Thanksgiving Traditions

Today I am celebrating Thanksgiving in Chanhassen. It's a day full of traditions. We are having a traditional turkey as our entree, we are gathering with family and friends, and I just finished one of my favorite Thanksgiving day traditions--going through the ads for Black Friday. That's right, I'm guilty of falling into the trap of consumerism. I am one of those people who has always gotten up early the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping. I even got my dad to go out with us one year but that was when there was good gifts being handed out as incentive.

When Brainerd had more of a small town feel we used to get up and stand in line at Herbergers to be one of the first to go through the door. For doing so we'd get a very nice gift. Two years it was a cookbook which still remains amoung my favorites (and I have alot--that will have to be a blog all on its own). Then we'd go over to Target where we'd get a gift bag with coupons and samples. Next we'd head over to JC Penney's to get a free ornament or waterglobe. One time when we were in the Cities, my friend and I drove around to get the free Christmas stuffed animals from the major department stores.

Being that it's Minnesota, many of these mornings were quite cold. And I don't know, but I think that when we first started going, the opening hours were not nearly as insane as it has become now. This year the first store opening is 4 AM!! We're not getting up that early. Although I did do a 5 am one year because I wanted one of the bargains at Walmart--a computer. Seems like almost every store is doing the doorbuster prices to get people in. I'm not sure there's much I want this year, and there certainly isn't anything I need. But I'll still be getting up to go out tomorrow morning if for no other reason but than it is tradition.

Pseudostuff

I had big plans to get a chunk of work done for my classes today. I wanted to read and prepare a whole new chapter in my Mass Comm book, I wanted to work on some Egypt pictures, and I planned on working on a grant opportunity. But I received a phone call this morning from our real estate agent that someone was interested in looking at our house, TODAY. Yikes! We have a 24-hour request on our listing, but I think that's only been used a couple of times throughout the last 7 months we've been with this company. Also, it has been awhile since our last showing and we actually live in our house, so we haven't kept it up day to day like we did for so long the first time we listed the house. Meaning--it looks lived in. So getting a call like that is always anxiety ridden for me. But at least I was home and knew if I put my nose to the grindstone as they say (what a dumb expression now that I type it), I knew I could get it done. If nothing else, I could pseudoclean.

What? Haven't heard of pseudocleaning? Chances are you've done it. Pseudocleaning is creating a fake or false sense of cleanliness or only cleaning something partway. Now don't get me wrong. I really do clean most of the house, but there's only so much time and there's only so many spots you can put stuff in an old house with no closet space. So I try and sort papers and loose items that have been collecting on the countertops, table tops, and around the computer desk. But at a certain point I know I am running out of time, so I throw them in a laundry basket in order to sort them out later. Then I move the laundry basket to the car--out of sight for the showing! That's pseudocleaning.

How about those bars that Diane just baked last night? Counter looks better if it's clear of clutter, including bars, so in the oven they go--pseudocleaning! That bag of chips that we opened last night and amazingly didn't polish off? In the microwave and off the counter--pseudocleaning! I dust, but I only selectively move items to dust under, the heavier, the higher, the less likely I am to dust under it--pseudocleaning. And come on, how many people totally move all the furniture in order to vacuum the carpet under spots no dust can even get to? That's right, pseudocleaning!

I have to say I have become quite masterful at genuine pseudocleaning. To the outside observer, I give off the appearance that we live a very orderly life. Hah! The houseshowings? That's my motivation for my pseudocleaning but I know others do it for other reasons too. A friend you haven't seen in a long time just calls to say she's driving through town and was checking to see if you're in because she wants to stop and say hi--she'll be there in 10 minutes. MAJOR PSEUDOCLEANING! Difference there? You only need to do the primary rooms. House showing? Gotta do them all. So I stuff slippers under the bed and letters in the junk drawer. Fill the dryer with the holiday sheets I had thrown on the chair and was going to put on the bed after Thanksgiving.

And the last thing I did tonight before leaving the house for my unknown visitors? I turned on our pseudofireplace. It's the first time I've ever done that--think I only did it because it was dark and cold out and I wanted the house to seem warm and inviting. Apparently it was a big hit. Both the realitor and the potential buyer's mother want a copy! So maybe doing something pseudo ain't such a bad idea afterall!

Wanderlust

Are there certain words that you know just totally capture what you're thinking or feeling with an accurate precision? Have you ever discovered a word that you just LOVED? Well, I just discovered such a word and I knew that word had to be my blog today. That word is wanderlust.

wan·der·lust Pronunciation Key: (wŏn'dər-lŭst')
n. A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 24 Nov. 2008.

I used to call this feeling "the travel bug". It's a feeling I get when I haven't traveled for awhile, a kind of anciness, if that's a word. But "wanderlust" just sounds more appealing. It sounds more adventurous. For me when I get wanderlust it can best be described as an urge that waivers between the psychological and physical to get out and explore more of the world. Usually it doesn't disappear until I do actually go somewhere new and exciting. And wanderlust is exactly what I've been experiencing lately and it is growing stronger by the day.

It hasn't even been that long since I gone somewhere new. I was in Egypt in March, in Memphis in July, but there's something else calling--I just don't know what it is or where it will take me. In fact, since Friday my facebook status has read "Kari Frisch wants to travel somewhere on sabbatical". It's now late Monday evening, technically Tuesday morning, and I still can't get myself to change the status line. I don't want to jinx it. I want something to just come my way. You see, I've got wanderlust and I've got it bad!

Mediated Noise

In communication theory there's a term called "noise" which is actually any obstacle in the communication process. It can be a pysical noise like a door slamming, someone coughing, a fire alarm or other literal sound in your environment that would classify as an "audible" distraction. Noise can also be psychological, which is interference in the communication process caused by your mental distractions. This happens when you daydream or when you are thinking about another person or event instead of being an active listener in the current context. Noise can also occur in the physiological sense when there is a biological obstacle that makes the communication more difficult. Examples here include suffering from a migraine headaches, having a lisp, being legally hard of hearing, or even being malnurished which reduces your communication capabilities and affects your ability to learn. Finally there is a category called semantic noise, which is an obstacle that is created based on a lack on understanding behind the meaning of words used in the communication process. Meanings must be shared in order for understanding to occur, and if only one party understands the term in use it would create some semantic noise. For example, if I started talking about my duvet in class, chances are not everyone would know what object I would be describing. These are the common categories of noise found in most texgtbooks, although some might label them in slightly different ways. However, I would like to introduce a fifth type of noise--"mediated noise", or noise interferece from a technical mediated source.

I spent about three hours today trying to work on a live video call between myself and one other individual. We tried all sorts of programs. First we tried America Online's Aim, then we tried Yahoo's Messnger, then we tried Skype. All three were hindered with problems. Sometimes my sound went through just fine, other times it would be all staticy (I'm making that word up--it should be a real adjective anyway!). Sometimes the image of the otherperson would be pixelated (making that one up too!) and distorted. Sometimes my streaming video wouldn't stream smoothly so it resulted in robo-Kari, all choppy and disconnected. It was FRUSTRATING and definitely caused interference for us both. I even tried our Dean of Technology and we went to a fourth site (tokbox.com) to try a video call and the picture was pretty good but the static was horrible.

Some noise you just can't work with. In all 4 formats it would kind of work a couple of seconds and then go bad, then maybe get a little better and then go bad again. With each attempt when the frustration set in we had to just quit--it wasn't getting better. And the worst part of all this is that even after 3 hours--we still didn't know how to fix it. I'm going into school tomorrow to meet with the Dean of Technology and hopefully he can help me get it figured out the old fashioned way--face to face. No noise is good noise when we're talking about the communication process--but mediated noise--is topping my "dislike the most" list!

A Local Glimpse at Political History

The following video is edited from an interview I conducted with Gina Vetter, Head Election Judge for Ward 2 in the City of Little Falls, Minnesota. The interview was conducted on November 5, 2008 which is the day after the general election. It was conducted at the Chamber of Commerce in Little Falls.

Additional support material and statistics used in the video clip came from the United States Election Project website: http://elections.gmu.edu/preliminary_vote_2008.html under Dr. Michael McDonald, Department of Public and International Affairs, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive 3F4, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444. The website was last edited on November 17, 2008. I accessed the data on Wednesday, November 19, 2008.

The video editing was completed on Wednesday, November 19 2008:

Grease is the word...is the word

Last night was opening night of Grease.  Diane's son Kyle was Danny.  This is his senior year and it was fun to see the little boy who used to run around comically singing in falsetto as "Opera Man" turn into a male lead.  He gets a lot of his talent from his mom who was in the first musical at the same high school under this same director 32 years ago.  The cast did a nice job.  As a person with an MA in Theatre Arts I watch productions differently perhaps and can be a little critical. (OK my friends might dispute my choice of "little" in that last sentence).  But last night was kind of fun.  I was proud watching Kyle go out and ham it up as the "ever so cool" Danny Zucko.  Bravo!

Thankful

Today I am thankful. I am thankful for the fact that as of 9:45 pm I have completed my Bhante Sahti video project and all 7 are uploaded to my site. I think it turned out pretty well for some of my first video editing work. I'm thankful for that. Besides working on it off and on since Saturday, this has taken almost all of my day today, minus the hour and a half that we went to the Ralph jr to walk--which I am also thankful for. The Ralph jr is the Ralph Engelstad Arena in TRF not to be confused with the much much bigger Ralph Engelstad arena in Grand Forks. That's why this one is nicknamed "junior". It felt good to get out and run again since I've slacked in that department since it got cold out. I'm thankful I got back on track.

Of course I am thankful for the usual stuff too like family, friends, health, a profession I enjoy, and many other blessings. This year I am also thankful for my sabbatical time. Finally, I am thankful that Thanksgiving is coming up so that maybe I might actually take a holiday from working!


Side note:
Video clips 1-5 can be found on the entry below titled "A Buddhist Monk Walked Into a Library"

Video clips 6 and 7 can be found on the entry below titled "Bhante Sahti Interview Cont."

W: 3 miles R: 3 miles 28 min

Ever notice?

Ever notice how most people talk to their animals? Their voice changes in pitch, they use short sentences or even made up words. They get real close and become very demonstrative. They repeat questions and then pause--like the animal is going to talk back. For some people their pets are like their kids. They might even spoil them more than their kids. Ever notice that?

Or speaking of kids. Every notice how most people in the US talk to babies and toddlers? It's not too much different than how they talk to pets. What does that say? Just think about how they act, where they position themselves in terms of their body postures, what they say and how they say it. Got a good picture? Now think about them doing the EXACT same thing except this time it's to you and not a toddler. Now that would be funny. Try it sometime with a friend. If you do, I can pretty much guarantee...they'll notice.

PS Watch the first part of the video in the previous entry "A Buddhist Monk Walks Into a Library" and listen to my "interviewing a buddhist monk" voice.

R 1:5 miles W: 3 miles at "the Ralph jr"

A Buddhist Monk Walked Into a Library...

No this isn't the start to a funny joke, it's a weekly occurrence at the Chanhassen library where Bhante Sahti leads a meditation class. My friend's sister Barb is one of the weekly participants. Today Bhante Sahti was kind enough to let me interview him on my flipvideo for class.

"Bhante" means teacher and teach he does. He leads three weekly classes on meditation as well as runs the occasional retreat. He is very willing to share and help others who are interested in meditation. It wasn't even two minutes into the interview before he was offering to come up to our campus to talk with any interested students and even lead a session. I think that would be really neat.

It was an interesting interview and I'm looking forward to going back and listening to it again. I think one of the important points he made was that meditation is not tied to a particular religion. That is a misconception--one that sometimes even scares some people off. Especially in the dominant US culture where meditation is not commonly practiced. This is why he thinks it is advantageous to the first time meditator to go to a facilitated class.

I went to his meditation class about a year and a half ago. It was the one and only session I attended. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to be there that particuar day. A Buddhist nun was leading the session which was still cool. So today was a treat to finally meet the teacher my friends have come to admire so much. Perhaps, someday I'll even give meditation a try again after all, it was very obvious Bhante Sahti had much to teach me. The following clips are from that interview.

PART ONE (INTRODUCTION AND BHANTE SAHTI'S BACKGROUND):

PART TWO (COMING TO THE U.S.):

PART THREE (although clip will say part two this is really part 3) MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEDITATION:




PART FOUR (PLEASURE AND CONSUMERISM):




PART FIVE (BHANTE DESCRIBES A MEDITATION SESSION):

Bhante Sahti Interview Cont.

This is a continuation of the video clips from my interview with Bhante Sahti, a meditation teacher and Buddhist Monk from Sri Lanka. The interview was conducted on Saturday, November 8, 2008 at the Chanhassen Public Library.

PART SIX (HABITS AND MEDITATION TECHNIQUES):





PART SEVEN (FINAL COMMENTS BY BHANTE SAHTI):

Tis the Season--Already?

I woke up to a snowy scene this morning. It had been raining the day before, but it was still a shock to open the blinds to such a view. Guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Afterall, it is November and the Christmas promotions have already started.

I don't think we got to Halloween this year before the ads starting showing up. I had the tv on last week while I was working on the computer and there were to Christmas ads in a row! Diane said last week the first batch of Christmas cards came through the post office for mailing. She had had requests for Christmas stamps in the beginning of October and finally had to cave in and order some. "Yes, Frankenstein there really is a Santa Claus".

My friend and I went to the Mall of America to get some exercise (Really we did, I didn't buy a single item) and the Christmas directions were up, and "the Santa Experience" was setting up shop. But perhaps with the economy in a recession, stores are in need sales more than ever. And I admit, I have already purchased a seasonal item. It was going to be a gift, but it's so cute I might just have to keep it ;) But that's all I've purchased that was Christmasy this year. Well, that and three ho ho mochas from Caribou Coffee. They're yummy, so that hardly counts.

Humm...maybe those retailers know what they're doing afterall.

W: All the way around all three floors of MOA which is 1 and 3/4 miles 

Car talk

I went down to the Cities with a friend. We took her vehicle, however when we got close to the Cities she asked if I would drive. Many people don't like to drive in urban areas. Personally, I don't mind, so I took over at the wheel. Even though it was lunch time, the traffic wasn't so bad. It was much worse when we were driving to her sister's later that evening. I definitely had to use my car talk skills. You see driving involves learning a whole new language and skill-set past what you need to know for passing your driver's exam. You know what I'm talking about. Take honking for example:

You're stopped behind one other car at a red light. The light turns green but the person in front of you doesn't notice. You wait your obligatory 3 seconds and then a short "honk". Just a friendly little reminder that the light is green.

You're on a side street and see your friend coming towards you. What do you do? Two little honks. "honk, honk". It's like saying "hi".

Someone driving eradically cuts in front of you nearly taking your front bumper with them. "HOOOOONNNNNNK" . You lay on the horn which translates into "You idiot!"

The distance you put between your car and another can also communicate. There's been a train for which traffic has had to stop and there's a long line of cars waiting to turn unto the main street and head over the tracks. You're on that main street already also waiting to head over the tracks. If you're nice you leave an extra large space between you and the car in front of you so the car on the side street knows you're going to let them in. If you're cranky or in a hurry then you close the gap even more than you normally would as if to say "nope, you're not getting in".

This also works if you want to express your disgust. For example, a car whizzes past you only to pull into your lane and then proceeds to go slower than the rate you were going. You know because you have your cruise set. So again, instead of applying your break and readjusting your cruise, you let your car go right up to them to say "See? See!!! You're really a jerk for cutting me offf! How dare you make me adjust my speed!"

Humm...I guess it's a good thing I don't live in a major city with traffic issues. Although I understand car talk, it looks like I've got a little bit of road rage. Better stick to driving in Brainerd.

Hope and Fear

Two major adjectives have been used to sum up Decision '08--hope and fear.

As I said yesterday, one of the analysts said that the results showed that Americans voted for hope. As I read my friend's status bars today many of them had comments that used the term "hopeful". Even as I went about my business today I felt a renewed sense of spirit. As I ran, I felt this sense of hope for not only our country but for the world. The purpose of my blogs here were supposed to include a photo that would capture that which I was writing about. I knew right away that I wanted to write about hope. But how do I capture that? Is there a right way to capture it? Would I capture it the way you would? I do a very similar exercise in my class and it's been so interesting to see the varied responses to how different individuals capture the same 4 terms. I only had one and I was struggling. And then it donned on me. I had had my camera out documenting the "I voted on Election Day" tally on facebook grow and grow all day yesterday. When the election results were coming in it was about ready to turn to 5 million so I had my camera in hand. At 10:00 the televesion stations declared the victory to Barack Obama. Out of instinct I snapped that photo knowing what a significant moment it was. That photo, that snapshot captured for me the sense of hope that flooded over me. So that is how I would capture what I was thinking about today. Hope won out. It won out over fear.

So what represents hope to you? How about fear? Compare and contrast what these terms LOOK like by going to the following website and following my directions below:
1) Go to the following web address: http://taggalaxy.de/
2) In the "Enter Initial Tag" dialogue box type the word "hope" (do not use the quotation marks)
3) Hit the "GO" button
4) Click on the revolving planet
5) Explore the world you just created. It revolves and turns.
6) Take special note of what catches your eye. Click on the items that capture your attention and read the extra notes that may be provided.
7) Spend some time here and think about what you're feeling in response to what you're seeing.

8) Then go to the same web address and type in the word "fear" (again, do not include the quotation marks)
9) Repeat steps 3-7 for your new world

R: 3.3 miles W .3

Talking Politics and Feeling Politics

I woke up this morning excited. It was before 7:00 am and I could have slept in but my mind was racing. It was election day and I was excited. All morning I was waiting for my pre-planned time for going to the polls. Since I was on sabbatical I could go anytime, but thought 10:30 am would be the least busy. So I was going to wait, but I couldn't detach myself from the political situation at hand.

I turned on the computer and was struck immediately by the fact that 400,000+ people on facebook had already reported voting--and not all the polls had even opened yet across the US. By 9:30am it hit one million. I was enthralled watching the numbers rise so quickly. It made me think about how people are so passionate this year about the election. And now, I am writing about my passionate views on this election day--and it's not even done yet. No matter what, no matter who wins, this has been an historic election. And personally it's been an historic election year for me.

For the first time I participated in the primary election. For the first time, I sat and watched the primary results as they were declared by the news media. For the first time, I watched a good portion of the national conventions. For the first time I cried over an election. Yes, that right. I cried, I'm not ashamed to admit it. In fact, I've cried a few times. I cried at hearing Hilary Clinton's speech at the Democratic convention because it saddened me that the glass ceiling is still present. I cried at Barrack Obama's 30 minute infomercial because I took he's care and concern to heart. And I even cried tonight as Obama was given Pennsylvania in the blue/red state tally for electoral votes. I cried from laughter at the SNL skits and the spot-on performances of Tina Fey. Don't get me wrong, there's alot about McCain that I can respect. And the SNL skits on the democrats were funny too. But when a democratic political analyst talked about the projected largest voter turn-out ever, especially with young voters, and made the comment that this was a sign that people are voting out of hope and not out of fear--my eyes teared up once more.

This is a new age of politics--facebook, YouTube, and the immediacy-effect. We definitely are living in the digital world. And so I could not let the opportunity pass to discuss on my blog my personal take and reaction to this historical election. I am proud today to be an American and to say I voted today.

A woman walks into the doctor's office...A tale of Proxemics

I my annual physical today. Luckily it was in the morning, but no matter what time of day it is, I inevitably end up having to wait before getting in to see the doctor. Waiting rooms are so funny. It's the perfect definition of social space and a great example to help clarify proxemics--the study of personal space.

We have 4 bubbles of personal space. Culturally we have ranges but as individuals they're pretty defined. We've probably all had that tingly sense when someone is just a little too close for our comfort. Well that's exactly what the bubbles of personal space are all about--our comfort zones and where we place ourselves in correlation to others in our environment.

First there's intimate space. This is space that goes right from your body generally out to about a foot and a half. In the United States the dominant culture will typically allow only those people with whom you are most intimate with into this space. You don't just allow anyone to get too close. Keep in mind "intimate" does not equate sexual. Intimate means someone who knows you intimately and for whom you have a great deal of care and trust with. For example, you can be intimate with your best friend, but that doesn't mean you're sexually intimate. We also generally allow young children into our intimate space. And sometimes the reverse of that presents problems of comfort. I know of several women who were pregnant and had complete strangers come up and touch their belly without asking or assuming it may make the mother feel uncomfortable. This is because that touch is in that person's intimate space and is reserved for those with whom we are most intimate.

The second bubble of space is called personal space. This sounds funny because the proxemics theory refers to the 4 circles of personal space and then one of the spaces is called personal space--confusing? Well get over it. Personal space in the dominant culture of the US ranges from 1 1/2 feet to 4 feet. This is where you would stop and place yourself distance wise if visiting with a friend in the hallway of school. If someone gets a little too close, we get a fight or flee sensation which usually results in the person who is uncomfortable adjusting to their level of comfort. This can be done with a subtle slight step backwards.

Social space is usually defined in the US (dominant culture again) to be 4 feet to 12 feet and is representative of the distance you would place yourself in certain social situations. In my case in the doctor's waiting room, I sat in the second seat in the first row of chairs. When the next person came, they distanced themselves according to our cultural norms to the chair that was kiddy-corner from me about 7 feet away. Think about how odd you'd feel if someone you didn't know came and took the chair right next to you in the waiting room when there was no one else in any of the other chairs. It would just feel odd, right? That's because of social space.

Public space is when there is more room available, then we expect greater distance especially with those that we don't know. For example, it's a beautiful day out and you decide to go with your significant other to the park for a picnic. You get to the park and the shady spot under the big oak tree is already taken by another couple who have set up a blanket and their own picnic lunch. You're not going to take our your blanket and set it up right next to their's. Nor are you going to simply go 4-12 feet away from them. In fact, you're probably going to move quite a ways away from them to establish your own sense of privacy and comfort. Public space can also be used to describe the distance between a public speaker and his or her audience like at a graduation or sitting in a pew listening to a church sermon. The distance is greater than 12 feet. But in terms of your distance to your family member you may be sitting within personal or intimate space with each other in the pew or bleachers.

These are all culturally defined as well as influenced by individual preferences. I tend to be more touchy-feely which tends to make my ranges a little smaller. Meaning I tend to stand closer to my friends and perhaps even a bit closer to some strangers than other people who may guard themselves more. Those type of individuals may put greater distance between themselves and perhaps even their closest friends. That's why we have ranges for these bubbles. Culturally some countries encourage people to stand closer and other to stand further away. Conflicts can arise if you have two people who have different definitions to how close they are expected to be to each other.

The other area where culture and space come into play is in how we are taught to greet each other. Some cultures shake hands, some give hugs, others kiss. Some cultures have specifications regarding gender (e.g. men and women are not allowed to touch therefore can not shake hands with the opposite sex, while others greet everyone with a kiss regardless of their gender)There's alot to intercultural greetings.

In the future this will be a link to Kari's tale of French greeting rituals:

So be observant of how you use the space around you, how you are affecting the comfort level of those near you, and by all means, if you travel--do your homework about proxemics.

What word would you use?

I went into Brainerd today since I had some appointments and decided to go grab some lunch before heading back to school. There was a bit of traffic, but at one 4 way stop I couldn't help but notice this unusual car. I totally wanted my camera but it was in the trunk. But when I saw it again 6 hours later I figured it was fate. You see it was quite the station wagon. You don't see alot of station wagons any more. I'd still have to say this one was different from any other I think I've ever seen. The reason was because it was covered with brown astroturf. Humm...quite a few adjectives went through my mind when I saw it and when it came to writing this blog, I came up with quite a few more adjectives. I'll leave it at that and ask--what adjective would you use?

To Be or Not to Be For Halloween

I have a group of friends in the Cities who throw a Halloween Party every year. They rotate it from house to house. Up until yesterday I was a CHPV (Cities Halloween Party Virgin) because I had never been able to attend. But at 11 am I decided to make the trip down and take part in their Holiday fun.

Of course, costumes are required and since I had just decided to go I didn't really have anything prepared. But being a good theatre major I had pieces on hand. I had alot of options really. I had a 20's flapper outfit, a 50' poddle skirt, a witches hat, devil's ear/tail, cat ears, clown shoes and other misc. costume pieces I could probably turn into something. I even had a fun belly dancing outfit with finger cymbals but I decided against that when I remembered reading something about their party being outdoors. So I decided the easiest would probably be to go with the 50's.

I grabbed my poodle skirt, a plain white t-shirt, white bobby socks, a neck scarf and my white canvas tennis shoes and I was set. Heck, I could even get by wearing a black leather coat and still be "in costume". Score! Cute and warm. But I was being plagued by an idea that had crossed my mind earlier while surfing the web. My friends had been giving me such a bad time about being a facebook addict that I thought the funniest costume would be for me to go as a facebook wall--old fashioned style. But I was torn...the 50's outfit was free. I would need supplies for the facebook costume. But if I was ever going to go as a facebook page this would be the year. But I didn't have much time...afterall, I just decided to go and I had to travel to the Cities. But the facebook idea was so much more creative...ARGH! TO BE OR NOT TO BE FACEBOOK FOR HALLOWEEN?

TO BE! So I rushed to the local dollar store, picked up some washable markers (afterall, I figured there would be alcohol consumed by people and drunk people are worse than kids with being responsible with markers!). Then I bought a tri-fold poster board, some fabric, some pre-cut letters, some white-out (because of course the letters didn't come in white), a box cutter, a hot glue gun and glue sticks. Of course I alreaady have a glue gun and sticks someplace but they're packed far far away with the house being on the market and I knew just being new ones would save me more time than trying to find them at this point.

Two and a half hours later I was done. My facebook Wall was ready for posts. Attached you'll see the end result. I think it was a success. Oh, and I did wear the 50's outfit too just in case someone else decided that a facebook wall was the thing TO BE!


R: 2 miles, W 1.6