Did you know... that if you're driving a vehicle pulling a trailer, or are just in a hurry, and you're trying to merge into traffic... you can just roll down your window, hold your arm up in the air, and drive wherever you damn well please?
2 people did this to cut me off on Hwy 100 yesterday. 2 people on the same road on the same day. 1 crossed a double-white line to do this, instead of waiting for the end of the on-ramp.
*sigh*
UPDATE: BTW, did you know that if you're driving a garbage truck, and you're stuck trying to turn left at the light (which, since the I-35W bridge collapse no longer uses the left turn arrow, you just have to hit traffic right...), the guy who rides on the back can just jump off, stop traffic, you can drive through and he'll jump back on?
Anyone wanna ride on the back of my Neon for this purpose? :P
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Mother Nature, what the hell are you doing?!?!
So while in Spring Grove last week, I hadn't been paying too close of attention to the weather reports... just enough to notice it was going to be colder, and out of the 7 day forecast, only 1 day didn't have a rain or snow chance (can't remember which day I saw that...) - so I start headin home, thinkin the snow was gonna be just down south.... and quickly discovered that I was wrong...
Woke up Saturday to look out the window and see enough snow to cover the grass. Bear in mind... it was 70 last week. I'm sure it took plenty of snow to get that 1/4 inch.
Then Mom tells me "You gonna come shovel my deck?" That's right, shovelable snow in St. Cloud.
Then I look at Star Tribune online... and some places got a foot of snow.
Wow.
Mother Nature, didn't you get the memo? Once we get 70 degree temps, winter's supposed to be over!
At any rate, that's Minnesota weather for ya :) Don't like it? Wait 10 minutes :P
Woke up Saturday to look out the window and see enough snow to cover the grass. Bear in mind... it was 70 last week. I'm sure it took plenty of snow to get that 1/4 inch.
Then Mom tells me "You gonna come shovel my deck?" That's right, shovelable snow in St. Cloud.
Then I look at Star Tribune online... and some places got a foot of snow.
Wow.
Mother Nature, didn't you get the memo? Once we get 70 degree temps, winter's supposed to be over!
At any rate, that's Minnesota weather for ya :) Don't like it? Wait 10 minutes :P
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Exploring the City, volume 1
So now that I live in Minneapolis, I figured what better way to spend my spring/summer than roaming around, seeing what the city has to offer. I also decided that most venues in Minneapolis are so difficult to find parking for, and once you do find parking it's so expensive... that I would use Metro Transit for this journey (and probably many more all summer long). Friday I bought one of those fancy Go-To cards (So all I have to do is touch my ENTIRE WALLET to their card reader... and it registers. And it won't charge you if there's a valid transfer on it. It's pretty freakin sweet!) And I decided to start this adventure on Saturday.
Then Will woke up, and decided he was too lazy, wanted to wait til Sunday. So this morning, Will woke up, and decided once again that he was too lazy. So I went anyway. Woulda been more fun with someone else, but twas fun just the same :)
The 4 bus stops a block away from my house... and at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, so that was an easy trip :) And I got to see my favorite statue since childhood: The big spoon with the cherry on top :)
Ok, so technically it's called "Spoonbridge with Cherry". And holy buckets was it surrounded by shutterbugs today. I felt like an idiot pulling out my cell phone to take a picture of it. Almost like there was a photography class there!
Then like 10 minutes after I thought that... a HUGE group of people with cameras (young people at that) grouped up to go across the bridge... so I think maybe it WAS a photography class :P
And it was a good day all over to see the ducks! Making their spring debut, as you might be able to see if you stare at this picture to your left really really closely... - Think this also proves that if I'm gonna keep doing this, i seriously need to get a real digital camera :P
Yes, I did look at other things. Most of which were boring. (i.e. Uhh, it's a big metal teepee. What's so artistic about that? Oh great, a brick wall! Oooohhh, mirrors!) - So perhaps some of it was over my head :P - And the greenhouse was nice... although really hot and muggy (well, not really a surprise, but still noteworthy.) Crossed the pedestrian bridge over to Loring park, where I sat and reflected upon life for a while as well :)
Then I decided to sit on the side near the bus stop (but not AT the bus stop, for some reason I really don't know now :P) for my next adventure... and I knew I had like 30 minutes cuz the bus had just gone by. While I was sittin there, I glanced up... and saw my bus. Oops, guess that one stops every 15 minutes :) Oh well, still waited for the other bus. One thing I was really big on all day - if you miss the bus, don't panic, another bus will stop by in 30 minutes :P It's not that big of a deal. Life goes on :)
On the East side of the lake where I started, I ran into the little bit of ice you see on your left. It made me laugh :) - Especially since Mom mentioned something about an ice rescue yesterday? And I thought she was nuts :P (still haven't looked it up to verify...) - was going to send her this picture and say "You mean THIS ice??" :P
By the time I got to the West side of the lake, it was getting just a bit chilly, and you can tell why by the pic to your right - slush on the lake! It makes a pretty cool sound when the waves rustle it too :) Fairly solid breeze blows across that and into you - actually felt pretty good, considering how warm it was in the hot sun.
I ended up walking probably about 3/4 of the way around the lake (started on the east side, ended on the north side by the pavilion thingie), and kinda became lost. Well, my directions were based on leaving from the Uptown station... but since I didn't get off there, I didn't know where it was in relation to the park :P I decided to just start following people, and I knew what intersection this was at (I think it's Hennepin and Lagoon), but I didn't know where either of those streets were :P - Started walking up a hill... toward Calhoun Square (thinking even if things didn't pan out, there would be busses there, and at LEAST 1 of them has to connect to light rail! That and there's a Famous Dave's there I've been wanting to try... but didn't) - and found Hennepin! Looked both directions, and about 2 blocks away was the Uptown Transit Station... and my bus driver was on break even. 5 minutes later, I was on my way to the 38th Street Station. woot!
38th Street Station is a Light Rail stop, so I hopped on the train to the Mall of America! Putzed around in the mall for a while, had supper (near but not at another Famous Dave's. 2 different Daves I passed by, and didn't eat at either. Probably a record for me.)
The Nickelodeon theme park pissed me off :P - It just doesn't feel right. You know? It seemed more like a county fair than a theme park. For example, one of the things they had there was a duck pool. For $2 you get to pick a duck out of the pool, and everyone gets a prize of some sort. I haven't seen that game since our elementary school carnivals! (and I had forgotten about those until I wrote this sentence!)
Then this sight to your left caught my eye as well. On the third floor, taking up QUITE a chunk of space (almost the entire area between one of the anchors and the side exit to the parking ramp. If I remember right... - Maybe only half that space... but huge nonetheless!)
Which begs me to ask... do that many people shop at the Mall of America that it would warrant a Best Buy inside? I mean... would you go to the Mall of America and buy a HDTV? Or would you go the Best Buy, what is it, 10 miles east? If that? I still think of the MOA to be more of a touristy place, which really has no place for big-box stores like this. What's next, a Wal-Mart? Then everyone can come to the mall to get groceries too!
Of course, they probably are afraid of people thinking of it as a touristy place, which would mean the locals wouldn't stop there as often. Places like this could help change that attitude a bit...
Seriously. Think about that grocery store idea. It might work! :P Throw one into Phase 2! :P
What do you think about a Best Buy in the Mall of America?
The return LRT ride from the MOA to the Warehouse District was slightly annoying. The entire train was full of kids (think middle schoolers mostly), and they were LOUD, and they just screamed all the time, especially when one dude got off the bus (apparently they thought he was hot...), and they were RIGHT NEXT TO ME... Was obnoxious. Plus they rode all the way to the Government Plaza station. Which is like 2-3 stops away from the Warehouse District.
Oh well. The LRT was fun! And it surprised me how fast that train got when it got to the airport... in the tunnels, it seemed like warp speed :P - Never actually been on a train, so the first corner kinda freaked me out... til I realized "Hmm... Straight wheels. Bending track. What must the wheels do? Go against their nature of going straight, so they're gonna make noise! Duh!"
And this Go-To card is really slick! When I bought it, they said "Just put it in your wallet, and leave it there. When you need to use it, just touch your entire wallet to the reader!" - I thought she was nuts. But after a few people did it, I changed my ways :P
I think all day, with Metro Transit, I spent $2.50. That's right, two dollars and fifty cents. And I didn't have to find a place to park. I would've had to pay to park at the sculpture garden, and at Lake Calhoun, and would've paid for gas. Not happenin for $2.50. So I think I'll keep using Metro Transit when I can... can't use it to work and back, but I can sure use it when I decide to go exploring on weekends :)
Then Will woke up, and decided he was too lazy, wanted to wait til Sunday. So this morning, Will woke up, and decided once again that he was too lazy. So I went anyway. Woulda been more fun with someone else, but twas fun just the same :)
The 4 bus stops a block away from my house... and at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, so that was an easy trip :) And I got to see my favorite statue since childhood: The big spoon with the cherry on top :)
Ok, so technically it's called "Spoonbridge with Cherry". And holy buckets was it surrounded by shutterbugs today. I felt like an idiot pulling out my cell phone to take a picture of it. Almost like there was a photography class there!
Then like 10 minutes after I thought that... a HUGE group of people with cameras (young people at that) grouped up to go across the bridge... so I think maybe it WAS a photography class :P
And it was a good day all over to see the ducks! Making their spring debut, as you might be able to see if you stare at this picture to your left really really closely... - Think this also proves that if I'm gonna keep doing this, i seriously need to get a real digital camera :PYes, I did look at other things. Most of which were boring. (i.e. Uhh, it's a big metal teepee. What's so artistic about that? Oh great, a brick wall! Oooohhh, mirrors!) - So perhaps some of it was over my head :P - And the greenhouse was nice... although really hot and muggy (well, not really a surprise, but still noteworthy.) Crossed the pedestrian bridge over to Loring park, where I sat and reflected upon life for a while as well :)
Then I decided to sit on the side near the bus stop (but not AT the bus stop, for some reason I really don't know now :P) for my next adventure... and I knew I had like 30 minutes cuz the bus had just gone by. While I was sittin there, I glanced up... and saw my bus. Oops, guess that one stops every 15 minutes :) Oh well, still waited for the other bus. One thing I was really big on all day - if you miss the bus, don't panic, another bus will stop by in 30 minutes :P It's not that big of a deal. Life goes on :)
That next bus was the 6, which I knew would go to Uptown Station. And the online map said it would go like a stop past that to Lake Calhoun, which was my desired destination. And some dude got on the bus after me and asked the driver if the bus stopped at the Lake Calhoun stop... 
and he said yes! So I hung out on the bus until he got off - which was Lake Calhoun (yay for paying attention, boo to the online bus mapping service :P)
and he said yes! So I hung out on the bus until he got off - which was Lake Calhoun (yay for paying attention, boo to the online bus mapping service :P)On the East side of the lake where I started, I ran into the little bit of ice you see on your left. It made me laugh :) - Especially since Mom mentioned something about an ice rescue yesterday? And I thought she was nuts :P (still haven't looked it up to verify...) - was going to send her this picture and say "You mean THIS ice??" :P
By the time I got to the West side of the lake, it was getting just a bit chilly, and you can tell why by the pic to your right - slush on the lake! It makes a pretty cool sound when the waves rustle it too :) Fairly solid breeze blows across that and into you - actually felt pretty good, considering how warm it was in the hot sun.
I ended up walking probably about 3/4 of the way around the lake (started on the east side, ended on the north side by the pavilion thingie), and kinda became lost. Well, my directions were based on leaving from the Uptown station... but since I didn't get off there, I didn't know where it was in relation to the park :P I decided to just start following people, and I knew what intersection this was at (I think it's Hennepin and Lagoon), but I didn't know where either of those streets were :P - Started walking up a hill... toward Calhoun Square (thinking even if things didn't pan out, there would be busses there, and at LEAST 1 of them has to connect to light rail! That and there's a Famous Dave's there I've been wanting to try... but didn't) - and found Hennepin! Looked both directions, and about 2 blocks away was the Uptown Transit Station... and my bus driver was on break even. 5 minutes later, I was on my way to the 38th Street Station. woot!
38th Street Station is a Light Rail stop, so I hopped on the train to the Mall of America! Putzed around in the mall for a while, had supper (near but not at another Famous Dave's. 2 different Daves I passed by, and didn't eat at either. Probably a record for me.)
The Nickelodeon theme park pissed me off :P - It just doesn't feel right. You know? It seemed more like a county fair than a theme park. For example, one of the things they had there was a duck pool. For $2 you get to pick a duck out of the pool, and everyone gets a prize of some sort. I haven't seen that game since our elementary school carnivals! (and I had forgotten about those until I wrote this sentence!)
Then this sight to your left caught my eye as well. On the third floor, taking up QUITE a chunk of space (almost the entire area between one of the anchors and the side exit to the parking ramp. If I remember right... - Maybe only half that space... but huge nonetheless!)Which begs me to ask... do that many people shop at the Mall of America that it would warrant a Best Buy inside? I mean... would you go to the Mall of America and buy a HDTV? Or would you go the Best Buy, what is it, 10 miles east? If that? I still think of the MOA to be more of a touristy place, which really has no place for big-box stores like this. What's next, a Wal-Mart? Then everyone can come to the mall to get groceries too!
Of course, they probably are afraid of people thinking of it as a touristy place, which would mean the locals wouldn't stop there as often. Places like this could help change that attitude a bit...
Seriously. Think about that grocery store idea. It might work! :P Throw one into Phase 2! :P
What do you think about a Best Buy in the Mall of America?
The return LRT ride from the MOA to the Warehouse District was slightly annoying. The entire train was full of kids (think middle schoolers mostly), and they were LOUD, and they just screamed all the time, especially when one dude got off the bus (apparently they thought he was hot...), and they were RIGHT NEXT TO ME... Was obnoxious. Plus they rode all the way to the Government Plaza station. Which is like 2-3 stops away from the Warehouse District.
Oh well. The LRT was fun! And it surprised me how fast that train got when it got to the airport... in the tunnels, it seemed like warp speed :P - Never actually been on a train, so the first corner kinda freaked me out... til I realized "Hmm... Straight wheels. Bending track. What must the wheels do? Go against their nature of going straight, so they're gonna make noise! Duh!"
And this Go-To card is really slick! When I bought it, they said "Just put it in your wallet, and leave it there. When you need to use it, just touch your entire wallet to the reader!" - I thought she was nuts. But after a few people did it, I changed my ways :P
I think all day, with Metro Transit, I spent $2.50. That's right, two dollars and fifty cents. And I didn't have to find a place to park. I would've had to pay to park at the sculpture garden, and at Lake Calhoun, and would've paid for gas. Not happenin for $2.50. So I think I'll keep using Metro Transit when I can... can't use it to work and back, but I can sure use it when I decide to go exploring on weekends :)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
I'm back!
Ok, so it's fairly obvious that I so didn't keep up the blog... - But here I am, once again, over a year later to try and pick it back up. And BOY has it been an eventful 14 months...
The job fair ended up netting no results, I ended a long relationship, I moved to Fargo, found a new job, then they asked me a couple months later if I was willing to move to the cities. I said "Sure!" after negotiating moving expenses and a small raise, and they said "Great! Can you be here Monday to start?" I was, and now I work in Eden Prairie and live in Minneapolis (even though in one of those past posts you notice I said I refuse to live in the cities... - hehe. Funny how circumstances change, eh?)
My new job entails going into restaurants and bars and installing new point of sale systems, so they can move into the 21st century. They're slowly getting me into liquor stores as well (coincidently, that's where I'll be next week - hehe...) Tis fun. It's kinda funny how for the most part when I go into these places, they have almost no processes in place to do anything. For example, we recently had a business owner and 2 of her employees (aka a Woman, her daughter, and her daughter's friend) in, and we were dealing with pricing issues. "How much do you charge for ___________" - And everyone had a different answer. Not too surprising for alcohol actually, but it kinda proves why they need a computer to tell them the price :P I also think it's kinda funny how the guy who doesn't really drink is the one who goes into BARS and LIQUOR STORES to install POS systems. It makes me lol.
Anyway, I'm gonna go explore the city a bit today... more later...
The job fair ended up netting no results, I ended a long relationship, I moved to Fargo, found a new job, then they asked me a couple months later if I was willing to move to the cities. I said "Sure!" after negotiating moving expenses and a small raise, and they said "Great! Can you be here Monday to start?" I was, and now I work in Eden Prairie and live in Minneapolis (even though in one of those past posts you notice I said I refuse to live in the cities... - hehe. Funny how circumstances change, eh?)
My new job entails going into restaurants and bars and installing new point of sale systems, so they can move into the 21st century. They're slowly getting me into liquor stores as well (coincidently, that's where I'll be next week - hehe...) Tis fun. It's kinda funny how for the most part when I go into these places, they have almost no processes in place to do anything. For example, we recently had a business owner and 2 of her employees (aka a Woman, her daughter, and her daughter's friend) in, and we were dealing with pricing issues. "How much do you charge for ___________" - And everyone had a different answer. Not too surprising for alcohol actually, but it kinda proves why they need a computer to tell them the price :P I also think it's kinda funny how the guy who doesn't really drink is the one who goes into BARS and LIQUOR STORES to install POS systems. It makes me lol.
Anyway, I'm gonna go explore the city a bit today... more later...
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