A microcosm of my neighborhood
July 22, 2010
It would be easy to answer the question ???what do you use every day???? with the obvious answer of ???eyeglasses??? or ???computer??? or ???toilet.??? But a more un-obvious answer is this crosswalk at Cedar Avenue and what would be 5th Street if 5th Street went all the way through. And on either side of the crossing are bars that represent the diversity of the neighborhood.
You will recall from my post a couple of days ago I mentioned that the majority in the neighborhood is African immigrants. There are also some southeast Asians. But in this case by diversity, I???m talking about the white Americans in the area, which borders two different university campuses. We whites range from 20-something college students to aging nuts-and-love hippies. I fall in the middle of that spectrum. I spent many years in college but I am no longer 20-something or even close to it, and neither my parents nor I were ever hippies, though I do remember making daisy crowns as a child.
In the morning when I use the crosswalk, I get a minute or two to study the hippy and drunk neighborhood institution, Palmer???s Bar. Palmer???s is referred to, at times even lovingly, as a dive. I???ve never actually been inside. When I pass it in the morning on my way to work, I do occasionally see people making a beeline for the door. Whether they are employees or patrons, I couldn???t say, other than to note that I never seem to same people twice. Other than that one woman. But she did not appear to be on her way to work.
In the afternoon, I pass by Nomad World Pub. This place I have spent a few dollars in. They have a good beer list and, as I now recall, this is where I first saw Romantica, as they were the band-in-residence for a few Thursdays a couple of summers ago. This is where the college kids hang out and play bocci ball. This is the bar that hired in a giant screen tv to their parking lot for the important (read: USA and finals) World Cup matches. On summer nights when I have my windows open, I am quite able to hear the live music, because they leave their back door open. Also, they use to have an animated rabbit graphic on their web page. Unlike Palmer???s, I often see the same man hanging around the Nomad and I take him to be the owner.
Recently, the crosswalk was upgraded. It always had the lights and the button to trigger the right-of-way. But now it speaks. It says, ???Wait ??? ??? ??? wait ??? ??? ??? wait ??? ??? ?????? When you push the button for the walk light???which seems like it takes FOREVER to change???it then says in a reassuring male voice, ???Cedar Avenue. Walk light is on to cross . . . . . Cedar Avenue. Walk light is on to cross . . . . . ?????
Unless it is before 8:30am when traffic is heavier, I don???t usually push the button, I just jaywalk, or jaybike as it were. In the afternoon I???m on the side of the road I need, so I don???t use the right-of way (the Nomad-looking photo of the crossing was staged, I confess), though I do use the wheelchair ramp to the sidewalk, being on wheels myself. About?? half the time I have to excuse a pedestrian out of my way.
Yep, you never knew a crosswalk could be so interesting, did you?
Life is but a dream
July 21, 2010
In an alternate universe, maybe dogs would be allowed on the lawns at Wimbledon. In an alternate universe, maybe I???d still be in London.
It has only been half a month since I returned from my London vacation, but already it???s a distant memory and hardly feels like it happened at all. Maybe I was just dreaming that I finally got to meet the world???s best dog, Casper. Maybe I was just dreaming that puny little me was actually inside the ground at Wimbledon. I stepped off the airplane with no plans of how to spend my nine days in London, except knowing that I wanted to go to Wimbledon because I was there during the time of the tournament.
In hindsight, I probably should have walked around looking at things more, since I was there. It was the day of the men???s semifinal matches and once Dan and I found a prime spot at the base of Henman Hill from which to watch Andy Murray???s match, we didn???t much move.
Dumb as it sounds, it was very exciting seeing in person things that I had seen on television for years. There were Centre Court and No. 1 Court. There were the prim and proper ushers keeping everyone in place. There were off-duty ball-boys and -girls giggling with each other. There were rowdy fans demonstrating national pride. There were the proper strawberries and cream; we had stopped at Tesco and bought some there.
And let???s not forget that there was yet another large hill to climb to get to the neighborhood. It seemed like every day, there was a breath-sapping hill to climb. Perhaps it was the alternate universe. In my previous visits, I sure didn???t remember London as being so hilly, except for getting up to the observatory at Greenwich.
We took Casper out to parks a few times. Maybe when he was chasing his beloved tennis ball he was really thinking about running on a finely dressed grass court at Wimbledon. It would have been a gas to set foot on a court. I remember what a cheap thrill it was when I took five steps out onto the field once at the Metrodome here in Minneapolis. In an alternate universe, maybe I would be a tournament finalist.
Okay, back to reality.??
Smile and the world smiles with you
July 20, 2010
We could all use more smiles in our lives. From a young age, I remember my mom sometimes saying, ???Smile and the world smiles with you.?????
Smiles are infectious.
In my daily goings out and about I have belatedly semi-embraced a philosophy that a friend of mine was mature and unselfish enough to embrace twenty-five years ago. He said that he couldn???t in good conscience pass by his fellow human beings on the street without making eye contact and acknowledging their existence. I don???t remember if he included a smile with that.
In recent times, perhaps since I moved to my new, scarier neighborhood four-and-a-half years ago, I have been more willing to make that eye contact. Maybe it???s simply a component of self-preservation. I believe that the nefarious types will be less likely to cause trouble if you acknowledge them and indicate that they don???t necessarily intimidate you. And if you give them a half-smile to boot, maybe you take even more power back.
Also, as a white, native, American, I am quite in the minority in this neighborhood which is populated largely by immigrants from eastern Africa, mostly Somalia. They tend to get a bad rap from whites like me who may not consider that, as usual, it???s a few bad apples who spoil it for everyone. I want to be friendly. When I make eye contact, smile, and perhaps say ???good morning,??? most of my neighborhood cohabitants respond with a surprised smile, then reply with their own pleased greeting. I like to think I???m doing my small part to foster good will in the neighborhood.
That eye contact and smile follows me downtown when I go to work. There I find people who are by and large like me, but the reaction is the same???slightly stunned and then, in kind. I don???t know, it just feels a little good.
I???m not looking for a pat on the back and I???m pretty sure I don???t want you to start talking to me. But I know I like having my existence acknowledged and figure you might feel the same way.
Smile and the world smiles with you.
Oddly enough, I’ve not yet talked about one of my great food loves, salad. Or at least not that I’ve previously keyworded. In addition to pizza, I also always enjoy a good salad, especially if there’s a lot of it. And eating salad from these large stoneware bowls brings me happiness.
I have loved these dishes pretty much from the time I got them. They, and their smaller siblings of which I also have two, were part of a Rainbow Foods store deal; the pattern is called Pinwheel. I originally bought them to use as salad dishes for my at-the-time two rabbits. They came in four colors—the red and eggplant purple pictured, as well as mustard yellow and khaki green. I decided just a little too late that I should have bought four complete place settings with plates, cups and saucers, and all the rest. A large factor in the delay was that I didn’t know which color I wanted to focus on. I also already have three different sets of dishes.
So gradually I commandeered them from my rabbit(s) (what choice did they really have?) and they are now the preferred vessel for my own salads. I particularly think that the purple one sets off the veggie colors quite nicely.
As far as ingredients bffs go, there are four, all pictured. I already knew that I liked the tortilla+refried beans+cheese combo. But I have only relatively recently come to the variations of each that I now favor, plus the fourth brand-new one.
I have loved cheese and used tortillas forever, and for at least a decade have embraced whole beans as well. More recently I realized that refried beans are my friend—the mashing is already done!
Most recently, I tried the Cruz whole wheat tortillas. They are moist and not at all barky and are more nutritious than corn or white flour versions. On a whim, instead of plain refried beans, I dared to pick up a can of refried beans with green chilies. So good! For over a year, pepperjack cheese has been my overall go-to cheese. I use it in cheesy frittatas for breakfast, sometimes in my homemade egg/muffin sandwiches, and almost exclusively in the tortilla situation.
The surprise entry to delicious is the tomatillo. The Cub Foods where I do most of my shopping (because, I kid you not, they are the only store that sells a pound of spring mix salad greens for only $6.99) stocks heavily on the hispanic ingredients (and if I should use a term other than hispanic, do pardon me please). When I am strolling through the produce department picking up my usual tomatoes, onions, zucchinis, mushrooms, bell peppers, and sweet corn, I always think about the suggestion that each time you go to the store, you pick up one thing you’ve never tried before. It seems like a good idea, but I hardly ever do it spontaneously if it’s not something I need for a recipe.
But this time I did. Hello, tomatillo, my new best friend in kitchen, particularly in the context of tortilla+refried beans (with chilies)+cheese (pepperjack), as well as onions and peppers. You are the finishing touch that this amalgamation was looking for. You are a member of the nightshade family, like the tomato, but you have such a different, more savory, somewhat chile-y flavor. You are perfect for thinly slicing and adding, just before I grate the pepperjack. Bake at 400° for fifteen minutes and you have a simple masterpiece.
Apple-flavored Kool-Aid
June 17, 2010
Despite my best effort, I do not have an iPhone 4 pre-ordered or even merely reserved. Why? Because Apple??AT&T decided to discriminate against people who, for whatever reasons, only have a debit card and not a credit card.
My own story is that I had personal bankruptcy effective December 31, 2004. I have found it surprisingly easy to lead a cash-based existence. I suppose that???s in part because banks for a long time have given you VISA debit cards, so I can pretend that I have a ???charge??? card, even though it comes (relatively) right out of my checking account.
That was all fine and dandy until yesterday, Day of the iPhone 4 Pre-Order. Yesterday, Day of the iPhone 4 Pre-Order, was the first time I have ever run into a SNAFU because my card is debit not credit.
At lunchtime, I made my way over to the downtown AT&T store because that was most convenient. I drank the Apple Kool-Aid a long time ago, as I believe I have mentioned previously, and would have preferred checking in at one of their stores, but as it was a non-weekend workday, I made do with what was available.
I can???t blame anybody but myself for this lack of fulfillment. I arrived at the AT&T store where the line-managing concierge made a frequent point of mentioning that debit cards would not be accepted and that if that was all you had, you should save yourself some agony and turn back now. I smugly watched three people ahead of me in the line of nine bail. I am an experienced Apple line-waiter. I stayed.
Oh, and I also answered to at least two passersby who wondered what the line was for, that AT&T was giving away a million dollars but that they should keep it on the down-low.
Yeah, then reality set in.
My turn with a CSR came and I had an enjoyable fifteen minutes with Zach while he waited for the overloaded AT&T and Apple systems to process each screen of information. Then came the Moment of Doom. I realized that my card was debit not credit.
It???s not that I???m dumb. I know the charges come right out of my checking account. But I???ve never been denied, because the card with the VISA logo, etc., is supposed to work “everywhere VISA is accepted.??? Right. Apparently not in Cupertino, California??AT&Tland.
The official line is that in previous pre-order situations, people were confused because a ???hold??? is placed on the total $$, though (as usual) the account activity doesn???t occur until the purchase is shipped. People less smart than I did not comprehend that it was not an actual duplicate removal of funds. Apple??AT&T decided not to deal with the questions this time around.
Freakin??? awesome.
I tried to be interested in picking up something for lunch on the way back to the office, then decided I???d see what would happen if I tried pre-ordering online at the Apple website. The first two attempts failed. The third attempt denied me for some reason other than my debit card, because I never got so far as being asked to enter the number. But what it did ask me was whether I wanted to ???reserve??? one at a store to pick up on the Day of Release. YES, PLEASE.
I then got a friendly web page that said something to the effect of ???thank you, your iPhone will be ready for you to pick up.??? There was no subsequent email confirmation. I was nervous that I had any kind of deal.
In the evening I saw the headline informing the world that AT&T stores had sold out of their allotted pre-orders. Skepticism crept closer.
This morning I tried the Apple site again and saw that instead of ???Ships: Arrives on June 24th??? it said ???Ships: By July 2nd.??? After lunch it said ???Ships: By July 14th.??? What?
Then I saw the headline that over 600,000 iPhone 4s had been pre-ordered. Whoa! Panic!
I called the store where I thought I might have an iPhone 4 on reserve. Nope, they didn???t have me on their list and, of course, I couldn???t be added.
My main motivation for wanting to acquire an iPhone 4 on the day of its release is because I???m leaving for ten days in London the next day, and my current iPhone 1 (bless its Edge network soul) is beat up and cracked, and water seeped into those cracks a few weeks ago and caused the top half of the touch screen to no longer work. Although I have gotten quite adept at creatively rotating the thing to accomplish tasks, there are some important actions that I can???t do, such as dial a phone number with the keypad.
So it???s down to this. I will draw on my line-waiting experience at an Apple Store around dawn on June 24th and hope for the best. If the iPhone 4 stock has been depleted by the time it???s my turn, I will instead get the $99 iPhone 3GS and figure out the rest (with regard to contracts and upgrade prices) later. I really want to take something that is fully functional in every way with me on my trip.
Horoscope versus real life
June 10, 2010
Today I compared the predictions with real life. That I used the horoscope from The Onion should??give a clue as to my general attitude toward such things.
I am a Cancer. A moon child. That explains a lot.
I was originally going to use Yahoo???s horoscope because it???s right there on my homepage. I??looked both yesterday (in anticipation) and today (in practice). The daily predictions were thus:
???Friends in need aren’t anything new???you actually tend to attract them, and you don’t mind so??much. You send out subtle signals that let others know you’re the most trustworthy of friends. Right??now, in fact, those traits are amped up, so no matter who comes to you, even just for a quick hug,??you go above and beyond the call of duty. Don’t be surprised if you end up with a long-term friend.???
???You’re feeling especially chatty and friendly???which means you’re much more easily tempted than??usual to let a hot secret slide. If it’s your own and you don’t mind the world knowing, go for it???sharing a confidence can be a great way to bond. If it’s shared or someone else’s entirely, think??twice before you have at it. Why risk a current relationship to entice a new one????
Omigod, they???re almost true.??
Monday I learned that my downtown place where I work out is closing due to financial issues. I??was apparently one of only two or three members in whom the proprietress Pam confided extra??information. She was not merely trying to sell the business due to ???changes in personal??circumstances??? (the general notice to members) but because she is in arrears for rent and is being??evicted.
Yesterday, the first day of the horoscope, I shared with her that I had gone through personal??bankruptcy in 2004. That sort of opened the floodgates and I gathered that because of credit card??misuse due to na??vet??, she, too, is facing bankruptcy, though likely business rather than personal.??I???m usually the latest person working out, so there were no privacy concerns as we continued the??conversation after I was finished. I ended up giving her a hug that was appropriate but which??ended up being a little uncomfortably long. But she needed it, so that was okay. I don???t think we???ll??be friends after this chapter ends, but she???s been good to me in the fifteen months that I???ve been a??member.
Since Monday when I learned of the goings on, I had felt like I wanted to give Pam and Betty, the??other woman who I saw most often, parting mementos, but I had no idea what. What do you give??people who you see often and appreciate and maybe even feel affection for yet you don???t know too??intimately? When I got home last night, I spied the answer on my windowsill???two houseplant??babies that have been living in a jar for far too long that I hadn???t been in a hurry to pot because I??already have plenty.
Then I got all sappy and was thinking of the reasons why I???d give when I presented Pam and Betty??with the plants. You know, the clich??s like, now you???ll have the chance to experience a new??opportunity, this plant is a symbol of something new coming from something that???s ending, so on??and so forth. I wanted to say that they were simply small tokens of my gratitude and affection for a??healthy year and a quarter. But I said none of that, other than that I just wanted to do a little??something.
Today, I knew that Betty was opening so, not wishing to miss what might be my last opportunity to??see her, I left a message at my office saying I???d be a little late arriving because I had to make a stop??on the way in. I left both plants with Betty and she didn???t give much away, but I think she was??touched. When I got to to work, I told another Pam the whole story. While we weren???t exactly??bonding any more than we already have from working together for fifteen years, and there was??nothing at risk by my sharing one Pam???s story with the other Pam, it was interesting to note how??real life very loosely corresponded to the horoscope.
The story above is what I was going to relate for my comparison of horoscope versus real life.
Then I got sidetracked by the charm of The Onion‘s Scorpio horoscope for my friend Meghan: ???Everyone??wants to live forever, but in your case it would just mean more time being chased by an angry??swarm of bees.???
I found my own, for Cancer: ???The hounds of hell will be at your door this week, clawing furiously to??be let out and use the bathroom.??? At first I thought, that???s dumb. Then I realized that this week I am??working on revisions on a project for a client whose reasons for wanting the things they want I find??nearly impossible to understand, and how, because they???re a fairly new client, my boss instills the??utmost urgency in us for the things they need, like they???re going to pee their pants or something if??they don???t get it.
Spooky.
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image??by??vampirebeth1
The day in bike ride: June 6, 2010
June 7, 2010
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I did the 20-mile bike ride again today. The forecast called for unsettled weather in the afternoon, but I chose to defy the gods and set out. This time I had the photo plan in mind from the outset so this time the pictures are on the even mile marks. I mostly took them in motion looking straight ahead, unless there was something interesting to the side. I decided you didn???t need to see my mug in every shot this time.
Photo 1, mile 0. Stop at the neighborhood bicycle shop to blow up my tires. It was breezy so I figured if my tires were nice and plump, I???d have a better time of it.
Photo 2, mile 1. Mississippi River. Apparently it was Mile 7 for the Minneapolis Marathon. Oh great, am I going to have to dodge joggers all ride?
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Photo 3, mile 2. Mississippi River, Mile 8 for the marathon.
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Photo 4, mile in-between. A party on the lawn at the American Danish Institute.
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Photo 5, mile 3. Mississippi River
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Photo 6, mile 3.5. Mississippi River. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
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Photo 7, mile 4. Mississippi River, Godfrey Parkway, road to the Lock & Dam #1.
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Photo 8, mile 5. Minnehaha Creek
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Photo 9, mile 6. In between Lakes Hiawatha and Nokomis. Lifeguards on duty.
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Photo 10, mile 7. Minnehaha Creek and Parkway
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Photo 11, mile in-between. Hello, ???Cottontail on the Trail???!
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Photo 12, mile 8. Minnehaha Creek, approaching the underpass of I-35 where there is road/path construction.
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Photo 13, mile 9. Minnehaha Parkway. Two dudes in coral-colored shirts passed me. Then I showed them when there was a sharp uphill and I passed them back, without even trying. Thank you, Curves!
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Photo 14, mile 10. Approaching Lake Harriet
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Photo 15, mile 11. West side of Lake Harriet
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Photo 16, mile in-between. I did not need the hotdog stop today. However, the Inver Hills Community Band was warming up to perform in the Lake Harriet Bandshell, so I still stopped for a few minutes.
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Photos 17,18, mile 12. Between Lakes Harriet and Calhoun. There is a sightseeing trolley train that putt-putts between the lakes.
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Photos 19, mile 13. West side of Lake Calhoun. Minneapolis downtown skyline in the distance. It started raining about here.
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Photo 20, mile 14. Midtown Greenway. I took a slightly different path to the Greenway today. Had to wait for a long traffic light. It stopped raining. The sun came back out and the smell reminded me of the swimming pool in the summer when I was a kid.
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Photo 21, mile 15. Midtown Greenway, just before the Bryant Avenue access point. I used to live there. I miss it. Also, I took a slight detour off the path to go look at something that might be important in my future.
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Photo 22, mile 16. Midtown Greenway
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Photo 23, mile 17. Just before Freewheel Bicycle???s Midtown Greenway location.
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Photo 24, 25, mile 18. The fancy shmancy bridge over Hiawatha Avenue.
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Photo 26, mile 19. Hiawatha commuter trail, almost home. The awesome, ugly high-rises that are the landmark of my neighborhood.
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The mileage seems to have not quite worked out, because it’s still 20.5 miles, but you get the idea.
Flannel sheets surprise
June 5, 2010
I???ve already extolled the virtues of hot water and the morning shower. I???ve said how I love to sleep and wish I did more of it. If you have pets yourself, you know that they can melt away the day???s troubles with a well-timed purr. That these things make up a feel-good trifecta is no surprise. What does surprise me is that in the suddenly summer weather we???ve been having, my flannel sheets are not too warm.
Mother Nature has been confusing us Minnesotans this spring. I don???t waste time getting the flannel sheets onto the bed in the fall. then we had an early warm spell, so I didn???t waste time taking them off as spring approached. Trouble is, the warm didn???t last for very long and we swung to unseasonably cool temperatures. The flannel sheets make a curtain call. The cool stayed around and the flannel stayed on.
Then, practically overnight, summer made another push into the scene. Being the cynical Minnesotan that I am, it took me a long time to be convinced that it wouldn???t snow again. The flannel sheets stayed on. Then, me being me, when I did laundry, I just put them back on rather than have to fold them up.
It has continued to be summery warm. I have flung open my windows. And I am completely surprised that I haven???t been roasting sleeping in those flannel sheets. I have come to this conclusion: flannel sheets aren???t warmer than regular sheets. They just seem that way in the winter because they???re fuzzy. They aren???t cold to the initial touch when you get into bed. You don???t have to wait for your body heat to warm up the points of contact.
Last fall I was surprised when an online acquaintance who lives in central Illinois???further south, more humid???said that he leaves his flannel sheets on year round. Now I know he???s not crazy!
June 2, 2010
A thing of the past: remember pay phones?
June 5, 2010
From my office???s kitchen window, I look down on two relics from the past???public pay phones. I can???t remember the last time I used a pay phone. No, wait, I can. I was in a pub in West Drayton, London, UK (in about 2000, before Stu moved to Newcastle) and wanted to phone someone I was trying to meet up with. Though it???s true I had had a couple of beers, I remember that the concept of adding money as necessary during your conversation flummoxed me and I lacked the necessary multitasking skills.
But here in the good old U S of A, I can???t remember. Heaven knows I was not an early adopter of the cell phone, but now that I am completely portable and it???s 2010, I can???t believe that everybody doesn???t have one. Or that they wouldn???t be walking with someone who had one.
So I am always fascinated when I see someone down there using one of those babies. I think I always assume that they???re a drug dealer who doesn???t want to be traceable, or some other nefarious type.
These pictured are at Hennepin and 4th Avenues. The only other blue pay phone that I used to see was at the corner of Blaisdell Avenue and 28th Street. I thought that one had been removed because it was well-known to be a favorite of evil-doers, but in this??Street View??I see a phone book dangling which implies that there is still a telephone.
I also have to share with you this oldie???the indoor phone booth. This is in a corner of Rostamo’s Bar where I like to sing karaoke, which I???ve been going to for a few years. It was only a few months ago that I noticed it, already relieved of its device.
Don???t connect the dots
June 5, 2010
I remember my disbelief a few years ago when my coworker Pam enlightened me to the true identity of all those black spots on sidewalks. I had never really thought about it before, and it took some time and more walks for me to accept it as the truth. They are all discarded wads of gum.
It???s bad enough that people throw their cigarettes butts anywhere-ever (something I was guilty of myself when I used to smoke), but at least those can be swept up and made to disappear. Gum spit out is the gift that keeps on giving.
Now that you know, take a look around. Sure they???re everywhere, but isn???t the increased volume in areas where people queue disgusting? Just notice the next time you???re out and about. Bus stops, nightclub entrances, all befouled.
There???s just one word for it.
Kelly’s Unnecessary Blog 