I used to keep a photo blog, which was integrated into No.634.
After the jump are some things that I’m pretty sure didn’t import over. The thumbnails are linked to the image files.
Continue reading “Minneapolis, Fall 2008” »
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August 10th, 2009
August 9th, 2009
Around towntown Minneapolis: I went to the downtown Target yesterday to get contacts for the first time. After waiting in line for a half hour, I was told the optometrist was not in and sent to the suburbs. The optometrist at the suburban Target was a cranky old man who probably has been telling the same jokes for 40 years. He quickly got frustrated with me which didn’t help me learn to get the contacts in any faster. It took about 20 minutes of jabbing myself in the eye while being scolded before I finally got the contacts in. Later, when I tried to put the contacts in again at work, I tore the lense…so I have to go back today and hope that I don’t get more grief from Dr. Cranky. RSS readers: if you can’t see the images, click here. The images link to larger files. 6 comments |
Tags: downtown, eye doctor, Minneapolis-St. Paul, optometrist, target | Category: 1L summer August 10th, 2008
I felt like a certain Ms. Someone yesterday because the Crazies were out in full force. 1. Rocker-Clepto Crazy I sat at the B&N Café downtown at the window-counter. To my left was a tall redheaded punk boy with tattoos and an overbite. To Punkboy’s left is an Arden B girl: a petite, no-nonsense Brunette who is refined in an unfriendly (but not quite bitchy) way. She’s hunched over her laptop with a grimace on her face. Punkboy leans over to Ms. Arden and asks to use her phone,
Ms. Arden squirms a bit like “gasp why are you talking to me?!” She then says ‘sure’ and hands over the phone.
Punkboy leaves this whiny message as loudly as possible. I exchange “wtf” looks with Ms. Arden and a pretty Somali woman with an elaborate headscarf at a table behind us. The Somali shoots Punkboy one of the nastiest looks I’ve ever seen. Punkboy gives the phone back to Ms. Arden and thanks her profusely.
About 40 minutes later I see this ratty looking girl outside. She looks like a dirty, black-haired version of Robyn. She’s weirdly hunched like she’s cold or violated. She just wanders near the Café window looking over her shoulder (either for a coat or her attacker I guess). Punkboy looks up, sees Cracked-Robyn and shouts, “TENTH!” He then jumps up, almost knocking over his chair, and runs outside. Ms. Arden, the Somali and I are all wide eyed / what the hell? We watch Punkboy run outside and grab Cracky-Robyn by the arm. He hugs her and kisses her. Ms. Arden, the Somali, and I exchange a look. Que Crazy. Punkboy and Cracky-Robyn come in, gather all their crap and leave. Thank goodness. I returned to Underworld with my phones in. A few minutes pass and then this stocky short guy sits next to me. He’s middle aged and wears a camouflage cap. He has several of those current-event “administration/political expose books.” Whcih brings us to #2 – Camouflage Crazy Since it was the day of the Crazies, of course Camouflage starts talking to me. At first I’m confused because I have my headphones in. I always thought headphones and a book at a café sent a very clear “fuck you & yours/don’t bother me” message. Camouflage starts telling me about Cheney’s cover up involving WMDs and the Iraq war. There are secret contracts and conspiracies. He goes into detail. The whole time I stare at him blankly like, “why are you talking to me? Why why why sweet baby Jesus!?” Camouflage goes on for about ten minutes. And then finally shuts up. #3 Gaunt the Enquirer Crazy Later that day I was at the Purple Onion Café, my local hangout. I had headpones on, listening to Rautemusik and attempting to catch up on my favorite blawgs. This gaunt African man (with too many bags) walks in and sits at a table near me. I smile briefly and then look back at the laptop. A few minutes pass and he asks,
I put my phones back in. Bothered. Crazy #3 at my favorite Cafe. NOOO.
Gaunt-guy goes back to his book and I put my earphone back in, legitimately worried that I just gave too much information to a serial killer.
Gaunt guy continues reading in his book, and waits for me to put my headphones back in before talking again.
This line of questioning continued for a bit. It became extremely annoying. I felt like the crew of MTV’s Boiling Points would jump out at any moment. They never did. I eventually got frustrated so I called the first friend in my phone, packed up the laptop, and left. August 7th, 2008
I knew Minnesota was cheaper than Miami but dang – the portions are ridiculous here. I went to the Pagoda pan-Asian restaurant and ordered this $8.99 dish. And erm…. Yeah. That’s too much food. It doesn’t look like a lot but that plate is like 10×10 inches of nothing but meat. PETA would flip.
Another thing that’s killing me is the drink specials. The drinks are about $2 cheaper than in Miami and there always seems to be a 2-4-1 or 3-4-1 special going on. My problem is that I’m not a huge drinker, and at some clubs they don’t give you a ticket… they just hand you two beers. There’s no graceful way to doublefist beer at the clubhouse. You’ll look like you have issues every time. So the result of the Minnesota portion problem is that I’m always lugging around a to-go box. And yes, there’s one sitting on my coffee table as I’m typing this. The University is only about two miles from downtown so I’ve spent a lot of time roaming and playing tourist. I love the sculptures that are all over downtown.
Moving to Minneapolis a month early was a good idea. I’m meeting my housemates sort of one-by-one as they move in instead of in a huge group a few days before school starts. I also get to explore at a relaxed (and random) pace –“Oh let’s see where this bus goes to!” One thing that has been on the to-do list is City Hall.
I was a history major as an undergrad and I’m a huge sucker for historic buildings. City hall didn’t disappoint – a highlight was the heroic statue in the middle of the lobby.
More pictures of downtown at my facebook gallery 1 and gallery 2. The downtown Barnes & Noble has become my downtown hangout spot. It has window seats facing Nicollet Avenue – the people watching is amazing. Today however, the entertainment was inside,
Umm… maybe they’ll name the baby Ikea? Other snippets:
And I realize my posts are incoherent/in snippet format. Things will shape up once I get out of my wide-eyed tourist mode. August 5th, 2008
My first weekend in Minneapolis was a lesson Krawall & Remmidemmi, but I think I have my bearings…well, sort of. Here are some snippets:
I went to Mall of America today. I’m pretty sure it’s the biggest mall in the country. It’s so honkin’ big that it has a theme park INSIDE. Why do we do things like this?
So yeah, things are geil! More later. OH, and by the way…I found out that my neighborhood DOESN’T have a legit grocery store… just two Gas-Station-Mart-esqe things…hmmf! 3 comments |
Tags: bilder, downtown, hilarity, Minneapolis-St. Paul, target | Category: 0L, me me me |
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