This morning’s commute was a tad unusual. I saw a huge fireball in the distance on 35W, and then saw flames shoot up hundreds of feet.
This morning’s commute was a tad unusual. I saw a huge fireball in the distance on 35W, and then saw flames shoot up hundreds of feet.
Nathan and I leave Pagoda and get on the highway to the movie theater. There is a light rain. Traffic is horrible.
We sit in traffic for a while before we see the accident: one car smashed into a metal barrier, front crumbled, airbags deployed. Two goofy-looking teens stand next to the car in the rain.
Ahead is a SUV facing the wrong direction in the middle of the road. The driver is a frantic-looking blond girl. Traffic moves around her car on the shoulder.
Yesterday’s video shoot did not go as planned.
I left work and got my hair fixed in Uptown. The salon was packed with gays and lesbians because everyone needed a hair-update before pride. I almost asked for a cut similar to this lesbian, but I already had a plan for the style that I wanted.
I wait for my stylist for about 30 minutes and awkwardly avoid eye contact with one of my gay professors and his partner. This professor is visibly uncomfortable interacting with gay students outside of school.
The professor is uncomfortable.
I get uncomfortable because he’s uncomfortable.
He gets more uncomfortable…so do I…and it’s just terrible.
These are some pictures I took of1 35W ruins on campus last month.
Drake was also on my list of possible law schools. The Des Moines area experienced some major flooding the next summer, shortly before I committed to going to UMN law. It felt like a disaster avoided.
The new I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge opened a month after I moved to Minneapolis. Around that time the Washington Avenue pedestrian bridge was also deemed unsafe.
The Washington Avenue bridge remained under construction for most of the semester and the area that was “safe” to use kept getting smaller, and smaller. There was also this ridiculous situation of bikers plowing through pedestrians in the 14-foot safe area. The school eventually posted cops in the bridge to ticket people who biked across the bridge.
I think those cops should have been devoted to catching the mystery bike groper sooner, but I don’t know if that would have actually worked…
1 At least that’s what I think they are.
This is my view 20 minutes before my Professional Responsibility class starts:
I am on the off-ramp of 35W1 when this random blond lady passes my car on the grass of the off-ramp.
I take 35W home from work. 35W is a big-honking highway that is under never-ending-construction.1
I suspect the city started closing all of the highway lanes at night, because on my home from work the traffic is backed up for miles. Even at 10pm on weeknights! Unholler.
And yet, I always forget about the construction until I’m on 35W and spot the sea of cars ahead. The same thing happens every time: I gasp, gag a little, and then swing my car towards the nearest exit.
And then I wade towards downtown through 6 miles of residential neighborhoods. It’s a great way to get to see the city, but also a good way to get shot.2
Yesterday, during another construction-induced adventure, I saw a castle.3 Yes. I’m serious. Minneapolis has a small castle:
It’s the American Swedish Institute, a Swedish cultural center:
The American Swedish Institute is a historic house, museum, and cultural center located near downtown Minneapolis. Swedish immigrant newspaperman Swan J. Turnblad founded the Institute in 1929.
The Turnblad mansion, which houses the Institute, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The 33-room mansion is a fine example of early 20th century chateauesque architecture. Graced with a majestic two-story grand hall, carved stone and woodwork, sculpted ceilings, and eleven floor-to-ceiling kakelugnar (Swedish porcelain tile stoves), the mansion is now a blend of period rooms and exhibit galleries. (Via the official website.)
This is the coolest thing to ever come out of a traffic jam! I think I’ll swing by next weekend and yes, I will be on the lookout for Ikea furniture…
1 Every city has one. In Miami it’s the Palmetto.
2 I always find the ghetto. Without fail.
3 Judy G., local architect has pointed out that the Swedish Institute doesn’t actually qualify as a castle. Hmmf!