Random - Vol. 8.2

I've wanted to write a blog for some time now. In my daily life I always come across things that I feel I need to blog about... when it comes time to actually write, I can never remember what it is I want to talk about. So this blog is going to be random... which usually turns out pretty neat, but sometimes it's lame.com.

I'll start by explaining something to everyone; I have started knitting and posting pictures for everyone to see what I am doing. I am making this bag (similar to a tote bag); I had to knit the body of the bag and 2 handles, which I had to sew onto the body (obviously). Since this is a knitting class for beginners they realize that mistakes will be made- so the last step of this bag is to felt it. Felting a bag is where you put it in the washer in HOT water (the bag is made of wool or a wool blend yarn), so it shrinks and becomes stronger, so you can carry things and also hides your mistakes; it also makes the bag kind of ... 'furry'... it looks pretty neat in the end. Before and After Shots Here!
So last night was the felting process... and what a process it was! You have to check the bag every 5 minutes until it gets to the size you want. It took about 30-45 minutes for my bag to get to the size I want... and I'm still not sure that I'm happy with it; I can do it more and it will shrink more- we'll see how it looks after work today. So when I post pictures of the finished bag... just pay attention to the fact that you can no longer see the stitches and the bag has shrunk...
My last knitting class is tomorrow night (Tuesday), and we are all finished with our bags (fast learners), so tomorrow's class will be to show off the finished bags and ask any questions we have for the teacher. She told us all to get a new pattern and try to get started on something new so that she can help us with that. I have a pattern for a hat (SO EXCITED TO MAKE IT!!!), that basically uses all the skills I have learned but looks super complicated to make! I'll for sure be posting pics of that... it's gonna be so dope (if I do it right.. lol)! I need a couple days break from knitting though... all my friends are starting to call me 'needles'

I went to Duluth this weekend for my cousin's 21^st birthday. I had a good time, but I also remembered why I stopped going to house parties! LOL- or maybe it's just that I am not in the 'college kid' frame of mind! Anyhow the point of this is not to tell you about my weekend, but to tell you about something that I discovered. We were playing with a home karaoke thing (you hook up a microphone full of songs to the TV and just sing your heart out)… well, I was drunk, and I love to sing anyhow… so I had a blast with that! I sang Britney Spears' "Salve for you"… and she does this 'panting' type sound in that song… and this morning on the radio I heard her new song "Break the Ice" and she does the same thing. I'm beginning to wonder if she is part dog!? Just an observation.

Here is the thing… back when Britney first blew up (I was in High School), I fell in love with her… so it's hard for me to watch her fall apart. I still love her and probably always will- a talent show my senior year had me dressed as her lip-syncing to "…Baby One More Time" (I bet you'd all like to see pictures of that; I'll see what I can find!). It was so much fun; I used to get a bit obnoxious when dancing like her, so the talent show was a perfect place to show that off! (Wow, a whole paragraph on Britney!!)

BTW- I pretty much LOVE every song on my play list, if you haven't taken some time to look at my songs… do that now. It's a pretty good look into me and what I'm into. I didn't add everything I like (left out some good rap {I could make an entire play list of my favorite rap} and rock that I like), but it's a pretty neat mix; all great music!

On the subject of music- I've added a song to my play list called "Pig" by Dave Mathews Band- listen to it. Even if you are not a fan of DMB, it is probably the single most beautiful song I've ever heard. After you listen- check out the lyrics (or while you listen): Click Here to see the Lyrics

The song moves me; I want you to be moved to.

Pretty sure I need to make a dentist appointment.

I was having a conversation last night and I gots to thinkin'- Does anyone know what is on the other side of the world… directly across from wherever you are?!

Click here to find out!!

I thought that was a pretty neat tool!

How long is too long for a blog?

Well folks... I should wrap this up now- I'm open to blogging ideas though, so if you have any suggestions... drop them in a comment!

Word to my bitches and my hoes!

Koyi Sushi - Minneapolis, MN

I had a fine experience at Koyi Sushi. The sushi was fresh and delicious and the service was up to par. My companion ordered the Chilean Sea Bass and our waitress came back and told us that they were out, on a Thursday night- that was disappointing on many levels. They have some creative rolls, and while I didn't try them all, they sound wonderful. I generally see a full restaurant as a good thing, Koyi Sushi was pretty empty so I was a bit concerned; I figured being a Thursday night had something to do with that. All in all, if you are near Koyi, stop in and try a roll or two- I don't really see a reason to go out of your way to try Koyi Sushi as there are many other sushi restaurants to try first, but don't put it off your list if you are looking for a new sushi experience in Minneapolis.

Pros: great location in Minneapolis, good sushi

French Meadow Bakery - Uptown, MN

I have never walked through the door of this place and seen it empty! The line generally is to the door, which can't be bad! You walk in, wait in a line to order, and they bring your order to your table- if you can't find a table they will generally take time time to help you find something. This is not a place to go and take your time, it's a place to go in, eat, and get out. They serve excellent and delicious breakfast and also lunch- i have never been in during dinner hours. If you are in the uptown area, stop in for a bite or a bowl of soup on a cold winter day!!

Pros: fast, in and out, service. great food, healthy food!

Cons: it's a full house, if you don't like busy, don't go here!

Hell's Kitchen - Minneapolis, MN

I was apprehensive to try Hell's Kitchen- I had heard that the food was all spicy and hot (hence the name "Hell's Kitchen"). I gave it a shot anyways and was pleasantly surprised! Strange menu items make it fun and interesting and the food tastes great! They have homemade peanut butter too- yummy!! There was a wait to get a table, which was fine with me, generally thats a good thing :) Overall, I have nothing but great things to say about this restaurant. If you are in downtown Minneapolis, I highly suggest you drop by Hell's Kitchen and have a bite!

Pros: Fast service, yummy breakfast

Cons: a wait, but worth it.

Random - Vol. 8.1

I'm bored, my head hurts off and on, and i am STRUGGLING to keep my damn eyes open.
I am writing this blog just for the sake of writing; I AM BORED!! Bare with me... this might be pretty boring.

So first thing on my mind as i write this: I notice to the left of this input window that my blogs have had 51 views this week and 10 comments (a few of those were me replying to other peoples comments)- what I don't get is why i don't have 51 comments. LOL... i know that makes me sound like a comment whore, and while I do love to get comments, I don't require them! My point here is: why doesn't everyone comment that reads it? Especially the blog i posted this week, the camel toe one... that is funny shit- when people see it they should stop and say that they liked it, or that they didn't, or anything. I can understand someone not posting a comment if i posted a blog asking all of life's random questions, because they might not know the answers....
i post comments to almost all blogs i read, just to let someone know that i read it and what i thought about it. I don't know... I guess I'm just 'different', but I guess you already know that; don't you?

Here is the explanation of why I'm so bored this week and why I will be bored a few days next week. My company, Matrix Manufacturing, is owned by 2 people- My uncle is one of them and my aunt is the other... but they are not married. My Aunt Jayne is the V.P. and her brother-in-law, Chuck, is the President. Then we have me and my cousin (who is Chuck's son) that also work in the office- and of course there is Bob, who is no relation whatsoever. Needless to say there is a lot of nepotism going on around here, and Bob likes to point it out as often as possible!
anyhow~ I am pretty much Jayne's 'assistant', I have taken on much of her workload, lots of the day to day stuff plus a lot of other responsibility outside of her. We take care of administrative things and the boys take care of sales, customer service, design, etc.- Matrix is a small company, so we all wear a lot of hats, I do things to help everyone and sometimes I do their jobs completely.

The reason I am bored out of my mind is because Jayne left for a week long vacation yesterday and we are entering our 'slower' season of the year. A lot of the work I do comes from her, whether it's being passed down to me or assigned from scratch; with her being gone I am not getting those things on my desk. Things are coming from others to her and stopping there (which also means I will be busy trying to catch up once she gets caught up). It's kind of like a mini vacation for me too, because I don't have a lot of work to do, but i still have to be here (Thank God for the Internets!), AND i will feel behind once she is back because i will then get her backlog.
I have work to do... some, not a lot, but I am trying to spread it out so that I don't have to spend full days being bored out of my mind. If i focused on all the work on my desk right this second, I could have most of it done by the end of today, and I leave here in just under 2 hours. Like I said, it's also our slower season right now... so even if Jayne were here, I would still have time to play, but i'm sure I'd find projects to work on that have been neglected over the past year (I just don't know what those are right now).
So.. that's why I'm bored, in a nutshell.

I've been really bad about going to the gym lately. I kind of stopped going just after my birthday... busy life and all. Now, i really want to start getting back into it and i just can't find the motivation! I even walked out of the house today w/o my gym bag (though i had full intention of going after work), and i realized it at the bottom of my driveway and just kept going anyways! I went once this week and once last week... and those couple times were very lousy workouts! it makes me angry at myself!

Why am I tired, you ask? Last night I met up with the most amazing guys friends near me- we went to "All-You-Can-Eat Crab Legs" (YUM-O!!), no big deal, I shouldn't be tired from that... well I had a few glasses of wine and 5 plates of crab legs- i probably should have stopped at 2 glasses of wine and 4 plates of crab legs. Not only was a full as all hell when i went to bed, i was dehydrated like a mug! So i get to bed, at a pretty normal time and get to sleep fairly quick- but i kept waking up with the worst cotton mouth known to man (even when i used to smoke it never got that bad!!), so i'd get up and drink a huge glass of water; does anybody know what water does after you drink it? it makes you pee! so i was up peeing every 5 fucking minutes- plus tossing and turning for no good reason (i'd like to blame it on the wine, but i ususally sleep pretty well when i've been drinking). Then I have also been coming in the office a half hour early since Jayne is gone, so that is 30 minutes of lost sleep on top of not sleeping well to begin with!

Wow- i'm kind of bitching a lot in this blog, aren't I? can you tell i'm bored. I'm so bored I may even go back and capitalize all my words and letters that need it- and I really give no crap about doing that!! so bored, I've added color to this blog!!!

It's snowing here today... has been all day! I hate snow, just fyi. I also hate microsoft, so much in fact that I am not giving them the honor of using a capital M in their name! (this is a nasty color combo)

speaking of nasty... and I do mean NASTY- have you guys seen the video "2 girls 1 cup"? Let me just say this- DONT WATCH IT! and if you do (www.2girls1cup.com), just remember that I warned you AND know that you are about to watch 2 girls get freaky with poo! yes... i said it... POO (aka POOP, shit, turds, etc.), so I stress again... Don't watch it!

Ok... i should get a few more things done today, or at least get my Quill order placed- that can take some time if i need to find things!

As always, thanks for reading.. and don't forget to leave a comment ;)

One love and peace out my bitches!

P.S. i need ideas to blog about... my next blog MIGHT be about all the dope changes myspace is making, so i'll be looking for feedback on that one once posted.

Camel What?!

almost pissed myself when i opened this one!!!

Thought i would share it with all of you, my loyal readers!

White Christmas

For all my friends who won't be having a White Christmas this year... and who desperately want to... This blog is for you.
Not much to say... just want to share what I woke up to this morning. I have never been a huge fan of winter, snow, and cold- and I seem to dislike it more as I get older. The one thing I do love is waking up to the tree branches covered with snow/ice... it make for such a pretty sight all around!

I don't know if these pictures do justice to how pretty it is this morning... but at least you get an idea:

here are a couple more-














They were just taken from out my back door... so not super exciting, but still.

Merry Christmas!!

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts Blog...
~Having my niece in my life makes me so happy... I want to move out of state, but I can't imagine leaving her and not watching her grow up.
*I've been super slackin on taking pictures lately.  This makes me very upset!  I have had my camera with me from Wednesday night up until this morning... and I only took a few pictures on Saturday at lunch with my family.  I don't know whats wrong with me.
-I drank a lot this weekend.
~Without getting too in depth here... since none of you really know about my 'love life'- I am recently out of a relationship, a (roughly) 3 year relationship... I don't feel I am ready to move on completely.. but I have been thinking a lot about dating.  What are the rules of dating now?  It is a very overwhelming thing for me to think about...
*In the past week- I have sold over $200.00 worth of things on eBay.. now I can afford to buy Christmas presents, get tabs for my van, and pay my insurance that is due mid-December.
-Speaking of Christmas... I am outraged by the lack of the word "Christmas" this year.  I'm sure you know that "Happy Holidays" is becoming the way of life and not "Merry Christmas" anymore.  Did you also know that stores are selling Family Trees and Wonder Trees instead of CHRISTMAS TREES?  We, as Americans, really need to do something about this; but how?  My first step is not buying a tree from a store that calls it anything other than what it is... the ironic part of that is: people who don't celebrate Christmas have no need for a Christmas Tree- so why change the name of it?  If you don't need one... don't buy one.. don't change the name so someone driving by feels better about themselves- FUCK THEM!
This is America- this nation was founded by people who celebrate Christmas... we don't go into other countries and religions telling them to change the name of things they celebrate.
My cousin said it best on Thanksgiving- (this is not a exact quote) "when will they start calling a Menorah a 'Seven branched candle stick holder'?"
I have NOTHING against other races and/or religions but please... Do your part and make sure you salute people with the holiday you celebrate- not just what this nation is telling you to say.
(I actually just received an email on the same topic as I was typing this...)
~I'm pretty sure the gym is going to be super busy after work today... with all the people thinking they want to lose weight for the holidays, but then realize after the New Year that they are too lazy to keep up with it. 
*I'm just noticing as I type this blog that I have written 64 blogs since I signed up for myspace... Have you read them all?
-I haven't sent in my BB tape yet- I'm scared.  I will probably record it tonight and hopefully mail it out tomorrow (they require a lot of stuff along with the tape and application!)
~I was laying bed last night thinking about something I wanted to blog about... I can't remember what that was.  I've had this blog open since 7:30 this morning trying to remember... I give up; it's now 10:30. 

Last but not least...
WORD BITCHES!

Moe's - Mounds View, MN

From the owner of Mayslacks in NE Minneapolis to owner of Moe's- where the famous Mayslacks roast beef sandwich has worked it's way out of NE Minneapolis and into the hearts of many more people! The first time I went to Moe's I ordered their version of the Jucy Lucy (a buger with cheese stuffed on the inside), the burger came out and was way undercooked... still very red! they took it back and cooked it for me and it tasted fine - but i didn't have much of an appitite after seeing it the first time. I've been there a few times since, and the food is good, but nothing worth hyping up too much. Pretty average sports bar food. However, if you have never been to mayslacks or never had a mayslacks roast beef sandwich, you must head to Moe's! The dark rye bun is piled HIGH with garlic roast beef- it's hard to even pick it up and take a bite! Nothing but goodness entering your belly!

Pros: Mayslacks Roast Beef! Lots of TV's

Cons: just another sports bar...

Taiko Sushi Bar - Moundsview, MN

In all honestly, I was a bit leery of sushi in moundsview area... but I thought I'd give it a chance. One night a few weeks ago I was craving sushi, I found Taiko on citysearch and it was the closest sushi to my house. I drove down, not knowing exactly where the place was and found it - barely. The place is not very well lit and there was a lot of construction type vehicles around the place; it looked closed! Well, there were cars in the parking lot, so I went in; I checked out the menu and ordered a rainbow roll and some Nigiri (yellowtail, salmon, and tuna). Once I got home and opened my sushi box I was so excited to eat it... and no longer thinking about the fact that this place was so unappealing to the eye (from the outside). The fish was fresh ad huge, the rice was perfect, and they were nice enough to supply me with a to-go cup of soy sauce and chopsticks. YUM!! I would HIGHLY recommend this place to anyone! I went back just this weekend cause I figured I should try it again before I wrote a review~ This time I wanted to experience the dine in option. I sat right up at the sushi bar, where I like to be! It was just me and a couple sitting at the bar and several of the tables were filled with people. I took a look at the menu again and decided to try a California roll, a tuna maki, and a piece of yellowtail nigiri. Ideally I like to have everything on one plate in front of me, cause I like to mix and match the crunch of the Cali roll with the other options on my plate. They brought out the California roll first, followed by the tuna maki and lastly the piece of yellowtail. All of it just as fresh and wonderful as my first visit! Some other details worth mentioning: an order of nigiri is one piece (not 2) for $2.00, the only 'to-go' menu they have is by email and it's not the full menu as in the restaurant. Very friendly and talkative staff. huge bites of FRESH fish! Give it a shot!!!

Pros: location outside of the city with very good fresh food

Cons: poorly lit outside

Thanks for the Memories...

Hi Loyal Readers... as a warning- this blog is going back in time.  Might not make sense to some of you... but feel free to read and enjoy anyhow; some of my thoughts may cause you reflect on times in your life. 
I have been dealing with some drama for the past couple of months now- and recently it has caused me to think back to high school times.  My first thought is the gossip and drama, but I am quickly forced to think about all the good things High School had to offer: the boys, the fun, the lack of responsibility!
Who remembers John Kelly's El Camino?  I was so in love with that car that I actually ASKED if I could wash it for him... and he let me too (I just wanted to drive around in it!).  Remember sitting in Hanson's class and doing so much of nothing, but always working on Yearbook?!

My first vehicle was a Bronco II- I LOVED that truck, I made so many great memories in there!!  Before I could drive though... we used to ride our bikes EVERYWHERE... that is what's so great about Nordeast- it's such a small community in a big city!  The summer of 1997 was the greatest summer of my life- I know a few will remember that with me!  Jen- didn't we make a list of the wonderful things about that summer; any chance you still have that?

One of my favorite things about HS was the football games... man oh man, what a great time!  Painting the Rock before hand... and going to North, South, Henry and whatever other schools to paint their rocks as well!  Are you kidding me... SO MUCH FUN!  anyone want to paint the rock this weekend?  Class of 2000... LOL
Having zero bills to pay, and your biggest concern was getting a couple of bucks to put some gas in your car (and back then {haha, like it was that long ago} a couple bucks got you a couple gallons of gas).  Going to parties and having crushes on all the cute boys (or in my case, the boys who weren't scared of my BIGGER older brother).  Walking down the alley to DQ for lunch, and getting PHAT hook ups at DQ at night, when all your friends were working!  Going to Midway on the weekends and having those DELICIOUS shakes from Porky's!

We used to have so much fun doing a whole lot of nothing... growing up sucks.

I have such wonderful memories of high school and while the drama was always there, it just gave you something to talk about- which was fine by me.  It's funny to me that there is always drama between people, no matter the age.
I just thought I would post this for those who remember the fun HS brought to them.  I thought it was a blog worth sharing.  Feel free to post your own thoughts/comments/memories!!!
On a real note: I am all drama'd out... no more of it for me.
AND... it's windy as all get out here today.... I might blow away on my drive home!

Transformers

I leave my house at 5:45 in the morning to embark on a 45 minute drive to Princeton, MN, where I work.  Have you ever been on the road at that time of day?  The roads are filled with half sleeping people (myself included) and truck drivers who just LOVE to drive in the left lane! 
Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I had - what I am assigning the name of - "Transformer Disorder".  What is Transformer Disorder you ask?  Believe it or not, it's quite simple and very easy to explain....
Transformer Disorder is a happening of the mind - it's caused by big semi trucks riding your ass as you are approaching a red light. 
Symptoms: seeing this huge semi trucks front end in your rear view mirror and finding it too look oddly familiar.  Then you find your thoughts and emotions quickly changing to "What if that huge semi truck stands up and transforms into a Autobot!?" and "Since it's riding my ass, maybe it's not an Autobot... maybe its a Decepticon and I'm about to get my ass crushed!"
"Where is Sam Witwicky when you need him?!"
Transformer Disorder is not a subject to be taken lightly- if you or any of your friends (ME!) are having symptoms seek help ASAP or your life could be over before you can say Sam Witwicky! 

This blog has been written and dedicated to Jeff Janas, my good buddy who I feel has been stressed as of late (could be wrong); this is my lame.com attempt to make him laugh, though I really did have these thoughts.
All the italicized words are for Steve- my italic buddy.

Pacific Cafe - San Francisco, CA

I have NOTHING but good things to say about The Pacific Cafe! Let's start at the beginning- You walk in and find this place jam packed full of people; that can never be a bad thing! After you put your name on the list you will be greeted with a free (bottomless) glass of house white wine; need I go on? Once you finally get a table, which could be quite a wait - so plan accordingly, you will find yourself in a cute cozy comfortable environment. The space is small and as full as it can be with tables. An absolute gem of a dining experience! On to the food: if you are lucky enough to find the Parmesan Crusted Halibut on the list of specials, GET IT! The fish is prepared so beautifully that it absolutely melted in my mouth with such a flavorful blast in my mouth- I have never found a bite of food to make me happier... until the next time I was in town and had it again- same great meal! The prices are reasonable and the food is beyond what you pay for it. The service has been wonderful every time I have been there- I even called once back in Minnesota because my date and I had left our Pacific Cafe postcard sitting on the table and wanted to have something to remember the trip by- they were most helpful and sent out a new postcard to me right away! If you're in from out of town- find this place; if you are a local and never been- find this place!

Pros: free wine while you wait, excellent seafood, great atmosphere

Cons: NOTHING

Broders Southside Pasta Bar - Edina, MN

I love any place that I can go in, sit at a bar, and watch my food being prepared not too far away! If you are lucky enough to actually get a seat in this place, request a seat at the bar, unless you have a large party. Broders is a wonderful place to sit and have a romantic dinner. The gentlemen behind the bar was very helpful in suggesting things to order and also offered great conversation when we were looking for it. I would highly recommend ordering the roasted garlic, as it was the best prepared garlic I have ever had! If you do have to wait for a table, grab a glass of wine and sit outside and enjoy the beautiful patio they have set up! Overall - you will walk into this place finding every seat in the place full, every item on the menu making your mouth water, and a very helpful staff.

Pros: great food, ambience, patio to enjoy while you wait

Cons: don't take reservations and usually a long wait for a table

The Capital Grille - Minnespolis, MN

I will be honest in my review- the night I am reviewing was in December 2006. I do realize that things can change in such a long period of time- so please remember that while reading. We went to The Capital Grille for my birthday celebration last year; we walked in the door to a very warm wonderful greeting by the staff. Once we arrived at our table there was a card sitting there with my name on it- it was a very short and simple "Happy Birthday" signed by the staff working that night. What a great first impression of this place! We were treated with the utmost respect and had wonderful service throughout our entire visit. Our food was cooked to perfection and full of flavor! At a place the this you can't expect to leave without paying top prices; the food is more than worth it! I highly recommend The Capital Grille to anyone who is looking for a nice dinner in a fun city. It was a full house, which is always a good thing! The atmosphere was not too loud and not too quite- perfect for a nice meal with some people that I love with all my heart!

Pros: Vallet parking, great service, wonderful food

Cons: none

MN Vikings vs. Chicago Bears (@Chicago)

I'm gonna make this short and sweet... pretty much just rubbing it in.
On Saturday, October 13th I will wake up- drive to the city, do a short walk for Breast Cancer (here is the link if you want to donate to my cause: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/Ang88).  Once I finish my walk I will have to find something to do with myself for the next few hours before I board a plane to Chicago, IL.  I have tickets in transit via USPS for The Vikings @ The Bears game on Sunday, October 14th!  I have flights booked ($98 R/T!!), and a hotel is in the working....
Just wanted to rub it in... It's gonna be pretty dope- I've never been to Soldier Field!  Imagine the pictures I should have... if I'm sober enough to take them.

Hitchin' A Ride

Generally I start my blogs by having some idea of what I'm going to say- today is different.
I have something that I am finally remembering to blog about- and now I'm glad I waited, because this story has evolved in the past week.

As some of you know, I work in Princeton, MN- for those that don't know.. it's pretty far out from any bit of reality. I live in Andover, which is about 20-25 minutes from Minneapolis, and Princeton is another 45 minutes North of my house! Like I said, it's far.
Now most people drive on freeways/highways- it's the end of the day and really you just want to get home. What's the fastest way home? The road with the fastest speed limit, right?! I used to leave work and jump on 169 South and follow that to Highway 10 East, then take my exit and make my way home.

Here is the beginning of my reasoning behind this blog: It started one hot summer day (lol, great way to start a sentence) I was turning the corner to get onto 169 and there was this man hitchhiking at the bottom of the on-ramp! He was not a well dressed man- very 'construction worker' style, but way too 'something' to be a construction worker. He was very tan, had a smoke in his hand and looked to be well into his 50's. I didn't really think much of it, cause it happens. I go on with my life.
The very next day I am driving home from work and I am much further along in my drive (Elk River, for those who know the path) and I see this same man hitchin' again! What a strange coincidence, I thought. I figured he must have made his way to Elk River the day before, found somewhere to sleep for the night and continued on the next afternoon- but what do I know; I'm merely a bystander in this situation.
A few days go by and I am leaving work, turning my corner to jump on 169 again- guess who is at the bottom of the on-ramp?!?!? You guessed it; it's my friend the hitchhiker! Now I'm to the point where it's weirding me out! I continue on and forget all about him, again. Another day or two later... same guy, new place- this time he is in between Princeton and Elk River, a little town called Zimmerman, hitchin'.
I am guessing this story will lose readers if I continue to go day by day of seeing this guy- so I will move on to the most current of this story.

I have since decided to find a new way home, not because of the mystery hitcher, but because both of those roads are "highways" which means they have lights and intersections- I was sick of going 65 in one spot then having to slow down to 55 and stop for a bunch of lights though it all, so I decided to take it upon myself to change that. I still have to get on 169, but I get off and take the back roads before I get to Elk River. I would still see the hitcher in Princeton and Zimmerman, but nothing beyond that any longer.

One day I had to meet my dad after work to pick up Vikings tickets to the home opener- he works in Big Lake, so Elk River is the perfect meeting spot for us. This means I had to take the 'old' way home... 169 to Hwy 10. As I take the cloverleaf exit onto Hwy 10 and merge in with all the other cars there is a stop light ahead- I have to stop; dammit. I bet you'll never guess who is hitchin' at that light...
Now it had been a good week and a half since I'd seen the guy and this was the farthest down I had seen him yet... so it was pretty shocking to me. Once I met up with my dad and told him about how much I see this guy he busted out with "maybe he's your guardian angel". Something I didn't think was true until Monday of this week. After meeting with my dad I get back in my car and continue my drive down Hwy 10 towards Anoka- Anoka is also one of those small towns with stop lights. Mind you, this is the same day- I seen the hitcher right before I met with my dad (which took about 15-20 minutes of my time), and now I am driving through Anoka- only to SEE HIM AGAIN! This is now the closest to my house he has been... that I know of!

Back to taking the 'new' way home... back roads!

I mentioned above that I didn't believe what my dad said until Monday of this week... would you like to hear what happened Monday of this week? I'll assume you do and go on: my back roads drive involves a few stop signs and lots of twisty roads- it's fun... makes me want a race car! On Monday, I am approaching one of the few stop signs and I see a person standing on the side of the road... need I say more? Yep- it was him again... on my back roads adventure!!!
Here is where I go nuts: What are the chances of him being on the back roads, the very same back roads that I take? Is he really my guardian angel? Does this guy have a house? if so... where does he live and where the hell is he always trying to go? Who keeps giving him rides? I never realized people still picked up hitchers!
If I won the lottery- I'd buy him a car for sure!

I wish I had a picture of this guy... it's always so hard to grab my phone and get the camera active by the time I realize he is there...

So now I pass this blog on to the readers, as I like to keep you all involved. As you have probably noticed I keep calling him "hitcher"- I think this man, my Guardian Angel, needs a name! My first thought was "Bob", but I work with a Bob and there is another very special stranger in my life named Bob (RIP, I think), so I don't think Bob is very fitting. I'd like to hear your thoughts... what should I name my Guardian Angel?

Fuji-Ya - Uptown, MN

This being my first Twin Cities Sushi, I have to say that it is my favorite so far- in MN! The happy hour prices are unbelievable- the service was great- and the ambiance was perfect! At an uptown restaurant you can't expect anything less than a full house; this place measures up in more ways than one. They have a great selection of sushi and appetizers and if you're lucky enough to make it during happy hour you'll be greatly pleased with the prices. Half price bottles of wine on Thursday's; how can you beat that?! Get there early if you want to get in on happy hour; people generally line up outside! In a nutshell; if you live in the Twin Cities and haven't been to Fuji-Ya yet, you need to stop what your doing and go now! If you are in from out of town; make this a must on your list of dinner stops!

Twins Game

Ok, so I wanted to write this blog at work today, but I just had so much actual work to do that it didn't get done; forgive me if this blog is lame.com.

I have a story...

Yesterday I went out to run my work errands and had a missed call from Janas. So I checked my message and basically it was him saying that he has tickets for the Twins game and that I should call him back ASAP. I called; no answer. My next move was to shoot him a text... I asked if he was still looking for someone to take; no reply.
I go back to work... no big deal.
I get off of work usually at 4:00 p.m., yesterday I did not leave right at 4:00. I am sitting at my desk, with my purse out, computer off... ready to go, only I am on hold with the credit card company, trying to cancel a lost card, plus I am waiting on one of the plant workers to show me where to find somethings I need for a new job I will be doing.
All of the sudden my desk is vibrating... well, my phone in my purse on my desk, is vibrating. Screw it, I don't normally answer my phone at work and I was sitting on the phone... but it's Janas calling, click. I still have a chance to go to the game!! It's set in stone... "I'll see you around 6:00 p.m."

Getting to the point here... we make our way to the game, all the while Janas is not telling me much about where our seats are other than a promise that I will not get hit in the face with a ball. The row I have been told is S1... 'where the hell is S1', I think to myself (and say out loud). Does the "S" stand for Sky or does it stand for Mauer's Lap?
We get to the Dome (BTW, I LOVE the Dome!)... start walking down the stairs... down... down.. down.. we walk so far down that we aren't even sitting in seats that are attached to the Dome itself!
Wanna see?


Yeah... that's what we're lookin' at! Pretty badass huh?
We sit... a very nice gentleman comes over and hands us some stats and tells us to make sure we sit back... the net in front of us will stop a ball... but it does come in towards us. Oh yeah.. and we get a menu also... we don't have to get up for JACK... people serve us!! AT THE DOME!!!
In addition to that, the camera positioned directly in front of us is flirting with us!!

I'm loving this.

Well... this blog is getting long and we lost the game... so I really don't have too much to say. Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy:

That's a framer ... I still can't believe I'm in these seats!!

As we are going through ball throwers... we get a treat; the ability to see Pat Neshek throw a ball from that angle and in person was so neat!
Hard to capture a picture of it.. but here is an alright shot:


Last but not least... the man who considers me the biggest Twins Fans he knows... and thought to call me with these tickets over his BFF Steve (HAHA)!!!
Here is a picture of Janas and I after the game...


And as if the seats weren't good enough... I got to be the closest to Mauer, his lips, AND his ass that I will ever be!!
See:
and...

Hope you have enjoyed my blog. It was my motivation to not run (that and the humidity), so thank you

Now... Big Brother is on.

Good Day.

35W Bridge

I hope this message finds everyone and their families safe and well. My heart goes out to those who have been personally affected, and my prayers are for those still hoping.
Being from NE, I have driven over that bridge many times; we have all been personally affected. I hope we can grow stronger as a community... my thoughts are with you all.

I think with the events on 35W everyone is left in a somber state of mind.
I don't want to make this catastrophe seem anything less than what it is; I can't even explain in words how it has made me feel personally. I have an obsession with bridges... I have cried many tears over this.
When I turned on the news last night, the pictures on my screen had me floored. When I first turned it on they were talking about the Bay Bridge, I automatically assumed that it had happened again. Then the screen said 35W, Washington Ave Bridge... WTF?! I couldn't believe it; I still can't.

There have been many good points in all the talk of what happened last night, one of which keeps popping out in my mind, I will paraphrase as best I remember.
As humans we tend to forget things... 9/11 happened and our airport security got tighter; every time I am at the airport I see people bitching about the lines... this is for our safety.
Roads are built with our tax money, roads have to be repaired to be safe for us, the bridge work being done was not of the under side of the bridge, it was on top... road repair; this is probably not what caused the collapse.
The point here is not how or why it happened, but next time you are sitting in traffic because of construction, take the time to remember it is for your safety.

Another note I wanted to add... if you haven't told the people in your life that you love them... take the time to do that now. This proves that things can happen when you least expect them to.

I have this NE/Edison night out planned a week from Saturday and I hope that everyone reading this will join... as tragic as the bridge collapse is I want to remind everyone that we have the opportunity to see friends, enjoy life and try to mourn and grieve together.

Again, I hope you are all safe and sound. My prayers go out to your friends and family who have lost.

~Ang