My day off....

Yesterday I took my first official vacation day from work...

I found myself trekking 3 hours to my 91 year old Great Uncle's funeral on the Iron Range in Northern MN. There's a bridge in Cloquet that spans a wide river, next to the bridge is a gas station that was built by Frank Lloyd Wright, once you cross the bridge, you are entering a whole new world.

I knew I was in an alternate universe when I saw Willie Nelson's doppelganger on the side of the road. It was hard to miss the only human walking down a desolate stretch of country road on a bitterly cold day, especially one clad in a red bandanna and leather vest. I wondered what Willie Nelson was up to, until he stuck his thumb up in the air. I can't remember the last time I saw a hitchhiker, let alone one that looks like Willie Nelson. Does this method of transportation work in this day and age? Is there anyone that would dare pick up a hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere? My mom and I did not pick up Willie Nelson. Sorry Willie!

My Uncle Ed lived a long and fulfilled life as a community leader, farmer, teacher and humorist. He was even sure to write a limerick as to how he would like to be remembered, because he saw the last of his days coming for 10 years now. The end of his limerick encouraged us to disperse and celebrate.

And we celebrated in true Lutheran fashion. Anyone who's ever thought the Church Basement Ladies was an exaggeration needs to head up to the range to witness the spread of food I saw yesterday. Never before in my life have I had more options when it came to hot dish and jello salad. Oh... and to top it all off... there was a separate "dessert" tables piled with bars and bundt cake. Now, I was a little confused as to why the jello salad was not on the dessert table, but I decided to overlook the disparity as I plopped some green jello next to some red jello.

As I enjoyed my hot dishes and jello salads, I watched the church ladies replenish the never ending supply of food and hustle plates from tables faster than any buser I've ever seen. These women were amazing... and I bet that if they wanted to, they could operate a pretty successful restaurant in their free time. They even had a woman named Ena acting as the church barista by ensuring that there was always a full cup of coffee ready to drink.

I caught up with my cousin Bryan who is teaching English in South Africa and I guess when you are a tall Caucasian male with long-ish wavy hair you attract some attention there. When he goes out for runs the villagers shout out funny things to him. They ask him "What is your kind?" "What species are you?" but probably the best thing they ask his is "What is your staple food?" Now he never really knew how to answer that. Really, what is our staple food in America? Sometimes he would respond with "pizza" or "hamburger," but upon feasting at Uncle Ed's funeral he can now proudly respond with "hot dish" or "jello salad."

Bryan and I both agreed that there was one thing missing from the food menu... squeaky cheese... which if you've never had this cheesy delight... I highly recommend you try it!

Squeaky cheese or not, it was a nice funeral service and it gave me a chance to catch up with some of my family and honor my uncle Ed, the last remaining Finn in my family.

Behind Purple Cat Eyes

I was in my bedroom when Matt and Lisa arrived... but I could still hear their exclamations from the living room:
"This apartment is amazing!"

Our apartment is not amazing by any means...but the thing about Matt and Lisa... is that the two of them are filled with more enthusiasm than a class of 1st graders on a field trip to the zoo. For example, later in the evening Matt raved about how our tap water was the best tap water he'd ever tasted in his life. I am fortunate enough to know such exuberant people because they are my roommate's sister and brother in-law.

Matt and Lisa (Mattalisa for short) are always off on adventures. It doesn't matter if it's kite surfing in North Carolina or a trip to the grocery store... they could make both scenarios sound equally important and captivating. I've had several mini adventures with my roommate and MattaLisa...and whether they're patiently trying to teach me how to water ski... helping me navigate the New York subway system... introducing me to the world that is a high school swim meet... or just sitting around doing nothing... I leave the experience feeling inspired and energized beyond words.

I ran out of my room to greet Mattalisa on their most recent visit and after they raved about our apartment (along with our L-shaped couch, Christmas lights and the reasonable cost of living in our area)...we trekked several blocks in the snowy January night to a sketch comedy show.

The comedy show was followed by Mattalisa conversation at it's finest! I won't even try to explain the details because I could never fully do it justice... but just know that on this particular evening Mattalisa expressed their love for my new purple glasses... which lead to the creation of the nickname "Cat Eye"... which was immediately followed by a discussion of long teal scarves... wearing black dresses whenever I want...and the baby that was residing in Lisa's uterus controlling her every movement.

The conversation starts on one topic and Mattalisa will brilliantly interject and send the conversation on an entirely new tangent... having ADD is almost a requirement to keep up. When it's all said and done... regardless of the subject matter... these random weavings of a conversation will leave you feeling like you want to fill every moment of everyday so you can experience everything you've ever wanted to in this world... and more.

So I am choosing to name my blog after a nickname given to me by two awesome human beings who inspire me and who also happen to be really good at drawing giraffes with crayons (The evidence is hanging up in my roommate's bedroom if you care to see it.)