. this is pretty cool. its form + function. and no more getting your bottles all soap scummy and being in the way and knocking them down and all that jazz. such a great idea! and i like that its not enclosed. sigh. this makes me want to take a bath. i haven't had one since... i have no idea when. our bathtub is not nice enough to have a bath. i should look into this...

press play

last weekend was a big weekend for my little brother, player. he was named northern sun intercollegiate conference player of the week - you can read the full link here. he scored

there is an article on his school's site, as well. i'll paste the words here in case they take it down.

December 6, 2010

Erdmann Named NSIC Player of the Week

	Eric Erdmann

Burnsville, MN - For the third time in his University of Mary playing career, Eric Erdmann is the Northern Sun Men's Basketball Player of the Week. The senior forward earned this week's award by the conference after leading the Marauders in scoring back to back nights as U-Mary split their NSIC opening weekend series.

Erdmann averaged 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals in the two games.

The two-time All-NSIC performer opened the weekend with 25 points and eight rebounds in an 84-81 overtime win over St. Cloud State. He was 2-of-3 behind the arc, hit all five free throw attempts and added two steals.

The following night, Erdmann scored a season-high 28 points and added seven rebounds in a 70-67 loss to Concordia University-St. Paul. He also had four steals.

The 53 points Erdmann scored over the weekend pushes his career total to 1,294 in 91 games.

For the season, Erdmann is averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Previously Erdmann won the award in Dec. 2007, after leading the Marauders to an upset of then-#8 St. Cloud State and January 2010.

here are highlights from the first game on friday night


they lost their second game on saturday night, BUT player scored 28 points. check out those highlights here:



AND THEN... to top it all off, the fargo forum ran an article on my littlest brother. sports writer eric peterson called my bro to chat and then wrote an article about him! i'm also pasting that article but know that i did not write it...

Published December 08 2010

Peterson: Erdmann tearing up the NSIC at Mary

Eric Erdmann is healthier and that isn’t a good thing for the rest of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

By: Eric Peterson, INFORUM

Eric Erdmann is healthier and that isn’t a good thing for the rest of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The former Fargo North standout is coming off one of his best NSIC men’s basketball weekends with the University of Mary. Erdmann scored 25 points in an overtime win against

St. Cloud State on Friday and followed that with a season-high 28 points in a loss against Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday. That effort earned him league player of the week honors.

“You can just tell he is a senior out there,” Marauders head coach Randall Herbst said. “He has a lot of confidence in his game. He’s a tough matchup.”

Erdmann is two years removed from a medical redshirt season in which he played two games because of plantar fasciitis and a bad shoulder. While he rebounded with a strong campaign last winter (16.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game), helping the Marauders to an unexpected rise to the top half of the NSIC, he feels even stronger this year.

This past offseason he was able to work on improving his game instead of rehabbing injuries like he had to in the previous offseason.

“This is healthiest I’ve felt since my freshman year,” said Erdmann, who is averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game through six contests. “No aches and pains with my shoulder and my feet. Last year, I had a problem with my Achilles so that kept me out of practices, too. ... This year, I was able to take the whole offseason to get better and I did.”

Herbst said the 6-foot-5 Erdmann is hard to guard because of his versatility. Put a taller defender on Erdmann and he can take his game to the perimeter and hit shots. Put a smaller and quicker defender on Erdmann and he can score in the paint.

“He is so skilled,” Herbst said.

Erdmann ranks No. 8 on Mary’s all-time scoring list with 1,294 points in 91 career games. He has helped the program turn the corner over his five years. In his first three years with the team, the Marauders won nine, eight and seven games. Last season, Mary won 15 games and finished fifth in the NSIC.

The Marauders (5-1, 1-1 NSIC) are halfway to double digits win through six games this season.

“Right now our program is on the way up,” Erdmann said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence right now. You always want to be part of that group that turns the program around.”

Herbst feels Erdmann has fed off the team success.

“I think the expectations that have been placed on the program have added a little jump in our step and he’s got it,” Herbst said.

Erdmann said the togetherness of this group has also helped him flourish this season. The Marauders return seven players from last season, including six seniors.

“We know the system and how to play with each other. Right now it’s team chemistry,” Erdmann said. “We know when people are going to cut and how people are going to get open.”

Erdmann along with lightning-quick senior point guard Anthony Moody has given the Marauders a potent 1-2 scoring punch. The NSIC newcomer of the year last season, Moody leads the team with 18.5 points per game.

“It doesn’t hurt him any that we have Anthony Moody,” Herbst said. “You can’t stop them both. Pick your poison.”

---

Readers can reach Forum reporter Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513.

how cool is all that??

dream apartment - 48

when we were in florida... a few weeks ago? last week? i can't remember... whenever that was... we stayed in a condo area that had houses with mini pools in them. we didn't really understand why you'd want a mini pool, and they were fenced in (i can only imagine to keep the gators out), but i CAN imagine wanting this type of pool above... from here.

tweet it

i think my little brothers are fabulous. they're fun people and everyone should want to hang out with them (but i should get to decide who actually GETS to hang out with them). a few weekends ago, we had a fun twitter exchange and it really made me laugh, so i am pasting it here for you all.

first, a bit of background: i haven't twittered in a long time. hmm... i think thats all i have to say for background, and you probably could've figured that out anyway.

so to begin, my brother player twittered the following and then homie got into it and i had to jump in, as well.

ErdyNorth

Scarlett Johansson... I am single

ErdySouth

@ErdyNorth you're not gay?

ErdyNorth

@ErdySouth Contrary to popular belief, I am not gay.

ErdySouth

@ErdyNorth my bad... I thought I heard something about you and @Hassie

ErdyNorth

@ErdySouth I hope @hassie didn't tell you anything... It was suppose to be a secret.

spaceygrl

Supposed! With a d!

ErdySouth

And @spaceygrl has awoken from her twitter slumber

ErdyNorth

@spaceygrl has lost her tweeting abilities. You should have made that a reply to me. Now people just think you're saying random things

spaceygrl Danielle Erdmann

I can't let the erdys be so egregious with their twattery

ErdyNorth

@spaceygrl yes I had to look up egregious

ErdySouth

@ErdyNorth I had to ask my wife and she said "I don't think it's good"

ErdyNorth

@ErdySouth that is correct. It is not good. "extraordinary in some bad way"

spaceygrl

I am wearing a moustache. True story

ErdyNorth

@spaceygrl twitpic! Twitpic! Twitpic!

and i was wearing a moustache, and here is the pic of it. its a long story but here is the short version: i went to a bar that would only let you in if you were wearing a moustache. so i wore a moustache.
i think i look good with it.

the other night, my friend bubby mentioned he doesn't really "get" twitter. so here is a video for him and ya'll to enjoy. it totally explains it not at all.

rock the party

oh my goodness. i absolutely adore my friends. last night was my holiday party. or, rather, our holiday party. higgi and i had people over from 4pm on until 2pm. i originally sent the invite out saying start at 5. i knew higgi wanted to have an early night because he's super busy with the last week of classes and i was leaving for california for work (i'm on a plane as i write this), but i secretly could not imagine my friends leaving before 11pm. the party started earlier than we expected, because some of higgis coworkers were going to come early because 1) they had kids and 2) had other parties to go to. so we told some people to come at 4pm and then i called my dear friends chris and kelly to come early, as well. they brought santa claude and it ended up that higgis coworkers did not come until after 5. it worked out well because, as always, higgi and i were super behind in party planning. higgi is a fabulous cook/chef, so he was busy in the kitchen. i made salsa (which was DELISH and now i am going to make it all the time bcs it was so easy) and homemade peanut butter cups. oh, i also made vin chaud which was also delish. i might just start making some for me at night during the winter. its so good and warm and makes your tummy feel all nice and stuff.

anyway, i made my 3 things and higgi was working on his 33 things. if it weren't for him, our party would've had cut veggies and frozen foods from trader joes. but no, we had homemade EVERYTHING: spanikopita, flatbread pizza type things, scones, almond joy pie, homemade pizza, pita chips, (store bought) hummus, and some other stuff that i can't remember. i didn't really eat much of anything nor did i drink much. i would've expected to drink tons, but i think overall i just had like 3 glasses of wine. which is funny.

chris, kelly and claude came over and i entertained while higgi cooked. eventually his coworkers with children (3 kids under the age of 5) came. i played with them and it was fun. they like to run around. a lot.

i'd say the party was in full swing around 7 or 8. overall there were only 20-25 people at most. and they weren't all there at the same time. around 10pm, everyone wanted ryan to make the pizzas and he wanted the kitchen alone, so my friend shad who came from vermont with his boyfriend came up with this idea of a running charades game. we divided into 2 teams of 7 or so and everyone went upstairs - my team was crammed in my bedroom and the other team was in the hall by the front door. kelly was charades master sitting downstairs. she made 2 lists of the same charades and each team would get one card and then when the team guessed it, whoever guessed it would run downstairs to get the next clue. whichever team finished all the clues first would win. what would they win? no idea, but they would win. so we were playing and it was fun, but some people weren't into it. our team ended up giving up because we got really behind and everyone wanted more drinks. that was my first time ever playing charades.

eventually, the majority of people left and just my favorite people were left. or at least all my friends that i adore adore adore. chris and kelly were there and bubby and the ring and shad and abbott. and higgi and me! it was a fabulous group of 8. we played the celebrity game and then taboo (which i love!) and then i kicked everyone out. literally, i kicked them out around 2 because i was super tired.

so back to my friends. kelly is a social butterfly and can talk to anyone. she always has an interesting story to tell. chris is more quiet but always has a different way of looking at things and is uber smart. he always makes me laugh. bubby is always so endearing and has fun no matter what. he has this great laugh that makes everyone smile. mr. ring is so sweet and always concerned with doing the right thing. shad i've known the longest. 15+ years. and we've gone in and out of keeping in touch and he has so much energy its contagious. i've only met abbott a few times, but i LOVE the way that he takes over in taboo and brought me a bag of lip gloss and always gives me hugs whenever he sees me. oh! and he compliments me ALL THE TIME. so sweet! and then there's higgi. we've known each other the 2nd longest and we make a great pair. he's a fabulous cook and puts up with me and he's just fantastic. i had so much fun, the 8 of us at the end of the night. then today, all of us but chris and kelly went for brunch at gaslight. i'll just say a few things so you get the idea:

1. we got there at 1230 and i left before everyone else at 3:15 to pack for my trip
2. higgi's sister was our server
3. after our initial drinks, we ordered 2 bottles of bubbly
4. the restaurant stopped seating people near us and put them in the room they prefer to close after the lunch rush

it was one of those days. and i rushed home to pack and i still have NO IDEA if i brought everything that i need for the week. none. absolutely no clue. i hope so. oh! and i should apologize for higgi because i left a massive mess from the party last night and he cleaned it all up. thanks babe.

so was your weekend as fun as mine?

[song by george clinton & the p-funk allstars]

in the air tonight

For some reason, my days are just not going as I plan anymore. I've been super busy at work and that means what I plan for the evening often doesn't pan out. For example, yesterday, higgi suggested we leave early to get groceries and alcohol and start prepping for our party tonight. I guess I said I'd try, but I only remember keeping it in the back of my mind as a goal. Of course, it didn't happen. I think I left work sometime after 6. Not cool on a Friday night. I met higgi and we walked to cvs where they didn't have napkins or plastic cups. We dropped stuff at home then headed to the grocery store. We were even forced to go quickly since they closed at 9. We got goodies for tonight then stopped at the liquor store on the way home. 14 bottles of wine, a case of beer, and a handle of jack and we were home. It was 930 and players game started at 9. Apparently I missed a dunk and 7 other points. Shucks.

The game was pretty awesome, though. It went into overtime and the good guys were victorious. Player had the most points at 25. That's awesome. But the game ended at 1130 or something. I stayed by the computer listening to the post game, but of course I fell asleep. I had planned to start laundry and take a shower last night. D'oh! So now I have to add that to my list for today. We have people coming over at 4 so I will most likely miss players game tonight. Homie said hed text me updates, so that's good.

Thought I'd put some pictures of some gators I became friends with last weekend in flo rida. I could see myself having a pet gator. Kind of like sonny on miami vice. But without the white leisure suits.

and because i LOVE miami vice (especially the movie which NO ONE likes, apparently), here is a video for you:
(and no, i'm not in a bad mood right now! just LOVE this movie. but, yes, generally when i leave a video i'm in a bad mood or super busy)



watching that video makes me want to be a double agent in some underworld. i should do that.

[AWESOME song by phil collins. duh]

suggestions?

things have been UBER busy for me lately. and thats a good thing. i LOVE being busy and stressed out of my mind. it keeps me going. monday, my flight was delayed and i got home from florida. since i missed a day of work, i've been super busy there. i've been trying to finish the first girl with the... book and i just did that the other day. woo hoo! i have to catch up on dvr. oooo. i think there's a new i love money on my dvr. woot woot! probably won't get to that for a few weeks, so dont tell me who won! i hope its mindy. pun is a cocky mo fo. and i can't remember the other person so they dont deserve to win. or are there 2? hmm... anyway, one night i had a bad day at work and went home and my friend kelly wanted to go out for a drink, so i did that on the spur of notice. that was good. i need to be more social. last night i went shopping and decorated my apartment because ... dum dum dum... we're having a holiday party tomorrow night! if you're reading this, you're invited. and because of that, i have to get alcohol, food, and a skirt or something festive to wear. we might rearrange the furniture, too. and i have to pack for my trip - sunday i leave for california until friday at which point i am in town for all of 8 hours before i fly to dallas for one night. it should be pretty quiet the week before xmas and then i fly to fargo on the 18th. crazy times!

so party planning. i want to make homemade peanut butter cups because they are DELISH. BUT... i don't know where to get chocolate almond bark in boston. i literally can NOT find it. anyone know of a good substitute?

...ok i just looked online and i see that it might be the same as baking chocolate. hmm... well thats good news, i guess! not sure what else we're going to serve. i should figure that out. ha. any suggestions? what do you like to see at holiday parties? maybe a homemade salsa? i think i could be ok at making that... (lets just be clear - i'm not making chips, those i would buy) i feel like we need red and green food. or silver and blue which are actually my preferred christmas colors. :)

what else? oh right. so i hope there is dancing at my party. not necessarily right away, but eventually. my friends like to dance. oh crap. i just realized i need to come up with a playlist of music. hmm.... any suggestions for that? i'll start with some holiday music and then some dance music. so i read this funny thing about a high school prom and the dance moves that are not allowed. yep, you read that right. check it out here or here:

No straddling legs
No bending over while dancing
No front to back
grinding
No moshing
No "making out" (no overt and/or prolonged public
displays of affection)
No crowd surfing
Hands on waists or shoulders

this makes me think that i need to go buy some balloons for my party so that everyone can dance with balloons between them. this is how my holiday party is going to look:

none of this crazy stuff!

oh, kids these days...

breaking up the girl

groan. i'm not looking forward to work today. bleh. i've kind of been put off by a few things lately and then yesterday was just annoying combined with the fact that someone stole my amazon package, i'm just not in a good mood.

i feel like turning in to a tiger and roaring at people to express my frustration. but i won't.

i wasn't really sure where this was going when i started it. and i have no real way to end it, so i'll post this video here which is pretty fun of player's first home game. player has a really good steal which lead to a layup and then a cool block towards the end. his teammates and coach talk about him and he's also interviewed at the end.



here's hoping for a better day. tonight i'd like to go shopping for an outfit i can wear to my holiday party this weekend and i also have to decorate the apartment with xmas stuff. the cleaning people come today and i forgot that i wanted the xmas stuff up so they could dust around and pick up any mess i make. just another thing to make me sigh.

sigh.

[song by my favorite band, garbage]