Nebraska

So we were hanging out with Bricks Saturday night – he hasn’t left yet, but he’ll be gone by next month, he says – and we ended up playing around with the phrase “Nebraska State”. It may be because of the alcohol that made us remarkably sloshed that evening, but we actually had fun appending the phrase Nebraska state with all sorts of words and sentence fragments. Some of them were fairly mundane: Nebraska State Patrol, Nebraska State Bird, and all that jazz. But as the night progressed and we inevitably became drunker, Bricks started to make up some really bizarre Nebraska State somethings like Nebraska State cheese, or Nebraska State umbrella corporation, or Nebraska State of the state address. By the end of the night we’re laughing, and we had concluded the convoluted conversation by declaring that we had all been in a Nebraska State of Mind.

As irreverent as that may sound, I happen to think that it was our own special way of showing how much we love living in Read the rest of this entry »

I used to think that Western Nebraska is just that – you know, western Nebraska. All the Western counties and and areas of the state of Nebraska. As it turns out, Western Nebraska also happens to a be a village Saline County. The village of Western Nebraska is incredibly small, with a population just shy of three hundred individuals back in 2000. I only found out about this because I once again met a guy at a bar and he told me about it. Funny how life circles around like that. In any case, the guy didn’t live in Western Nebraska, but he did stop over there for a bit. I don’t quite remember how we got to that conversation, but I believe it had something to do with the fact that I was muttering about my self-imposed city lessons and wondering how much of western Nebraska I’ve covered.

In any case, the village of Western Nebraska is obviously young and has very few things to be excited about, unlike the REAL Western Nebraska (as Lily and I will hence refer to it), which is a collection of exciting things to do and attractions to Read the rest of this entry »

I had to raise my eyebrow when my mother and I sat on the couch, drinking cocoa and talking about my cousins from outside the state. Apparently, a whole horde of them are considering to go a Nebraska college instead of their own community college after they graduate from high school. Not that I object to them going to a Nebraska college or two. I believe that a Nebraska college is just as good as any other college out there, if not better (I’m very proud of Nebraska education, obviously). But what surprised me that the reason why they each wanted to go to a Nebraska college was that they liked their relatives in Nebraska – us, that is – better than their nuclear families.

I personally think that those are really bad reasons for wanting to get into a Nebraska college, but I didn’t exactly have the heart to tell my mother that: she’s happy to know that some of her nephews and nieces would be easier to contact and fuss over. I suspect that her joy over their desire to get into a Nebraska college has more to do with her empty nest syndrome Read the rest of this entry »

Something happened today, something BAD. Before anything else I would like to explain something very, very important: to the die-hard Big 12 football fans, the Nebraska Oklahoma thing is something that must not be mentioned, especially if you’re a fence-sitter. Because with these people, it’s either one or the other. And if you don’t pick a side (or, more importantly, the side of the fan you happen to be conversing with) in the Nebraska Oklahoma rivalry, you will find yourself in really big trouble. Because the fans will try to convince you to join their side. And they will not stop until you agree with them, or until you get arrested for being in a fist-fight with them.

Of course, that’s just my experience, but sue me if most of my experience of being involved in a sports argument happens in a bar. In any case, one of my brothers – one that isn’t related by blood – got into a fight with a couple of Oklahoma guys who were visiting Donna. The conversation got steered toward the Big 12 Nebraska Oklahoma rivalry, and before we knew it, there were punches and some blood-spitting. The worst part was that Sammy saw some of it before I managed to drag him out of the room.

Donna was, of course, furious, and threw them out of our home. Then the Nebraska Oklahoma rivalry was forbidden from being mentioned.

So Sammy refused to eat his breakfast until I played the game with him – it seems I’ve created a monster – and his mother had just given up and told me that I should either wean him out of it or indulge him. So like the cool aunt that I intend to be, I indulged him and let him throw the dart at my trusty map-that-will-surely-not-die-so-soon. After a few tries, we landed it on Auburn, Nebraska, and Sammy declared it as the best city ever (probably based on the name).

I wouldn’t know about that, but it IS pretty nice. The Auburn, Nebraska is the county seat of the state’s Nemaha County and is technically an incorporation of two towns – Calvert and Sheridan. The two towns became Auburn Nebraska in 1882 in an attempt to become the county seat (at that point, the seat had been Brownville). Obviously, the move paid off and the next year, Auburn won the seat of Nemaha county.

Read the rest of this entry »

My cousin Wesley, who we’ve always fondly considered the freak of the family, had gotten himself a job at the Nebraska Department of Revenue. For you benefit, I must explain that the reason why we consider Wesley a freak is because he is one of those people who you never see studying but nevertheless get some really high test scores. We actually all laughed when he decided to take up accounting because he looked like he didn’t care much for numbers. In any case, he’s moved here with us because the Nebraska Department of Revenue branch he moved to is the Lincoln branch.

In many ways, it’s a benefit to us that we have someone working for the Nebraska Department of Revenue with us. Mind you, our family hasn’t been dishonest with our taxes and what not, but we are aware that certain things might slip through the cracks. It’s a relief that Wesley would be there to help us sort those things out – even if we have to force him. I personally know him to be extremely lazy around the family.

Read the rest of this entry »

Trying to steer my thoughts away from the impending future that frightens me so, I decided to reflect of my recently frequent outbursts with regards to my family’s obviously crazy obsession with Nebraska football, and in particular, University of Nebraska football. Like I said before, I too am a fan of the team and their games. They’re pretty darn near legendary in terms of collegiate football. But the way that the University of Nebraska football affects the people around it is quite surprising as well. As my past rants have caught up to me now, I realize that in so many ways, we live vicariously through the legacy of University of Nebraska football.

Now, hold up for a minute. Before you say anything, I would like to put in the disclaimer that University of Nebraska football is not in any way treated like a religious cult here (although I’m certain by the way certain sports fans act, it would seem that way). But I am willing to say that University of Nebraska football has brought so much pride to us that it has Read the rest of this entry »

I’m thinking that I may need some kind of change. So, you know how I’m thinking of going back to school? I was wondering if I should go to University of Nebraska Kearney instead of Lincoln. After all, I did mention that it’s very rare that I get out of Lincoln, and it’s embarrassing to admit that I never really had to have a go on my own before. Sure, I still think UN-Lincoln is still the best, but the University of Nebraska-Kearney is pretty cool too. In an academic sort of way.

At the very least, I could try for a different set of curriculum in the University of Nebraska Kearney. Maybe women’s studies, so that I could help more women like Donna. Or modern languages so I could probably get to travel more and that entire road trip obsession of mine will become a non-issue (actually, I believe I will ALWAYS have the road trip obsession). In any case, the University of Nebraska Kearney may open doors for me, doors that I’ve been afraid to even touch before.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lately I’ve been thinking about education and whether or not I should pursue more of it. After all, I’m not exactly doing anything right now, I DON’T know if I wanted to be a professional anything at the moment, and I realize that this may sound really weird, but I think by going back to school, I might be able to refocus myself. That’s why I’m wandering around the University of Nebraska at Lincoln right now, trying to figure out if this feeling is a genuine sign from my subconscious that I need more training, or if this is just a case of the real-life jitters and nostalgia for lost youth.

The University of Nebraska at Lincoln is in many ways the same as it had been, while at the same time being different. A case in point would be the atmosphere – it’s very much the same, this queer tug-of-war between excitement and lethargy – against the sights, sounds and smells of the overall campus. The physical changes have become difficult to note in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln; it takes me a while to notice that some colors have changed, there are new structures, Read the rest of this entry »

I spent most of the afternoon yesterday (because I was forbidden to use my computer) trying to find the proper Nebraska zip code of different Nebraska areas and cities. Before you roll your eyes at that, let me explain: this was all brought about by Bricks, who had said he’s moving to Sarpy County. He said that even though emails are much faster in terms of communication time, he would like to have pieces of the people he had been close to – so he would prefer it if we wrote to him via the post every once in a while instead. Before we knew it, everyone wanted to write to each other via the post, which is all well and good. Except I don’t really know much about the Nebraska zip code of different Nebraska cities and areas.

Stop laughing, I know you’re laughing – a person my age, being taken down by the thought of having to memorize a Nebraska zip code or two? I assure you, it’s nothing like that. It’s more like I never really had to handle my own written letters before; I usually leave that up to my mother. Thus, I never really paid attention to a letter’s Nebraska zip code. Read the rest of this entry »