Saturday, April 30, 2011

under the table and dreaming

i'm tired. still. it's been a few days now that i have been so busy, i havent been able to sleep a full 8 hours a night. hopefully tonight will be different. i will be in a hotel room in bismarck, north dakota and no matter how late we stay up tonight celebrating player's graduation, i will be sleeping in tomorrow. i'm on a plane heading to bismarck for my brother's graduation from college - congrats player! i'm using airline miles for this trip, so i didn't get upgraded. the plane is pretty empty, anyway, so that doesnt really bother me. i have an exit row all to myself. i took a little nap and then figured i'd take advantage of the internet. woo hoo.

i should be on the ground by 10:24 IF all goes as scheduled. APPARENTLY there is a winter storm watch in bismarck! wth!! i actually dont really mind because i hadn't put my winter jacket away yet, so i put it on this morning. i just want to say "hey, mother nature, may starts tomorrow so get your act together." i'm just sayin.

player is picking me up after i land. we're going to attempt to find him a proper suit. its my graduation gift to him. i got my other brother one when he graduated, as well. it'll just be a bit tougher because player is tall and not very big. so big and tall suits won't work. i hope we can find something in nodak. oh and i have these AWESOME ties for both my brothers. i hope they dont get ruined in my suitcase. i should take a picture of them. they're so pretty.

i presume we'll do some sort of celebrating tonight, but its difficult because none of our family is in bismarck. we'll have to have a party for player some other time. tomorrow i think the boys were planning on golfing, but maybe its not nice weather so not sure that will happen... i have monday off, which is nice, but i'm gonna have to do some work tomorrow - i have 6 emails i MUST follow up on before monday. then i will feel better about taking the day off. monday night we're having my brother and sister-in-law over with grandma for my 30th birthday!! love it. we'll have dinner and then play whist. oh and i'm meeting a friend for coffee on monday. thats always fun. for many years i didn't really have any friends in fargo, so its cool that i do now. i fly back to BOS on tuesday morning and head straight to work.

anyway, i'm gonna go do more surfing. here is a picture for my brother summing up all i hope he does with his new deplowma.


drem big, player!

Friday, April 29, 2011

here comes the commoner bride

its royal wedding day! i'm 5:27 and i'm awake. i have to be at work at 7, so it wasn't difficult to get up an hour earlier to shower and get ready to watch the royal wedding. i know a lot of americans couldN'T care less about the wedding, and i am mostly indifferent, but it seems like a fun event to say 20 years from now "i remember where i was when..." so i got up. it doesn't hurt that wills and kate are so cute and kate's a commoner. i'm slightly worried now, though, that we're running behind and i'll have to decide if i should head to work or watch the whole wedding. i guess, now that i think about it, i'm not really interested in the whole ceremony. i just want to see the dresses and flowers.

the queen just left buckingham palace. i dont know how i feel about yellow. seems awfully bright. she has a blanket over her legs - so cute. prince charles just pulled up. why are there so many clergy at the church? backup? moral support? i kind of like heels that are skin-colored. i've been thinking about getting some neutral pumps. they look good on the duchess of cormwall. its also kind of funny to think how old prince charles is - his kids are so young.

higgi and i were just talking about kate's ring and how fabulous it is that she has diana's. i wondered if, on your wedding day, are you meant to wear your engagement ring or not? are you supposed to have an empty ring finer on which to put the wedding band? i feel like yes, because i can't remember ever seeing any engagement rings during pictures.

i like the queen's hat. very structured. she got out of the car very well. my grandmother, who is 6 years younger than her would not be able to do that. gloves. i wonder how i feel about gloves. i would hope your hands stay nice and moistened. and i wonder how the queen feels about those loud trumpets announcing her whenever she arrives somewhere. i suspect you get used to it if its around your whole life, but i can't imagine that i would ever enjoy it.

i just commented "how funny would that be if helen mirren were at the wedding?" and higgi said "in the same outfit!" haha.

i wonder how a royal family gets started. do you just DECLARE yourself royal? i mean, i get that NOW its all blood lines. but blood lines from where? who decided way back in the day?

oh, i just realized we were going to have mimosas this morning. hmph. on one hand, its rather early, but on the other hand, it would be fun.

oh yes, very nice view of the bride in the car. i wonder whats going through her mind right now. so crazy. i hope she doesn't have on too much makeup. and who are the people that sit up front of the cars? i think i'd like to plan a royal wedding. i mean, i'd have to learn a lot, but i like planning big events with lots of moving parts. uh-oh. looks like she has too much blush on. or maybe she is just a blushing bride. hmm... oh! the little flower girls are so cute. how embarassing would it be to fall on your way into the church? thats something i would do, for sure.

we're watching bbc because it seemed so annoying to listen to american's comment on something that they have probably only just read about over the previous few days. i wonder if there are ... oops. lost that thought. what is the blue and white flag for? i guess i could look it up. hm. seems to be some sort of saltire flag. i wonder what that is.

i wonder if kate had to study up on becoming a royal. etiquette an properness and all that. i would suspect so. princess classes?

hmm.... i dont think i love the dress as much as i thought i would. and the train isn't as long as i would've hoped. pretty tiara, though. no wedding party? thats sad. i think i like wedding parties. or at least seeing the dresses and how they match the tuxes (which they dont in this case since they're all wearing army outfits). her sister's dress is very nice. i wonder who will cry. how tall are her heels? and will there be a wedding dance? i'm asking all these questions now, but i probably won't ever think about it after this day. nice, refined earrings.

i just heard that the US is celebrating the royal wedding more than the UK. probably more people here are connected or something... ?

nice touch showing the song on screen. wills was kind of half-laughing. thats so cute. and the bride walks down before the flower girls. thats not how we do it. i dont think. ha. like i know anything about weddings. i heard there's only 650 or so people at the wedding and consider how many people they HAD to invite, it doenst seem like a very big wedding. i wonder if they have to coordinate who sits by whom with all the foreign dignitaries. like if certain middle eastern countries won't sit by israeli people or something. but maybe none of those are there anyway. oh wow. big choir. taking up a lot of room in the wedding area. and where's "here comes the bride?"

so wait. prince william will not stay a prince in title? i wonder if i'd be annoyed to not get a princess title if i were marrying a prince. i wonder what they're all saying to each other right now. and did they have a rehearsal last night? or are they just told by people where to go and what to say?

6:09am. not bad. nearly 100% on time. and how do people know to start singing right now? they've made no announcement! and i wonder if the people standing around elton john are only pretending to sing so they can hear him sing...

if you're going to the royal wedding and know that you need to buy a hat, do you get the hat and dress at the same place? or do you buy one first and then try to match it? maybe the hat is dyed to match afterwards? i can't tell what they're singing. it just sounds like a bunch of lalalalas.

crap. i have to go to work soon and i really want to watch this whole thing. "betwixt." ha ha. funny word. i wonder if its ok to drink at your wedding if you're a royal. that would suck if you couldn't.

ohhhh. there are different clergy giving different parts of the wedding. iiiinteresting. probably not the time to make a joke during your wedding. thats funny to say "i will" when your name is actually will. it could be like he's saying "i, will." such a proper accent!

and what if you snuck a quick kiss before the clergy allowed you to? that would be funny. ok, i have to go to work.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

pretty pretty please

i woke up this morning before my alarm. i like days like that. and for some reason, i had pink's new song in my head, but just the lyric "pretty pretty please...." i'm not really sure why. i don't think i heard the song before i went to bed. so interesting how things like that happen. anyway, i watched the video just now and am going to paste it at the bottom. it has heather from big love! i like the video a lot except for the end where she feels better about herself because of a man. thats kind of sad.

anyway, i had tennis lessons last night. it was
so
much
fun.

i REALLY like tennis! it didn't hurt that everyone was telling me how much better i've gotten AND when we started the class, the instructor even had me give the first lesson on the proper stance. !!

after that, i came home and promptly went to the liquor store. my roommate and i have realized that we need to stop using our nice bubbly for mimosas and get something cheaper to mix with oj and pineapple juice. so i got a case of $12 cava. actually, now that i think about it - did they give me the discount...? ah. they did. thats good. 20% off of a case. i had to get the alcohol last night because i'm rather busy the rest of the week AND friday morning is the royal wedding!! i'm hoping to get up early to watch it - what time is it on?? and what channel? i'm assuming SOME channel has it, right? i hope so.

there is some work stuff happenin and so tomorrow through friday and then next wed and thur i have the early shift - have to be there by 7. i'll probably stay until my normal time, as well (6pm or so), so they bes long days comin' up.

tonight i am potentially going to a yoga class if its not too fast. i have to email the instructor today to check it out.

ok, heading to work. here's a video for your enjoyment.

Monday, April 25, 2011

dream apartment - 58


welcome back to another dream apartment edition! its been quite a while... i still read lots of apartment decorating blogs, but nothing has really stood out for me in a while. (i just checked and its been over a month!) i forgot to do an earth day post, as well. shucks. anyway, this post had a whole bunch of stairs and i LOVE this version because it reminds me of a music note! doesn't it? or maybe not the actual music note. what are the lines on sheet music called? i can't remember... and what i love most about this staircase is that there is clearly room for a big, grand staircase and because of the design of the room, they chose a spiraly one. and the height is so great, too! LOVE it.

the following staircase is actually one i don't like. no, i shouldnt say that. i just don't love it like i love other staircases. i respect the cleanliness of it all. too old fashioned and ornate for me.

which one do you prefer?

Sunday, April 24, 2011

i'm feeling very blah. its sunday night - i hate this night. and i have done nothing productive all weekend. and yet,i have been very busy. very very busy. ugh.

yesterday i got up and got a laser hair removal for this patch of hair on the bottom of my foot. ha ha. jk. no, for my underarms. it stung a little, but wasn't bad at all. i had to rent a zipcar and drive out into the suburbs for the appointment. i cruised back and tried to go to target but it was raining and people here can't drive well, so i didn't have enough time. i returned the car and met a friend for a semi-private tennis lesson. it was fun. i like tennis. i am REALLY good at hitting the ball when its coming to the same position each time. when i'm in an actual game and have to run to the ball and figure out where its going... i'm not so great. i guess thats what takes practice. anyway, after that i showered and met kc and the sunshine band for drinks and a comedy show. i took a cab home and ended up staying up for a long time. i dont know why i did that. i didnt really do anything.

this morning i went to easter brunch in quincy with my roommate. that was fun. we came home and i wanted to go get groceries but they weren't open. i ended up hitting up the movie theater instead and saw scream 4 because i couldnt be at home. i was just so... sick of everything and nothing at the same time. the movie was fine. normal. i wish i had seen it with high school friends. anyway, i have done NOTHING since i got home and i have a TON to do. silly how that works out. part of the problem is that it is soo EFFING HOT in our apartment. it got cold last week, so we turned on the heat, and we cant turn it off. i think thats why i'm apathetic right now. the heat. it does not mix with me.

anyway, i'm going to bed.

Friday, April 22, 2011

things that are making me happy

so just a quick post for today. i have the day off (wall street being resurrection believers or something) and so i am taking advantage of it. i have to go do some shopping and run some errands and plan my birthdays. so fun!

until then, here is a video that made me chuckle. growing up, i used to love betty boop. my grandma always remembered this and would continue giving me betty boop gifts well into college. she might still give me those gifts if she could remember anything these days. miss m in detroit gave me a betty boop video a year or two ago.



and has anyone seen rose mcgowan these days? she had some plastic surgery and it is. not. good. but the video is.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

29

i'm going to be REALLY creative with my titles for a few days... quick note. am at home today. was hoping to see my little, but her phone is going straight to voice mail and has been for a few days now. i hope everything is ok. i assume she just doesn't have her charger or something. i guess i'll take her out on friday, which i also have off because the market is closed.

so yesterday i was in a bad mood. i think mostly because things were so up in the air, and i hate that feeling. but i am glad to have a day off, which i was feeling bad about taking because there is so much to do. but now i dont feel bad. i took a sleeping pill last night and slept in today and could tell i really needed it. i watched some tv and am now trying to buy tickets for my brothers and sister-in-law to come visit in sept. plane tickets are going to start going up really soon because of gas prices, so i want to be on top of it.

last night, i went to see arthur. it was cute, but made me sadder than i thought it would. then i wanted to go to this bar near the theater for some sweet potatoe fries and, lo and behold! it was PACKED. i wonder why. so i didnt eat there. i went to a convenience store and got some snacks and then went to the BIFF at 8pm. it was REALLY WEIRD. it was raining and i really wanted to go home and go to bed, but i thought "its a small festival, i should be supportive and go see it." so i went. it was a movie called the joneses. it was ok... very very indy. almost like it had been filmed on a handheld camera. and the acting was not great. kind of like a porn. where one person says something and then the camera moves to the other person - pause - and THEN the reaction. what i did not know is that the film was filmed in boston and all the actors and director and everyone were at the movie. they went to the front after the film for a q&a session, but i checked my phone and saw the bus was coming, so i ran outside to catch it.

this is a week of movies - today around 315 i am going to see win win with k (of kc) and her in-laws. should be good. tonight the roomie and i are going to get wine in the north end and have dinner there. i haven't been to the north end in a really really long time, so that should be good. i hope it doesnt start raining again. oh, i should go check the mail. crap.

fingers crossed we book a ticket soon!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

30...

the countdown begins....


30 days



until i'm


30 years!!


woo hoo! i woke up in a really good mood because it is exactly 30 days away from my 30th birthday. but now i'm kind of not in such a great mood. i have a ton of work to do, nothing super pressing, i just need to get organized. i wanted to go to the boston international film festival (BIFF, duh) last night, but didn't because i had to go home and do my taxes. it took me less than 3 hrs to do AND i'm getting quite a bit of money back - woo hoo! BUT i was sad i didn't get to go to the movies. then i went to bed and got up and had all these plans for having a smoothie and getting all this stuff done before work and then poof! the morning disappeared and i was almost late for work. i have NO IDEA what i did. ugh. anyway, now i'm annoyed because i can't decide if i should stay at work late tonight and then go to BIFF at 8pm or if i should just go home and veg (which is what i want to do). or mabye go to the gym? ha. i have no idea what to do. its crappy weather out, so that is affecting my mod, as well.


i have friday off and i have a lot i want to get done. i am thinking about taking tomorrow off, as well, and seeing my little. we'll see... maybe if i did that then i wouldn't feel bad about being out late tonight. sigh. i'm so conflicted. what do you think? go to BIFF or not?

Monday, April 18, 2011

eight miles high and falling fast

this is slightly old news now, but i thought there might be some people out there who haven't heard about this, and i liked this video.



there are probably tons of sources for this, but here is where i found it.

another piece of inspiration is this video of an apartment being sold for $221 million in london. aspiration to just be randomly searching on the internet and buy this...



from gawker.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

moss grows fat on a rollin' stone

i suspect as you read this it is sunday. if its not that means you are not obsessively checking my blog every day and that bothers me. you are OFF the list! what list? i dont know! but your'e off!! ha. jk. OBVIously.

so, back to it being sunday. my parents are selling their house. did i mention that? they bought a new house and are looking to sell the house i grew up in (from 4th grade on). i'm not really sad about it since they kicked me out of my bedroom after freshman year of college (how rude!) and i'm back in the small bedroom that i lived in when we first moved into the house. its purple now and i like that. oh! you can see it here. it looks really really different to me. i dont know why. these pictures really freak me out. anyway, i'm fine with moving in to a new house although i wonder if it will take us longer to get to the airport than it does now... i will NOT like that when i am on the 5:15 am flight to MSP.... maybe you should rethink this move, mom and dad... :)

anyway, they were supposed to have an open house today but since the weather is crappy and there is still a flood, they have pushed it back 2 weeks (apparently they dont have open houses on easter sunday - i feel like that is not an impediment here in bos. def not in brookline anyway). i thought i'd post some videos/links/articles that i've been saving about the flood... so here is some info for all you who are so consumed with flood questions and don't know where to look... enjoy!

first things first, here is an update on the flood fight in fargo. this guy has been doing some cool videos and here is a summary of the week. fargo is safe (so far) and that is good news, but neighboring towns are being evacuated. its scary.



this is an article that a guy i used to work with sent me that was in the nyt. i'm not sure how long it will be avail online, so i am pasting it here (and not making any money off of it! but if you want me to take it down, just let me know).
April 8, 2011

Shovel, Strain, Stack No More in High Water

The lowly sandbag has improbably — and seemingly eternally — remained the back-breaking brick of choice for anyone in a hurry to erect makeshift barriers during flood season.

But now there is growing competition.

As Fargo, N.D., confronts its third major flood in three years, local governments, businesses and residents are shifting to a number of modern alternatives to hold back the waters of the Red River.

“I’ve seen enough sandbags for a lifetime,” said Alan Kallmeyer, who enlisted dozens of friends and co-workers the last two years for a full day of this grueling masonry, filling and stacking thousands of sandbags around his riverside house.

This year, Mr. Kallmeyer bought a device, already used by several of his neighbors, that rings his house with a four-foot-tall tube of water. The device, known as an AquaDam, cost nearly $8,000. But it took just a few strain-free hours to set up and will be just as easy to take down.

The flood is already the fourth largest on record. The river is expected to crest this weekend at close to 40 feet and remain high for more than three weeks, according to the National Weather Service. But city leaders said that recent experience, mitigation efforts and ample warning have left the city well prepared.

Indeed, Fargo seems braced to repel an invading army. Once again there are plenty of the usual sandbag piles and earthen levies. But this year, for the first time, less of the city will be protected by sandbags than by alternative barriers, like the braced L-shaped walls of the AquaFence, industrial-size sacks of sand known as TrapBags and the earth-filled wire cages of the Hesco bastions.

“This is pretty new to have this many products,” said Tim Bertschi, a flood engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers.

Mr. Bertschi added that the federal government would be watching closely to see how well these systems worked in coming days.

“It’s a real-life test. This isn’t laboratory stuff,” he said. “But it wouldn’t be out there if they didn’t think it worked.”

The city used about 3 million sandbags in 2009, the year of its worst recorded flood. Last year, the fifth worst, the city filled and stacked 1.5 million. But now, even though an army of volunteers began working earlier than usual at Fargo’s “Sandbag Central” and filled nearly 3 million, the city has used only about 500,000 sandbags.

The city decided that reducing the need for volunteers was worth the extra expense of new systems that could be set up quickly by smaller crews of trained workers.

“People are getting tired, really tired, about the use of sandbags,” said Dennis Walaker, the mayor of Fargo.

In all, there are 3.4 miles of sandbags, down from 5.5 miles last year. The alternatives will stretch more than 4 miles, up from one-tenth of a mile last year.

“We’re doing our best to try to get to the point where we can eliminate sandbags,” said April Walker, an engineer who is in charge of flood control for the city. “We’re not at that point yet.”

Everett Waid, the Florida-based inventor of TrapBags, said he sold over $1 million worth of them to the city of Fargo and Cass County right after showing his product at the Fargo Flood Expo.

Helge Kroegenes, chairman of AquaFence, in Norway, said that Fargo placed such a big order that he could only fill a quarter of it.

And David Doolaege, the California-based inventor of AquaDam, said he spent several weeks traveling around the Fargo area delivering his devices to more than 50 private homes.

All three men, not surprisingly, were dismissive of the humble tool they were trying to replace, and described sandbags as messy, cumbersome, prone to leaks and requiring an unsustainable amount of brute labor.

“The cavemen did that,” Mr. Doolaege said. “They put some dirt in a deerskin and blocked off their cave. That was the first sandbag. And it’s still the same premise — fill a container and stack them up.”

But Ken Hellevang, an engineering professor at North Dakota State University who wrote a training manual on the use of sandbags, said they are often the best option. They require little training to use; can be put in small, uneven or hard to reach places; and can be quickly stacked higher as river levels rise.

The owner of Sandbags Warehouse in Fargo, E. John Carlson, said he has turned down offers to sell the newer alternatives because he believes they are untested. This year he sold nearly two million old-fashioned sandbags.

“It’s a simple, proven technology that works,” he said.
i thought i had more articles on the flood, but now i can't find them....

Saturday, April 16, 2011

things that are making me happy

its friday night and i'm super tired, but this made me smile. i would really really like for my mom to do this sometime. she doesn't like talking to telemarketers. i actually kind of enjoy it. i always think "ok, yeah, go ahead and just TRY to get me to buy what you're selling. i'm not that gullible." i think i kinda like to have their hopes get up thinking they might actually win with me and then - boom! nope. i don't buy. anyway, this is for you ma.



hat tip here.

here are some links to some other things that are making me happy:
random people having apple store dance offs. i want to do that.

ok, i thought i had more but i guess i dont...

Friday, April 15, 2011

things that are making me happy

so i'm trying to figure what i'm going to do for my birthday. the actual birthday birthday party. here are my criteria:
  • casual
  • not super expensive
  • a bit of food, but mostly alcohol
  • ability to use all the wine glasses we have saved up?
  • some sort of theme?
i don't know all the answers yet. BUT... i have one more plan. and that is to somehow, for some reason, incorporate this.

how ridiculously awesome is that??

Thursday, April 14, 2011

well, i know that you're in love with him

just like i'm in love with being from north dakota!!! (see! i could totally get the american pie lyric to relate to my post)

so my friend k of kc and the sunshine band fame was telling me about this video that michael moore did years ago. turns out it was something like 20 years ago. back when karen duffy was on tv. (whats she doing these days??) i'm not sure what other people think of this video, but i find it Hi-LAR-ious. its great. cute. theres a reason why people live there. its just sooo NICE. :) i wish there were more things to do , but that means more people and they might not all be nice people, so not sure how i feel about that. anyway, check out the video:



then there was an article online the other day about fargo. 'twas gut.

The 'New' Fargo North Dakota

Printer-friendly version
Sheri O'Meara
Minnesota Meetings + Events
Issue:
Spring 2011

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new Fargo.

For the past couple years, the Fargo-Moorhead area has enjoyed a wealth of stellar national press: In 2011, Men’s Health and Women’s Health both named Fargo the second-best place to live in America. Bicycling Magazine ranked it among the top 50 biking cities in nation. In 2009, Forbes called it one of the nation’s best places for jobs.Fargo Theater

Children’s Health magazine said Fargo was the third-best place to raise kids. Last year, U.S. News and World Report listed Fargo among its best places to retire. But it was the July 2010 Newsweek story “The Great, Great Plains,” that was the stereotype breaker, showing Fargo as a hip, trendy place to be: “On a drizzly, warm June night, the bars, galleries, and restaurants along Broadway are packed with young revelers. Traffic moves slowly, as drivers look for parking. The bar at the Donaldson, a boutique hotel, is so packed with stylish patrons that I can’t get a drink.”

That’s quite different picture than the one painted in the 1996 Coen brothers’ film “Fargo,” which catapulted the city to dubious fame as Hicksville on the tundra.

The truth is, this area is evolving, and its economy is strong. North Dakota was recently ranked third in the nation for hospitality growth—the state’s leisure and hospitality sector adding 3,400 jobs between 2005 and 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Minnesota ranked 20th.) That’s good news for meeting and event planners looking for an option on the Minnesota-North Dakota border.

The Fargo-Moorhead area consists of two cities in two states, with a total metro population of more than 200,000. Located on the upper Northwest Minnesota border, it is the largest metro area and shopping destination between Minneapolis and Spokane, forming the region’s agricultural capital and its most important shipping and processing center. The two cities are divided by the North-flowing Red River.

>>Hotels and Event Spaces

Home to the Fargodome, eight convention hotels and more than 4,100 sleeping rooms among all hotels—the cities can service conventions up to 2,000 people. The Holiday Inn Fargo is the largest hotel, with 310 sleeping rooms and total meeting capacity of 2,300. It also offers a 13,500-square-foot waterpark, a casino and 20 meeting rooms (including a great hall that can seat up to 1,250).

Best Western Doublewood has 172 sleeping rooms, 11 meeting rooms and 1,150 total meeting capacity. Ramada Plaza Suites & Convention Center offers 185 sleeping rooms, 13 meeting rooms and 1,800 total meeting capacity.

Non-lodging event spaces range from the vast Fargodome to the Avalon Event Centers, built in 1908 (meeting capacity of 325). But there are a plethora of other top-notch choices. The Fargo-Moorhead CVB has the gamut of options on its website, and is happy to assist.

>>Activities

The city is spending money to revitalize the downtown, and visitors should investigate. Walk down Broadway, and you won’t find chain stores, but chic shops and bistros and the beautiful Art Deco-style Fargo Theatre (which recently opened a new 76-seat theater within the building, available for rentals, and also houses a restored theater pipe organ, the “Mighty Wurlitzer”).

ECCE Art + Yoga exhibits talented regional artists and showcases diverse international design. The century-old Hotel Donaldson is one of many great spots for happy hour on Broadway, while upstairs in the hotel, each of its 17 sleeping rooms showcases regional art.

For mall shopping, head across town to West Acres Shopping Center, located conveniently across the street from the Holiday Inn. For regional art and culture, visit the Plains Art Museum, a 56,000-square-foot facility accredited by the American Association of Museums that celebrates Native American and traditional folk art (and also has meeting room capacity for 250); the Historical & Cultural Society of Clay County; Bonanzaville, USA, a reconstructed 19th century farm; Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, which houses a replica Viking Ship that sailed to Norway; and the Fargo Air Museum.

Outdoor options include scheduling a boat tour on the Red River, renting a kayak, golfing at a range of courses, or watching horse racing at North Dakota Horse Park.

Whatever the activity or the season, the Fargo-Moorhead CVB would like you to know that Fargo-Moorhead is “always warm,” as its tagline goes. According to the CVB website: “When you get out and experience our community–and our people–you’ll find that Fargo-Moorhead is one of the warmest metro areas in the nation."

basically you should all host a convention there or something.

or just visit.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

can you teach me how to dance real slow?

yeah, yeah, yeah. ok. here is me blogging. so, i was going to "take today off" and do my taxes and my expense reports. i slept in (until 7:52) and got up and started doing some reporting work that i had to do. not my taxes nor my expense reports. reports about someone else's money. not pleased! so that took a few hours. then i watched law and order LA (can't decide what i think about it...) and then was doing a bit more work. i thought i'd go through emails and organize myself before starting my expense reports. but i went and got lunch instead. and then i took a shower. and i just finished lunch. i still have a ton of stuff to do. not sure what is in store for me for the rest of the day. has everyone else finished their taxes? oh. i just realized i kind of can't really do mine well. i dont have a printer. i meant to get a printer cartridge but forgot. and i also need to pick up my bike. did i mention i bought a bike last saturday? its getting souped-up, so its still at the store. its raining so that makes me not want to go out or do anything. oh, also, i was supposed to go in to work today and bring jerseys. i'm on the charitable contributions committee and we are raising money for the jimmy fund by allowing people to dress down today and pay $5. but they have to wear red sox stuff and if they wear non-red sox sports stuff, they pay $7. AND if they wear yankees crap, they pay $10. so, most people in my team didn't wear jersey stuff so i was going to bring it (is that cheating??). i have a timberwolves jersey and a red sox jersey and a vikings tshirt. i think i might wear a north spartans sweatshirt with my last name embroidered on it. that counts, right?

i'm watching wipeout as i write this. i really really really want to be on that show. actually, i dont care if i'm ON the tv. i just want to do the obstacle courses. i think that would be awesome. oh ew. there is a food on the course. i don't approve. thats nasty. bleh.

ok, so here is a random video for you. a woman who lives in a really really really small apartment in new york city. would you live here? [h/t here]

Monday, April 11, 2011

i guess sissy's growing up

if all goes well, fargo is plugged up and not flooding right now. the river was meant to crest last weekend, and despite the fact that i haven't written about the flood much this year, there is still a massive flood in fargo. again. apparently some other parts of north dakota are flooding worse this year than in 1997 (the past really bad flood). not good.

here is an excerpt from an email my mom sent me exactly one week ago:
Flood mode is reving up here in Fargo, although a ton of preparation has already been done. There are huge sandbag thingys at Edgewood. They have already diked behind Riverview Place. They are starting to put clay dikes in on 2nd street. That will take 4 days around the clock because it includes diking by Dike East. Sandbags are being delivered to neighborhoods tomorrow by police escort. Volunteers start on Wednesday. Kids are getting out of school. The forcast is for a warm up so the temperatures are a rising and the river will follow. It is a bit scary. The flood diversion is being met with many obstacles. People upstream and downstream are now meeting to try and stop the diversion. What a complicated mess. The $$ it takes to prepare PLUS the man hours is incredible.
by now, all the sandbags have been laid and now the main item in fargo is to monitor the dikes. people will be patrolling the dikes for weeks - walking up and down to make sure there are no leaks. the dikes are holding back a ton of water. its kind of scary to think.

in other news, fargo won the competition on the weather channel for toughest weather city. i was really excited and proud and telling everyone at work about it. one of my brothers' friends was upset with the nomination. to me, its a badge of honor. it says "despite it being horrible weather here, we're tough, we persevere, AND we're nice, good people." here is a video about winning it:



h/t here. i think its probably a good thing that i haven't been worried about the flood this year. there are other people monitoring it more closely than i.

i just had a great idea - we should get areal pictures of the river before and after the flood. that would be impressive to see.

[song is what is on right now as i write this. who sung this song? i can't remember. used today because i feel much more grown up about the river this year.]

Sunday, April 10, 2011

things that are making me happy

i read about this a while ago, and thought it was really cute and made me smile.

apparently, an artist is "installing" non-working doors around san fran. one blogger is calling them fairy doors. so fun! again, i wish i was creative like that to think of something like this...



have you seen a fairy door?

Saturday, April 9, 2011

your woman

goooood moooorning!

am up early because i forgot to turn off my alarm. thought i'd go get some errands done (e.g. buying a new bike!!) and whatnot. i just need to find a place to actually PUT the bike. i dont want it to get stolen again, obviously.

last night, i was supposed to have two friends from work over to our place to see the south end, have a drink and chat. we ended up going to a movie instead. i didnt want to drink alcohol since i just had a massage thursday night. we saw the lincoln lawyer. a bit long, but i liked it. it was confusing to me of when it was supposed to take place. present day? but it took so long for someone to use a cell phone. and then why was he riding in such an old car? that was bizarre. i'm sure it was explained in the book or something.

anyway, i walked home and then my roomie and i watched nikita. its one of my favorite shows on tv right now. its really good. i was talking to someone the other day and she started a story with "20 years ago, there was a tv network called USA." and i kind of chuckled. i said "yeah, its still around." i thought of USA because la femme nikita used to be on that, i think. i wonder if i should put la femme nikita in my netflix queue. hmmm...

i have a ton of posts coming in the next few days. i have to write about the flood, the end of basketball for my brothers, nodak, health, birthday planning, etc. i think after i buy my bike i might go to a coffee shop or something and just sit there and blog. have a lot to get done.

whats planned for your weekend?

to honor [dave]'s request, i will not use an american pie lyric as the title. i haven't finished that, but i will take a break. i got my hair done last week and this song was playing at the hair salon and i thought "holy crap! i haven't heard this song in FOREVER." so i bought the video on itunes because it reminds me of high school. and this was one song where i was surprised by the music video. for some reason, i had never seen it. one hit wonder?

Friday, April 8, 2011

things that are making me happy

so i LOVE this video. its so funny to me


h/t list of the day from funny or die.

i'm posting it here to get my sister-in-law (and brothers) excited to come visit me in boston this fall. woot woot! we're starting to plan the trip. what would you add to your list of things to do if you were in boston for a few days?

Thursday, April 7, 2011

did you write the book of love?

mmmmmmmmm. i'm whiny. mostly because i'm tired and achy and ... have a lot to do at work but just cannot mentally focus right now. after work, i went to get a massage. i didn't love it (i love the ones in sac), but it wasn't horrible. i'm trying to decide if i should get a package deal from them. i might as well. its really nice to have those on hand. i left work feeling tight, slightly anxious and uncomfortable. i am more relaxed but now i am really tired and want to go to bed. i just took a tylenol pm so i hope to sleep well.

oh, so housekeeping: NO ONE got the poll right! i watched the dilemma. i wonder why everyone thought i would watch the tourist (apologies that it was speelt rong). :) it wasn't bad. it ended up differently than i thought, or got there differently, i guess. i liked that.

i had lunch with k today and i was telling her about my impending birthday party. i want to find some sort of theme. she suggested finding something that happened on my birthday. so i'm on wiki checking out the date. luckily, no one REALLY famous was born on my actual birthday (that would really annoy me). there's nothing interesting on that date. christian feast day - woo hoo! and ho chi minh's birthday. oh! is world hepatitis day. thats a good thing. avoid hep on my birthday. that could be a fun theme. what would that entail? clean needles? condoms? how else do you get hep? i should know that. hmm....

here is an article about my boyfriend.

i thought i'd have more interesting things to write about. i was wrong.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

and them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

i've finally found a sport that i must be better at than my brothers... dum dum dum... ten-nis! i mean, i've never played against them, but i've now taken 4 or 5 lessons and i dont think they've ever taken lessons before. so right there, my five lessons have surpassed their natural athletic ability. surely. right? right. right?

tonight (monday) was a lesson and it was so much fun! its 1.5 hrs long and we even sparred afterwards. is that what you do in tennis? spar? i think so. we sparred. and me and my partner, keif turtle, WON against my friend lisa and the new girl. it was awesome. not the winning, actually. just the playing. oh, and get this: the teacher (is he a coach?) told me i was THE BEST STUDENT. mwahahahaha. i mean, there's only 3 other students and we're all beginners, but at least i'm a good student, right? and the best student. so fun. i can't wait until its nice out and i can go outside and play. and not look like an idiot. i think i have pretty good form. i need to practice more, though. not sure where to do that, though. its still a bit chilly outside and i'm not all about wet tennis balls. so we'll see...

ok, i'm actually pretty tired. and i have a ton of work i have to do (literally). i have to log on to work and get some reports done. sigh. not a big deal, but it would be great if i could just hang out. tomorrow i'm gonna get groceries (maybe) and maybe go to a movie. if i were to go to a movie, what should i see?

Monday, April 4, 2011

things that are making me happy

happy monday!

i'm off to tennis monday night and today will be super busy at work. eek! lots to do. since i can't write more, enjoy this...


from here.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was dry

happy sunday! i'm actually in a decent mood today and sundays are perhaps growing on me. i'm at starbucks right now. my roomie comes here every sat and sun mornings to get work done and i figured i should do that today, as well. work = blogging, at least for me right now. oh, that reminds me, i have to go to the office today and get some stuff done... hmmm.... we had a pretty busy day at work last friday and i was traveling back to bos for half of it, so i'm slightly behind. yeah, so thats what i'll do. i'll sit here until 1130 or so... then head to pick up my little and take her to skating lessons. thats until about 4pm and then i'll drop her off. i should head directly to the office to do some work, print a cvs coupon, etc. then i'll head to cvs on my way home and be home in time to watch burlesque with the roommate. woo hoo! burlesque and wine and maybe some mela (the indian restaurant down the street that knows me by my order now). oh, and maybe i'll work with player tonight to finish his resume and have him start applying for jobs here in boston. woo hoo! that would be awesome if he lived with me for the summer. we would have SO MUCH FUN.

so last night was my friend [dave]'s birthday. we went to the gallows, which was really fun. we ended up being 14 instead of 12, so we were kind of majorly crammed at a table. but it was good fun and i had a burger that was delish. after that, we went to franklin cafe for a drink and i was mega tired, so i left after a glass of wine. i still need to unpack from my trip. i like having a clean room and really enjoy unpacking. is that stupid? probably.

anyway, i'd like to try meditating today, but not sure if i'll have time. and i kind of dont really know how to do it, so i need to have a guided meditation. not sure where to get that, either. i should start doing that every day. does anyone who reads this meditate? wanna give me some tips? i also am conflicted about yoga. i was trying to do it every day and was doing pretty well, BUT then i went to this thing where this fitness place said they think yoga isnt that great because it strengthens muscles that are already strong and we dont need more of that. so i stopped doing yoga. but now my muscles are oddly sore for no reason. and they were kind of weird to me at that place, so now i am super confused about what i should be doing. i know i should be doing whatever makes me feel good, but neither/both made me feel good. does that make sense? anyway, confusing.

ok, i'm gonna head home and skype with miss m before i head to the ice skating rink. in honor of my roommate, here is a funny video ya'll will enjoy.



found here. u like "eunice."

Friday, April 1, 2011

but something touched be deep inside

as i write this, i am sitting in my hotel room in ohio. this has been one beezarr trip. nothing normal is happening. its so weird. hopefully i'll have time to share them all with you, but it could be days worth...

i checked in on tuesday around noon. the lobby was empty. i walked right up to the dude at the front desk to check in and it wasn't until later that i realized i was in the "priority" lane or whatever. anyway, when i was checking in, the dude said "we have a promotion going on right now, you can choose one of the following three options...." one of the options was free internet, but i already get that for being platinum. the other was a free drink at the cafe kiosk on the 2nd floor. the final option was a free in-room movie. OBVIOUSLY i chose the in-room movie.

and its been a bit annoying the past few days (aside from weird stuff) because of the one fact that i have been busy at work and out so i haven't been able to just come to my hotel room and hang. so here is the game for tonight. there are only 3 movies that i was in the mood to watch. which one do you think i chose (in alphabetical order):
a. the dilemma (vince vaughan finds out his best friend's wife is cheating on him)
b. how do you know? (romcom w/ reese and paul rudddddd)
c. the tourist (johnny depp and angelina jolie in europe)

i have this uncanny ability to sleep in almost any situation. i keep hitting my legs because its really hard for me to stay awake right now. i want to go to sleep, but i want to watch my free movie more. but my body wants to be sleeping right now.

ok, movie is over. i need to sleep. let me know what you think i watched in the quiz and i'll reveal the answer in a few days...