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?