Pictures!
With no school year to mark the time for me anymore, I guess summer ends with the Minnesota State Fair. There’s probably a meteorological date or something, but lamb on a stick is a better way to mark the seasons.
I’m ending summer with a new view of the skyline, but I’m still in Minneapolis.
Tader and I went to Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota. Let me tell you, this thing is in the middle of nowhere.
After the series of dirt roads we got to climb through thick woods on a path filled with roots, boulders and wasps! Harley stuck his nose right in the wasp nest. Both dogs were stung and we could hear the screams from the hikers behind us.
…but the view was pretty.
Tader was all about the view…but I think the dogs and I preferred the lake at the foot of Eagle Mountain.
The last time I visited the Minnesota State Fair it was right before the start of a school year. This year’s fair visit was missing the subtext of school and employment related angst so I could concentrate on overeating everything on a stick.
I stayed away from classic fair fare such as cheese curds because greasy food makes me deathly ill. I did have lamb on a stick and bratwurst though. Pictures after the jump.
We made an unplanned visit to Silver Creek Cliff during our trek to Grand Marais because someone had a business call.
The dogs and I explored as Tader sat on a boulder with his iPhone and iPad.
My boyfriend doesn’t listen to me.
I told him that I did not want a birthday president. I don’t like celebrating my birthday and I think gifts are unnecessary hassles. So what does he do? He arranges a weekend in Grand Marais. Ugh.
And of course it’s fun and intensely beautiful.
Tader and I spent the bulk of the weekend recording episodes for Listener’s Discretion Advised, a popular gay podcast hosted by Margie Pederson. There is a public health STD/awareness angle in there somewhere, but most of it is catty talk spirited debate. Topics included: open relationships, gay club life, moving in with a loved one, and gay stereotypes.
It was a totally classy affair.
We signed the lease to our new place today. So of course the dogs and I spent most of our time at Lake of the Isles.
It’s a full circle moment. Remember how aggravating the housing search was when I first moved to Minnesota? Well, the post-law school housing search with dogs was even worse, and everyone’s over it.
In my bedroom…
At $1,460, the Stone Arch unit is a little spendy, but the next cheapest place in the building is at $1,700 so we to check it out.
The management office at the building didn’t get back to Tader all week, so the plan is to show up and see if we can look at the apartment. The office manager calls as we pull into the parking lot – they leased the $1,460 and the $1,700 unit this morning. Sorry.
Our fabulous gay landlord called us this morning and said that he rented the unit to another couple. We were suddenly screwed again. Tader was inconsolable.
Things turned around in the afternoon. I showed my apartment to two couples who drooled at the thought of a two-bedroom dog-friendly unit for $780. I told them that the rent could get down to $590, which would be a little over $300 per person with the utilities.
We had three showings today. Before the first showing I decided to call some random listings in the neighborhood. I was on the phone with one of the leads when Tader picked me up to drive to our first showing. When we pulled up to the building I realized that I just spent 20 minutes talking to the guy that Tader already vetted.
Me: “Um, sorry, Nevermind about that 7:30 showing. Apparently the boyfriend already talked to you and we are here for a 5pm showing!”
Landlord: “Oh, you’re Tader’s boyfriend?”
Me: “Yep! And we are here!”
Of course the landlord was this cute gay guy and the apartment had a lot of potential. One of the current tenants may be a hoarder, but I liked the apartment and the landlord also owns a Rottweiler! Win!
The apartment hunt began in earnest today with our first showing. The apartment was in Uptown and a very short girl in very high heels was our host. The building was about as old as mine (1920’s) and I was unamused by the pricing. The landlord wanted about $1,800 just for the dogs with $600 in deposits and almost $100 in pet rent.
This weekend’s apartment hunt turned ugly today when dozens of building managers and real estate agents called us back. The theme? The Rottweiler is a deal breaker.
We spent the weekend apartment hunting in St. Paul. We even became regulars at Salut Bar Americain, which is a super cute place by Grand.
MIA the past few weeks? Me? What?
The last two weeks were normal on one level. I was busy living the Minneapolis yuppie life: work, long dog walks at the lakes, clubs, drag shows, cooking disasters, restaurants, cafes, museums, crazy hobos…
Tader and I went to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden for lawn ornament ideas. No garden is complete without a dwarf and a giant cherry.
My favorite sculpture was this one:
Imagine if you had this in your bedroom growing up. I can see myself hanging a Chucky doll in there at night to introduce the kids to Halloween. Is that mean?
