Highs of 12F, Lows of -3F.

I had some personal time, yesterday, to see some parts of downtown Minneapolis. Foremost in my agenda was to get proper winter head gear, especially since weather reports for this coming week have temperatures falling to -3F. Yes, Fahrenheit. I can only begin to imagine what that's going to feel like, but I will say that I've already revised my view of what cold means. Prior to this trip, anything sub-zero in the Celsius scale would start freaking me out -- I think I over-estimated the actual temperature a few years ago when we were caught in a wind during a debate tournament in Toronto.

In the same way that you would be crazy to stand for more than a couple of minutes under the noon time tropical sun during summer, it is equally daft to go out into a Minnesota street during the winter improperly protected. I ended up getting a great deal on a good wool scarf and hat on sale in Macy's (P.S. I couldn't find crap in Target, which I had expected to be more helpful). I would have been ready to spring for earmuffs and a face mask had I actually seen any for sale, much less any stylish ones. I caught a glimpse of more than a couple of people who had some nice things on, though most people were more ho-hum, I don't know perhaps it's a MidWest thing. I bow to some of these Japanese winter fashionistas tromping around Narita airport.

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Deliberately avoided Mall of America for shopping this weekend. Aside from the fact that once done with shopping I'd be stuck in the middle of nowhere, I didn't get the greatest vibe during a quick visit for dinner earlier in the week. It's a big place, but it seemed sad, and the goods boring, or boringly displayed. The Gucci and Prada shoes at Nordstrom seemed sad.

So my game plan was to wander around Nicollet Mall, a shopping strip not a mall with the major buildings connected to each other by way of a 2nd level skyway. It was a great relief to use these enclosed bridges rather than walk in the cold at street level. It's while navigating these skyways that someone asked me for directions to a particular shop, which I promptly supplied. A guilty pretentious pleasure of mine: being mistaken for a local. It happens all the time, and partially because I have the audacity, I think, to feel as if I am local. Made my day, even though it's "just" being a Minneapolis local.

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Found a nice independent book store. Couldn't find the right book to buy, either content or price-wise. Rats. It would have been better for me, if it was a library. I would have plopped down and read for a couple of hours...they were piping in some pretty good Jazz, though I didn't get to ask the proprietor what it was. While going through the shelves, I was reminded of the various Minnesota characters I had serendipitously bumped into a few weeks prior to leaving: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Garrison Keillor(!), and that damn movie A Prarie Home Companion. That dang radio show actually goes live at the Fitzgerland Theater at nearby St. Paul every week. Ok, now I want to watch it, even if I found the movie a bit of a chore. Aside from writing books my Dad reads, and hosting that radio show, he also writes for the Tribune paper here. Keillor is everywhere.

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PS. the following phrases are supposedly MidWestern in origin: "You betcha," "Aw Jeez," "You're darn tootin', "Okie-Dokie," "Yup," "Be there in a jif," and "Yah.


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More next week: winter sports, hi-tech offices, asian food, culture and theatre

Minneapolis

Hi guys, just letting you all know that I'm flying tomorrow morning to the US for work for the next two to three weeks. This coming week I'll be in Minneapolis (Brr), and later on probably New York and San Francisco. Let me know if our paths may possibly cross!