A Happy New Year
Well, my annual trip to Minnesota has come and gone and each year just seems to top the next...(Although, admittedly, it was pretty easy to top the year I DROVE there and then tangled with a horrendous ice storm on the drive back. Ah yes, Northwest Airlines is my friend.)
Speaking of friends, first and foremost, I gotta say I always enjoy visiting and hanging out with Chad, but this time, he really outdid himself. He suffered through personal embarrassment (Crayola crayons will never be looked upon the same forever more, which is tough considering I have to use the suckers on a fairly regular basis at work), personal sacrifice (I knew I snored but Obstructive Sleep Apnea?---Holy Crap! Sorry about the loss of sleep there bro.) and personal disappointments (Car difficulties and a missed Improv performance due to extreme snow and the aforementioned car difficulties to name just a couple.) Yet through it all, he was never lacking in the host department. A truer friend twas ne'er had by anyone.
And to the other major players:
Jean. It was excellent getting to see you and Shannon again at the MMC of all places, but getting to also hangout in Mankato was fun too. I had no idea how competitive you were with regard to boardgames and am impressed at just how much we managed to be on the same wavelength ("There. That's all you get." A small circle.--"Marble?"), or how devilishly filthy (Limerick Night at McGoff's) which by the way, thanks for the baptism by fire. I fully expected maybe one limerick about me but DAMN! Brutal much? It's all good. You must think highly of me to rake my nether regions over the coals like that.
Liz. What can I say? You are awesome. I truly enjoyed meeting and getting to know you. I love your quizzical nature. It's infectous. I rather like it. Much better than that stuff I had to take penicillin for. Just kidding...(Seriously, Jean, I'm just kidding around. Stop writing a limerick about me having an STD! It was a joke!) I marvelled at your creativity and resourcefulness as well as your handywoman skills. You also were one of my prize art students during my visit. (Chad of course being the other one---I'm not the kind of teacher to play favorites.)
Greg. You got me to eat sweet potatos AND keep them down. My own mother couldn't do that, not even when I was an infant. Seriously, I appreciated the great food you prepared and shared. Chad informed me you were a great cook and it definitely wasn't hyperbole. Keep me updated on the Ramoans.
Blue and Fishsticks. Thanks for providing excitement and entertainment. Oh why the hell am I typing THAT...Like you two read blogs. Fishsticks has naptime to catch up on and Blue, seriously man---like you have the attention span to finish a sentence. Blue. Stop telling stories. No one believes that you're a Rhodes Scholar. No, you do NOT write Liz's papers for her. Now, Blue, I was there---you did NOT suggest to Jean that she use the word "Vageener"...I did. (Just kidding Liz, that was ALL you.)
Xtina. You hate me now don't you? (Had a great time meeting you and drinking out of your glass.) Next time maybe you and Ben can stick around a while so I can get to know you both better, instead of running off to New York.
Not to slight anyone else I met and hung out with this trip, but it's really late now and I need to get some sleep. Minnesota rocked once again this year and I couldn't think of a better group of people to have begun 2007 with. Thanks for making me feel so welcome and for never allowing there to be a dull moment. And Chad, as always, you're one hell of a great friend.
Speaking of friends, first and foremost, I gotta say I always enjoy visiting and hanging out with Chad, but this time, he really outdid himself. He suffered through personal embarrassment (Crayola crayons will never be looked upon the same forever more, which is tough considering I have to use the suckers on a fairly regular basis at work), personal sacrifice (I knew I snored but Obstructive Sleep Apnea?---Holy Crap! Sorry about the loss of sleep there bro.) and personal disappointments (Car difficulties and a missed Improv performance due to extreme snow and the aforementioned car difficulties to name just a couple.) Yet through it all, he was never lacking in the host department. A truer friend twas ne'er had by anyone.
And to the other major players:
Jean. It was excellent getting to see you and Shannon again at the MMC of all places, but getting to also hangout in Mankato was fun too. I had no idea how competitive you were with regard to boardgames and am impressed at just how much we managed to be on the same wavelength ("There. That's all you get." A small circle.--"Marble?"), or how devilishly filthy (Limerick Night at McGoff's) which by the way, thanks for the baptism by fire. I fully expected maybe one limerick about me but DAMN! Brutal much? It's all good. You must think highly of me to rake my nether regions over the coals like that.
Liz. What can I say? You are awesome. I truly enjoyed meeting and getting to know you. I love your quizzical nature. It's infectous. I rather like it. Much better than that stuff I had to take penicillin for. Just kidding...(Seriously, Jean, I'm just kidding around. Stop writing a limerick about me having an STD! It was a joke!) I marvelled at your creativity and resourcefulness as well as your handywoman skills. You also were one of my prize art students during my visit. (Chad of course being the other one---I'm not the kind of teacher to play favorites.)
Greg. You got me to eat sweet potatos AND keep them down. My own mother couldn't do that, not even when I was an infant. Seriously, I appreciated the great food you prepared and shared. Chad informed me you were a great cook and it definitely wasn't hyperbole. Keep me updated on the Ramoans.
Blue and Fishsticks. Thanks for providing excitement and entertainment. Oh why the hell am I typing THAT...Like you two read blogs. Fishsticks has naptime to catch up on and Blue, seriously man---like you have the attention span to finish a sentence. Blue. Stop telling stories. No one believes that you're a Rhodes Scholar. No, you do NOT write Liz's papers for her. Now, Blue, I was there---you did NOT suggest to Jean that she use the word "Vageener"...I did. (Just kidding Liz, that was ALL you.)
Xtina. You hate me now don't you? (Had a great time meeting you and drinking out of your glass.) Next time maybe you and Ben can stick around a while so I can get to know you both better, instead of running off to New York.
Not to slight anyone else I met and hung out with this trip, but it's really late now and I need to get some sleep. Minnesota rocked once again this year and I couldn't think of a better group of people to have begun 2007 with. Thanks for making me feel so welcome and for never allowing there to be a dull moment. And Chad, as always, you're one hell of a great friend.
posted by Chris at 9:40 PM
4 Comments:
Wow! I think you redlined all our self-esteem gauges with this one.
WARNING. WARNING. SELF-ESTEEM AT CRITICAL LEVEL. FEELINGS OF FULFILLMENT AND IMPROVED SELF-IMAGE IMMINENT. WARNING. WARNING.
And what can I say? While you were here, you did the dishes, went shopping with us, cleaned the place up, and allowed yourself to be the butt of limmerick tomfoolery. You've been an amazing friend to me for years, and one of my favorite people on the planet.
And Blue would like you to know that he just finished a journal article using a deconstructionist approach to analyze Crime and Punishment.
(sigh) I think it's just a phase he's going through.
Let's just all hope and pray Blue doesn't delve into the personal improvement book Greg got for Xmas. Egad!!
I HATE BLOGGER COMMENTS.
I've written like 100 times and it won't let me post. Bastard.
Anyway, what I've said twice already is that you need to come back. Right now. We miss you. A great post!
And I call dibs on you for Pictionary for the rest of your LIFE. Too bad for you! Just kidding Chris--our wavelength ROCKS. Marble, indeed, friend.
What a feel-good post! It was so good to finally meet you. The day was bleaker after you left - Jean and I were sad.
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