MTB

The other week, I met my next door neighbor in my building, Carla.

At first, I thought she was really standoffish because we walked out of our respective apartments at the same time and she didn’t say hello.

So, standing at the elevator banks, I introduced myself to her and when we talked, I realized she was not originally from the U – S -of A.  Perhaps she was being shy when she didn’t acknowledge me or say hello.

Turns out Carla is Italian, as is her husband, Simone, who is a professional soccer (really, the word should be football) player for the Minnesota Stars, which is in the NASL (North American Soccer League), which is in the second tier in the American Soccer Pyramid.  The first tier is the Major League Soccer.  Okay, yes, I got that info from Wikipedia.

Carla is super sweet and we get along splendidly despite our 10 year age gap.  You can have friends of all ages, no?

She’s invited me over for dinner and told me that Genoa, the city from where she comes, is famous for pesto.  Perrrrrfect because I love pesto.  I can’t wait for her to cook me Italian food.

I had Carla over for some red wine a couple of days after I met her.  It worked out well because Simone was traveling for work.  What a perfect match for us two to meet — I’ve been miserable (ok, miserable is a little extreme) out here — missing NYC and the awful weather that doesn’t seem to let up.  Loneliness is getting the best of me as of late.

To makes things even better, Carla and Simone introduced me to some of their teammates.  Nice eye candy, if you ask me.  By default, if you’re a soccer player, that just makes you automatically HOT doesn’t it?  Granted, they’re all a good decade or so younger than me, it doesn’t hurt to go out and be distracted once in a while, right?  And plus, a good number of them thought I was around their age so that boosted my ego a bunch.  Like, A BUNCH.  And then I come home and feel super old all over again when I see on FB that all my friends are done having kids.

I can’t understand why I feel like I’m 25?  It’s not like I was robbed of my childhood?  Maybe it’s all those years I wasted in the modeling and acting world?  Five years down the drain.  I suppose that should make me around 30.  Well, that’s not so bad.

Here’s a photo of Minnesota Stars post-game crowd I went to watch last Saturday:

You know, lots of things are pretty cheap in Minneapolis.  Food, drinks, general cost of living like apartment rentals, etc. relative to other major cities.

However, there are things that are ridiculously expensive and I have no choice but to go with the prices.

Like, the other night, I was going home from being out in downtown (remember, I live in downtown) and the place where I was was just a tad too far to walk home — probably a little over 2 miles away from home.  I hopped in a taxi and it was TEN DOLLARS to go two miles.  No joke.

Yesterday, I went to the shoe repair to get some tips of heels replaced (ladies, you know what I’m talking about) and originally, the shopowner said it would be about $30 dollars to do two pairs of shoes.  So, I asked if that included a shine and cleaning of the shoes.  He said to include that it would bump up the price to $40.  Seriously.  I had no choice!  I had to do it. I love those two pairs of shoes:  they’re comfy, pumps, and good to wear to work.

Another thing is that I brought the shoes in on a Saturday and he said he wouldn’t get them done til Thursday.  Almost a week to get them done!

My dad would have called it a robbery without a gun.  They’re running a racket!

At the shoe repair around the corner from me in NYC, it was something like $8 per pair of shoes and the dude would have them done the next day!

Let me tell you — if you want to be rolling in the dough, come out to Minneapolis and start one of these services businesses.  Dayam.

Don’t even get me started on the dry cleaning.  Prices are through the roof.

Yesterday I went to the Dinkytown area of Minneapolis, where the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities is.

It’s the other U of M.  The second rated U of M.  It always makes me think twice when people out here talk about the U of M.  They ain’t talkin’ Wolverines — they mean the University of Minnesota.  We all know the real U of M (University of MICHIGAN) is far superior, even the Minnesotans know that but they’re not willing to admit it.

Ok, I kid.  Sort of.

Dinkytown is cute.  It’s totally the college town area of Minneapolis:

This is a shop where they apparently sell “U of M” gear.  I’ll never be caught dead in Gopher gear.  Or “gold.”  Whatever they’re colors are.  I’m sure I will figure it out eventually.  I didn’t pay too much attention to it when I was walking through the area.

Needless to say, a stroll through Dinkytown and being around college kids made me really miss my college days.

My, how fun and carefree it was.

Sometimes being a responsible adult (or trying to be) sucks.

No, I’m not talking about the feeling that one gets when they think they have experienced something already again.

I’m talking about the STRIP CLUB!!  Yeah, baby!!

Today, I went running in my neighborhood, which is downtown Minneapolis.  I love running down here because it’s good peeps watching opps.  Lots of freaks out there in the Mini Apple — freaks don’t just exist in the Big Apple!  Who knows, people might be looking at me like I’m the freak.  Freakiness is in the eye of the beholder.

Anywho, today I made it down past the local Deja Vu.  And I can’t tell you how proud I am of the fact that I went from being born in raised in Saginaw, MI where there is another “branch” of Deja Vu to start my business career in a city that also has a “branch” of Deja Vu.  Wow.  Classy.

I looked for a logo of Deja Vu online to post on here and strangely enough, they don’t have a website.  That’s weird?!?  Or is it?  I don’t know how the porn industry works.  Wait, are strip clubs considered to be in the porn industry?

I’m happy to say I don’t know the answer to that.  Help me out, peeps.

I can’t believe it really happened.  It’s just so unbelievable and was such a long time coming that I sort of think that we should be asking if the man killed in the Pakistan mansion is really Osama Bin Laden.

Yes, I know it has been a long time since I’ve posted on the blog but I felt like this event was everything blog-worthy and more and hopefully the impetus to get me writing on the blog again.

I mentioned in my other blog that I used to work in the World Trade Center until 9/11/2001.  I was supposed to go into work that day, to Tower 2, 70th floor at 1pm.  Needless to say, that didn’t happen that day and never again thereafter.

I can’t say I would ever wish death upon anyone and not certainly in the manner in which it was done.  But, Osama Bin Laden was an evil man and I guess what it comes down to is that 9/11 needed vengeance and that ultimate vengeance was his demise.  And more importantly, he has been stopped from doing more harm to innocent people.

Today has been an emotional day.  I think about all the lives lost and that the man most responsible for the loss has finally been taken care of and justice has been served.

Mostly, I think about all the innocent lives that were lost and how heartbreaking and sorrowful 9/11/2001 was.  I hope the families of all the victims can find some solace in the fact that the mastermind behind this is no longer in existence.