New Car

I have never had my own car, so this summer I decided to work two jobs to try to save up for a new car. I was working around 60 hours a week at both Panera and Sam's Club. After saving the entire summer I thought I finally had enough money for a car, but then realized I had to pay rent, and buy a bed. These expenses crushed my savings, and a car was out of the picture. A few weeks ago my mom called me and informed me that they were going to get me a car. My dad began to email me pictures of possible cars, all of which looked very nice. After a few days I got a call from my parents telling me they bought me a car, and that they emailed me a picture of it. Excited, I instantly went to my email and opened the picture. I was surprised when I opened it up and found a picture of a 1995 Lincoln town car. If you've never seen one just imagine a car that your grandparents would drive. A little disappointed at first, I realized a car is a car, and as long as it can get me from point A to point B it will work.

Today I had to go get a parking spot at my apartment complex. I needed the license plate number so I emailed my mom to find out what it was. She replied and in her email asked if I needed to know the make, model, year, and color. I wasn't sure so I emailed her back telling her I did. I received an email shortly after that stating, "It was supposed to be a surprise but we got you a maroon 2001 Oldsmobile Alero." Relieved and thrilled I can't wait to go home and pick it up. All this time I thought I was going to be that guy driving a grandma car.

Winter Weather = Cold Season

The cold weather has set in and typically I look forward to the snow and cooler weather, but this year has been different. After the cooler weather came so did my cold. Over the last few weeks I've been fighting a cold, and I can't seem to get over it. I've tried everything from cough drops, to cough syrups, but nothing seems to help. At the beginning of this week I thought I was finally going to get over it, but mid-week it became worse. My throat begun to hurt and I became really congested. To top it off I got an ear infection. Now that the week is winding down I look forward to heading home and relaxing for a week. Hopefully a little time off from the stressful life of being a college student will be the cure.

A “Wild” Wild Game

The Minnesota Wild is Minnesota's NHL hockey team. I got the opportunity to go to one of their games, when I was in seventh grade. My good friend Brian had got tickets for his birthday, and invited me and another friend. The wild were playing the Pittsburg Penguins that night. I got to watch one of my favorite hockey players, Mario Lemieux, who played for the Penguins. The game took place at the Excel Energy Center which was the new hockey arena in Minnesota.

There was a sold out crown, and it was an exciting, intense environment. After the 1^st period we went and got some food. We all ordered pizzas and returned to our seats. Soon after returning, a man approached and told us that we were selected Red Baron Pizza fans of the game. He gave us coupons for free pizzas and explained to us that after the second period we were going to be on the jumbotron, holding up Red Baron Pizza boxes. We were shocked and soon enough the 2^nd period was over. The camera man approached us, so we stood up and started cheering. I looked up and there we were on the jumbotron in front of thousands of people. It was a story we told all our friends the next day at school. When I arrived home around midnight I noticed our car was gone. I walked inside and my whole family was still up sitting on the couch. I asked them where the car was and they informed me that it had started on fire. I was shocked. Luckily no one was injured during the fire. It was a night I will never forget.

Scott Hansen – The Minnesotan Comedian

Don't Be Offended!

I have always enjoyed watching standup comedy, and I hate it when people are offended by it. Freedom of speech is a right for all Americans. The video is of a Minnesotan comedian by the name of Scott Hansen. He is a very well known comedian and has toured with Louie Anderson. I had the pleasure to go to one of his shows live when he came to Rochester. I had not heard of him before until my brother went to college, at the University of Minnesota Duluth. My brother had three other roommates, one of them being Andy Hansen, who is Scott Hansen's son. My brother went through almost the whole year not knowing that Andy's dad was a well known comedian. Andy asked my brother one day if he would like to go to one of his dad's shows. My brother agreed and asked Andy what his dad does. After learning that Andy's dad was a comedian he called my parents. They knew exactly who Scott Hansen was. That summer when my brother was back from college, he got a call from Andy telling him that his dad was heading to Rochester, and wondering if he wanted tickets. My brother took the tickets and asked me if I wanted to go. So that night my brother and I and a couple of friends went to the show. He told many Minnesotan jokes and it was easily relatable to. It was a great show!

Worst Camping Trip EVER

The summer was coming to an end and all my friends and I were heading off to college. My closest friends, Eric, Mike, Kellen and myself decided we were going to end the summer right, so we planned a camping trip. The camping trip took place a few days before I left for college, and it would be an unforgettable one.
We all met up at Mike's house around 8 o'clock in the morning on a Monday. We hooked up the boat and headed to Plymouth Minnesota, which is about an hour and a half away from our home city. We arrived at our camp site and got set up. Around noon everything had been set up, and we cooked some lunch. Then we headed to the beach, where we went swimming, played volleyball, and went fishing. We returned to our campsite for dinner, which is where the trouble began. Being ignorant high schoolers, we decided to bring some adult beverages with us. A few of us had a few drinks and then we headed back down to the beach to go out on the boat to go fishing.

After a few minutes of fishing it began to intensely lightning. We knew we shouldn't be on the water while it was lightning so we headed back to the campsite, and started a bonfire. We were sitting around the campfire having a good time, when a park ranger told us there was severe weather in the area and that we had to head to the shelter. It wasn't raining and the lightning looked as if it was going to pass over us, so we ignored the rangers warning. A little while later another vehicle approached our campsite and stopped. Thinking that it was going to be another park ranger we continued with our conversation. A person approached us and turned on a flashlight. This time it wasn't a park ranger, but rather a police woman. She saw the alcohol and asked us if we were 21. None of us were 21 and we told her the truth. She gave us all breathalyzers and found that Mike, Kellen, and I had been drinking. Eric was lucky and blew zeros. While she was writing the tickets it began to downpour. She told us we could go into the tent. All four of us huddled into the tent, when the wind began to pick up. Our tent was going to blow away if we didn't do something, so we each stood in a corner, trying to keep our tent standing. Then the top of the tent blew off, and rain began to pour into the tent. We all abandoned the tent. Mike and Eric took off towards the shelter, while Kellen and I went into the car. After the rain had seized, the police woman gave us our citations. We went back to the tent, which had been blown down. Everything inside including our clothes, sleeping bags, and pillows were soaked. We knew we couldn't stay there, so we packed up all our stuff into the boat, and headed home. It was around 12:30 in the morning when we got on the road. When we were about half way home, the boat trailer tire popped. We couldn't get the trailer on the jack, so three of us lifted the boat, while the other put on the spare tire. We finally arrived home around four o'clock in the morning. It was an unforgettable trip and quite the story. I believe that all of us have learned our lessons.

Fishermen

Fishing, boating, and camping have always been hobbies of the Meyer family. When I was little my grandparents owned a boat and we would travel to the Mississippi River every weekend. We would swim, have picnics, and fish. Although I enjoyed going to the sandbars, the most memorable trips are when the "men" would take their fishing trips. My grandpa, dad, brother, and I would go on several fishing trips throughout the summer. We would always wake up at the crack of dawn, and fish all day. There is one fishing trip that is unforgettable though.

We woke up and headed out on the waters. It seemed like a typical day of fishing, the weather was nice, and it was a little chilly in the morning. After a few hours the weather turned bad. It began to lightning and the winds picked up. We started to head towards shore but the boat was almost imposable to drive. The waves would crash over the bow of the boat, soaking my brother and I in the front. I could tell by the look on my grandpa and dad's faces that they were a little worried. We never made it back to shore until the storm let up. After sitting around for a while we decided to go back out on the lake and try it again. This time we were more successful.

These fishing trips brought my grandpa, dad, brother, and I closer. We would always share our fishing stories at family meetings. We would joke and argue about who is the best fisherman in the group. A few years ago my grandpa passes away. We sold the boat and our fishing trips came to an end. I will never forget the memorable time we spent out on the lake fishing.