Marquette Continues to Up it's Coolness Quotient

FLASH-mob: noun, a large number of seeming strangers performing a choreographed act in a public place then immediately dispersing from whence they came.

Today an event happened that I have not seen the likes of since my undergraduate days at the University of Minnesota many moons ago. I was but a young lass, a sophomore, when walking across the mall in front of Northrup, a girl started singing. A boy joined in, and they fell in love as students around them danced and sang as one large broadway-esque chorus. The love story ended on a stirring crescendo as the players dispersed and went on their merry ways.

I later learned this production was the heroine's final project for theater class that semester. Her professor was surreptitiously grading her from the steps of a nearby building. A+, girl, A+.

Today in the central mall at Marquette University, a similar number was performed for passersby.

Members of the graduating class showing visiting prospective students just how fun MU can be, and saying a raucous goodbye to their classmates. Lovely.

Pork, the other flu virus

I'm leaving the country in 3 weeks. The new swine flu business better not hinder my plans.

Right now, airlines and airports are taking charge, issuing warnings, and taking precautions with plans carrying passengers who exhibit flu-like symptoms. Read more here.

I will do whatever you want when I land in London, British Airways. Take a blood sample, have me cough into a breathalyzer that detects the flu virus, whatever you want. Just let me go to Hungary.

Also, if you read the story linked above you will read about LAX installing hand sanitizer dispensers throughout each terminal. My question is, why antibacterial sanitizer? Flu is a virus.

I didn't forget about you, Internets

Hello Dear Reader. Lately I've been sucking at this posting business. I apologize. Let's just say the last two weeks of school are mayhem.

To summarize the happenings of my life as of late:

My first year of graduate school will be finished next week. Obviously by this post you can see that I am assiduously working on the final project and paper I have due early next week.

Only 26 days left until I am in Europe. On May 20th I fly out to Hungary, and then will meander down to Rome, Italy for a summer class with my faculty advisor. Mere numerals cannot encapsulate the amount of Soproni, Tokaj, Kekfrankos, and Borolo I will drink in the duration of my stay.

I will quite possibly be dividing my time during the months of July and August between Milwaukee and Green Bay. I foresee a lot of commuting, but a good chance of a job opportunity post graduation as the result of said commuting.

I must study. And so, with this brief recap I leave you. Please stay tuned as more frequent updates will commence once next week ends.

Mighty Life List #21

Some would consider my Mighty Life List a Bucket List by another name. My opinion is that a Bucket List is too morose. We shouldn't be striving for these achievements simply because we hear the minutes of our mortality ticking away. A Bucket List is something people make up when they realize they've been sleepwalking through life for the past X amount of years, and now want to make sure they fulfill these accomplishments with the time they have left.

We should instead be simply striving to live life to the fullest every day, no matter what age we are. Death is just a part of life, not a deadline of adventure that we need to meet.

And so, with this mindset I created my Mighty Life List when I turned 25. I have no immediate plans for my life to end, and I am far too young for a midlife crisis. Quite simply, it's a list of things I have always wanted to try, accomplish, and/or learn because I am a curious person, and there's no time like the present.

As I was scanning through it today, I realized that I can check off #21. Last weekend, over the Easter holiday (Passover to my Jewish readers), my stepdad bought a kite for the little nephews to play with.

The kite was a jet plane from Sam's Club, came in a tube with a dozen small pole-like attachments, and no clear instructions. My stepdad and brother-in-law spent roughly 2 hours trying to figure out how to put the thing together. After what seemed like an eternity of my four-year-old nephew asking, "is my kite ready yet?" his kite was indeed ready.

Really, you can't blame him for being impatient when the thought of flying a jet plane kite has been planted in his head.

To be completely honest, I wasn't the one holding the string. But I'm going to count it any.

Reason #483 that I am a Nerd

Dear Discovery Channel,

You've kept me in suspense for far too long. You may remember a little love letter I sent you last year, DC. Well the subject of that letter is why I am writing to you today.

Season 5 of Deadliest Catch premieres tonight, after what has seemed like an eternity. You left me with many questions last year; questions I need answered.

Will Phil return for another season? Or give up the hard life of a crab fisherman in favor of his health, and turn the business over to the next generation of Harris men? Will Edgar bite the head off a fish within the first 5 minutes of the premiere? (Answer is No!!!!)

Which boat will win the crab count, and which captain will win the Captain's Wager? And finally, the most important question of all, will the Bon Jovi theme song still manage to make my heart flutter?

Only time will tell, DC, but know that I am here for you all the way. Thank you, Discovery Channel, thank you for providing me this delightful Blue Collar TV porn. I am sure it is only for my benefit, and not just because it's a ratings goldmine.

Love,
Me

Lambeau Peeps: Green Bay Packer Peep Pictures

Intelligent Traveler Blog over at National Geographic Traveler is hosting a contest called "Peeps in Places." You may remember me mentioning it. As I am out of Milwaukee for the Easter weekend, I did my dutifully dutiful duty and took my peeps pictures in Green Bay. I enlisted the help of my parents, we racked our brains (wrack versus rack? answer here), and realized that the Green Bay Packers are the only iconic tourist attraction in town.

Being the good sports they always are (pun unintentional), my parents donned the mantle of shamelessness, and helped me set up shots in Lambeau Field, the Packers Hall of Fame, and Titletown Brewery. Sidenote: I don't care what you say, Green Bay is "Titletown." I'm talking to you, ESPN!

We were asked what the heck we were doing with the peeps only about a hundred times. Once, especially, when I tried to sweet talk (no pun intended) my way into the Hall of Fame to take a picture of a Lambeau Peep...I mean, Leap (pun intended).

All in all, the photos came out rather well, even though I did not have my own trusty Canon. They're on my Flickr page, but I figured I'd share them with you here in order to celebrate Easter, Green Bay style.


I call this one the "Peep Leap." In the Packers Hall of Fame, visitors can try their hand at a Lambeau Leap. Crowd noise is piped in when you hit the wall. This little peep isn't so sure he'll make it over.

This iconic Packer statue was located outside the Packers Hall of Fame before it moved into Lambeau Field after the stadium renovation. The statue has since been relocated to Titletown Brewery, a restaurant perfect for the visiting Packer fan in need of a good dinner. This receiver offers the perfect photo opportunity...turns out the football is not his goal, rather a delicious sugary peep is what he's after.

Outside of Lambeau Field are bronze statues of Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau. I asked Curly what he really wanted out of life. Being that he's made of bronze, he's not much of a talker, but he did happen to point to his heart's desire.

I call this one "Blue 52 peep." If you're a Packer fan, you know what I'm talking about. Bart Starr, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers - no matter the quarterback, instead of a pigskin, you're getting a peep.

Peeps in Places

National Geographic Intelligent Traveler is hosting a photo contest this Easter season.
The photo challenge is entitled, "Peeps in Places," and one must take a picture of the delicious, neon-colored confection in a tourist destination.

From Intelligent Traveler Blog:

Here's how it works: take a photo of one or more Peeps (original chicks, pink bunnies, or others--we're not biased) in any travel destination, add your photos to our Flickr pool, and then tag them "NGTpeeps." Please limit your entries to three per person.

The deadline for the contest has been extended to April 13th.

Opening day at Miller Park, Quadracci Pavilion and Windhover Hall, The Bronz Fonz...the possibilities for great peeps photos in Milwaukee are endless. Get out there and do us proud!

Preteen Flashback but with Booze

Last night I had the great privilege of helping my friend M celebrate her 29th birthday. Wanting to do it up right, she got a group together for some old school rollerskating followed, of course, by a groupie-band-following experience of which I will describe in a moment.

But first, the Skate Land.

Skate Land, of course, is not as great as Skate World, Skate Universe, or Skate Galaxy, however, it brought me back to my preteen years of owning the skate rink at Shawano County Park in Shawano, WI. And by "owning," I mean "dominating."

When M first invited me to her skating party, she asked that we invitees not think less of her for wanting to partake in such a tween activity. I replied by saying that I owned my own skates, and was hardly in a place to be judging anyone.

The night proved to be exactly what I expected for my preteen flashback, but with the addition of Breakdancing Skate Guy, Twilight Emo Guy, and a good friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, who stayed in my locker and occasionally made the evening more enjoyable.

After skating ourselves into oblivion (and thankfully not to the ER), we reverted back to our post-21 selves and headed to the least likely of all places, a "night club" in a bowling alley. I use quotations marks because I refuse to seriously call this place a club, even though the proprietors insist on doing so on their website. I forgot to bring my cleavage with me, or so I assumed when I compared my outfit to whom I can only imagine were townie prostitutes in the establishment's ladies room.

Thoroughly chastened for my lack of adequate fashion, I spent most of the evening in the balcony, raining down my judgment on others. It was fun.

A local band was playing, and the forty-year-old, recently-divorced, female groupies were just as entertaining as the forty-year-old, All-American Rejects wannabe band members. That is, until forty-year-old lead singer got felt up by one overzealous divorcee. At that point it was all I could do to keep down my dinner.

The only question remaining at the end of the evening was how the band could provide a video background that included clips from Dark Knight, among other popular movies. Copyright infringement, anyone?

Nonetheless, some of the tunes were dance-worthy and so I shook my tailfeathers with the best of 'em. However, I refused to dance in the cage. Just because your wood-paneled pub has a stage, dance floor, and cage dancer doesn't mean you've got yourself a hip nightclub. I'm talking to you, Pete Wentz lookalike who was running the soundboard.

All in all the evening reminded me of the time I was in Eagle River, WI, and my friends and I were joking that we should pick up some townies. We succeeded in drawing the attention of two male townies on a crotch rocket, and immediately threw them back in the townie fishpond, then hightailed it out of Eagle River. While I didn't catch any townies last night, the sentiment was the same.

It was a highly entertaining and much enjoyed evening.

Open Letter to THAT Person

Dear THAT Person,

Thank you so much for deigning to use your left-hand turn signal at the intersection today. It was kind of you to think of me as you belatedly realized that other human beings were in your vicinity.

I sincerely apologize that, as you sat idling in the middle of the intersection during the green light, that I was left unsure as to where you were going. There's no excuse for my lack of ESP, and I know that now. I don't know why I, too, was then left hesitating as I did not want to continue through the intersection for fear that you might turn and crash into my driver's side door. The ensuing horrific car crash would, no doubt, bruise three of my ribs, break my tibia, and potentially cause me internal bleeding. This ridiculous notion left me hesitant to make the first move, and I don't know if you can ever forgive me for that.

Please accept my humblest of apologies for beeping my horn at you. I seemed to have interrupted your texting. I will be forever grateful that, as the light turned yellow, you finally flipped on your blinker, indicating that, because I was venturing straight, I did, indeed, have the right-of-way. This left me wishing I could flip something of my own at you, and I am so glad that you were not able to read my thoughts at that moment. I will carry the shame of that vicious thought with me forever.

In hindsight, I realize that you were merely doing me a favor. You see, as I was forced to wait through another red light, I was able to rethink my past actions and finally understand that I was in the wrong in this situation. After all, this is your world, and I'm just living in it.

Sincerely,

Yours Truly