Hey Minnesotans, have we really thought this whole August thing through?

The Minnesota State Fair, which kicks off next Thursday, is apparently a BIG F-ING DEAL. I'm from Wisconsin, and our state fair isn't really the huge draw it is here (though I hear they have bitchin' cream puffs). It's completely overshadowed by Summerfest, which takes place just a few weeks earlier and has far better music. Both, however, have an equally shocking number of overweight women in tube tops in attendance.

Anyway, with the fair just days away, I've been working myself up into a mild frenzy thinking about how the Twin Cities is going to be bursting at the seams over the next few weeks. The fair starts on the 21st and will still be going on when U of M freshmen (not to mention students at all of the other universities in town) will be migrating to the Cities with their parents to move into the dorms, mostly on the 26th and 27th. Then, before we have any time to regroup, the Republican National Convention rolls into town September 1st (which is also the last day of the fair).

HOLY CRAP.

I'm sure it will be both an interesting couple of weeks and a huge boon to the local economy, but part of me wants to head straight to my local Byerly's and stock up on food in case all of the people descending on the Twin Cities eat it all.

I'm also fairly concerned about the traffic situation. My commute to work is ridiculously short, but if I need to go anywhere else I'm going to be subjected to a huge amount of congestion, lost Republicans in rental cars, and the parents of college freshmen with so much stuff in their minivans that they can't see out their back windows. And this is on top of the fact that Minnesotans are seemingly incapable of merging properly.

There's a strong possibility I might be spending some time curled up in the fetal position this month.

By the Numbers:
Population of the Twin Cities Metro Area: 2,850,000
Total Minnesota State Fair Attendance Last Year: 1,681,678
Expected Attendance at the RNC: 45,000
Approximate Number of New Students Coming to the U: 5,000