Minneapolis was encased in a snow globe today, giant flakes fell in confusing patterns while the wind couldn't decide which way to blow. That is sort-of how I felt all day. I had plans to go out and wasn't feeling it at all - I was tired, yet euphoric over the lovely weekend - buying records and eating food all over town with my sweetheart, watching the gayest musical ever made with my Wondertwin in the time in between, and all the other nonsense that goes on during my weekends.

As much as I bitch and whine about winter, and how I've been feeling so overwhelmingly low during this last blast of it, I am ready to get sunnier. Even if global warming made the earth go super-crazy due to some evil villain's scheme - and it was winter forever from now on. I can handle it.

Truly - I had a moment of clarity tonight. This can be referenced by a Twitter post that I sent while I watched a group of musicians together onstage, catching one singer making "i'm in love with you" eyes at Dan Wilson.

"Fuck you, Winter. I'm back."

Tonight, I begrudgingly dragged my ass out of the house, while exhausting every possible excuse I could. For example: I fell on slush after work and hurt my tailbone again (it really doesn't hurt that bad, even though it should,)or - I don't want to go outside again, or my personal favorite - I have really bad gas pains. I didn't get anywhere with those reasons... so I found myself braving the snowman snow, bribing myself with a sub-par mocha from Caribou while walking to the bus stop with my Wondertwin.

So - how about I explain the photo above. I bet you can pick me out, at sixteen, in my Church Lady t-shirt and cardigan. I can almost guarantee that I was also wearing and incredibly dowdy skirt as well. Who I was at sixteen is not a whole lot different than what I am like at 28. That same dowdy girl, voted "Most Mysterious" by her graduating class, once went to Moondance Jam to see Steve Miller and followed a floppy haired boy who looked like Dan Wilson around... ok, follow means stalked in this circumstance. But I was so obsessed with early Semisonic at this time that I had myself convinced that it was him.

Fast forward to ten years later, I've lived in Minneapolis for eight years and I saw the REAL Dan Wilson for the first time tonight. It was a nice night. Even with the trudging through the snow, the clausterphobia of the Fine Line when it is sold out, I got to sing along to DND, got to hear one of my themes, Free Life. Oh gosh - and that always punches me in the gut, Breathless. I got to stand with my closest friends while being forced into a photograph with Mr. Wilson with my hand on his back. (i'mnotcreepyi'mnotcreepyiswear)

I feel like it's time to put Jen the hermit away. That girl in the photo above, who so desperately could not wait to be "grown-up" a.k.a. out of that house of strangers, would be really bummed out to know that I've been holing up in front of a computer screen chain smoking when I could be out enjoying live music and causing trouble.

I wish I still had that t-shirt.