Track 26: Good Things

I'm sure no one is reading this anymore (except maybe Abby, my self-proclaimed internet stalker), but in case anyone is, I thought I'd post an update on some happenings.

1. I'm going back to school, much like Rodney Dangerfield -- except he gets no respect, and I like to think that I've gained a little throughout the years. Anyway, in January I'll be starting classes in the Photography and Digital Imaging Program at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Woo! I'm super-pumped!

2. I've relocated from my temporary digs in St. Paul to a house in south Minneapolis, where I'm actually paying rent, but I have my own bathroom. Unpacking my stuff after not seeing it for a few months was actually pretty fun. It was like, "Hey! I forgot about that sweater/Buddha statue/purse! It's really cool!"

3. I'm in the interview process for an internship at the MN Center for Photography, which would be an awesome way to get my foot into the door of the photo community of the Twin Cities. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

4. Starting this week, I am focusing full time on getting a job. Now that I'm signed up for school, and I'm settled in my new place, I need to find something part-time and flexible, hopefully in my neighborhood, that will pay the bills and not get in the way of school/internship/possible job assisting a local architectural photographer (I'm working on that). I don't think I'll truly sleep well until I know I've got money coming in the door.

I laughed this morning when the guy on the radio said, "Things are warming up nicely today, with temperatures right now in the 20's." Because yes, temperatures in the 20's are actually quite comfortable compared to the recent highs in the teens. Tomorrow is supposed to reach into the low 30's! Break out the flip-flops, I'm going to sunbathe by the (frozen) lake!

Track 25: There's No Place Like...Well, You Know

For those of you wondering where the heck I am right now, I apologize. I'm back in MN, which is good; but that means I don't have anything terribly exciting to write about, which is bad. I may have to start getting all philosophical and writing about the meaning of life and stuff.

Speaking of torture, I was back in Minnesota for two days before I went to the Mall of America. Sheesh. Hopefully, I won't have to go back there for a long time. The holiday shopping season actually makes me want to spend LESS money. Not having a job helps with that too.

I had a great time hanging out in Denver. We walked around a particularly festive (read: Christmas lights) area of downtown, visited Boulder for some lunch and window shopping, got last-minute student tickets to the big U. of Denver vs. Colorado College hockey game (DU won! Go Pioneers!), played pool at Hanson's (Hansen's?), drove up to the teeny, tiny snow globe town that is Georgetown, CO, stopped to see the amphitheater at Red Rocks (someday I WILL see a show there), and continued the tradition of coffee and croissants at Trompeau Bakery the morning I left. "Tradition" meaning we also went there the morning I left on my way out west. You'd make it a tradition, too, if you could have tasted the blueberry and cream cheese croissant I ate. I still salivate when I think about it. I love the simple, unassuming decor of the bakery and listening to the staff speak French to each other. Angie and I always end up having great talks about life while we sit there enjoying our delicacies. Again, "always" means both times we've been there, but the place just invites good conversation.

I actually enjoyed the drive through Colorado and Kansas. Yes, there's nothing particularly exciting about I-70, but I kind of liked the vast expanse of rolling prairie. There's something less desolate about it than the vast expanse of nothingness that was Nevada. Anyway, I stayed at a hotel in Lawrence, Kansas (no bedbugs, but I still didn't sleep very well because of my active imagination). I drove up and down the town's main historic drag, Massachusetts Avenue, before picking a little cafe for breakfast, coffee, and internet surfing. And, because I had a feeling that my LAST day of driving would probably be the most painful, I stopped at a used book store a few blocks down and bought a book on CD (My Dream of You, by Nuala O'Faolain, which I had tried to read ages ago but never finished). Seriously, the hours just FLEW. I was actually a little disappointed when I got to St. Paul in the middle of the 5th (of 6) discs.

Good things about being back in Minnesota:
1. My bed! My very own bed!
2. Not having to look at directions every time I drive somewhere. As exciting as it is to be someplace new, it's also comforting to be surrounded by the familiar.
3. Wednesday Quiz Night at Tracy's Saloon
4. Knowing exactly when A Prairie Home Companion is going to be on the radio
5. Rediscovering the rest of my wardrobe. It's like going on a shopping spree! For another week, at least, until I get sick of everything again and complain about having nothing to wear.
6. The generosity of Kelly and Ben, my temporary housemates, and their dog Walter, who keeps me company while they're at work
7. Friends. My lovely, lovely friends.

Oh, and it snowed 6 inches yesterday. Welcome back to Minnesota, indeed.