Poutine
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My friend Heidi humored me at happy hour with a photo. We also tried the Canadian specialty, poutine, a combination of fries, cheese curds and gravy. Not for the faint of heart.
Peter Pan
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I love peanut butter. A lot. And not just any peanut butter, but Peter Pan peanut butter. While growing up, PB on toast was on my morning menu for as long as I can remember. Every few weeks, I’d reach into the pantry to find a new jar, with a special message carved out by my mom.
Crack Stacks
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Residents of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood are ethnically diverse, many of whom currently are immigrants from Northeast Africa and Somalia. The 39-story Riverside Plaza apartment building (one of six buildings) stands out next to I-94 and I-35 and not necessarily in a good way. While the panels were recently upgraded to the original palette of primary colors, I’m not a fan of modernist and brutalist architecture.
I lived on the West Bank during my first two years of college, and we often referred to the buildings as the “Crack Stacks” or “Ghetto in the Sky,” likely for reasons more imagined than real. Today, it’s earned the nickname of “Little Somalia” or “Little Mogadishu.” For a farm boy fresh to the big city, this stretch of Cedar Avenue was a curious contrast in diversity, compared to my hometown. In the fall of ’99, I walked down the street once, and ever since, it’s been a drive-by experience to connect with I-94 or Hwy 55. After a decade plus of city living, life experiences, and world travel, it hardly seems intimidating anymore. There’s a lot of history in this area, and maybe this will be my year to explore it.
Foshay
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In 10-foot tall letters, the Foshay Tower still proudly glows among the Minneapolis skyscrapers. Built in 1929, it was the first skyscraper built west of the Mississippi and remained the tallest building in Minneapolis through 1971.
Sidewalk Talk
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Wielding a professional looking camera yields conversations that normally wouldn’t come your way. As I was eyeing the flowers to frame up my next shot, a stranger walking by interrupted me and asked if I was doing a school project. (I live next to a community college.) We chatted for about two minutes, and as the person was about to leave, they said, “You know, your eyes are something else.” “Oh really?,” I countered.
They continued, “Have you ever been…You should be a…uh, what’s the word….” I waited patiently for them to complete their thought. “…an eye model?” they asked. Hmm, now that’s a career option I’ve never set sight on.
Petals
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When you carry a camera everywhere you go, you’ll find things to photograph in the oddest places. Like the church flower bed.
Goldy’s Run
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I woke up at 5:30am on a Saturday. Voluntarily. Today was Goldy’s Run, a 10 mile course along the Mississippi River on East River Road and West River Parkway with a finish in the Minnesota Gophers TCF Bank Stadium.
While snacking on Nutella on bread, I did some stretching and had a little dance off to Good Feeling by Flo Rida. Thou would think I was auditioning for a Will Ferrell movie on dancing. Thou might even have been awestruck by my arm flailing. But Thou weren’t there.
It was a beautiful day for a run, and I finished in good time. Of the couple thousand people there, I didn’t find my two college friends who ran the 5K, but surprisingly ran into a friend from work and we celebrated with a stop at BW3’s at 10:30am.
In the afternoon, I helped and learned how to install fiberglass insulation in my buddy’s garage in Shakopee. In case you are wondering, I actually did work, but did stop for two minutes to take photos. The night ended in Uptown visiting with five college friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in nearly nine years. What a day it’s been!
Spaghetti
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Either my food photography is getting better, or I’m being less critical. I took 15 photos of this spaghetti compared to 140 photos of this dessert. And before you judge my culinary capabilities, those are not in fact sliced hot dogs. They are turkey brats, thank you very much!
041212
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As the day was dawning, I shot this awning on my walk to work. I thought it was a fitting number given the date 04-12-12. It’s also the last four digits of my phone number.
Checkmate
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My bathroom scale talked back to me today. As the numbers dipped and rose, it finally stabilized and then both startled me and silently goaded: Checkmate. You’re overweight.
The seams of my slim fit shirts had been giving early warning signs. I will admit that I gained a stone since moving to Minneapolis. I prefer to say a stone like the British, because everything they say sounds more interesting. Even weight gain.
It’s funny because last summer I reached my best fitness level. Ever. Training for long distance running will do that. I’ve decided that I need to make a game of losing. And, to get in the game, you’ve gotta have goals. This spring, I’ve signed up for five races of varying lengths: a 1 mile down Nicollet Mall, a 5K (done!), a 10K, a 10-Mile and a half marathon. That should provide enough motivation because if you don’t suffer through training, you’ll later suffer the consequences (or embarrassment). Game on!
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