"The Simple Life"

The semester is coming to a close- and I am thrilled. It feels like each semester throughout the duration of my stay here at the University has gone by more swiftly than the previous. This semester began with me feeling things out, like a new apartment and living on my own, new classes and a new dog. Then towards the end of September, an aquaintance from the dorms last year approached me. We've been unseperatable ever since- despite not having a damn thing in common...He is a religious, pro-life, anti-gay marriage, conservative, farm boy who punches numbers, and I am let's say "quite the contrary."

I recently spent my first Thanksgiving away from home in another's home. I visited his farm and it was interesting to see how our worlds collided. At the initial point of my arrival I traded in my Frank Sarto heels for boots, my pinstrip pants for boy jeans with stains and rips and my cream turtle neck sweater for a red flannel shirt- all so we could go four-wheeling and milk cows. This was my first time seeing a cow... I felt like such a city girl the whole time- his friends made fun of me for not knowing what certain farm equipment was and for never skinning a squirrel. For whatever reason his whole family (all 27 of them) kept asking if I was a vegetarian or if I smoked. A city girl, vegetarian who smokes...hmmm, again "quite the contrary... Made me thankful I decided to take out some piercings and cover my tattoo with a watch. I got to jump around in hay stacks, have camp fires, drive a tractor and drive all the way to Iowa to eat at the nearest Pizza hut. I never really thought of myself as a city girl, but I somewhat do now and am proud. I trade stories and paths down memory lane with my friend Ben (who is also from the cities) and we both have similar contentions of driving around lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles and Nokomis. All in all, our stories are the same. People I have met from more rural areas seem to also share similar stories about getting drunk in someones barn and then running into the corn fields from the cops. In my friend Aaron's words, "It's all very perplexing."

This Christmas and New Years I am going to be away from home. Another first. I am flying to Paris Christmas Eve night and staying there for Christmas and New Years and then going to Berlin for a few days. I am so excited- I can't wait to work my butt off for finals then be finished and rewarded with a trip to Europe. Everyone asks me why I chose to do something elaborate like this so spontaneously, and informs me (as if I wasn't aware) how expensive flights are, how rash it is to buy tickets after deciding to go only a few days prior, and blah, blah, blah. I do not have a clever, well educated answer- I guess it's something kind of crazy and out there I wanted to just go out and do. And besides random, rash, spontaneous- are good things...I need to keep that in mind...

Some Hot, Others Bothered...

It's been ages. Anyways, this past weekend was definitely an experience. A fellow Daily reporter, myself and two photographers went to the "Sex and So Much More" show at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Saturday. I ended up doing more than "reporting." The girls and I scanned lingerie, penis shaped "fill-in-the-blank," and chatted with several of the venders and attendees. At one point in the show, the main stage featured the men of Xcaliber- male strippers... Now as a female, male strippers, the "chip and dale-esque" guys with bulging muscles soaked in baby oil make me want to ralph. (I seem to drift towards the pale, anorexic ones...haha) The announcer picked one "lucky" lady to come up on stage to sit in the "chair" and who was chosen?...Moi...I was so scared! I remember sitting there nervously sitting on my hands and trying not to shake. All of a sudden I see this stripper named "Polo" come out from behind me. The guy humped me, threw me up in the air, had me up on his shoulders and swinging upside down around his waist. It was so gross- but hilarious. After "Polo" finished collecting his ones and fives, I got up from my chair and walked toward the exit. The announcer wouldn't let me leave the stage. He made me participate in a "Fake Orgasm" contest. I was like "Please, don't make me do this!" I was mortified! After watching the microphone go down the line of girls screaming, moaning and groaning it was my turn! I let out a funny bellowing giggle/bird call and won the first round, then with a warrior mating type scream I won the final round. I won a pair of vibrating gloves. I was so proud, hahaha. When I got off stage people were clapping and asking me to autograph their chests, and other body parts. An attractive guy I had interviewed approached me later during the show and was like "I saw you on stage- that's going into the article right?" It was one of the funniest stories I have ever covered. The finished product was great. There were some concerns of course, being that it was a controversial topic to begin with. I've ranted about those concerns enough though...

Reporting has been pretty fun lately; I love answering phone calls all day- typing notes with the phone tucked in my shoulder, researching, getting coffee with other reporters...etc. Another reporter from my desk and I were bored and our stories weren't going anywhere so we randomly decided to go to City Hall to see what we could find. It was so fun being so spontaneous. We drove downtown and walked around the Government Center and City Hall. At one point we saw another reporter and a camera crew and we decided to follow them to see if there was a story. It was so funny- we ended up following them to the bathroom and all around City Hall- and trying not to be obvious. No story there. But we did get in with some city council members and I got some call sfrom them even after I left there and the office. The reporter I went with is going to be my date for the Daily Holiday party. I bought a new dress and shoes so I am excited. It will be nice to get all dolled up and feel sexy. I'm also excited to show off my horrible dancing and just get to know my co-workers better. If it sucks, we decided we'd just get drunk...