WIYGW (Part 4)

After one week on the job, I had this sense of Johnny Cash's tune "I've been everywhere" (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnnycash/ivebeeneverywhere.html) (Which incidentally has been co-opted by Comfort Inns for their ad campaign). Let me tell you where I've been: New Brighton, Fridley, Blaine, Ham Lake, Isanti, Coon Rapids, Anoka, Ramsey, Maple Grove, Rogers, Crystal, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Plymouth, Golden Valley, St Louis Park, Hopkins, Wyoming and Zimmerman. These are places that I've delivered to, not just passed through. And I've discovered that there are times and places where the traffic is almost as bad as Seattle! But theses are for only brief periods of time and there are ways of getting around a tie-up. After these next nine weeks I should be able to tell you how to get around the Twin Cities with no problem.

WIYGW (part 3)

Well, the rumors are true, I finally am earning a paycheck. I started work today for the Pilkington Company, a firm that distributes auto glass to dealers and glass installers. my primary responsibility will be the delivery side, but I will also help out in picking orders from the warehouse to be loaded on trucks later. The trucks we use are equivalent to GMC Savannahs or Chevy 2500s (large vans). They have racks inside with enough room to handle up top 30 panes of glass. I load my vehicle at least twice daily before I make my runs. Again I am amazed at the scope of American business. Do you know how many different types of auto glass there is? Neither do I, but judging by the size of the warehouse, there must be at least 5000 distinct styles. Anyway it should be an interesting 10 weeks.

Food on Two Different Planets

The first planet we'll travel to is the planet Coney's (pronounced "cone-ees"). This is where Deb and I have mini-dates every Friday night. A small neighborhood establishment, they serve up some really fine and inexpensive soft-serve treats. What they are most famous for is their ability serve 24 different soft-serve flavors. Being a traditionalist I prefer straight vanilla (no psychological jokes please!). Before Deb went on her diet she favored a coffee or lemon waffle cone.
(A slight biblical aside: Coneys are mentioned in Psalm 104: "The rocks are a refuge for the coneys"! I think though that Coney's is a refuge for us.)

Perched at the corner of Dale and Maryland in beautiful St Paul

The menu which includes more traditional lunch or dinner fare.

If you can see the bottom of the menu, You will notice that there are two items not familier to many of us. The first is cheese curds, which are pretty famous around here. The second item, at the bottom, "mac&cheese wedges" I have never heard of. I have not asked how these are made, or even if they are any good. I do think that it is a strange item to carry though.
This leads us to the second planet: the Minnesota state fair, where their motto is "everything on a stick". I kid you not any and all types of food, on a stick, are available to the fair-goer. I refer to an article in today's St Paul Pioneer Press ("still only a quarter") about the latest fare that will be available this year:
http://www.twincities.com/ci_9652399
The article is entitled "Chocolate Dipped Bacon? Now that's Fair Food!" I can tell you I have never seen the likes of this at the Puyallup fair, and I am not sure they would allow it. This is definitely an alien planet!

Movies

One of the delights of not having gainful employment is the ability to watch movies in the afternoon. Going through the traditional rental sources (Blockbuster, Hollywood) can be cost prohibitive though when there is no income. However, the St Paul public library system has a wonderful collection of DVDs at their various branches. So far I've seen the "Longest Day" (3hrs long and in B&W); American Grafitti (Harrison Ford as a cowboy dragracer!); Stalag 17; and the wonderfully whimsical "Jeeves and Wooster" British TV series from 15 years ago based on P.G. Wodehouse's characters (can you imagine Hugh Laurie ["House"] as a slightly daft British aristocrat?).



By the way "the Bear" can be thanked for that bit of amusement. The best part of this system is that there are no "R" rated flics, which makes selection that much easier.

WIYGW (part 2)

So this whole business of finding temporary work for the summer isn't working out like I planned. At this point , resumes and applications are flying off the printer and pen, hoping that something sticks. The only promising lead so far came from a craigslist ad (You can thank my lovely bride for that idea). I spoke with the operating partner, John, for Black Tie Limos out of Bloomington. The work is for on-call limo or towncar driver during the week. Now this sounds like fun, but it is tenuous at best, because it is an on-call position. At this point it is back to the ads and other referrals to see if there is anything better. Stay tuned for part 3

Golf Balls

One of the benefits of living where we do is the amount open space around us which is unusual in an urban environment. A mile from us is the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, affectionately known as "Moo U" to the locals (although being from Michigan I always thought Michigan State University took that title). There are at least 40 to 60 acres of test plots of various plants or vegetables being grown. Then there is the U of M Golf course. Walking around the course (which is surrounded by roadways, and is slightly more than a mile square) I can on occasion find an errant ball hit by some hacker ( I use this term as opposed to "slicer" or "hooker" which can carry different meanings). Yesterday though I hit the mother lode. In the course of one 45 minute walk I found 7 balls! This bring the total of balls found in the last two years to 16.
Now, I do not golf, having given it up several years ago because I too was a hacker. So the question is what to do with the balls. One thought is to give them to somebody that belongs to GA . But then, isn't that like giving a drink to an alcoholic? We could give them to my step-dad Don who plays in a league down in Indiana. Or we could give them to nephew Iain, our recently returned Army veteran. While we puzzle this out I will continue to walk, hoping to again strike the mother lode

Osage

Deb and I had the opportunity to go see my Dad ("the Bear") and Sandy several weeks ago. They live in the resort town of Osage Beach MO. Osage is at the end of a long reservoir that makes up part of the Lakes of the Ozarks. It is a beautiful place with lots of trees and of course water. As it is a resort, it is also filled with resort type stuff, like lots of traffic (one major arterial through the area), Gifts shops galore including one of the largest "outlet" malls in the known universe, several hundred miniature golf and go-kart tracks, and 1000's of restaurants all with a faux-nautical theme. Despite my cynicism, we really like going down there as it gives us a chance to get away from the cities.

Check out the boat traffic!

It isn't the destination so much as it is visiting with family. Both Deb and I enjoy or time with the Bear and Sandy 'cos even though they are parents, they don't act like parents. Sandy has her own Jet-ski, and the Bear putts around in a pontoon boat. In addition they both enjoy photography, listening to jazz or classical music (The Bear is in the process of transferring all of his recorded music unto CD's), and watching old British comedies on the "telly".

WIYGW

OK what kind of tom-foolery is the writer playing now, you might ask? Is WIYGW some kind of acronym? Why yes is it. it comes from an old Bob and Ray radio program (of course by now the author has really dated himself!) and it spells out Write If You Get Work. Does this mean that I now have gainful employment and that is why I am writing? No. However, it does mean that I am looking for something honest to do this summer while I wait to start internship (This implies that "doing" school work is not honest, which it is, but some people might not think so). And looking for work is work in itself. The big problem is trying to find something that is temporary without it being too temporary, if you know what I mean. I've applied at the seminary, at several temp agencies, and for some driving positions. Nothing yet. There is hope though. So I plug along, but I will write even if I don't have work.