Moving to Wisconsin

*Picture courtesy of Drink Wisconsinably

I agree wholeheartedly with Lewis here. I moved to Wisconsin from Minnesota in 2003 and I was in some sort of an initiation that I was completely unaware of.

I found an unofficial list of skill levels that probably covers it:
Newbie, Novice, Rookie, Beginner, Talented, Skilled, Intermediate, Seasoned, Proficient, Experienced, Advanced, Expert, Professional

Now, I was no stranger to drinking…or at least I thought…..I would have told anyone I was expert level, hands down, no arguing. Let me tell you, I was completely WRONG and was proven wrong daily. Yes, I said it, daily. It was brutal, it was fun, it was stupid, it was some of the best years of my life, it was humiliating, it was exhilarating. I made some of the best friends a girl could ask for and I learned many life lessons. I lived….barely, and I passed the class that I never even enrolled in (it’s an automatic enrollment when you get a permanent residence in WI, I think it’s in the small print at the DMV when you get your WI driver’s license).

Recently I had two conversations that reminded me of all of this:

First (reminiscing about bars that no longer exist)
Me: We closed down the bar six nights a week when I first moved here.

Him: Hmmmmm

Me: You don’t believe me or maybe you don’t remember (while laughing)?

Him: Oh, I remember, just trying to think of what we did on day seven.

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Second Conversation (while out for happy hour with long time work friends):

Me: When I first moved here and we sat next to each other at work, you asked me “are you going to smell like booze everyday”?

Her: I asked you that???

Me: Yes, you did.

Here: How did I dare do that?

Me: No idea but I’m assuming because I smelled like booze every single day.

Her: What was your answer?

Me: “Yes, apparently I am.”

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In hindsight my best guess is I was probably at the skill level “seasoned” which is somewhere between an advanced and professional level in Minnesota.

Now, I’m not saying all Minnesotans can’t handle moving to Wisconsin, there are anomalies to everything, and I know some of those anomalies, but I’m saying it’s a whole different world over here.

This also pertains to cheese. I’m not joking, the amount of cheese that is included in every meal, every appetizer, breakfast, snack, brunch, lunch, dinner, late night snack, I could go on is absolutely off the charts! That’s a different initiation and includes a doctor visit or two if you’re not careful!