Apparently there is a blizzard or some sort of winter storm headed for Des Moines between now and Tuesday. I think it would be great if we got a huge snow storm, but I'm only expecting ice. It seems like that's all Des Moines gets. Last year, I freaked a passenger in my car out because even though I'd started braking very early, the car started sliding through a stop sign on 31st. I tried driving up against the curb to slow it down, so we managed to spin the car into a turn going onto 31st. Thankfully there were no cars coming--only one guy in a car waiting to turn onto the street we just slid down, and he looked terrified.

Da Colts

Well the Super Bowl is over. I usually watch it for the ads, but this year proved the opposite. The game was the most exciting part and the ads were a terrible let-down. First, I must say it's wonderful to see the Bears lose. All season I have been wishing they'd lose whatever luck they had, but it turns out this is even better--They had the opportunity to win the Super Bowl and didn't. Too many crazy Bears fans have turned me off, so they're right next to the Green Bay Packers on my list. (I'm a Vikings fan.) And yes, I know the Vikings haven't had the best season(s), but what kind of fan would I be if I was only fair-weather?

But anyway, on to the Super Bowl ads. I thought they were a huge let-down. The majority seemed like they were about television shows and a few beer commercials. Last year, I had to write down my favorite one for an ad class I was in, and I had so many written down it was difficult to pick which was best. This year I could hardly find one. And I thought there was supposed to be a proposal during the Super Bowl as well. Did anyone else hear that? It really surprises me that more companies didn't take advantage of Super Bowl airtime. I didn't see Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Coors, Geico, and others.

This is a picture of, well myself, and my brother's cat Leonard. (Or as he likes to spell it, Lynyrd.) You wouldn't believe how skinny Leonard used to be. His head used to look like a triangle as a kitten, but he had enormous paws, so we always expected a growth spurt. Just not sideways. Lately he looks like he'll burst if he runs into anything sharp.

I truly enjoy cats. They are so different than a dog. When a cat is loyal, that's when you know you have a true friend. Usually they like their space. We've had quite a few cats throughout my life, whether we kept them long or not. If it was up to me, we would've kept all of them. Let's see, it started with Buttons, then Murphy, Bitsy, Cookie, Montana Max, Smokey Joe, Sam, Cheeto, and finally Gidget.

One of my favorites

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Today I don't have a lot of interesting things to say. I guess what've been going around my head the most are a ton of questions that I don't really have the answers to yet. For example, this whole 'job after graduation' thing is pretty scary. I think I could feel a million times less stressed right now if I only knew what was going to happen after May 12. In my mind, I can see the calendar dates clearly up until then. And after May 12, it turns into a dark fog. I don't know if I'll still be in Des Moines, back in Minnesota, trying a new state... I think that I'd like to stay in Des Moines. I know there are so many people who want to escape the Midwest, especially Iowa, but it's really not that bad. I've actually grown to like Iowa.

I know that life won't stop after I graduate if I don't find a job, but for some reason it feels like it. It feels like if I don't find a job with my major that I'll get sucked into this black hole where it will be twice as difficult to come out and get back on the 'right path.' And as much as I love my parents, I do not want to live with them again. I'm sure worrying won't solve any of this and somehow something will figure itself out, but until then it's going to keep disrupting my peace of mind.

People Watching

Yesterday I was walking to, of all places, Carnegie when I noticed two guys walking in front of me. They were dressed in normal winter attire, but one of them had a limp. Now this is nothing extraordinary--I've seen limps before. So from lack of other things to do while walking, I studied their pace waiting for the guy without a limp to step out of sync from his friend, but he never did. In fact, he walked identically to his friend, resting longer on one foot, but without a limp. So this got me to thinking they must be such close friends or spend so much time together that the friend developed a sympathy limp. I've heard of this before where, in an extreme example, a husband develops a sympathy belly while his wife is pregnant. (My roommate told me this is probably just an excuse for a man's beer belly.) Either way, it's something to think about...

Overview

I am originally from Mankato, MN. I decided Des Moines was the perfect distance from home--I can still go home for the weekend and have my separate life in Des Moines. I'm the youngest of 4 kids. I have two brothers and one sister who are currently 38, 36, and 34 years old. It has been nice being the youngest. They all had different expectations of me, though. Jeff always pushed education, Dave pushed sports, and Lori, of course, wanted a sister to save her from her two brothers. I've become very close to all of them and family has always been a big part of my life. We tell each other almost everything, so secrets are hard to keep in this family. If I tell my sister something important, I can probably expect calls from my brothers and my mom within a day or two asking why I didn't tell them first.

I also have 8 nephews and nieces so my family is growing continually. It's fun to see how different all of their personalities are. I'm not asked to babysit much, but that's probably because I made it pretty clear to call me only as a last resort. I'm not a very big kid person, which I'm sure sounds horrible. I love my nieces and nephews, but I get along with them much better after they've learned to walk and talk. Then I can at least teach them new tricks to annoy their parents.