Today the governor stopped through town and he went off about how the media spins every story to the negative. Good thing I was already not voting for him.

Today is a holiday, but it was a far from festive mood most of the day at our office. We found out our news editor was quitting yesterday and today we all had to talk with a news editor candidate. I think that caught us all off-guard because we were told advertisements didn't go out until yesterday. And the photographer was in a foul mood, causing the rest of us to be generally silent so we wouldn't get our heads bitten off. The things he was upset about were valid, though.

But we did have a company potluck today. I was one of several who decided to bring potato chips. Someone brought Special K bars so it was all good in the end.

I didn't mean to buy a new book. It just sort of happened.

Right where you walk into the bookshop they plant the bargain table. It sucks you in. "Oh, I could get this book on medieval ostrich farming (or what have you) for less than what my lunch cost," you think. Overlooked is the fact you haven't opened your two library books yet and you have a full shelf of other bargains you splurged on and then promptly neglected.

But come on -- 75 percent off? Too good to resist.

And then there were at least three things I spied walking from the entrance to the cash register that need to go on my Christmas list.

Buying books is kind of ridiculous to start with. You can only read so many at a time. And you'll only read them so often. And you only have so much space to put them in. And they're darn heavy when you try to put them in boxes.

And they're highly flammable.

There's something about chattering teeth that reinforces intelligent design for me.

on tour

So, I can't sound off about my town. At least you can look at it.

This is an artists rendering of the heart of downtown.


This is the church we lived near when I was really little.


This is part of the river we never got tired of watching when we were little.


This is another view of downtown.


These are more views of the river.




These are the actual tables from the shop I worked at in high school.

dear Google, my hero

Yay for Google -- it has single-handedly solved a hole in my genealogical work, first identifying an individual's father's name and THEN revealing the individual's wife's maiden name! Really. This is thrilling stuff. It had been driving me nuts and I'd more or less given up on ever finding out that one last paternal great-great-grandmother's maiden name.

Today, for almost the first time in two months, I wondered what I am doing in this profession.

There are really two reasons for that. First, it was a not-very-busy day after a hectic week, and when I'm not challenged my mind goes to pot.

Second, what I actually have been doing is interviewing candidates for various offices on the November ballot. This is both a rewarding and tedious task. Reward: I get to know much better individuals (well, men -- they're all men) who are in public office or who are community leaders that want to be in public office. This initiates relationships and potentially makes my life easier in the future.

However, it also means listening to half a dozen versions of what's wrong with ****town and half a dozen visions for its future. The problems seem so overwhelming when you hear about them all day long.

One guy today -- he was nice, he had the best of intentions, but the things he wanted his local government office to accomplish are things not even the federal government could really control.

A fact of life as a journalist -- your work is never done. What you did one day you will do all over again the next. You witness firsthand as problems are solved and created.

I wish I could write more about this city, but I'm too afraid people from here would find my blog. Another person today talked about what a small town this is, and I wanted to stop and interrupt him. This is not a small town. It's freaking bigger than LeMars. But small's all relative. It is the smallest town around with its own school district.

I think I'm going to learn to drink tea. Winter is a good time for that.

the weekend alphabet

Apples were crisp
Bought a new hairdryer
Collected my sister’s junk mail
Decided to sleep in Sunday… and woke up at 6:30
Ended up sitting next to a city official at church
Finished work at 7:30 on Friday
Got confused about who a person was who wanted to be my friend on Facebook
Headlines on my stories in Saturday’s paper were not accurate
Ignored my dirty dishes
Just relaxed some
Kristin talked to me!
Laundered my clothing
Made soup (from a can)
Neglected to come up with a Halloween costume
Overcharged for the parking ramp
Put away clean dishes
Quilted a bit
Read old censuses
Shivered
Transported a dress my mom altered to the dress owner
Used my sister’s cable TV
Visited the Historical Society Library!
Watched lots of movies
eXamined the printer cartridge, which appears to be empty
Yanked one of my blankets from my mom’s house
Zonked out early

There's a Facebook group called "You Know You're From Wisconsin If..." and most of the things in the list also apply to Minnesota and probably the midwest as a whole. Or maybe it seems that way to me because my dad and sister are Wisconsin natives. Included are the following:

You carry jumper cables in your car
You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit (I'd add "and you can cite how the '90s Halloween Blizzard affected your life.")
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
You know all four seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Construction.
You measure distance in minutes.
Your school classes were cancelled because of cold.
Your school classes were canceled because of heat.
You hear someone use the word "uffda" and you don't immediately break into uncontrollable laughter.
You know what "cow tipping" and "snipe hunting" are.
A brat is something you eat.
At every wedding you have been to you have had to dance the hoky poky and the chicken dance.
Sunday afternoons are sacred for the Packer game.
You have experienced snow storms in May.
You have had school closed due to wind chills and frostbite warnings.
You or someone you know was a "Dairy Princess" at a county fair.
The trunk of your car doubles as a deep freezer. (It's the porch at my house. We really miss that extra space during the summer.)

I would add that Jell-O qualifies as a salad without question or even a giggle. Roof and woof rhyme. "Bag" sounds like "Mag" in "Magazine." You shop in the cities, plural. Which city it is is not important. Add "Twin" if you're speaking formally or just say "St. Paul" if it's a local. Use "Minneapolis" if addressing an out-of-stater. Chances are all your relatives want to visit the Mall of America and they've been there more often than you have, anyway. If you aren't part Scandinavian, you're part German. But you are not 100 percent anything -- and if you are, people think you are trying to show off. And your three-season porch is only useable two days a year -- it's always way too hot or way too cold.

One thing about Minnesota that all schoolchildren appreciate: two days in mid-October.

Each year, all the public schools in the state are closed on a Thursday and Friday for what's called MEA. I guess it's two days that the state education association meets, though I've never heard of any teacher who goes to it. Still, all across the state you know no one's in school those two days. Kind of unique. Usually the district I grew up in works it out so that at least part of Wednesday, or sometimes more, are also off. One year we had the whole week.

more hodge-podging

My roommate got married this weekend. It was one of the happiest weddings I believe I've ever been to. There were emotions on so many levels because her family has been through so much, and yet she is one of the most giving, beautiful friends you could ask for. When she walked down the aisle and the pianist broke into... I don't even remember what it was, but it was a truly joyous piece, you couldn't help but be so excited and so happy for her moment. Hanging out with other roommates for almost two days was an added joy. You've got to love being known.

Craziness -- there were two murders in, of all places, Hawarden this weekend. Very glad not to be there for that. And it sounds like the suspects lived in my apartment complex... ha ha. My co-workers (current) didn't think it was that funny.

Two city employees here have resigned in the last week. One I knew faintly and appreciated much. The second I just met today and am very sad to see I will not get to know better. Somehow we got around to talking about what I had been reading lately, which, sadly, was pretty much nothing, for which I felt ashamed. Lots of excuses -- but good ones. I have not been wasting my time. It just does not happen to be invested in reading. The end of this was a good thought on that subject.

I could complain some more about the time we're wasting at work in "training" -- today on a new phone system that is unnecessarily complex. The lady sitting next to me is 85 years old and quite a trooper but you could see in her eyes she realized this was a waste of time, especially hers. We will lose 4.5 hours this week to training. And this is not a good week for that.

The cover to my cocoa tin has mysteriously vanished. Driving me a little nutty.

As usual, all hell broke loose here this afternoon. Just as I feel like I've got a handle on my story budget (schedule) for the rest of the week. :)

So, it did snow. Heavy flurries might be a better term. It was cold enough that some would stay on the ground but there just weren't enough of them to amount to much. It was darn windy, though. The photographer and I were complaining to each other all afternoon about having to go to a ribbon-cutting for a dog park in the freezing cold, but when we got there I know I had fun. I could tell he was pretty excited about the shots he got, too. I left with dog slobber on the cuffs and edges of my newly-dry cleaned winter coat. The photographer was smart and came in a change of clothes.

Life, you know. At times it is apparent how many things you really do know. And then there are other moments where heavy piles of paper and books come piling down around you and the acronyms come flying out of the woodwork and confidence is gone again.

Today my old boss called and asked where some things were located in the office. There were the normal questions about how I was liking my job, etc. It's so strange to think back at life before September (so very long ago). Kind of painful, kind of happy, kind of like 2005-06 was two and a half years ago.

Today my mom gave me leftover chili. A true mom, it could not be given without packing it in a paper sack with chips and cheese and a spoon. And she made me lunch and helped me try to conquer an ink stain on my WEEK OLD cords. And she told me the outfit I was thinking about wearing was not flattering on me. :) And then she had to give me a kiss before I left even though she saw me three days ago and will see me in another three. Maybe a bizarre topic for some -- I grew up almost always giving my parents a kiss on the cheek when giving them a hug. Like it was all part of the same action. Is that strange? When I sit and think about it, kisses were a notable point in my childhood. Another story.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

:) It's going to snow tomorrow.

It's not going to stick on the ground, but snowflakes are going to fall on our bit of earth. I am one of those people that people hate that likes snow. Hey, this is Minnesota. Snow is a fact of life. The leaves are done changing, a large portion are gone -- why not bring it on?

Although, I will reiterate, the first snow is best in the dusk/dark and lightly falling(at least at the beginning) and without much wind. And you need a good panoramic window to sit and watch it, one overlooking some sort of light source.

But those things cannot be controlled. Wednesday at noon is fine, too. With much wind. A cleaned-out garage to park my car in would be a nice touch.

Ariel, genius that she is, brought her favorite winter coat to the dry cleaner's this week. It won't be done for two days. She shall have to meet the first snow in her other coat.

Meanwhile, it is cold inside. Last night I had to add yet another blanket!

A big dog and a little dog are having a barking war either downstairs or next door. I've put my ear to the wall and the floor and I can't decide where it's coming from so I don't know whether to pound on the wall or stomp on the floor. A better idea would be to decide not to be bothered by it. Dogs bark. I'm not trying to sleep... yet.

People knock the city government beat -- say how boring it must be -- but I'll admit I am pretty enraptured for the duration of any given meeting. Granted, there gets to be a point in most meetings where you can feel the issue has dragged on far longer than necessary and now it's time that everyone should be home. But still. I admire city staff so much -- they put up with a ton of crap for things that are primarily not their fault. They get overworked and underpaid because their salary is another thing subject to public scrutiny. Meanwhile, the council is constantly adding to the work they already have.

The council itself is also a fun little unit, though. It takes all six of those people to disagree with each other just so to come up with the result they do each week.

Freaking dogs. They shut up for a while and then one of them barks and then they're both going at it again. Where are their owners at 11:30 at night that they're not both hearing this and annoyed by it?

one of those days

Some days, you know.

You're actually motivated, for once, to get cracking on the dozen assignments weighing on your mind. (And your co-worker went to California and left you some of her mess, too. And you're still not sure about "selling revenue bonds" but you're pretty sure you've got down "capital improvement projects.")

But no. There are hours and hours of things that must occupy your time instead -- like corporate training. (Training us to do our job -- while taking away from our time to actually do it. Bitter? No. Did I need to drive half an hour away to watch an outdated video of people telling me it's important to write solid summary leads but not actually how to do it if I didn't already know how? And it was also crucial to get handouts of master journalists' tips -- masters who can't punctuate or proofread their tip lists.) At least there were decent blueberry scones. I think the idea behind the training has merit, but the execution might leave some room to be desired.

Getting there was fun, too. Every week I have to go to the county seat to get the sheriff's report, which is on the way to where corporate training was. Today I called the sheriff's secretary as usual before I left. She didn't pick up so I left a message I was coming -- she usually calls me back right away. But I get all the way there and still I haven't heard from her. Meanwhile, I realize I forgot to bring a newspaper for training. I'm not sure where in that town I can purchase my newspaper. And I don't have any change to buy it with either, so I need a bank. And I don't know where that is, either. :) And then the directions to the training were wrong.

After traning the news clerk and I joined the photographer and the sports guy and the sports guys from three other offices for lunch. It was kind of awkward, us two girls sitting there in the middle, but we're still alive. And fed.

AND THEN, there was a 401K informational meeting I forgot about. How nice for two major meetings to be scheduled in one day.

So it's 3:00 -- I've been on the clock five and a half hours and accomplished absolutely nothing toward tomorrow's issue.

Nevertheless, and despite my sarcasm, it was a pretty nice day. Got to know our new news clerk a little better -- we even have the same car, bless our poor little souls. (People stop and stare at me as I drive by now, the wheel is getting so squeaky.) Had a nice lunch and a nice supper, parce que Mom made my favorite stir fry and invited me to come eat it. Interviewed a family of a little girl with a genetic disorder, and they were so upbeat. Neat story. Weather's gorgeous again, maples are still clinging to their green leaves, it was pay day...

Started watching a really bizarre series called "The Singing Detective." I expected, you know, musicals, a mystery... so far it's this dirty old man in the hospital ward with a skin disease either remembering or hallucinating about a sleazy 40s nightclub where someone was clearly murdered but there's no indication "the detective" intended to pursue justice in any shape or form.

I think a dirty old man sexually harassed me at the gas station this morning -- verdict's still out on that one. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they are trying to be nice or sleazy.

Steve wrote that he loves thunderstorms. Let me take the opposing view. I believe it is underrepresented.

I don't love thunderstorms. In fact, I might go so far as to say I hate them. (This fact is aided by my fears of noise and fire and love of control.)

Yesterday the weather forecasters were predicting a night of doom and gloom in severe weather and possible tornadic activity. I believe in part they exaggerated the possible dangers because there have been some significantly destructive storms in the metro over the past month or two, some gaining national attention.

It didn't help things that before I left work my coworkers were freaking out about the possibility of large hail that night. (This town had a devastating hailstorm just over a month ago resulting in nearly every roof needing repair, if not replacement, and most cars being heavily dented or their glass shattered.) The photographer had just gotten his truck back from $6500 hail repair the day before and was signficantly worried about it getting wrecked again. (I think people are suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.)

It also didn't help that there are heavy pallettes of shingles sitting on top of my building roof. And that I live on the second floor of a building with no public entrance during a tornado watch.

And there was nothing good on TV.

So I went and hung out at home so I'd stop thinking about it. It worked. When I left there at 9 it still hadn't even started raining -- still hadn't at midnight... when I woke up I could at least see evidence that the pavement had been wet.

Do I overreact to storms? Yes. Do some people underreact? Yes.

Ha.

Why is the Beacon not online?...