Thursday, January 6, 2011

You can call me Walleye

Happy New Year everyone.

One of the things I love about blogging is that there are no deadlines or limits to vacation days. With that said, if I would have known after my December 9th post that I wasn't going to post again until January 6th, I would have a least turned my out of office on.

As I settle in to 2011, I am excited to get back in the flow of posting regularly.

I kicked off the new year by keeping a traditional alive that I participated in for the first time last year. I jumped into Lake Minnetonka. The temperature outside was around 4 degrees and it was windy. Not a good day for swimming.

The Lake Minnetonka Ice Dive is a great fundraiser for the American Lung Association, and despite the weather the event had over 900 jumpers again this year. Before you complete your first jump you are labeled a guppy. After you complete one jump you are a minnow. Footage of my first jump was posted last year during a post titled First name I got called this year. After two completed jumps you are a Walleye. With two jumps completed...you can call me walleye.

The goal is to complete 10 jumps and earn the title of shark and a cool bathrobe. The cool shark bathroom, while not pictured, is much nicer then the one I used this year. See for yourself below.
I really enjoy the novelty as well as the comradery of this annual event. I also enjoy the symbolism of kicking off the New Year with a real "slap in the face, let's get pumped up, have a great year" shock to the system that jumping in a frozen Minnesota lake provides.

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