The Whole “Minnesota Wild” Game Experience

It didn’t seem right watching hockey when baseball is still on, but there I was at the Xcel tonight witnessing the Wild beat up the Blackhawks for their last pre-season game. Brian and I left after two periods, and I missed Burnzie register a hat trick. Damn! The final score: 5-2.

Although I grew up in Minnesota and was a rabid, cymbal-playing fan at my high school hockey games (go Rails!), I never followed the North Stars or paid much attention to the NHL. When the Wild joined the scene a few years back, I perked up a bit (especially since hockey is one of my husband’s favorite sport). After a few live games at the X, I’ve become sold. I’m now a bona fide fan.

Of course I love the actual action, but it’s the little traditions of a live home game that have locked me in. Old timers out there will probably roll their eyes, but I always swell with glee when the young child skates out to the middle of the rink before the Wild first take the ice. I hold my breath willing the child not to fall down while keeping the Wild flag held high. I also adore the Wild anthem and sing it loud and strong when the video broadcasts. Don’t know the tune? Click here to view the video and sing along!

MINNESOTA WILD ANTHEM

We were raised
With the stick
And a pair of blades
On the ice we cut our teeth
We took our knocks
In the penalty box
Our mother was the referee

This sport was here
Before we came
It will be here when we’re gone
The game’s in our blood
And our blood’s in the game
Lay us down under
A frozen pond

We will fight to the end
We will stand and defend
Our flag flying high and free
We were born the child
Of the strong and Wild
In the State, the State of Hockey

A big blue line runs around our state
A line that can’t be crossed
The day they try to take this game
Is the day the gloves come off

We will fight to the end
We will stand and defend
Our flag flying high and free
We were born the child
Of the strong and Wild
In the State, the State of Hockey.

Some people poo poo professional sports as boring, a waste of time, or a waste of money. Instead, look beyond the asinine antics of professional athletes and instead embrace the traditions, the history — really the whole story behind the league, team and players. Yeah, it’s just a game. But once you love a sport, you become connected to people who share your same passion. You become part of the entire experience. Go Wild!

Personality Handwriting Analysis

The Minnesota State Fair features a booth in the grandstand that evaluates your personality based on a handwriting analysis. Simply sign your name, and the operator will feed your slip into the “super computer” for analysis. As a bonus, you can also get your horoscope and lucko numbers. JUST $3.00 (starburst). The computer is right from the 1960s with its blinking lights and many buttons. Cheesy fun! My mother-in-law has gotten an analysis every year for decades. This year, she took me over to the booth. Here are my results (I’ll spare you the all caps type on dot-matrix paper) …

* * * YOUR PERSONALITY ANALYSIS BY TELEVAC * * *

You are generous and enjoy sharing with others.

Ambition is your driving force.

You have a deep well of inner strength.

You are observant and take in all that's happening around you.

You are better with a partner than by yourself.

You are ambitious and have many secret desires.

You feel that no other decision is as good as your own.

You are generous to a fault.

Your criticism often hurts.

The whole world interests you.

You set very high gaols for yourself.

You like having the last word and the last laugh.

Even though these are pretty generic, many fit me perfectly. Hmmm …

I had my hubby, Brian, sign his name for analysis too. He couldn’t come back to the fair, so I submitted it on his behalf. The results? Most not even close. Maybe the female submitter threw the computer off. Will have to check again next year!

Project Runway 4 Starts Nov. 14

Tonight, on part 1 of the season finale of Top Chef, Bravo TV announced that season 4 of Project Runway starts in just 7 weeks. I’m so excited!! I love Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. Don’t care much for the judges, but the rest of the show is fabulous — the creativity, fabrics, accessories, designer personalities, contests, etc.

I’m really not much of a fashion hound (I don’t even regularly read “women’s” magazines) so my fascination is a bit strange. Maybe my love for the show hearkens back to my high school days when I earned top grades in home economics. I even earned reserve grand champion in 1987 at the South St. Louis County Fair for a sun dress I sewed. The ribbon is even in my childhood scrapbook!

The 45th Paralell – Oregon and Minnesota

While driving on I-5 from Eugene to Portland last week, I glimpsed a road sign near Salem that announces when one has crossed the 45th parallel or half-way between the equator and the north pole. Knowing that the Twin Cities is also along this line, I wanted to find out where it crossed in my metro area.

I found a great site with photos of signs, monuments and other markers in North Ameria and Europe/Asia. The site shows two known markers in Minnesota. Of course, I had to drive around and see them for myself. My 5-year-old dogs, Daisy (Bichon) and Benson (poodle/terrier mix), came along for the ride.

Minneapolis

The Minneapolis boulder marker is near the intersection of Golden Valley Road and Theodore Wirth Parkway. It sits in a little triangle of grass underneath a young tree. The parkway generates a lot of pedestrian traffic, but I bet not many have actually gone over to the rock to see what it’s promoting. Benson couldn’t help marking his presence. Sorry!

Roseville

The Roseville marker is placed on a flat rock and is located on the east side of Cleveland, 1 and a 1/2 blocks north of Roselawn. It’s next to the sidewalk up on a slope surrounded by suburban ramblers. Unless you were walking right there, you’d never notice it. I like the description on the Minneapolis plaque better (shows lat and long), but I’m intrigued by the Roseville Heritage Trail sign (#46). A quick check of their website shows a total of 53 stops on the trail. Who knew?! I’ll have to add this to my “Explore Local” list and check them all out someday.

Volkswagen Hybrids Coming

Treehugger yesterday posted that Volkswagen is hybridizing their entire fleet. I drive a 2000 Honda Insight with nearly 100,000 miles. Although it will probably be 3-5 years before I replace it, I’m so excited that I may actually have something else to choose besides the default Prius. Don’t get me wrong. I think Toyota’s hybrid is great. But I like to have options and have always had a secret crush on the VW Beetle.

Besides, it’s nice to imagine a line of hybrids that actually get exceptional gas mileage — not ones that use the hybrid label as faux green without actually making much of a difference.

Staying in someone else’s house

Amy is off at work today, so I’m at her house alone. Besides keeping her greyhound, Neeka, company, I’m supposed to be wrapping up a client project that I’ve been struggling with. However, I’m distracted by being in someone else’s house. I’m not snooping (HONEST – well maybe a little in the kitchen).

I love the sense of place that claims me when I sit quietly in a different environment. I get a much more intimate feeling about how the person lives his or her life. I imagine how I would change the setting if it were mine. I think different thoughts than I do in my own familiar environment.

In an attempt to break the brain molasses I’m having with my freelance job, I rearranged Amy’s living room furniture. Gasp! Hey, she just moved in and (sort of) asked for my help. I really love trying to figure out the best way to configure a space with the elements at hand (or how it could be done with the purchase of just a few things). Everytime I go into someone’s house, I become a secret interior designer. I can’t help it. I’ve consumed too many decorating magazines, I guess.

Travel to Oregon – day 1

I left St. Paul this morning to visit my friend Amy in Eugene, Oregon (2 hours south of Portland off I-5). Since she was working and I had the afternoon to kill, I decided to go to the Evergreen Aviation Museum to see Howard Hughes’ H-4 (HK-1) Flying Boat, aka the Spruce Goose.

The Flying Boat is the largest wooden airplane with the longest wingspan ever constructed. It was flown just once, on November 2, 1947. Funny enough, the plane is mostly made of birch and not spruce. According to the museum brochure, birch was chosen because it is light, strong and resistant to splitting, dry rot and deterioration.

The museum had a great observation platform set up in the forward third of the aircraft so that you could see into the hulking interior. (Once I download the photos off my camera, I’ll update this post with images.) If I had $50 to spare, I could have gotten a tour of the flight deck. Since I have the movie, The Aviator, in my Netflix list, I decided to save my money and will explore more of the plane’s interior off the tv screen.

The Flying Boat’s nearly 320-foot wingspan and  220-foot fuselage length more than dwarfs the other 60+ aircraft on display at the museum. I fly a Cessna 172 Skyhawk and could land within the Flying Boat’s shadow. I only spent about an hour and a half exploring the museum. With more time, I would have enjoyed going on the guided tour and seeing an IMAX show.

First post

A first blog post is about as intimidating as a blank page. Okay, here goes …

Blueskyshining is my creative place — where I can explore thoughts, ideas, beliefs. I might be serious or funny or flippant or dull. I don’t care (okay, I really do, but I’m trying to force myself that I don’t). It’s my play area, my practice area, my whiteboard and my etched in stone. It’s where I can rant about injustices and rave about things that make me happy. It’s my place to free my mind and just be me.

My goals: be smart, thoughtful, silly, brave and honest.