I see we have a whole buncha new cool kids!
Welcome to the hang out, dahfisheroo, jayjay, NurseCarmen, and Spiff
Offerings of chocolate should be sent to **FairyChatMom ** no later than someday lest we sic the goat and the squid on you
I used to attend the Job Corps Center right across the street from the Fairgrounds (1995-1997). We used to hang out in the gazebo in the middle of the lawn and scope out the rough trade heading to Butter Sculpture Heaven. I thought it was fun… shrug
Thanks, anyrose! I’ve weighed in on a couple of MMPs before, but I usually can’t keep up for long. 
But I saw “Minnesota State Fair” and had to chime in on this one, as a former resident of the Fairgrounds neighborhood.
I’M SO BACK IT HURTS. Hey all. I haven’t read most of the last MMP yet, but I will I promise. Until then, congratulations, condolences, commiserations, and chuckles for the Cool Kids as appropriate. 
The vacation in Cape Cod was totally tubular. We spent a lot of time on the beach, but we browsed shops and stuff as well. The house we stayed in was very run down on the outside and very, very nice on the inside. I have a newfound appreciation for lounging on the beach. You just sit, and do nothing. It’s beautiful. Maybe nap or read a book. I’ve been reading a couple of Robin Cook novels. They’re good stuff.
taxi, great MMP. I’m glad you and KeithT are settling in and getting this new chapter in your lives going. Yay! Also eating things on sticks is disgusting, except lollipops and popsicles and other sweets with “pop” in the name. 
Puns! I have two for you today, as promised!
As you may have guessed, the theme is snakes, in honor of Snakes on a Plane. As Sean might say: “That is it. I have HAD IT with these motherfking PUNS in this motherfking THREAD!”
Welcome new Cool Kids! You’re right Spiff, “Commonwealth Fair” just doesn’t roll off the tongue.
Im guessing the reason we never went was that Mom and Dad were city kids (East Balmer, hon) and they’d never gone to a state fair, so it wouldn’t occur to them to take us. Plus with 5 kids, it could get just a bit pricy, I’m sure.
By the way, what died in here? Not in the thread, in my house. I was greeted by a nasty, sour odor. There’s no evidence of animal unpleasantries on the carpet, and I didn’t think the kitchen trash was particularly nasty, although I did take it out. Hope it dissipates fast and it doesn’t turn out to be something the cat killed and hid somewhere.
And for those who didn’t read my last post or so in the last MMP, here are the pics of the latest ceramics. And you don’t have to strain yourselves being diplomatic - I know some of them suck pretty bad. We’ll find out how bad at the craft fair on Sept 9…
I’ve got an appointment to get my car into the shop on Friday - oil change, brake check, and please-let-it-be-a-cheap-fix a/c problem. I tell ya, a dark green van gets mighty hot sitting in the sun all day. I go from freezing in my office to melting down the road. It’s not fun, I promise you! When I called the shop, I could hear **FCD ** in the background - he stopped to see about getting some work done on his car, too! He has a distinctive voice, plus he was talking about what he does for a living - I’ve heard that story before. <snerk>
That’s all for now. I shall continue reading, having been distracted by Bib!! 
Silly Spiff - you should know not to try to prove anything on the internet using absolutes: Virginia’s State Fair
Spats do yo have a mike planted at my desk?
Sean, of course not. Don’t be silly. Hey … could you tap the ficus? Just to make sure it’s … uh, alive? Thanks.
I’ve stopped in again to talk about kai’s daughter. Pic here so you don’t all have to go back. From all of your reactions, I just had to come in here and say: sorry, kai. Your daughter looks way too much like my sister for me to be attracted to her. :o :dubious:
On that note, then, **Spats, ** is your sister single?
Well, not only is she way too young for me, I’m probably the wrong sex, as well.
Alas.
I’ve been singing Elvis Presley songs since Saturday. I have no idea why they keep popping into my head.
Today is free food day! The account executive for Marriott took me to lunch and gave me a tour of their hotel downtown - very nice. I was impressed. It’s a little pricy for most of our meetings, but our VIPs like staying there, so now I can tell them just how nice it is. I’m hoping to wrangle a dinner for my professional organization out of her - we’re quite cheap, but they get access to EAs throughout Silicon Valley and we love to be wined and dined. Plus, for executive appreciation night, I’d like to have it at a hotel that one of our execs might consider, you know, staying at?
Next, we have a reception for the newly promoted partners this afternoon, on my old floor and I don’t have to listen to it! Yay! Sound really carries when you have 100 inebriated people talking in a granite lobby. I think they’re serving something besides champagne - I certainly hope so! If not, we’ll run through all the booze in the building if we don’t have something to sop it up.
Finally, I have a board meeting tonight - Togo’s and she’s ordered egg salad for me. No vegetarian chicken pizza tonight! :eek: I wonder if I can [del]steal[/del] borrow a bottle of champagne for our meeting? It might make things move a little quicker! 
Oops. I need quit posting so much on boards that depend on smilies as their main means of communication. Might as well go for the gusto: :o :smack: :rolleyes: 
:dubious: 
:eek: :mad:
Great MMP! I finally read the whole thread. I started at 7:30 am - no I’m not that slow a reader, thank you very much! I’ve been working! I don’t even feel like I had a weekend, considering I worked both days.
I’ve never been to a state fair either. But every year we have the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It’s a lot like a state fair. No “Hot Dish” on a stick though, but lots of other stuff on sticks, and fried delectables. They have a big livestock show and auction, and a quilt competition, and lots of arts and crafts for sale. Lots of cowboy themed stuff! (Ya think?)
C’mon Friday - and I’ll have a 4-day weekend. Yay!
To everyone who’s lived or worked near the state fair - or any other tourist attraction for that matter - I am truly sorry. That must really suck. It’s bad enough trying to get around when it’s my choice to be there, but to have to go there to work every day… ugh.
Wow, FCM, very nice work there! Love the colors too. Are mugs hard to make? Lovely work!
Eh. I’d rather live in the Como Park/Roseville neighborhood, even with the Fair there, than the Franklin/Nicollet/Lake neighborhood, where I DID live for two years after I graduated from the Job Corps Center.
Welcome to your first Minnesota State Fair, Taxi!
Heh, I went to the fair last night with my boyfriend. On the way out he said that there’s one last place he wants to hit. I figured it was a food thing and next thing I know, he’s buying tickets for Ye Olde Mill. I’d never been on it before (lived here my whole life) and had actually never heard about it either. I asked him if we were gonna get really wet on it, he replied like a dirty old man “only if you want to”. I thought that was an odd response and figured out what he meant as we slowly bumped our way through the dark tunnel (and the occassional displays).
I like fairs. The wife and I went to the Orange County Fair a few weeks (months?) ago - it was great. No food on a stick for us (but we still ate a lot of crappy food), but lots of neat things to look at, and we watched some pig racing, which was pretty funny.
The Durham Fair (in Connecticut, near where I grew up) is such a big deal that they close down the schools so kids can help their parents get all the livestock and enormous pumpkins and things to the fairgrounds. It’s actually a really big fair, considering that Durham is such a small town. I used to go every year.
Who would’ve thunk it, they’ve got a website. Pretty nifty.
Aw, shucks, thanks. No, mugs aren’t hard to make, although putting the handles in isn’t one of my favorite things. Just another skill to master.
We ran some errands and came home and the house no longer smells like something dead, so apparently it *was * the garbage under the sink. Which is good. We had a mouse die under our hutch in one house, and it was not pleasant. 'Specially since I was the one who found it and had to dispose of it. ick.
I haven’t done a thing all day. Well, that’s not true. I went to Sam’s and bought TP and paper towels. I am making chicken stir fry for dinner, then movies and beerverages.
Correct on both counts. Sorry.
Hmm… all this talk of fairs is making me think of faires … REN FAIRES. Specifically the one in Tuxedo Park at which I will see some of my fellow Cool Kids! Yay! Who’s excited? I’m excited.
Well, the kids from Columbus, Georgia are the new Little League World Champions! They’ll be coming in to a welcome party at the Civic Center on Wednesday.
I have actually had a couple of replies to my e-mails to the City Council regarding the ice rink. Most of them talk about how the City is in a budget crisis and has had to eliminate jobs, without responding to the projections that the rink is expected to make money and has a financial backer ready to cover it if it doesn’t. The City Manager even sent me an e-mail (which made me eat crow because I bet Mr. SCL he’d just delete it) letting me know there would be a public hearing on the issue within the next 30 days. So we’ll see.
I am very tired of hot.
It seems most of the southeastern Dopers are worrying about Ernesto for very good and solid reasons. Mine are a little more selfish…we’re going to Houston on Friday morning for Convergence, the fat gay guy convention. We were going to go to last year’s event in New Orleans. Well, we all know what happened the week before Labor Day last year. Now Ernesto. sigh At least it won’t be hurricaning over the Gulf this time, but I’m kind of worried about old Ernie’s predicted path and how it’s going to impact our flights (BWI to Atlanta to Houston).
Checking NOAA every six hours is getting tedious, especially since the last forecast has it heading straight through Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania by Saturday…