actually, i remember where my ignorance comes from.. the term "Mid-West" always makes me think of mid-way from East to West (which i think is the original intended meaning) so i always think of it as vertical line from North Dakota to Texas (but not including Texas since i count that as "south"), and maybe the states immediately to the left and right of that. i forget that they missed the mid point by a bit, and so what is considered "Mid-West" is more like "One-Third West" in my mind.
so yeah, i was thinking more of the sparsly populated middle part of the country. this has confused me on more than one occasion.
if i lived in Chicago i would have no problem flying/driving to New Jersey to see Hello! Project.. after all, when i lived in Seattle we drove down to Los Angeles and back, about 18 hours (which we split over two days), and that worked out. and after moving to LA we flew back to Seattle to see Berryz. and when we lived in San Fran, we drove to LA and back several times a year (about 6 hours speeding). not pleasant, but definitely manageable. needless to say we're so sick of that drive we opt for an expensive 2-hour flight rather than face the "long stretch" of the I-5 again.
i think i forgot my point somewhere along the way. </traumatized>