Completely random thoughts about the craziness that is Madison, WI.

So I am driving home from Wal-Mart and saw three things that made me laugh out loud.

1. Madison is surrounded by lakes, but I can only remember seeing a couple of people fishing throughout most of first semester. However, there were probably 50-60 people fishing on (literally on) Monona this afternoon. Temperature--18 F. What were they doing--ice fishing. Seriously, the lake was littered with little tents. Unbelievable. I am sure fishing is fun, but it is below freezing, the lake is a solid piece of ice, and do these people have jobs? It is 1:00 P.M. on a Friday.

2. The city of Monona is only about a mile and a half across Lake Monona from Madison, but you typically have to take John Nolen to the Beltline to get there, which is probably 10-15 miles. However, one ambitious sole had another idea--have bike, will travel. Some guy was trying to ride his bike across the lake. I have seen some crazy things, but this was one of the stupidest things I have seen. He probably fell down three times in the 30 seconds I watched him. Stopping is not an option and either is turning for that matter. I was just hoping he would hit one of the ice fishing holes.

3. And finally, Madisonites like to be outside. During the early Fall, you would tons of people running around the city, getting their work out on. Now I just assumed that once the weather turned dicey, the running would stop. However, this afternoon I saw a couple running by the lake. Did I mention it was 18 degrees outside? My lungs started to hurt just watching them. For me to do that, I would have to be bundled up like a 6-year-old playing in the snow for the first time.

These people are crazy. I will be just fine sitting in the house, watching the Cotton Bowl, imagining what ice fishing, ice biking, and running would feel like.

Happy New Year!