Entirely Accurate: The World Map of Condiments

Check it: Here.

Interesting.

So once in a while, when I think Google is taking over the world, I can always confirm? deny? with this: here. Try it.

It is finished.

Internet,

I have no idea what day of the week it is, or what the date is even, but I can tell you that as of four o'clock this morning, we are done. I'm happy with my bill (for the most part - it's a pretty good bill, and everything's relative), and I'm even more ecstatic that special session went well (only 12.5 hours!), the governor signed all of the bills this morning (many of which included great reform! and no new taxes!), the shutdown is over, and now, at 3:30 in the afternoon, I am finally at home and have the next two days off! And the weekend! What on earth am I going to do with four whole days? Imagine. Four whole days to myself (with the exception of checking email...can't really get away from that right now).

During this time I plan to basically sleep, eat and do nothing (not necessarily in that order, depending on how badly my body has been thrown out of whack from not sleeping or eating properly for so many days - well, months, really - in a row). And maybe get my back into better shape after tweaking it last week at rowing practice. (Apparently sitting in a chair for marathon meetings did not do it any good, either...between midnight and four a.m. today, the only quasi-comfortable position I could get in was either standing up against a wall or lying flat on my office floor.) And maybe see some family and friends. Or watch the final stages of the Tour de France.

I can do pretty much anything I want! Oh, the joy. And not be on call 24 hours a day. *sigh of relief*

xoxo,

Minny LinnEy

Early bird gets the worm.

This picture is from my balcony at sunrise on July 3rd. It is pretty much what I see every morning when I wake up. And by every morning, I mean all the sunny ones (of which there haven't been as many as usual this year, it seems).

And now that I'm rowing all the time, I wake up at the crack of dawn every day - like last Sunday when I took this picture (and then went back to bed for a few more hours because I didn't have to row and it's not like I have anyplace else to be at 5 o'clock in the morning.)

Rock the Garden: 2011

Dear Internet,

So I'm a little behind in telling you about my "summer vacation." For example, back in June, I went to Rock the Garden with friend K. It was a little rainy. (OK, a lot rainy.) But we still had fun.

Tapes 'n Tapes (aka, "Local band played well")

Walker Sculpture Garden (aka, "Yes, that is downtown Minneapolis back there...behind the rain clouds")

K & Minny LinnEy (aka, "a li'l bedraggled from all the rain, although we stayed pretty dry with appropriate rain gear and a little bit of planning")

Booker T. Jones (aka, "Coulda used a better sound technician")

I couldn't figure out if this guy was just Neko Case's biggest fan, or if he thought the rain would turn into a flood at any moment and wanted to be prepared.

Neko Case (aka, "Although I sound good on the radio, I'm actually pretty horrible at live concerts like this outdoor show I barely showed up for")

Sorry, Internet. I have no pictures of the final set, My Morning Jacket (aka, "K & I shoulda stuck it out, 'cause they sounded awesome on the radio on my way home and probably were the band of the day"). All in all, it was a fun experience, but I was completely disappointed in Neko Case. Completely.

Five Minutes of Your Life You'll Never Get Back

Internet,

I started rowing on real water again last week. I have had very bad blisters. Day one: two blood blisters. Day two: those went away (the blood, not the blisters; I'll leave that to your imagination, although if you really wanted, I do have a picture I could provide as proof). Day three: took Wednesday off of practice to let my hands heal, only to go back on Day four: and end up worse than ever. Thank goodness for New Skin and bandages, 'cause otherwise it could've been really awkward shaking those people's hands at work the last two weeks. They're all fine now, and good to go.

Speaking of work...for three weeks in a row, I have thought that it was Wednesday on a Thursday, which was really my Friday (because, Yay! Fridays off with flex schedule during the summer...except today, when I got called back in to the office, so yeah, not so much the "Yay! Friday!" today). And in other work-related news, I may get to go on "vacation" in July. No one's really sure yet, so I just keep working and going about my normal business and shaking people's hands with my awkwardly bandaged phalanges.

In other awkward news, you know what's really good for dinner? Doritos and cottage cheese. I ate it three nights in a row last week. It would've been four nights in a row, but I polished off all the Doritos and cottage cheese in the first three nights.

As for other news, I went to Rock the Garden last weekend. More on that (including pictures!) later.

And finally, I am visiting my tween years. In some ways I kind of feel like I skipped straight from being a grubby youth to a miniature adult who wore suits. Although let's face it: I was never really "miniature." Anyway, to rectify those potential lost years, I've discovered this. And now I feel like the tween I probably never was (and never really will be - now I'm just an old person experimenting with those young people's fads).

And now that I have wasted five minutes of your life you'll never get back...

Have a great weekend, Internet.

xoxo,

Minny LinnEy

p.s. Happy 3rd Birthday to the cutest niece ever.

MN Constitution: 101

It's like watching a law school exam write itself: here.

Questions that have come up in my mind (besides the obvious Who will win?!):

• What's the proper venue for state courts to sue the state government? (Really. See the second set of motions at the bottom of the page.)
• How many will actually intervene v. "let's just be friends" in these cases?
• How will the courts decide separation of powers under our state constitution?
• Will the courts force the governor to call a special session? Does he need to wash his hands better (unclean hands theory negating equitable relief)?
• Will the courts force everyone into the same room with a mediator - and not let anyone out until they come to an agreement?

All this and more: Updated as new documents are filed with the court. Check back frequently for more exciting reading materials! (And possibly to read study aids for your next law school exam.)

I know I just saw you an hour ago, but...

Happy Father's Day, Dad. (Again.)

~L

Doodling

Dear Internet,

If I didn't have so many co-workers around listening to me, I would gladly sit around playing today's google doodle all day long. (It's a guitar. You strum it with your mouse. Plus, you can record your song, too.) Addictive.

xoxo,

Minny LinnEy

p.s. How did we go from 103 degrees on Tuesday to 56 degrees right now, two days later? It's freezing here now! I actually didn't mind the heat so much on Tuesday - it was very dry, and I prefer that to humidity. Even if my eyeballs did feel completely dried out. Better to have my eyes water for a couple hours than the rest of my body be completely miserable.

Who knew? (Complete with Updates!)

1. If we say "yes" to the mediator, can we just eliminate the governor's job position?

2. June is "Goat Trauma Awareness Month."

3. Today at the office we're having a competition: who can wear the most sweaters at one time? (Right now, I'm at three.) (It's awfully chilly in the Capitol, and that's not just the Governor's attitude towards the idea of negotiating...see above.)

4. June is National Accordion Awareness Month.

Update:

5. June is National Velociraptor Awareness Month.

Update 2:

6. This is how smartphone users see each other.

There Have Been Good Moments.

Internet,

As I'm sure you noticed from yesterday's post, it's been a stressful few weeks. But I would be remiss to not mention at least a couple of the good moments from the past few weeks.

1. When I left work around 2am one day (I couldn't tell you which day - they all run together), I walked to my car and noticed this glorious scent. There are flowering trees everywhere, and their beautiful aroma was wafting around me as I left work. So, like a crazy person, I walked up to one of them, closed my eyes and deeply inhaled and enjoyed it for a couple of minutes before going home. (Crazy people around here is not an uncommon sight; even at 2 in the morning, I'm pretty sure I blended in just fine.) After spending weeks on end indoors, that was a nice moment.

2. I got to church on the last Sunday of session. I seriously don't think I've been able to do that for the previous five sessions when we were under Democrat control. The DFL loved to keep people here at all hours of the day and night, and Sunday was just another day of the week to them. And along with the time to go to church on Sunday, I did not do two back-to-back all-nighters this year. In fact, I may have worked over 100 hours in six days last week, but I only had one night that lasted until 4am. For that, I am grateful.

3. A co-worker graciously offered me a yoyo maple bacon long john. Let me tell you, Internet: I have eaten a few doughnuts in my day, but I had never experienced anything like this. Maple icing that wasn't too cloyingly sweet. One strip of perfectly crispy bacon. It was delicious, and I could probably eat one every single day if given the opportunity.

I'm probably forgetting a lot more of the good moments, Internet. But I'm glad that I remember those.

xoxo,

LinnEy

Maybe...

...the latte idea this morning was good, but the four shots of espresso in it? Not a good idea.

...when special session starts, I can make it through without killing anyone. (Hey! Made it through the regular session without mishap.) (Pray for me.)

...I won't feel guilty today when I'm not at work at 10 o'clock at night.

...I can put the survival kit (thermarest, blankets) currently in my office back in my car trunk where it belongs.

...when I get home tonight I'll know what to do with myself and this "free time" that will be thrust upon me.

...I won't have to wear a suit for a while now.

...I can get a facial tomorrow.

...I can make plans with friends and family again without fear of having to cancel because I work all hours of the day and night.

...my rowing friends won't mind that I'm out of shape right now.

...I won't dream of washing my hair in a Capitol bathroom sink any more. (What a nightmare.)