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December 23rd, 2009
06:30 pm - Merry Christmas to Me
On the eve of Christmas Eve Eve, I enjoyed a little present from KS95. Through their Points for Prizes program, I entered a drawing and won 2 tickets to "Cirque Dreams Holidaze" at Mystic Lake. Cirque Productions shows combine the European cirque-style of performance artistry with American circus arts and Broadway theatrics. The music and costumes had a holiday theme, but the acts were similar to what might be seen in any cirque production. I have seen some of these acrobatic spectacles before in other shows. However, Cirque amazed me by going at least one step further than expected in most of the acts. I could describe the props and actions, but it would be impossible to share the wonder of the moment.
Rhesa used the other show ticket. She had never been to Mystic, so I helped get her lost among the slot machines and blackjack tables. I planned to take a $100 bill and break it into smaller bills when I cashed out. Before the show, we sat down to play a little. On two machines, I dropped $10. So far it was going according to plan.
After the show, Rhesa spotted "Frog Princess," a machine she thought she liked until she remembered that it was actually "Frog Prince." We sat down anyway. She used her dollar on one spin (100 lines at 1 cent per line)--she meant to do 10 lines at a time. I kept the machine at the 2 cent denomination but played 50 lines for the same $1.00 bet per spin. Within a few rounds, I won a 10 spin bonus. When certain images appeared, I was allowed to select one of 10 princes. Most of them revealed an increase to the prize multiplier. 250 credits won = $5.00. Not too bad. I continued playing and quickly got the bonus again. This time I picked princes that added 30 more spins and increased the prize multiplier to 7x. The final tally was 9,250 credits. That's $185! During the bonus run, one guy stopped to watch and a guy on the other side of the bank of machines came over to see what was happening. I played a few more rounds to cash out exactly $210.
This broke my plan. Instead of leaving with smaller bills, I had the option to walk out with 3-$100 bills. Don't worry. I wasn't complaining about my misfortune.
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December 20th, 2009
09:52 pm - Continuing Toward Christmas
Oops...I didn't have a chance to post last week. So here are two weeks of highlights:
+Invictus (Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela)
+Thrivent Year-End Dinner at Sixth Street Grill in Howard Lake. By the time they brought food out to our group of 20, I had to eat quickly in order to make it to my next event...
+Holiday Concert by Buffalo Community Orchestra, Wright County Chamber Chorus, and wRight Ringers.
+Music at two church services (Worship Choir and Bell Choir)
+LAMC Holiday Concert at Bernie Aaker Auditorium. We had a great turnout.
+PHB Christmas Party at Squeaky's Grill & Bar attached to the Hutch Bowl. We didn't bowl though because local teenagers filled the lanes during open bowling after league play ended.
+Final Christmas shopping in St. Cloud. (Traffic and crowds were worse than Black Friday.)
+Avatar in 3-D (James Cameron's blockbuster) I tried to see it in St. Cloud, but the showing was sold out, so I drove down I-94 to Monticello.
+Sunday School Christmas program. Despite attending just one service, I was at church for more than three hours. The Praise Band played, so we had to set up sound equipment for the guitars. Then we had multiple microphones for the kids. And since we were in front of the church, I needed the lectern mic jack to plug the mixer into the system. Therefore, I also needed the lectern mic running through the mixer. The only failure came when kids played guitar solos without amplification during the offering. When we were taking down the equipment, a group (kids, piano, organ) was practicing "Christmas Canon" (by Transiberian Orchestra) for Christmas Eve, so I stayed to set up microphones for them.
+Done.
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December 7th, 2009
09:16 pm - Christmas Kickoff
To Luther we will go. Well, just me. The dusting of snow and colder temperatures created an adequate atmosphere for the Christmas at Luther concert (It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas). Joy to the World was the theme. The mural, designed by Luther alumna and Decorah native Robyn Sand Anderson, was not a typical Nativity scene. A globe in the center was surrounded by flowers, plains, trees, heads of wheat, a sheep and shepherd's crook, and waterfall. No people. No manger. No stars. At least it didn't distract from the great music: the variety of choirs, both small and large ensembles, and combination of instrumental and vocal anthems.
My seat was K-1, which I knew was on the left edge in the balcony, but I did not know it was the front row. I liked the perspective looking over the musicians, but it was strange when they came down the aisles because I mostly heard the one section near me. When I sat at the right side of the main floor in prior years, there were voices on both sides because an aisle goes along the wall.
I left at 2:15 PM for the 6:30 show on Friday. Twin Cities traffic and a semi south of Rochester slowed me down more than I thought. I ended up parking at 6:25 and briskly walked to the CFL balcony just before the ushers closed the doors. I left town by 10 PM for my motel room at the Trailhead Inn in Preston. My drive continued Saturday morning as I headed to Mall of America, where Tara and I fought the crowds (O Come All Ye Faithful) to do a little Christmas shopping. Then, I went to Lakeville for a little more shopping before cutting across toward Red Wing. After giving $20 to the Indians, I drove up to Hastings where Tinah hosted a party celebrating her little one's first birthday (What Child is This?). Finally, at 12:30 AM Sunday morning (It Came Upon a Midnight Clear), I made it home. It was a whirlwind tour (Over the River and Through the Woods), and my car surpassed 180,000 miles on the way. I think my pace to reach 200,000 miles might come closer to Thanksgiving than Christmas.
All of my driving to this point did not stop me from one more trip out Sunday. I went to Buffalo to see "The Blind Side." While I knew it would be a good movie, it exceeded my expectations. I was surprised by the number of people present, especially families with children (rated PG-13).
Since this was my Christmas kickoff, I added Christmas/Winter song titles as they fit in my story.
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December 1st, 2009
08:24 pm - Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving weekend had a few variations to the typical holiday festivities. First, there were timpanis at St. James. Ryan L. played trumpet (his primary instrument is trombone), Lisa K. played flute, and I banged on the kettledrums. Because I was positioned in front of the organ pipes, I had to play loud enough to be heard. Many people commented on how much they liked the special music. I joked that we should hold off improvements to the sound system so we can purchase timpanis for the church.
The second odd activity of the weekend was the wedding of Ryan and Sarah. It's a mixed marriage (Catheran or Lutherolic). The ceremony was held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Waverly, but Ryan's dad, who is an LCMS pastor, was invited to say a few words. The music was provided by organ, viola, french horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and cantors. The reception and dance were held at the Lake Waconia Event Center, which has been in the news because of issues with their septic system. The seating was interesting. With the large ballroom floor in the center, I think the family/friends of the bride and groom were kept to separate sides of the room. Each table had a theme. I was seated at the St. James table rather than the Luther table. Another Luther alum was seated at the Door County table. There were also familiar faces at the Dassel-Cokato teachers table.
One familiar part of the weekend was Black Friday shopping. Mom, Tara, and I left at 6 AM to avoid the earliest crowds. Our first stop, Walmart, was the busiest, and there was no organization around the cash registers. A woman stared in disgust at the lines and announced, "I just wanted to buy envelopes, copy paper, and printer ink." Why did she think it was a good idea to make that purchase at 7:30 AM on Black Friday? Many other stores set up a single entry point to the cash registers with a single employee telling customers where to go. By the time we stopped at Perkins for lunch around 1 PM, we had no trouble finding a parking space. They told us their busiest time was 7-8 AM. In general, the crowds and traffic was lighter than other years. My biggest purchase was a 7.5' Christmas tree prelit with 400 lights for $70 instead of the regular price of $250.
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November 26th, 2009
12:56 am - Opening Windows
Dad went with Tara and Ben up north seeking deer. That left Mom as a hunter's widow. So I went with her to Mystic Lake Casino. I was ahead $15 after two machines and would have called it a night, but Mom wasn't ready to leave. As a result, I ended up giving back my winnings plus $2 more. Meanwhile, Mom won on the next machine and had to play more machines.
While she was playing, I eyed a girl standing in the same area. She was glancing at her phone, then looking across the room. She'd left the area but came back numerous times. Finally, I got the nerve to ask her, "It looks like you're waiting for someone. Did you say to meet by the pillar?" I returned to my position where I could watch the animated crabs scroll across the screen. Mom asked, "Who was that?" I responded, "Some random girl." She was still there when Mom finished playing, so we talked a little more. I found out she was waiting for a particular machine to open up. Of course, I thought of a good line after we walked out. I should have asked, "Are you playing alone? Would you like my phone number for the next time you need a gambling buddy?" That would have been great. But I failed. No wonder I'm still single.
Although I was alone Saturday, I went to the Dassel-Cokato High School performance of the musical "Little Women." Although the book was published in the late 1860s and a play has existed since 1912, it was adapted as a musical in 2005. Usually high schools stick to the classic scripts, D-C has brought some interesting shows to the stage recently.
I think this the first reference to a home improvement project at my address. I had 10 single-pane wood windows replaced with 5 vinyl windows through K-Designers. Now, all of the rectangular holes in the exterior contain vinyl windows (unless the hole was designed for a door). I'll post pictures and share more stories later. It is too early to really notice any energy savings, but they definitely look different.
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November 17th, 2009
09:16 pm - Time Capsule
It's hard to get up in time to play Time Capsule, but it happened this morning. Hearing the decent prizes in the bin, I decided to take a crack at it.
Name the month and year the following events happened:
+The McCaughey septuplets were born in Iowa.
+An English nanny was convicted in the death of a shaken baby.
+Rudy Giuliani was re-elected mayor of New York.
+High winds pushed the Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost at the Macy's parade.
+Roger Clemens received his 4th Cy Young award.
+Ken Griffey, Jr, and Larry Walker were named baseball's MVPs.
Hmm...it's definitely November (Thanksgiving and election), but the year is difficult. The music narrowed it down to the mid- or late-1990s. If I knew the NYC mayor election cycle, I'd have this locked in. It can't be 1998 because that was the year Sosa and McGwire had their home run race. What about 1999 or 2000? No way. What about 1995 or 1996? Reasonable. So I said 1997. And it was right. November 1997.
With the win, I chose a movie pass to the Buffalo Cinema.
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November 16th, 2009
07:25 pm - Wisconsin Is The New North Pole
I know an apocalyptic action movie is better enjoyed when one doesn't press for plausibility, but I did have an issue with one scene that is shown in the previews: As California crumbles, John Cusack and friends take off in a twin prop plane from Pasadena. Since they are in a plane, why do they stay so close to the ground? I suppose it's a better camera angle to watch buildings fall and people drop into the abyss.
See, I could have complained about the science of neutrinos from solar flares acting like microwaves to heat the planet's core such that the earth's crust shifts entirely and the world's magnetic field weakens to the point that the poles reversed.
If I put aside any attempt to debase the writers, I can focus on the disaster effects and how the speakers made the theater rumble. This is a situation when the Monster Screen in Monticello is the best movie-watching experience. But I didn't need grandiose CGI or sound effects to enjoy the following line: "What you're telling me is that the North Pole is somewhere in Wisconsin?" "Actually, sir, it's the South Pole." Except that Minnesota is it's neighbor, I think that's a great place for the State of Cheese.
Since the world was still intact when I left the movie, I continued with my weekend as planned. LAMC had their annual Spaghetti and Song on Saturday. Attendance was lower than last year. (Was it because the Litchfield High School Marching Band held their indoor concert the same night?) However, we had lots of excess food supplies because we planned for a crowd similar to 2008, when the line never seemed to stop coming in the door.
Sunday morning was much like other third Sundays. Worship Choir sang at early service; Praise Band played at late service. Also, since grades 5-8 sang from the balcony in the late service and other balcony regulars wanted to stay upstairs, the pews were completely full (except the ones we wanted removed at the voter's meeting).
The afternoon was spent at Maple Lake Bowl for St. James Day. I bowled four games (134, 159, 146, 135) on a lane with three other people from church. Because two were kids, the bumpers were up. (One of the kids called me a "grown man," so I asked, "How old do you think I am?" "23.") The scores aren't completely honest, though, because I achieved two spares on balls that should have gone into the gutter. There were some legitimately good shots, too. I picked up a 5-10 split and according to the scorecard, I made spares out of two other easier splits. Also, I played three balls in the 10th frame of all four games. Therefore, out of 44 opportunities, I scored 9 strikes and 16 spares. (That still amounts to 19 open frames.) I wonder how my back will feel tomorrow.
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November 12th, 2009
11:34 pm - Come Out!!!
Because the children's picture book still has too many words, I chose to see the movie version of "Where the Wild Things Are." I wonder how I might have viewed the movie differently if I had read the book. It was an odd film to me...kind of like certain British films, such as "About a Boy" or "Millions," where the kids control the story. As a result, you get strange, but fun, segments like the dirt fight where the following exchange took place: "Come out!!" "No!" "Why not?" "Uh, 'cause you're gonna hit us in the head with dirt." "Come out!!" "Nooooo!!!" "Why not?" "Because when I said you're gonna hit us in the head with dirt, you didn't say anything. That means you're planning hit us in the head with dirt." Quietly to his team, "Man, they really have us figured out."
Or when Carol, in an angry tantrum, rips off the arm of his best friend, the bird-like Douglas. Sand pours out as Douglas laments, "That was my favorite arm." Later scenes show Douglas with a forked stick protruding from the empty shoulder socket.
I guess the story is summed up in one quote: "Family is hard." Once Max realized this, he left the land of the wild things and went home.
On a separate note, we hear advertisements for the Bingo Emporium on MIX 94.9 all the time. Since I previously noted that the casinos don't pay out on Sundays, I headed to St. Cloud for a little daubing action. I consider my time at the bingo parlor to be entertainment rather than gambling. So it didn't matter that I didn't win or even come close to winning in most rounds However, in the very last round, I needed O-75 for victory, which I indicated to a lady sitting nearby. We watched the next ball, G-57. Ooh, transposed. Another ball: B-5. And another person won. I was ready for the next ball to be B-7...anything similar to what I need, but not the right number.
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November 6th, 2009
08:39 pm - The Monsters Came Out Last Week
Although I had plenty of candy, I did not decorate the house for Halloween. Instead, Paul and I went out to a sports bar to watch the Gophers play a wild football game against Michigan State. We didn't dress up, but we saw lots of people in costume.
The football monsters came out Sunday when the Vikings visited Green Bay. At least the Purple People won.
Many would look at Michael Jackson and call him a monster. I went to "This Is It" on Tuesday. (A documentary made from video recorded behind the scenes as Jackson prepared for a 50 performance show in London.) Although his face and hair are quite scare, Jackson exhibited his skills as a singer, dancer, choreographer, and performer. Based on the preparations, it would have been an amazing show.
Finally, I'll address the biggest, scariest monsters: the New York Yankees. Despite my desires for the the Phillies to take home their second consecutive championship, the Yankees were too much. In the ranks of ways to influence a baseball game, apparently wishing and hoping is a step below attend, cheering, and wearing a jersey. However, I have to admit that Johnny Damon's baserunning in game 4 was amazing. He stole second base. Because the Phillies' infield was shifted dramatically to the right, third baseman Pedro Feliz took the throw. Damon popped up quickly and outran Feliz to third base. In terms of monsters, remember Damon's caveman look during his time in Boston?
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October 28th, 2009
11:08 pm - The Truth = Facts (and only facts)
I learned about the fictional evolution that brought humankind to discover lying--saying that which isn't--at "The Invention of Lying." The movie had an interesting premise, but the part I found strange is that people didn't just speak the truth at all times, but they said anything that went through their mind without any discretion.
The Litchfield Area Male Chorus had a full day of singing on Sunday. First, we went to the Fort Snelling Chapel as we do every 4th Sunday in October. As usual, the chaplain gave a long (35 minutes) sermon. There was also a baptism. The service concluded nearly 90 minutes after it started. After lunch at Old Country Buffet, we continued to Buffalo for a joint concert with the Wright County Chamber Chorus. It was a success that brought in a larger audience than most WCCC concerts I've attended.
On a quiet Tuesday evening, I decided to do something with the apples I've accumulated. I picked Haralson apples from the farm. Someone else gave me another variety. As I peeled/cored the apples, I could definitely tell the difference. Haralsons are very crunchy. The others were soft and broke apart in my hand. My finished product was an apple crisp. I brought it to work Wednesday morning and took and empty dish home that night.
St. James held another fellowship night. The meal was beef stew with local vegetables. People were invited to share pickled products of all types. There were cucumbers, olives, beans, asparagus, beets, and eggs. Unlike my apple crisp, there were leftover pickled items at the end of the meal.
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October 23rd, 2009
11:47 pm - Volunteer Day
Something was amiss as I read the comics in the Star Tribune on Friday, October 23. There are 35 different comics in the Variety section, and I repeatedly saw the word "volunteer." Of course, all of them had a humorous twist.
+Blondie (Dagwood teaching seniors how to make a perfect sandwich.)
+Pickles (Opal reading a children's book at school...to adults?)
+Dilbert (Dogbert teaching Elbonians how to give by making them mow his lawn for free.)
+Garfield (Jon helped clean up the city park and got to swing on the swings.)
+Edison Lee ("Meals on Wheels" does not involve riding in an ice cream truck.)
+Baby Blues (Since Zoe was limited to doing just one of the five project she signed up for, she said, "Saving the planet is going to take longer than I thought.")
+Stone Soup (Grandma is planning to build houses in Thailand. "She's younger than us in some ways.)
+Family Circus (Dolly and PJ were helping put away dishes. Billy asked, "Can I volunteer to be some 'nother help.)
+Dennis the Menace (Joey and Dennis washed windows on the Wilson's house, but Mr. Wilson opened the window. A sign in the corner of the frame said, "Volunteer to help others.")
+Hi and Lois (Lois volunteered Hi to help on a Habitat for Humanity project so that he would get started there and continue doing projects at home.)
+Hagar the Horrible ("Not only do you help to improve our world, but you will feel better personally by volunteering. So...who wants to volunteer to go up the ladder first.")
+Luann ("Woohoo! Volunteers rule!" "I volunteer to be the score-keeper of volunteering.")
And if you find "Pooch Cafe" hidden in the classifieds section, you'll see that Poncho was volunteering at the hospital all week. It made him feel so good, he got the "I rolled in the garbage" look.
Why is this common theme in so many comics on the same day?
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11:09 pm - Removing...People, Grass, Pews
I have no excuse for posting this late this time. I'm just slow.
For the second movie in a row, I was by myself in the theater. I went to "Zombieland" in Buffalo last Saturday. The solitude surprised me, but I enjoyed it.
After the movie, I drove to Stanley Eddy County Park to check out the trees. The leaves were mostly yellow-green and yellow-brown. The pictures are close to being available for public viewing. I uploaded the pictures, but I need to caption them.
The weather has been passing back and forth between wet and dry. I want to mow my lawn one more time before winter settles in. I should have done it last weekend. Instead, I started Monday. In 15 minutes, I made a few passes around one section. Then I realized I had to rake leaves before I could finish. A Thrivent chapter meeting interrupted my work. Although it was dark, I bagged the leaf piles. Tonight, I finished mowing that section and mowed another section. Now, I only have to rake and mow the western portion where I have a maple and an oak that have plenty of leaves to drop.
Perhaps the most exciting event last week was the quarterly voters meeting at St. James. Attendance was low because of MEA weekend. The agenda moved along quickly as reports were printed for most of the boards. When old business came up, I had to stop Burton before he moved ahead so we could discuss an important topic: a proposal to remove a portion of the pews in the balcony. Although I did not write the proposal, I was the frontman to announce key points and answer questions. A vocal roll call was seemingly favoring the motion, but one member recommended that we vote by a show of hands. The result was 28-12 (or so) to approve the proposal. However, it only took one day for an email to reach my inbox that the decision was causing an uproar (phone calls/emails to church). At choir Wednesday, we saw a note in the pews stating a potential issue with state fire code. This will continue to play out, but I am pretty sure we will be able to remove the pews as planned.
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October 16th, 2009
07:09 pm - Snowy Green
It's been one of those weeks. Praise band practice Monday, church council Tuesday, church choir Wednesday, LAMC practice Thursday. Any free time in the evenings has been taken by television, Facebook, and preparing the Powerpoint slides for Sunday. I took a break to finally write things down.
Three weekends, three casinos. Trips to Mystic Lake and Treasure Island have already been chronicled. Last Sunday, I rode with Mom and Dad as we checked out the colorful leaves in the area. Under that same excuse, we drove to Mille Lacs Lake and stopped at Grand Casino. I should have left before I played a single machine. Just by signing up for a players card, they gave me $10. A real $10 bill, not $10 slot comps built into the card. I proceeded to spend their money and a little of my own. I think I've stated this before: I should stay away from casinos on Sundays if I want to win anything.
Speaking of leaves, I went to Carl Johnson County Park Saturday to take pictures after the light snowfall. Instead of getting a casual frost to start the colors in motion, we went right into a hard freeze for consecutive nights. A half inch of snow fell Saturday morning. Another two inches fell Monday. Additional rain in the following days had moments of white. One surprise by the sudden weather change is that the wind behind the cold front bared the ash trees although their leaves were still green. The pictures will be fun to compare against the ones I took a year ago.
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October 8th, 2009
09:39 pm - Betting for Entertainment
When I left Decorah Sunday, I took a detour through Red Wing. I left the fast four-lane highway south of Rochester for a hilly drive toward Lake City. I bet it would be gorgeous if I was there two or three weeks later. The drive took an hour longer than my normal route, but it was only 25 miles longer.
The Twins bet that October 4 would be the last regular season game at the Metrodome. Management brought in as many Dome players as possible to celebrate. Kent Hrbek gave a speech, but he had to revise it: "I wrote this speech thinking this was going to be it; it's not 'it.' You guys went and screwed up my whole speech. We've got to come back here on Tuesday and drink some more beer....When we needed a win, where did we go? To the Dome. We could always count on this place because of the fans, and the stupid roof over our heads. We had a lot of fun here." I heard most of the postgame ceremony on the drive to Treasure Island.
I bet my cell phone would last the weekend, so I left my charger at home. However, my battery died early Sunday, which I blame on slow to non-responsive Internet. To my knowledge, the only person who tried to call me was Tara.
Tara bet I would be at Treasure Island. She remembered that I considered making it a stop on my route, but she could not reach me by phone. So she went anyway. Neither of us was there more than ten minutes when she found me. Within a few more minutes, we ran into Ben's family. (Tara didn't know they would be there.) What amazing timing!
The final series of betting combined the Twins and a movie on Tuesday. I drove to Buffalo betting that the Twins game would be done before a movie started. (I went into the theater in the middle of the 8th.) Then I bet the game would be done when I came out. (Dan Gladden was interviewing Bobby Keppel in the postgame show.) I saw "(500) Days of Summer." Instead of using a free movie pass, I chose to get two stamps toward another free movie. The movie started with a limited release on July 17. It reached Buffalo after Labor Day. I bet it will be out of Buffalo this weekend. The combination of seeing a movie that has been in theaters for months on a Tuesday while the Twins played their biggest game of the year granted me a long desired wish: Having the entire screen to myself.
The only bets that cost money were the slot machines ($12) and movie ($6).
Now I bet the Twins will finally get their first win in new Yankee Stadium. Go Blackburn!
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October 6th, 2009
10:52 pm - Homecoming at Luther
It's been five years since graduating from Luther. To commemorate the milestone, the college welcomed us back for a little reunion.
The football game was a mudfest as a drizzle fell during the cool day. Since the teams didn't move the ball well, there were three muddy areas. One was five yards to either side of mid-field, which wiped out most of the Luther logo. The other two were between the 30 and 40 yard lines on each side of the field. The best punt I saw came with Luther at the Simpson 49 on 4th-and-1. They lined up with the quarterback taking the shotgun snap. He fooled the defense by kicking the ball to the 4 yard line. The Norse beat Simpson 23-13 in a game dominated by the run.
The Sampson-Hoffland Laboratories was built in summer 2008. It is attached to the east end of Valders Hall of Science. Valders then received a renovation in summer 2009. I took the time to explore the buildings during the open house Saturday. It looks really nice. For example, you'll do a double take when you see the main lecture hall. Perhaps the most surprising change is that the main concourse ramp is gone; the upper levels are connected by a flat walkway. See my pictures when I get them posted.
The other aesthetic change to campus is seen around the bell green. The straight road between the CFL and the Campus House had been closed after the Union was renovated. Now the road is gone. Also, they removed the section of road between the Union and the Campus House. In other words, if you enter campus and drive up the hill past Ylvisaker, you have to drive past Valders, the CFL, the Union, and behind Main. Then you could continue straight or turn on the road in front of Larsen or the road behind Olson. Add in the road closed by the positioning of Sampson-Hoffland, and it's harder to drive through campus.
I also heard plenty of Luther music on Sunday. The 80-minute Festival Eucharist had music provided by the Handbell Choir, Brass Ensemble, Aurora (freshmen women's choir), Cathedral Choir, Cantorei, Collegiate Choir, and Norsemen. The Homecoming Concert featured the Symphony Orchestra, Nordic Choir, and Concert Band.
There were departmental gatherings at various buildings on Saturday. There were not too many people at Olin, but I saw some accounting and computer science majors. Math was poorly represented. And I won't say anything about economics. I don't know who would major in economics (on purpose).
The main reunion of the Class of 2004 took place at Club Pyramid. It's in the same building as Americana Grille. It was nice to see so many people again. (Including the situations of "I know the face, but I can't place a name.") In some ways it was like being on campus, passing familiar faces with little more than a quick hello. But there was also the opportunity to chat with those I hadn't seen much if at all since graduation. To no one's surprise, most people stayed within the social circles they had in college. But at Luther, those circles expanded pretty wide.
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September 29th, 2009
10:48 pm - Mystic Mini-Golf Singing
After staying home the past two weekends, it was time to get out of town. A couple firm partners and I attended a CPE seminar in Bloomington on Friday. Since I was in the metro area, I called the Bushes about doing something. That something was mini-golf at MOA. We originally thought to go bowling, but the lanes were very busy...and we were 90 minutes early for open bowling. After we departed, I took a short detour to Prior Lake and wandered the busy aisles of Mystic Lake Casino. Because it was very busy, I only played two machines. But I had a $21 bonus and came out $12 ahead on the night.
My latest movie goings have been anti something. Anti-alien. Anti-Nazi. Anti-robots. Or was it anti-human? I saw "Surrogates" on Saturday. Bruce Willis saved the day again. The future can't even stop him.
There was special music at both church services Sunday. Worship Choir was part of late service even though the entire soprano section had to rush out afterward to help with the LWML dinner. Aaron told Ryan ahead of time that he wouldn't be able to sing with the choir (because he had Vikings tickets). So he did not get a message as Ryan called together the male quartet over the weekend. The other Cokato Tom filled in. We were surprised to see Aaron at early service when we sang "Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus" as pre-service music. The quartet also sang a verse of the sermon hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." Worship Choir sang that verse in late service.
During the Vikings and Twins games, I saw the wind blowing, but I did not realize that the temperature dropped until I went outside to mow my lawn. Fall set in quickly.
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September 22nd, 2009
09:25 pm - That Stings
Traffic caught up to a minivan pulling a trailer on Hwy 15. Some vehicles were able to pass, but I had to wait behind it up to Hwy 12 and into Dassel. As I patiently waited to reach the bypass lane east of Dassel, I had a great opportunity to scan the items on the trailer. However, my eyes stayed fixed on one particular item: an artificial Christmas tree...with the decorations still attached. The decorations included garland AND bulbs. It's one thing to move the Christmas tree to the basement intact. It's another to drive it down the road with bulbs waving in the wind. Imagine what would happen if any bulbs fell off!
I did a little work outdoors on Saturday. How did nature repay me? With a bee sting! And I broke my headphones in the process! When I edged my lawn last fall, I created a ridge in certain spots along the sidewalk. Pondering ways to fix this all summer, I finally started the manual labor this month. I removed sod up to eight inches from the edge of the sidewalk and leveled out the surface. Then I scooped up the excess dirt and filled in holes in the lawn. The biggest area to fill runs along the north side of my house. I was carrying two empty pails at the time I noticed something in my hair [the bee]. Two soft swipes was enough to get it out, but it landed on my arm and proceeded to sting me. As I swung across my body to knock it off, the pail hit the side of my head and broke my headphones. A lot of superglue may have fixed it enough for future use, but not for Saturday. Thus I could not listen to the middle of the Gopher/California football game. I saw more bees in the area climbing through a small hole between the foundation and wood of my house. That's a problem. Any ideas how to solve it? I stopped working in that area and used the remaining dirt on the south side of my house where I seeded a couple of bare spots.
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September 16th, 2009
10:21 pm - St. James Rally Day
Weeks of planning led up to Rally Day, where a single outdoor service welcomed members and visitors back to St. James for a new year. The praise band provided music before, after, and during the service. The women's choir, grade school kids, and Sunday School kids also sang. Although Pastor Schoenfeld gave the sermon, Pastor Nirva and Tom Langemo had roles representing the brothers in the story of the prodigal son.
Pastor Nirva's first words (with a Norwegian accent): "I'm Gunter. I've been out sinning. I haven't treated my wife, Lena, the way I should. I haven't kept the nine commandments. What? There are ten? I haven't kept that one either." He summarized it by saying, "There's no way I'm welcome here. I'll leave. You can keep Lena." Of course, Pastor Schoenfeld reassured "Gunter" that his presence was welcome and they were even putting on a party for people like him. Then Tom popped out of the congregation as the indignant son who has been faithful to the church.
My biggest concerns involved the praise band and the sound system. The planning committee obtained a small system with two speakers, a wired microphone, and a wireless microphone. When the praise band practiced Saturday evening, we brought over a small mixer, two flat conference mics, a wireless microphone, and two amps (one for the congregation, one for a monitor). We plugged in three guitars and a keyboard. Fighting mosquitoes as the sun went down, we barely figured out the setup before we had to take everything down to put indoors overnight. Setup went more smoothly Sunday morning. And our testing paid off because we only heard positive comments about the music.
The biggest fear overall was poor weather conditions. For most of the week leading up to it, meteorologists predicted rain for the weekend. The forecast changed daily until the actual days came and the sun shone brightly. About halfway through the service, a light breeze caused extra noise in the flat mics. Overall, it was a successful day.
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September 8th, 2009
08:46 pm - Two for One Update
You get double the updates for the same low price. Because I didn't write on the usual schedule, I'm catching up. It helps that the last weekend of August was pretty quiet.
I went to "Inglourious Basterds," the latest Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt and a host of unknown actors. In Tarantino style, it is mostly outrageous and over the top. The ending scene was a little too much, but it was pretty good overall.
Labor Day weekend was a bit boring, but I found some stuff to do. I had to do business in Litchfield, so I took my clubs along and played nine holes at the Litchfield Golf Course. It is well-established with trees lining every hole. It is also well-maintained. I shot 48, but I easily could have saved 4 strokes from missing short putts. Then, in the evening, Rhesa called me over to her parents to play cards. At least in 500, you want a high score.
There were two State Fair trips in the period: the first Saturday (with Luther friends) and Labor Day (with family). Amazingly, it did not rain during the duration of the fair. The weather was also relatively cool. As a result, a new attendance record was set, including two daily records. Labor Day did not seem that busy, though, because we stayed on the fringes of the fairgrounds--Creative Arts, animal barns, Shenaniguns Comedy Wild West Show. The Luther group attempted to watch the show on Saturday, but too many other people had the same idea, so we left. My parents and I got there sooner on Labor Day, which allowed us to sit for an hour. The jokes were bad, but we were warned in advance that the show was rated "R" for ridiculous. I did get some comedy on Saturday, though. After the other Luther people went home, I watched an improv comedy show at the International Bazaar. But who cares about comedy? The point of the fair is food on sticks. And I ate plenty of deep-fried foods. I also stopped at my favorite booth both days: the Health Fair weigh-in.
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September 1st, 2009
10:09 pm - Time Capsule Winner
Having listened to so many Time Capsule games, I can pick up cues that indicate the month or year. However, there was one clue in today's set that, as a Twins fan, I had to know. Can you give the correct answer?
+India and Pakistan resumed nuclear tests. A quote from President Clinton mentioned the approach of the 21st century.
+76 million people tuned in to the final episode of "Seinfeld."
+"Murphy Brown" also ended its run.
+We said goodbye to Eddie Rabbit and Barry Goldwater.
+David Wells pitched a perfect game [against the Twins].
+Real Quiet won the Preakness.
+Eddie Cheever, Jr., won the Indianapolis 500.
There are a lot of clues, which made it easy to answer May 1998.
With the correct answer, I selected a movie pass to the Buffalo Cinema.
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