A Yuletide Reflection on the Car Horn

Christmas is always a time of great reflection for me, and today is no exception. Something the other day prompted me to reflect on the time-honored tradition of honking at perfect strangers. Briefly, here is a list of messages that are appropriate to send using your horn:

"My breaks are not working and I cannot stop."

"You are about to hit my vehicle and cause me significant harm."

"This is a one-way street, we should not be facing each other."

Here are a few messages which are less appropriate to convey through honking:

"You are driving the speed limit, and I wish to exceed the speed limit."

"Your style of driving, although not illegal or dangerous, annoys me."

"The light has been green for a full second; it is my opinion that you should move."

"I am offended by your out-of-state plates and think you should leave."

Whether it is rainy, snowy, or brilliantly sunny where you are, be safe driving out there! And remember Plato's wisdom: "Be kind to others, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Much love and Merry Christmas!

Boo

PS I fly home TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The LDR

The other day I was listening to a podcast about long distance relationships, and it got me to thinking. While obviously GG and I are in a long-distance relationship, spanning across a few states, I've realized that suddenly all my relationships are long-distance. Family and friends, who were once only a few minutes' drive away are suddenly hundreds of miles away. My primary medium of communication is phone conversation rather than face-to-face. It's been hard on me to be so far away from the people I love, although I have noticed that it has inspired me to be more intentional about my communication.

On the podcast, one of the questions asked was how to keep a relationship alive when you are apart. Here are my tips:

1) Phone calls. Some of my best conversations recently have been spirited phone discussions with close friends! Of course I wish such conversations could be over lunch, but nonetheless it is wonderful to get updates on friends' lives if I can't be there to experience it with them.

2) Skype. Again, although it is a pale substitute, it is still wonderful to be able to interact visually with friends. Two notable recent Skype dates included a Thanksgiving call to all the family gathered at my (parents') house; and the other night when a friend and I each prepared dinner while video-chatting with each other. It was so pleasant to get to cook and chat together. :)

3) Text messages and picture messages. I love being able to update a friend with a text or a picture of something fun I am experiencing, or something that makes me think of him or her. It is just as exciting receiving such a text from a friend or family member :)

4) Letters. I have always loved letter-writing, and since moving I have made a point of trying to write a letter a day. I haven't been great about achieving this daily goal, but I have been able to send at least a letter or two a week. I have really enjoyed making each letter unique by decorating it with crayon drawings; I have also made friends with the postal workers at the downtown Post Office. I am in there 2-3 times a month, mailing small packages and picking out my favorite stamps. I also love receiving letters (wink wink); as it was in college, checking my mailbox makes or breaks a day. :)

Anyway, just a reminder that all relationships take work and effort, and that while relationships change with distance, the effort is always worth it.

Much love to you all! I miss you and I hope to see you--yes, you, reading this!--very soon!

Love,

Boo

Can't I just root for the Saints?

Nobody who knows me would mistake me for a football fan, or really a sports fan of any kind. So it is just one of life's pleasant little ironies that finds me in the middle of Southern-football country, a place where team affiliation is a more divisive matter than political leaning. Seriously, I have heard stories of heated arguments and the break-ups of long-term relationships over team pride.

Anyway, I bring this up is because--in case you haven't heard--Saturday (tomorrow) is the day that LSU (Louisiana State University), the #1 ranked team in the SEC, will play Alabama (University of Alabama), the #2 ranked team, on Alabama's home field in Tuscaloosa, AL. This is huge. The tensions are running high and rivalries are raging up and down the coast--including in our office! Earlier this morning there was a battle of fight songs playing up and down the hallway. Fans are dressed in their Bama gear and their Tiger t-shirts. There is a Crimson Tide flag hanging from one woman's office door. Needless to say, everyone is so nervous about this game that our collective productivity has taken a significant dive. This is for real, people.

Crimson Tide flag, relocated to the door in honor of the game.

When asked a few weeks back what my team was, I said meekly, hopefully, "Can't I just root for the Saints?" thinking that was a safe choice.

"NO!" was the resounding response. "You have to pick a college team in the SEC."

Earlier this week I was asked again who I woud be supporting in this weekend's game. My answer came easier this time. "LSU, by default." My reasoning being that if I don't support the Tigers, I will never again be welcome in Lafayette, LA.

"Booooooo!" said the ardent Bama fan.

"Don't listen to her, Bethany! Stay strong!" said the encouraging LSU sweetheart.

Tiger Pride & Roll Tide Ride.

I remarked to a friend earlier today that my general criteria for deciding how I feel about a sports team rests primarily on a) the team name (example: Saints, awesome name); b) the colors (black and gold, love it); and c) the mascot. Also, the Saints have the fleur-de-lis on their helmets. So classy. In the case of LSU, I love that their mascot is the tiger!

Anyway, whether your battle cry this weekend is "Geaux Tigers!" or "Roll Tide Roll!" one thing is for sure: this promises to be an epic game, and I am just resonating with the excitement filling the air around me!

Have a great weekend everyone!
Love,
Boo

GiveMN: Give to the Max Day 2011--November 16, 2011

Hello!

Today I am making an unsolicited announcement about a fundraising effort that I think is pretty cool. It is called Give to the Max Day (you probably guessed this from the title) and this will be its 3rd year. I first heard about it last year, and although I didn't actually end up donating anything, I am certainly taking it more seriously this year!


Q: What is Give to the Max Day?
A: Give to the Max Day is essentially a massive fundraising effort on behalf of all non-profit organizations in the state of Minnesota. This includes charities, colleges, community organizations, choirs, private scholarship funds, and many more! It is a one-day online fundraising drive which has had enormous success since it began in 2009.


Q: Really? How successful?
A: I'm glad you asked! Since 2009, GiveMN has raised more than $33 million for more than 5,000 nonprofits. In 2010, 42,596 donors participated, donating their hard-earned money to 3,663 nonprofit organizations. Whaaaat? We rock, Minnesota!


Q: So how exactly does this work?
A: It's very simple. Go to this website: http://givemn.razoo.com/
Find a cause (or multiple causes!) or an organization (or multiple organizations!) that you support, and donate whatever you feel called to give. I have only scratched the surface of nonprofits listed on the site, but so far I have come across a huge handful of awesome projects and organizations that I really like!


Q: Alright. How is this different from other fundraisers?
A: Another great question! Give to the Max Day is a really cool way to fundraise because your donations are not the only money that organizations can receive. This year, GiveMN has partnered with a number of community foundations and other large (corporate) donors to create and incentive system.

Here are just a few of the prizes that nonprofits can win:

• The "Golden Tickets": 24 $1,000 grants will be given out, one each hour, on behalf of one individual donor. So essentially, it pays to donate at 3am, because your odds of winning money on behalf of your organization of choice are greater!
• Grand prizes of $15,000, $10,000, and $7,500 are given to the three organizations that raise the most within the 24-hour period.
• AND, prizes of $15,000, $10,000, and $7,500 are given to the three small organizations (with budgets under $750,000) that raise the most within the 24-hour period.
• And many more!

Check it out!

Q: Whoa! Who's paying for those awesome prizes?

A: Good question. 

Winners of all Give to the Max Day prizes will receive the grants funded from the Minnesota Community Foundation.

Check them out here.


Q: Cool! When is this happening?
A: November 16! It begins when the clock strikes twelve (midnight) on November 16th and goes until midnight on November 17th. It goes for 24 hours online, and prizes ("Golden Tickets") are given out every hour, so if you happen to be awake at 4am, consider making a donation ;)


Q: Why are you telling me all this?
A: Two reasons, really. The first is that I really believe in the importance of nonprofit organizations and the work they do. From teaching our children to making music, from supporting sustainable agriculture to lifting up those in need, I believe that every action done in good faith and with a loving heart makes the world a more beautiful place.

The second is that even though I don't live there right now, Minnesota is the land my heart adores, and I am fiercely proud to call it home. All of us, for the most part, have called Minnesota home at some point, and I hope we can all agree that it is one of the best places to live. Minnesota is a place where we value education, family, health, beauty and nature. Minnesotans are giving and caring people, we are a state of volunteers, and we can make a difference!

That being said, I realize that this is a tight economic time for everyone, especially those of us who have just graduated, so please don't feel like I'm trying to pep-talk you into anything. My goal with this post is just to make you aware that this fundraising effort is taking place, and hopefully make you aware of all the awesome work that these nonprofits are doing to continue to make Minnesota the best place to live. And maybe, just maybe, you'll find an organization you want to contribute to. Remember, every dollar counts, so even if $5 is all you can spare right now, that's still better than nothing :)

If you'd like to read the article I cited in this post, click here!

Much love!
Boo

PS Check out what St. Olaf has to say about Give to the Max Day:

“We were so appreciative of the generosity alumni, parents, and friends of the college displayed during Give to the Max Day last year,” said Tracy Fossum, director of annual giving of St. Olaf College, a first-place grant winner in 2010. “Give to the Max Day resulted in the single most successful day in annual giving at St. Olaf, and we are thrilled to be participating again in 2011.”

PPS I was in a meeting this morning and the woman asked what my background was. I said that I had recently graduated from St. Olaf College with a degree in Environmental Studies. She said, "Oh I'm familiar with St. Olaf." I assumed she was referring to Betty White's St. Olaf from Golden Girls, but she said no, she knows of St. Olaf for reasons which have nothing to do with Betty. Whaaat? She didn't elaborate, but it is still cool to know that news of Olaf's existence has preceded me down here. :)

Home.

Something amazing happened the other day. I woke up in the morning and I was freezing cold. I love feeling chilly. It means fall is coming. It means that I am not plagued by invasive humidity. It means hot apple cider, wool socks, sweaters, pumpkins, mashed potatoes and stuffing, and soon, snow. It means home.

"It is starting to feel like home yet?" my mom asked.

Well...I don't know.

I suppose, since I don't believe in simple answers for heavy questions, that it depends on your definition of home.

If home is where my hat is, then I suppose this is home. If home is where my heart is, then I'm not sure where it is. If home is the place that I dream about, that I miss daily, then home is Minnesota. Maybe that's still too simple of an answer.

I feel a twinge of guilt whenever I say "I'm heading home" as I'm leaving work. Home is Minnesota, I remind myself sternly. But maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I have been doing my best to rephrase; instead of staying, "I'll call you when I get home," I say things like "I'll call you once I'm back in my apartment" or "-when I'm done at work." And while these work perfectly well, they require deliberate thought. "I'm heading home" is so natural. And I know that when I say it I am referring to my apartment. I know that the person I am talking to knows that as well. So perhaps there are multiple levels of home. Perhaps home really can be where your hat is. Home is the place you carve out for yourself; the place you park you car, the place you sleep at night, the place you keep your books and your socks, and the place you use as your return address. Home can mean that place for me, guilt-free, because I know that Minnesota is my Home. So maybe all this stress comes down to a capital letter.

Afterall, there is a reason that Homecoming is such a big deal. No one throws a party when they drive home from work on a Tuesday afternoon. But making the pilgrimage back to your alma mater, your hometown, or your parents' front steps merits a full-hearted celebration, because it is more than a place to keep things or rest your feet--it is your Home.

While Edina is the place that I call home, I think that my home is found even more deeply in people. Home is the place where you belong, where you are not a stranger, where you are loved and comfortable. Seeing my family this past weekend was a great reminder of that, as was seeing my good friends A&R in September. No matter where in the world I find myself, when I am gathered with friends or family, I no longer feel like a stranger. I feel anchored to the people around me, and I am instantly transported back home.

Still, I think Minnesota will always be my Home. Wherever I may roam, I will always be called back to Sweet Home Minnesota, where my heart is, where my favorite people have always gathered, and quite honestly, where the majority of my hats and socks are :)

Love,
Boo

Things that make me happy.

1) Crisp autumn days.
2) Friendly cats.
3) Laughing with a friend.
4) When the boy gets the girl in a movie. Or when a girl gets the guy for that matter. As long as they're happy together, I'm happy.
5) Discovering new recipes.
6) Successfully making said recipe! (check out last night's success)
7) Having a rocking good hair day.
8) Dancing with someone you love.
9) Snuggling up in a warm bed on a chilly night.

The world is beautiful.

Love, Boo

the whole wheat raspberry ricotta scones.
the best part of waking up.

Update: The car is fixed!

Yes! The car is fixed! The rumbling sound is gone! It turns out that the rear driver's side tire was having hub/bearing trouble, and the breaks pads were almost all the way worn down. On a recommendation from a coworker we brought the car to a Shell station near my apartment which has a really good reputation, and indeed they were very helpful :) So my mother has taken off for Florida and I will join her in the morning for the wedding and lots of family time!!! :)