addendum to christmas card

gahh, is this one any bigger?

it's hard to tell what it is.
but
it's tiger woods, laying on his back.
with a jesus and pope bobblehead, and nun figurine, gathered around him like they're judging.

ahh, holidays.

chaotic christmas card!

season's greetings!

it's balls cold outside, so the youngsters haven't been raising their usual hell. i mean, that's okay, but sometimes we miss them. good news, though: the maybe-gang sign sharpied on the sidewalk in front of the door is still there.

from 203, the cannon is frozen. i watched it freeze over the course of a few days, starting at the edges then working toward the center. there is a tiny little space where you can still see water trying to flow through. the migrating birds must think it's cold, too, but they are still hanging out down there.

the Cow is looking lonely, except for when they light the outdoor bonfire for smokers and people who enjoy pain. i mean, no judgement: but i've seen people out there while i walk by in a frozen huff. they love cuddling on the wooden benches and reminiscing about what it's like during the warmer months, when it doesn't require body armor of down and wool to survive. inside, the Cow serves warm drinks with booze, which is great if you love a hot toddy (Mirm says they're nasty, i've yet to take her up on that).

last week was the first BIG snow. by "big," i mean, there were few drifts to bust with our door, pushing to get outside and just leave our apartment building. our fearless Ms. W busted the first drift to leave an hour before us, which (sadly) didn't do much for the rest of us when we exited the building. snow, wind, swirling snow, drifts = wonderful commute on foot to the emergency parking lot a few blocks away. we felt like explorers in a foreign world, i think. and that was beautiful in itself. Meredith missed it, as she was smart and stayed the night up in mpls.

we're about to scatter for the holidays, but inside the walls, it has been a nice lead-up to winter break. we've enjoyed holiday film festival 2009 in various northfield apartments, including the films "home alone," "home alone 2," "love actually," "christmas vacation," "family stone," and, "miracle," though i'm not sure the latter counts (but, uhh, it's set during the WINTER olympics of 1980, if that counts).

so, while our humble group of friends busts drifts, braves commutes, and enjoys various area events (st. olaf christmas festival, the tiny's hot dog nativity scene, northfield's winter walk [!!!!]), we give thanks for this little family. it's sweet when you bring together a tenneseean, wyomingite, georgian, and minnesotan, and don't set fire to anything. well, unless you forget how the oven works... (too soon?)

xoxo for 2010,

MM

[PS. see pic: tiny's outdoor nativity scene, with its changing alternates to the holy child. look closely, it's current-events-related. courtesy lauren melcher, observer extraordinaire.]

<3 U 4EVA

You never know when love will hit you, strike you from your balance into the arms of your beloved, drawn to the dirty sidewalks below your feet.

You also cannot anticipate when you'll witness it in the flesh below your bedroom window. Our favorite Pinkmohawk Sandwichartist takes a quick break from changing lives one hoagie at a time to sneak a heartwarming cuddle. Some may wonder why it couldn't wait until later... but then who's to say yours truly wouldn't just lay it down and bare my heart in the city sidewalks?

PS. ...we all wonder, what's with the bare feet? I've seen that sidewalk washed in cheese sauce and gang symbols. I'm just saying.

D

Overheard just now (a great kick-off to DJJD!):

Male: Hey, you can suck my dick!
Female #1: Do you even like sucking dick?
Female #2: Yeah, yeah I do.
Male: Yeah she does!!
Male (couldn't tell if it was the same one--talking to someone else): Hey, nice parking job, dick!

I challenge YOU to use dick in every sentence!

nothing is THIS adorable...

... everyone(thing) needs a little love.

Even the ruffians, the hooligans, the downstairs neighbors who slave away in a thankless low-paying sandwich shop job whose only joy after closing shop is blasting top-40 hits or the latest M.I.A. beat until the ceiling caves because you know, life just sucks sometimes and we take our little joys when we can. While wearing tie-dye.




and speaking of little joys, the photo of these little cherubs was emailed to me by a student worker with the title, "To Brighten Your Day." Hopefully life looks rosier now.

serenity now!

It amazes me how silence can sort of ring in your ears, distracting you in a way that makes you realize "maybe the pounding bass below WAS music to my ears." After our few interactions with the noisy closers of the sandwich shop downstairs (via landlord because let's face it, some of us just don't thrive on confrontation), the squalor below has ceased. Regardless, I am now faced with ......nothing. No overzealous stereo system below, no slamming doors, no cigarette smoke breaks to mar the fresh smells of our little apartment. I enjoy the serenity. It also makes me restless in a way that could also be contributed to the four coffees and two Diet Cokes I drank today (staff retreats are HELL on my oral fixation with beverages).

A siren wailed loudly past the parking lot. I guess that breaks it up a little.

The irony about this extremely scattered post is that as I was about to wrap up some completely useless thoughts on ...well, nothing... the music below flared up as if from Hell itself. Then, a little quieter. Now, it's respectful, yet I still hear strains of Marvin Gaye's own "What's Going On." This is serendipitous.

Ok, scratch that... wait, are they seriously blasting old school DESTINY'S CHILD? Who ARE these people? ...now, hold on, they've switched it back to some song I remember from the movie "How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days." CRAZIES. I have CRAZY neighbors.

Time to bring the rage. xoxo.

Adventures on the Bridge

Not much has happened since we last posted. The kids have been mysteriously absent. There have been a few interesting things to note, however:

1. I came home one day last week and saw a solitary silver flip flop in the walkway between buildings. Later that evening there were two of them. The next morning, after a rainstorm and who knows what else, they were still there. My friend contemplated wearing them out to dinner since he forgot to bring other shoes besides his dress boots. However, the dress boots won out.

2. When home sick from work on Monday, I woke up from a nap to see a girl curled up asleep on the sidewalk. Not in a nook, or on a doorstep, but right in the middle of the sidewalk. She snoozed for a while and then woke up when I went downstairs and outside to run an errand. Next time I can't fall asleep in my bed I'm gonna try the hard concrete instead.

3. Last night while sitting on our couch overlooking the Cannon, I saw a 4 person golf car zip by the Cow and turn onto the bridge. It went all the way across and looked pretty sweet.

4. Here is the most exciting update: Last night another friend, who may at times be a guest blogger, and I were walking across the bridge headed for a late dinner at HoBros. A little punk dressed in black riding a too small bike was up ahead of us on the bridge. Next thing we know, another rider, clothed pretty much the same, whizzes past my friend, clipping him on the elbow and creating quite a scare. What happened to "on your right?" or "Excuse me?" PUNKS. Watch your back on the Cannon River bridge.