Minneapolis sampler:
1) PENZEYS. The Geegsters happened into this really dent-unfriendly women's clothing store. You probably never think about what I have to think about where tops are concerned, but most women's tops plunge way below the Maginot Line of dent-exposure that I must be concerned with when buying a shirt. Also, the place smelled like a Taiwanese sweat shop. So I sat my butt down and looked bored until the Geegsters were done shopping. Down the street was my retailer of choice, Penzey's Spices. I am a total ho for Penzey's, as I've been madly in love with every spice blend I've ever had from there (as long as celery salt is not part of the blend). I was like a kid in a candy store in Penzey's, grabbing little plastic bottles of every new and exciting spice blend I could get my hands on. Penzey's turned out to be the Geegster retailer of boredom, as no one else wanted to marvel at/purchase Fox Point Seasoning with me. Fox Point will rock you!
2) LADYCOLLEGIANS. I went to brunch with my Big B Ladycollege 98-er pal Liesl and her husband on Saturday morning. We saw each other at Reunion last month and she promised to come to my Mpls show and lo, she did and was mightily impressed. Liesl's car (like mine) bears a Ladycollege window decal. When we were done with brunch, we discovered that a fellow Ladycollegian had happened by and left a note on her windshield that said "Hey! I went to Smith too! YAY!"
3) MINNEAPOLITANS ARE FRIENDLY, though I hear from Liesl and J-Cakes, both natives, that people are famously passive-aggressive. As J-cakes and I were enjoying the sunset from the plastic dock at Lake Harriet (home of a bad-ass Victorian band shell) an aged hippie dude with a white ponytail came out to the end of the dock specifically to scold a pair of motorboaters with "you know, there's a $500 fine for using a gas-powered engine on the lake."
4) ALDI. Mpls has an Aldi, made famous by Homestar Runner. And numerous Trader Joe's. Fucking crap, I want a Trader Joe's.
5) BEST FEST. Big ups to the Twin Cities Improv Festival for their careful planning, caring treatment of their out-of-town guests, righteousness, fun-lovingness, friendliness, and improvisational awesomeness. We definitely want to go back next year.
6) FUCK YOU, CLOSED FREEWAY. The major north-south interstate (numerically the same as the one that bisects A-town) was CLOSED for most of the weekend, making travel to our hotel (a generic property in the 'burbs near the airport and nearly a half-hour drive from the theater) an exercise in frustration.
7) SLEEP. Goddamnit, I require a lot of sleep. Bob and I just woke up from a five-hour nap. I had an excuse for that. What's Bob's?
8) MY NORTHERN SOUL. I love the north. And yes, that also means I don't like the south. I've never been someone who has wanted a big house, but Minneapolis has all these amazing huge, rambling houses WITH BASEMENTS that I found myself envying like mad. Tall, big, and homey houses. I have this huge yearning to head north that, as long as I remain married to Bob, I will be an itch I'll never get to scratch. If I never get to live back in New England again, I will feel beyond cheated, and visiting lovely northern cities like Minneapolis just drives that home for me.
NORTH!
So another city besides Seattle shares the rep of people being "nice" but also "passive-aggressive." Interesting.
Posted by: margaret at July 3, 2008 08:17 PM