Damn, I Hate Minnesota!

As I type, frozen water is falling from the sky. It is overcast with a color somewhere between grey-white and white-grey. The ground is a patchwork of white snow and brown oak leaves.
Ugh! I hate Minnesota! I never acknowledged how much I hate where I live until I visited Costa Mesa and saw palm trees, flowering shrubs, and skin, smelled the ocean breeze, and felt the warmth of the sun.
I have been living in denial! I have denied that I dislike this place. I derided others as being whiners but look at this message, I am whining!
Minnesota is about suffering and perseverence. I want to live someplace where I don't have to worry about breaking my neck from slipping on ice everytime I step outside of my house. I kid you not. The sidewalk from my house to the driveway is a skating rink. I just spread 20 lbs of sand on it so that our guests tonight won't wipe out and kill themselves!
At least I can derive some solace tonight. We are broiling swordfish steak with lime and cilantro. Sure, it ain't the same as dining at a sushi restaurant in Costa Mesa or Laguna Beach, but at least I can enjoy some of the bounty of the sea.
Damn. I'm depressed. Maybe I need a cocktail. Preferably, a cocktail with lots of rum in it. Rum from Barbados, Jamaica, Haiti, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico...and pineapple. Yeah! It has to have pineapple in it. :)

Scott - I feel your pain. Even though I don't live in Minnesota I am in one of the M states that is also suffering through this miserable ass winter! Everytime I look at the weather and see more snow, sleet, freezing rain coming our way I have to cringe.

When we get snow I'm out at 6AM w/the damn snowblower (that's this bizarre gas powered machine you push which blows the snow off the concrete - for those of you in warmer climates who don't have to plop down cash for these damn things) clearing the driveway so my wife can make it to work. Often times I'm daydreaming about warmer temperatures and the calming breeze coming off a deep blue body of water. I can almost smell the intoxicating scent of coconuts and fragrant rum concotions...that's usually right before the wind picks up, shakes the limbs on the maple trees and drops a giant clump of snow down the back of my neck. That's all it takes to bring me back to reality...a reminder of the fact that I'm still stuck here in Maryland and that it's only March.

Damn! I don't know from cold. I still have my A/C on! It was in the high 70's here today.

I used to complain about how rotten the winters were here in Chicago. Then after almost 40 years of searching for my biological dad (career navy man) I found him living in Duluth. My dad and I have this wonderful relationship now, but the weather up there is horrible! My god! I think it was about 3 years ago on Labor day and it was sleeting, cold and terrible blowing winds. Then last year or the year before we almost got snowed in our Easter. My dad says everyone's hardy up there and by gosh you'd have to be. I don't think spring comes till June and it can snow in Sept. On the bright side my dad is healthy as a horse at 75, and would never want to move away. Plus we've seen some very beautiful areas.
I think all the dark, cold days just get to all of us in the snowy states. I for one can not wait for some warm breezes and lots of sun, and warm sand under my feet again.

Look at the bright side my braddahs. I'll probably die of melonoma in the not to distant future...

(damn! I wish someone would have told me years ago that your skin is supposed to last a life time.)

On 2005-03-11 19:54, exotica59 wrote:
I used to complain about how rotten the winters were here in Chicago. Then after almost 40 years of searching for my biological dad (career navy man) I found him living in Duluth. My dad and I have this wonderful relationship now, but the weather up there is horrible! My god! I think it was about 3 years ago on Labor day and it was sleeting, cold and terrible blowing winds. Then last year or the year before we almost got snowed in our Easter. My dad says everyone's hardy up there and by gosh you'd have to be. I don't think spring comes till June and it can snow in Sept. On the bright side my dad is healthy as a horse at 75, and would never want to move away. Plus we've seen some very beautiful areas.
I think all the dark, cold days just get to all of us in the snowy states. I for one can not wait for some warm breezes and lots of sun, and warm sand under my feet again.

That's great that you have found your relationship with your father. Really, when it all comes down to what matters, it's family. Hell or high water...

On 2005-03-11 18:35, joefla70 wrote:
Damn! I don't know from cold. I still have my A/C on! It was in the high 70's here today.

F-you Joe! :wink:

Actually it was in the 80's here today but look at the bright side of things,if you were here you could get old just stuck on the fwy waiting to get to your destination. So stay in cold country and stay forever young....

Yes,it's March and we've gotten snow for the last few days.This is probably the worst month of the year.Sick of the crummy weather.Last Sunday,it was 64 degrees-of course it was just a tease.Bring on Spring,please!

ScottMcGerik, I don't live in an M state, but if you turn it upside down you get a W state. I feel your pain completely. It's 18 degrees here, or about 3 with the wind chill. I wonder if people who live outside the midwest know what wind chill is? :wink: It's snowing here too. We're supposed to get about 2 more inches.

Maybe we could organize a huge indoor tiki event next winter to break-up the cold weather? It would give us a bit more strength to perservere.

[disgusted sigh]I'm going to go shovel now[/disgusted sigh]

My thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth...

[ Edited by: finkdaddy on 2005-03-12 06:43 ]

finkdaddy, I like the idea of an indoor event next winter. I see events planned for San Francisco area, Portland, Oregon, LA and Las Vegas, but nothing for the Midwest. I don't think we need anything grand but I certainly would like to meet more Midwestern Tikiphiles.

exotica59, I am glad you found your father! Too bad he is in Duluth. :( I lived in Duluth for ten years and was pleased to move to the Twin Cities where it is much more hospitable.

I grew up in central Wisconsin. I can remember watching the state weather reports on TV (in January) - the temperature might be -20F in my hometown, but it would then be -30 or so in Superior, WI at the northern tip of Wisconsin. We would say to ouselves .... 'I'm glad I don't live in Superior!

I was amazed, my first winter in the DC area, when we had a week of 70 degree temperatures in January.

Vern

On 2005-03-11 14:09, ScottMcGerik wrote:

Ugh! I hate Minnesota! I never acknowledged how much I hate where I live until I visited Costa Mesa and saw palm trees, flowering shrubs, and skin, smelled the ocean breeze, and felt the warmth of the sun.

I grew up in Costa Mesa, and it seemed like we had very little weather: 80's cloudless and humid, dried out lawns, extermination season for the rats from palm trees, or endless rain that causes floods from the palm fronds the neighbors refuse to pick up clogging the storm drains, particularly if you're at a 'Mesa' part of Costa Mesa.

As kids, we were intensely jealous of the weather where trees turn colors, not catch on fire to do so, and this alleged "school closed for snow day" rumor, which still feels like I was ripped off, weather-wise.
I can't wait to live somewhere that gets snow! I have a crackpot theory that some people are just biologically happier in a certain climate, and I was unfortunate enough to grow up in my personal anti-climate (OC and Palm Springs, why not just send me to the surface of the sun?!)

I worked with a guy who moved to Costa Mesa from Minnesota, and halfway through May, when it had been 80-90 every day for weeks on end, he apprehensively asked when it was going to end, when would it cool off, and get, "Back down to the 40's?" We all were confused and had to say that other than some dry wildfire seasons, the change would be overcast to raining, but only a handful of cold nights. When we told him he'd have to take a few hours' drive up to the mountains to see snow, he looked like he was going to cry.

ZebraTiki, you may have a point about being biologically happier in a certain climate. Although I think living somewhere where your snot doesnt freeze would be fun, the first time I went to Florida I passed out within 3 hours of arriving, from the heat. I just had never experienced something like that. I chalk it up to a Scottish background (pasty skin, used to fog and rain and clouds and chill). I always wondered what my forefathers (and foremothers) were thinking when they arrived in Canada back in the 1600's.'Hmm, unfriendly natives, frostbite, winter for 6 months every year, HEY! I KNOW! LETS SETTLE HERE!'

But of course, being the polite Canadian, I stay.

Here's a nice pic I took on my walk to work the other day. The building on the left is my condo. You may recognize the CN tower, the world's tallest phallic symbol. And the bikes really were rode to work that day by the chinese ladies who work in the sweatshop I pass every day.

Hell yes, winter is a bitch. The other day Poly Pop was over drinking Mai-tais in the Lagoon Room and it starts to drizzle. Adrian says "Dude you chop-saw Getting wet". And it was. So I had to go dry it off with a shop towel.

Then I mixed some suffering Bastards.

Mahalo,
Al

Thanks for the kind words about finding my father.One of the great highlights of my life. He is the best story teller, having spent so many years at sea. Just hope he stays healthy enough to hear all the tales.
The old salty dog learned how to use a computer just so we can keep in touch daily. He makes me feel better about our weather everyday when we trade emails.

ZebraTiki,

I feel ripped-off regarding those alleged snow-closing days. My mother claims that when she was a child, they did have snow-closing days. By the time I was in middle school, the climate had changed enough that we did not get enough snow to close school for anymore. We, however, did have extremely-cold temperature days where they shut the schools down. Those days sucked because if it was too cold to walk to school it was too cold to play outside. And if it was warm enough to play outside, it was warm enough to go to school!

I suspect there is some truth to your biological theory because I am the happiest on the hottest days of the summer whereas my wife suffers. Neither one of us care for the extreme cold days but she definitely likes winter more than I do.

I can't figure out to combine my love of tiki, volcanoes and palm trees and safari adventures with my plan to go on a dogsledding vacation, or stay in one of those ice-block houses where they give you reindeer-pelt blankets.

Tikifish - I see your recent Toronto picture and raise you my Bel Air Maryland pictures circa February 2003...

The end of my street...

My car...

The house...

Now that was a miserable winter!

JohnTiki

Aloha from the enchanted Pi Yi Grotto in exotic Bel Air Maryland!

[ Edited by: johntiki on 2005-03-13 19:54 ]

Johntiki-
What's all that white stuff all over the place? :)

I'm still jealous. I've seen snow fall for about 20 minutes, and 10 of those minutes were wasted trying to figure out what I was seeing!

On 2005-03-12 19:04, Alnshely wrote:
Hell yes, winter is a bitch. The other day Poly Pop was over drinking Mai-tais in the Lagoon Room and it starts to drizzle. Adrian says "Dude you chop-saw Getting wet". And it was. So I had to go dry it off with a shop towel.

Then I mixed some suffering Bastards.

Mahalo,
Al

And the Patchy Fog, you can't forget the Patchy Fog!

Right now through early April (sometimes longer!) is by far the worst part of winter for me. The sky is always gray and the temp rarely rises above 35 degrees. There is still snow on the ground, but it's been there for a while, so it's colored different shades ranging from light gray or brown to black. It's a very ugly time to be in Milwaukee.

Winter can be beautiful after a fresh snowfall when the snow is bright white and clean and the trees are decorated with snow, but, yeah, this time of the year is a trial. Off-white, gray, brown, and yellow snow.

Also, in the Twin Cities, it often warms up enough during the day to melt some of the snow which then freezes into dangerously slick patches of ice.

Wow, pining for Costa Mesa - you must REALLY be desperate! I think you should set your sights considerably higher. :wink:

Growing up in OC and Palm Springs, and having folks visit from the Midwest was a trip. I could never understand thier excitment about ripe citrus in winter, or carmel colored warm skys or eating where famous people eat.

They also seemed to think that we went to Disneyland a few times a week, and never understood the concept of a house with no farmland being worth 500K

I was Jealous of them, with changes in the seasons, and turning leafs, and ponds, and the idea or rooting for the baseball team your Grampy rooted for.

I've read that Minn is the place with the highest % of eccentrics too.

Minnesota in winter is not without its beauty. I took the following photos at my in-laws lake home in central Minnesota.

(edited to remove links to photos because it was using too much bandwidth.)

Scott McGerik
http://scott.mcgerik.com/

[ Edited by: ScottMcGerik on 2005-03-28 09:32 ]

C'mon, all you OC-ers, repeat every day's weather forecast with me: "Late night and early morning low clouds with clearing by noon, highs in the 70s." Now multiply that by about 340 and you have a year in OC.

I loved visiting cold places when I was young and growing up there, though. The SF East Bay area we now live in is perpetually chilly compared to OC, and now all I want to do is visit someplace warm(er). The total number of days last year when we could comfortably stay in shorts and Ts outside after dark was about 5. It's always cool and windy and/or foggy here, particularly in the summer. So be thankful that at least you don't have our "summer" after your six months of winter.

Pretty pretty yes, very pretty, but not like a moonlit stroll along the wide banks of the Santa Ana River ot Tet at Mile Sq. Park.

Still...you have Muskies there...and they have a charm not found most places

Now that I have grown up where there are winters and seasons and such, I am ready to experience a locale where there are no seasons. Maybe after ten years I will grow weary of the unchanging weather. At that time, I'll return to Minnesota. Or move to Colorado.

I'm certain the first person wearing a parka on a 65 degree day will greatly amuze.

It's always a great idea to see and experaince other places. Where were you thinking of going to?

There is a huge boom now in Central Cal. It's much more affordable that coastal cities, and people are flocking there. (Redding, Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, the Inland Empire) Land values are taking off there too, but it's still much easier to buy.

There is wierd trend to build huge subdivisions often in the middle of nowhere. The funny part is they have the largest possible home on the smallest possible lot.

It looks as if you could touch the neighbor from the window. I suppose they must be 3 feet from a fenceline, but they don't look like they are.

I'm sure you know, the most important item is planning your tiki yard.

Of course, without all the crappy slush and grayness you wouldn't have the greatest part of living in the midwest...The first real day of spring!

There is nothing like that first 60 degree day where everyone wakes up and opens their windows that have been securely covered in plastic wrap for the last 7 months. You walk outside in your t-shirt and shorts and listen to the almost forgotten sound of birds singing. There is still a bit of snow on the ground, but that makes it all the more wonderful. The neighbor lady is making sure her tulip bulbs survived the winter and taking the styrofoam covers off her rose bushes. You can hear kids screaming at their moms to give them money because they can hear the ice cream truck comming. All these things are like taking your first deep breath, precious and vital. Gosh, that day is only a month or two away!

Hi Finkdaddy...and the great part about
Wisconsin is the day that comes after
the first day of spring...the first day
of fall.

On 2005-03-14 18:54, congatiki wrote:
Hi Finkdaddy...and the great part about
Wisconsin is the day that comes after
the first day of spring...the first day
of fall.

Ha! :lol:

My thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth...

[ Edited by: finkdaddy on 2005-03-15 05:03 ]

Yes,it sure can feel like forever waiting for Spring here in the Midwest,but when that warmth finally comes,hooray!Of course with warmth comes the motorcycles,but oh well.The part about the windows being opened up is the best-that sweet spring air really comes in and airs out months of staleness.It's really wonderful.

Gigantalope,

I am currently considering moving to southern California but that is all hypothetical. About two years ago I was considering moving to Colorado but inertia kept me where I am.

My wife and I are flying to San Diego soon to explore that city with an eye towards possibly moving there. This is the most we have ever put into this but both of us are ready for a change.

Scott McGerik
http://scott.mcgerik.com/

[ Edited by: ScottMcGerik on 2005-03-15 06:40 ]

[ Edited by: ScottMcGerik on 2005-03-15 06:40 ]

Scott, what sorts of things are you looking for in your future home?

San Diego is a splendid place, but of course like San Franisco, OC or LA the best places command a substancial price.

When do you plan to do your visit?

On 2005-03-14 16:22, finkdaddy wrote:
There is nothing like that first 60 degree day where everyone wakes up and opens their windows that have been securely covered in plastic wrap for the last 7 months. You walk outside in your t-shirt and shorts and listen to the almost forgotten sound of birds singing.

Dear God! You go out in shorts when it's only 60 degrees?! You'll catch your death of cold! As a true "Valley Girl" that grew up with 100+ degree summer days (and the great warm breezy nights that went with them.) I've acknowledged that I can't possibly live anywhere colder than Los Angeles (even Santa Monica is a bit too chilly for me). When it dips below 70 I'm reaching for a sweater and scarf. My heart goes out to all those in such frigid climates.

While I was living in Wisconsin, I took a short vacation trip to Florida, glad to be escaping the sub-freezing temperatures there. I was walking around in some Florida store, and the clerk at the register asked me what part of the country I was from.

I replied 'How do you know that I'm a visitor?' and she replied 'It's 60 degrees outside, and you're wearing shorts - no native Floridian wears shorts when it is 60 degrees out'

One Christmas Day in the early 80's, we had an all-time high temperature for that day in my hometown .... 53 degrees F. We all put on our swimwear, and had our picture taken by a pond outside our home. We couldn't jump in though, because the pond was still frozen.

Here's a link to a humor article that describes how Minnesotans, and others across the country, deal with cold weather ... http://catesworld.tripod.com/ejunk/winter.html

Vern

Hey Vintagegirl,

When we were younger we had some neighbors who just moved in from Florida. It was right at the end of winter and by some glitch of nature we had a 50 degree day when it should have been in the 30's. Me and my friends put on t-shirts and shorts and ran outside to play basketball in the drive way. I remember seeing the entire neighbor family watching us from their windows with mouths wide open like we were crazy. Those first couple days of "warm" weather are truely magical.

You're right Finkdaddy, the first song birds are what I really look forward to! Winters here are just so dark, naked trees dirty snow, and no insect,frog, or bird sounds.
Already the sun is just poking it's head up when I wake up at 5:45. and a few early robins are singing. Another month or so and the new fawns will be peeking out behind their moms next to the school when I pull in the drive.ahhhh.... I can't wait!

To me the welcoming signs of spring are the Spring Peepers! (Technically I don't think the singing frogs we get here in Maryland are actual "Spring Peepers" but they make the same welcome noise.)

When you get to hear them singing their first notes of the season it's like a breath of fresh air...you want to open your bedroom windows and listen to them all night. It's a sign reminding you the world is coming to life again after 6 months of silence outdoors.

It almost matches the euphoria I feel when I see the first lightning bug! :)

Johntiki-ah lightning bugs! Something not a whole lot of folks are familiar with!Nothing more magical than sitting outside with a beverage in a plastic lawn chair and seeing the flourescent green glow of the tail of a lightning bug.Magical.

Hard to find Brats (outside of schoolyards)out this way.

Aint much thunder on the Pacific Coast either.

No lightning...no thunder. (I should say it's rare)

Oh man, you guys have me wishing for spring to get here early. Fireflies, thunderstorms, brats cooking on the grill, and don't forget my personal favorite, the sound of crickets chirping!

My thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth...

[ Edited by: finkdaddy on 2005-03-17 09:02 ]

Crickets! I love the sound of crickets!

When my wife and I moved into our (former) house in Minneapolis, we were serenaded by crickets every night. The previous owners had been feeding crickets to their tarantulas. Well, a lot of these crickets had escaped and set up residence in our yard. I am tempted to buy a bunch of crickets and then releasing them in the yard of our new property, just so that I can be serenaded.

Outdoor crickets are nice .... but nothing is worse than having a solo cricket in your bedroom, chirping away at 3a.m., when you are trying to sleep. It will absolutely drive you batty.

Crickets must be related to cockroaches, because as soon as you turn on the light, they scurry back very quickly into some hiding place. Several times in my life, I have moved about half the furniture in my bedroom, at 3 a.m., trying to locate and remove that one cricket that has been keeping me up.

Vern