I've been catching up with a friend who was born and raised in MN but has lived in California for the past 30+ years. I was explaining about selling my camp, and that a camp is the Yooper equivalent of a cabin or cottage. He wrote back and asked what a Yooper is - he thought maybe it was like a Yurt. LOL.
So, here is my answer:
"How can I explain what a Yooper is??? I'll probably get a little bit carried away, but here goes:
A Yooper is a person who lives in the U.P. As opposed to trolls, who live "below the (Mackinac) bridge", and who are also known as flatlanders or fudgies.
Some say you have to be born in the U.P., and never leave, to qualify as a true Yooper. Others say that a certain length of residence qualifies you. I contend that there are also genetic Yoopers - those descended from born-and-raised Yoopers, and I would be in that category.
Yoopers pride themselves on their hardiness and their ability to take huge snowfalls in stride. On any blustery January day you are likely to see people launching their little fishing boats on Lake Superior, and windsurfers in the bay. Most people have a canoe or kayak on their car all summer, and trade them out for their cross-country skis or snowshoes in the winter. The sled dog races are a major event that brings out the whole town.
There is a whole cultural thing that goes with being a Yooper, of course. A lot of the people who live up here are Finns or other Scandinavians, and many Yoopers have quite an accent, which of course I can't discern anymore, but the folks in Minnesota think it is pretty funny. We are so close to Canada that we say "eh?" instead of "huh?"
Sven and Ole jokes are mostly told with Finnish names, specifically "Eino" and "Toivo".
We talk about the weather a lot. Living above the 45th parallel will do that to you. It stays light until 11PM at midsummer and it stays dark a really, really long time all winter. Minor gods include Heiki Lunta to whom snowmobilers pray; St. Urho who drove the grasshoppers out of Finland; and there is a midwinter celebration in February - Heikinpaiva - at which time if you still have half your woodpile left, you will have enough wood to make it through the rest of the winter.
Pasties are a favorite food. Yeah, that is pronounced with a short "a", OK?
I'm not making any of this up. You can google Yooper and you will see all kinds of additional bizarre things attributed to Yoopers and yooper culture.
Kind of campy but it grows on ya. People here would do just about anything for you. Stranded in a blizzard out in the boonies? No worries - someone will come along and they WILL stop and help you. The whole U.P. still has only one area code. More deer than people. I saw a bull moose a couple of months ago - that was pretty thrilling, but I couldn't get the car pulled over and the camera out quickly enough.
OK, that was a long answer, but there's no other way to do justice to that question."
I decided to see what is on YouTube about Yoopers. Some good stuff, but this one takes the prize - Yooper Mole Removal (at deer camp) - if you are squeamish, be forewarned:
I am driving down Friday 9/5 and returning home Monday 9/15.
Two family events, on 9/6 and 9/14 are the reason for the timing of this trip. One event is the celebration of my brother and SIL's 45th wedding anniversary. The other is the joint celebration of the birthdays of me and my siblings, which this year we are a combined 250 years old! There are four of us - I'm the baby - and we are turning 70, 65, 60, and 55.
I am trying to set up as many job interviews and networking meetings as possible for the daytimes during the week of 9/8. I am still hoping to garner some contract work, but would consider the right permanent job.
I always wondered what a Yooper was, too, after reading that you were married to Da Yooper. I had never heard of that. My curiosity was really piqued last week when I saw this:
I will be driving down tomorrow instead of today. Ended up with too much stuff to do here today. Will head out of here just before daylight tomorrow morning, so I can get to my brother and SIL's party in the afternoon.
I should be able to do some kind of get-together one evening with the Cooler Crew. I will know my schedule better after tomorrow afternoon.
I'm here. Still trying to get more appointments lined up for the week.
I didn't realize until just a bit ago that AW's hunt is this Saturday. I have been doing some pretty sloppy slogging, but job search and everything else has just pushed a lot of other things off my plate for awhile.
So...how would this be?
Sunday evening
September 14
6:30 PM
Carbone's Pizzeria - West St. Paul
If people post and let me know they are coming, I will let Carbone's know so we don't run that nice waitress ragged again! :sheepish:
They'd like a rough headcount by 11AM Saturday, so if you plan to join us, please post the number from your party, by that time.
tc the girls and i are planning on coming eags. we figure even if we're doing the 24 hour hunt there's plenty of time from 11am and 630 pm to catch a few zzzz's. j and cm are just wimps :smile:
the hunt wasn't over when it ended last time. we waited for all the teams to trickle in and had a few drinks. really good time. Gabes is only 2 blocks away. :ooh: :wink:
however, I want to visit with Eags so I will make a good effort to be there.
The prospective buyers are meeting with their banker on Monday about financing, and an offer is anticipated after that.
There are several other factors going on, being juggled, waiting to see which ball drops first - all related to job prospects, potential offer on my "camp" property, etc.
It is difficult to not know where I will be living and working a month or two from now, yet I feel I am still driving the bus, and things will work out.
I didn't get any info about where the buyers are at in their financing process. If they are just getting started, it may take awhile to get approved. If they are pre-approved and just need to get re-approved under tighter guidelines, it could go more quickly.
The local/regional banks in the U.P. have deliberately remained conservative in their banking practices, and are in good shape. They are still granting loans, but in some cases requiring higher down-payments. So that part bodes well.
The people who looked at the house made a low-ball offer on a lower-priced house in the area. If they don't get it, they will probably make an offer on my house. My realtor here assumes it, too, will be a low-ball offer. There have been no other lookers yet.
Camp continues to get some lookers. A few interested in eventually buying but they have property to sell first. One has property sold but is transferring an attached business license which takes 2-3 months. My realtor there is out of town until the 20th, so hoping to hear an update from him when he returns.
Still pursuing various companies in the twin cities, but not as actively as I might, as it sounded like the job here was going to come through quickly. And it would be a job I could stay here and do until the house and camp sell, rent something in town for awhile, and would be here for Drummer and Jen's wedding next summer, then be ready to work from the twin cities (the boss mentioned me being their designated midwest person) and travel here as needed for meetings - the best of both worlds, as I see it!
But the job here keeps getting pushed out - next action date on their part will be early to mid-November. However, there are two additional positions opening up at that time. Well, potentially.
I'm afraid I can't wait too much longer, though, and if they push it out again, I could be in trouble.
So, I will be talking to my brother (who has worked in my field for 40+ years) in a little while, to take stock of what he's heard recently about specific job postings in the twin cities.
Then will be doing another round of phone calls, resume and cover-letter-sending, etc.
Am considering applying to work at the new Lowe's store which will be opening here next month, as a stop-gap measure. Also will apply at Michigan Works and probably places like Target where I would hope I could transfer to a twin cities location when the time comes, to have work until I find a real job again or until the consulting work opens up.
Sorry about the long update - have had a lot of people asking amongst my local friends, and my family back in the cities, so thought I'd give y'all the update too.
I know a bunch of us here are looking for work. I wonder about starting a page where people could post some basics about what they do - and you never know - another Cooler member might just hear of the perfect job!
One of the very first things that happened after the first re-hash bash was that a member mentioned looking for a new job. Another member knew of the very thing, and it worked out great. I've seen this happen again and again over the years!
So, anyway, here's what *I* do - if anyone knows of any contacts you think might be helpful for me to make, please let me know!
Eags Resume Basics:
Registered Nurse / Medical Device Clinical Research / Technical Writing / Training
CAREER PROFILE
- Registered nurse with over ten years of medical device experience and extensive experience in a wide variety of health care settings.
- Performed all aspects of clinical research for multiple pre-market clinical trials, resulting in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of medical devices for surgical applications.
- Provided technical writing services and staff in-service education on a consulting basis for business and non-profit organizations.
- Recognized for positive communication skills and team attitude.
- Perceptive project manager with proven ability to ensure successful project completion.
KEY QUALIFICATIONS
Registered Nurse
Phone and Onsite Support
Technical Writing
Technical Product Support
Patient Education
Medical Presentations
Clinical Staff Education
Regulatory Compliance
Clinical Study Management
Protocol Compliance
Project Management
Total Quality Management
I should add - I haven't done much direct patient care since 1991 - so am not actively pursuing hospital or clinic nursing at this point in time, with the exception that I would consider giving hospice nursing another go. My experience with it here was short-lived due to serious administrative problems at the hospice, and the nurses go through there like it has a revolving door.
Not much expertise in what is needed... but thought of teaching? Dunwoody is in the process of starting a new Health Sciences program which they hope to have classes begin next fall.
From our webpage:
The Health Sciences and Technology platform will include four initial programs:
* Medical Laboratory Technician
    * Physical Therapy Assistant
    * Health Information Management Technician
    * Radiologic Technologist
The programs will begin operation in September 2009. Shelli Lampi, director of the Health Sciences department, will work over the next year on hiring staff and developing curriculum. In addition, the College will seek the necessary accreditations for the programs and begin facilities renovations to create Health Sciences labs and classrooms.
I got a phone call yesterday that there is some almost definite contract work for me - same company for whom I did the last two projects - which should start in November. I expect that the project will require at least periodic visits to MN, but not sure yet if they will want me on site or if I can work from home on this project. They will also probably plug me in for the clinical data trips once those get up and running, is my guess. Between those two projects and a couple of small writing and teaching gigs, I can surely float through until property sells here.
I continue to job-search anyway, and continuing to get things ready for winter here. If no potential offers on camp by next week, I will actively look for renters but keep it on the market.
Thanks for the eagle birthday cake pic you posted the other day - that was really cool.
Got a call from my contract employer today. They knew they would have work for me starting this month, but now they have more work and it starts - pretty much - now. Will be on a conference call about it this afternoon.
Have been trying to work out the Turkey Day plans - kids either come here or I go there. Looking more and more like I will go there.
I'll definitely post if I can be there long enough to do a Carbone's event with Cooler Crew. That is always fun!
Suds of Marquette, Mich.: "In today's Bulletin Board column (January 7, 2009), Honey Bee of Chippewa Falls, Wis., wrote: 'I don't know about anyone else out there, but I am tired of the ads and public-service announcements about what will happen — heaven forbid!!! — if one is not prepared for television's conversion to all-digital signals in February of 2009.'
"Awhile back, I saw this related Web-site video that I thought readers might enjoy: tinyurl.com/3eboun."
http://tinyurl.com/5wmmub
So, here is my answer:
"How can I explain what a Yooper is??? I'll probably get a little bit carried away, but here goes:
A Yooper is a person who lives in the U.P. As opposed to trolls, who live "below the (Mackinac) bridge", and who are also known as flatlanders or fudgies.
Some say you have to be born in the U.P., and never leave, to qualify as a true Yooper. Others say that a certain length of residence qualifies you. I contend that there are also genetic Yoopers - those descended from born-and-raised Yoopers, and I would be in that category.
Yoopers pride themselves on their hardiness and their ability to take huge snowfalls in stride. On any blustery January day you are likely to see people launching their little fishing boats on Lake Superior, and windsurfers in the bay. Most people have a canoe or kayak on their car all summer, and trade them out for their cross-country skis or snowshoes in the winter. The sled dog races are a major event that brings out the whole town.
There is a whole cultural thing that goes with being a Yooper, of course. A lot of the people who live up here are Finns or other Scandinavians, and many Yoopers have quite an accent, which of course I can't discern anymore, but the folks in Minnesota think it is pretty funny. We are so close to Canada that we say "eh?" instead of "huh?"
Sven and Ole jokes are mostly told with Finnish names, specifically "Eino" and "Toivo".
We talk about the weather a lot. Living above the 45th parallel will do that to you. It stays light until 11PM at midsummer and it stays dark a really, really long time all winter. Minor gods include Heiki Lunta to whom snowmobilers pray; St. Urho who drove the grasshoppers out of Finland; and there is a midwinter celebration in February - Heikinpaiva - at which time if you still have half your woodpile left, you will have enough wood to make it through the rest of the winter.
Pasties are a favorite food. Yeah, that is pronounced with a short "a", OK?
I'm not making any of this up. You can google Yooper and you will see all kinds of additional bizarre things attributed to Yoopers and yooper culture.
Kind of campy but it grows on ya. People here would do just about anything for you. Stranded in a blizzard out in the boonies? No worries - someone will come along and they WILL stop and help you. The whole U.P. still has only one area code. More deer than people. I saw a bull moose a couple of months ago - that was pretty thrilling, but I couldn't get the car pulled over and the camera out quickly enough.
OK, that was a long answer, but there's no other way to do justice to that question."
I decided to see what is on YouTube about Yoopers. Some good stuff, but this one takes the prize - Yooper Mole Removal (at deer camp) - if you are squeamish, be forewarned:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxoYhtHD9LY&feature=related
I am driving down Friday 9/5 and returning home Monday 9/15.
Two family events, on 9/6 and 9/14 are the reason for the timing of this trip. One event is the celebration of my brother and SIL's 45th wedding anniversary. The other is the joint celebration of the birthdays of me and my siblings, which this year we are a combined 250 years old! There are four of us - I'm the baby - and we are turning 70, 65, 60, and 55.
I am trying to set up as many job interviews and networking meetings as possible for the daytimes during the week of 9/8. I am still hoping to garner some contract work, but would consider the right permanent job.
we must do PIZZA!!!!!
apply at Ecolab :wink:
I was going to see if you wanted to grab some wings at BW'3s!!!!
here in WSP!!
I should be able to do some kind of get-together one evening with the Cooler Crew. I will know my schedule better after tomorrow afternoon.
Went to a party for my brother and SIL as soon as I got to town.
Will be finalizing some other family events tomorrow early afternoon, then can try to set up a time for anyone who wants to do a Cooler get-together!
when when when when
I didn't realize until just a bit ago that AW's hunt is this Saturday. I have been doing some pretty sloppy slogging, but job search and everything else has just pushed a lot of other things off my plate for awhile.
So...how would this be?
Sunday evening
September 14
6:30 PM
Carbone's Pizzeria - West St. Paul
If people post and let me know they are coming, I will let Carbone's know so we don't run that nice waitress ragged again! :sheepish:
They'd like a rough headcount by 11AM Saturday, so if you plan to join us, please post the number from your party, by that time.
I will try to be there - I'd love to see you and have greasy pizza.
being tired and football Sunday I may be couching it.
jk - Ali and & might be able to make it
however, I want to visit with Eags so I will make a good effort to be there.
The showing went well.
The prospective buyers are meeting with their banker on Monday about financing, and an offer is anticipated after that.
There are several other factors going on, being juggled, waiting to see which ball drops first - all related to job prospects, potential offer on my "camp" property, etc.
It is difficult to not know where I will be living and working a month or two from now, yet I feel I am still driving the bus, and things will work out.
I didn't get any info about where the buyers are at in their financing process. If they are just getting started, it may take awhile to get approved. If they are pre-approved and just need to get re-approved under tighter guidelines, it could go more quickly.
The local/regional banks in the U.P. have deliberately remained conservative in their banking practices, and are in good shape. They are still granting loans, but in some cases requiring higher down-payments. So that part bodes well.
The people who looked at the house made a low-ball offer on a lower-priced house in the area. If they don't get it, they will probably make an offer on my house. My realtor here assumes it, too, will be a low-ball offer. There have been no other lookers yet.
Camp continues to get some lookers. A few interested in eventually buying but they have property to sell first. One has property sold but is transferring an attached business license which takes 2-3 months. My realtor there is out of town until the 20th, so hoping to hear an update from him when he returns.
Still pursuing various companies in the twin cities, but not as actively as I might, as it sounded like the job here was going to come through quickly. And it would be a job I could stay here and do until the house and camp sell, rent something in town for awhile, and would be here for Drummer and Jen's wedding next summer, then be ready to work from the twin cities (the boss mentioned me being their designated midwest person) and travel here as needed for meetings - the best of both worlds, as I see it!
But the job here keeps getting pushed out - next action date on their part will be early to mid-November. However, there are two additional positions opening up at that time. Well, potentially.
I'm afraid I can't wait too much longer, though, and if they push it out again, I could be in trouble.
So, I will be talking to my brother (who has worked in my field for 40+ years) in a little while, to take stock of what he's heard recently about specific job postings in the twin cities.
Then will be doing another round of phone calls, resume and cover-letter-sending, etc.
Am considering applying to work at the new Lowe's store which will be opening here next month, as a stop-gap measure. Also will apply at Michigan Works and probably places like Target where I would hope I could transfer to a twin cities location when the time comes, to have work until I find a real job again or until the consulting work opens up.
Sorry about the long update - have had a lot of people asking amongst my local friends, and my family back in the cities, so thought I'd give y'all the update too.
One of the very first things that happened after the first re-hash bash was that a member mentioned looking for a new job. Another member knew of the very thing, and it worked out great. I've seen this happen again and again over the years!
So, anyway, here's what *I* do - if anyone knows of any contacts you think might be helpful for me to make, please let me know!
Eags Resume Basics:
Registered Nurse / Medical Device Clinical Research / Technical Writing / Training
CAREER PROFILE
- Registered nurse with over ten years of medical device experience and extensive experience in a wide variety of health care settings.
- Performed all aspects of clinical research for multiple pre-market clinical trials, resulting in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of medical devices for surgical applications.
- Provided technical writing services and staff in-service education on a consulting basis for business and non-profit organizations.
- Recognized for positive communication skills and team attitude.
- Perceptive project manager with proven ability to ensure successful project completion.
KEY QUALIFICATIONS
Registered Nurse
Phone and Onsite Support
Technical Writing
Technical Product Support
Patient Education
Medical Presentations
Clinical Staff Education
Regulatory Compliance
Clinical Study Management
Protocol Compliance
Project Management
Total Quality Management
I should add - I haven't done much direct patient care since 1991 - so am not actively pursuing hospital or clinic nursing at this point in time, with the exception that I would consider giving hospice nursing another go. My experience with it here was short-lived due to serious administrative problems at the hospice, and the nurses go through there like it has a revolving door.
From our webpage:
The Health Sciences and Technology platform will include four initial programs:
* Medical Laboratory Technician
    * Physical Therapy Assistant
    * Health Information Management Technician
    * Radiologic Technologist
The programs will begin operation in September 2009. Shelli Lampi, director of the Health Sciences department, will work over the next year on hiring staff and developing curriculum. In addition, the College will seek the necessary accreditations for the programs and begin facilities renovations to create Health Sciences labs and classrooms.
Of all the things I *could* do, I would like best to teach and/or write.
Thanks again.
I continue to job-search anyway, and continuing to get things ready for winter here. If no potential offers on camp by next week, I will actively look for renters but keep it on the market.
I passed along your resume and they were impressed... may not have a job offer but seems they may at least want to talk with you sometime.
Good luck!
The people who looked at my house over a month ago made an offer.
The house is listed at 197,500. They offered 140,000.
Snorting with laughter, I told the realtor to counter at 255,000 - that is exactly as much OVER the asking price as they are under it.
Actually, we will just politely thank them for their offer and decline it.
These people apparently don't realize that real estate in Marquette has actually gone UP 8% this year...
Oh well...onward and upward!!
Will keep y'all posted.
happy birthday to YOU!!!!! and HUGS TO!!!!
american eagle outfitters
thats pretty
happy unbirthday today Eags!!!!
your making me want Carbones!
Thanks for the eagle birthday cake pic you posted the other day - that was really cool.
Got a call from my contract employer today. They knew they would have work for me starting this month, but now they have more work and it starts - pretty much - now. Will be on a conference call about it this afternoon.
Have been trying to work out the Turkey Day plans - kids either come here or I go there. Looking more and more like I will go there.
I'll definitely post if I can be there long enough to do a Carbone's event with Cooler Crew. That is always fun!
The highfalutin displeasures (responsorial)
Suds of Marquette, Mich.: "In today's Bulletin Board column (January 7, 2009), Honey Bee of Chippewa Falls, Wis., wrote: 'I don't know about anyone else out there, but I am tired of the ads and public-service announcements about what will happen — heaven forbid!!! — if one is not prepared for television's conversion to all-digital signals in February of 2009.'
"Awhile back, I saw this related Web-site video that I thought readers might enjoy: tinyurl.com/3eboun."
(That link can be accessed by clicking here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/36608/talkshow-with-spike-feresten-cable-psa)
how often do you send something to the BB?
my dad used to do it all the time and I liked reading it when I have time.