Maybe It's the Genes... err... Jeans

I spent all day yesterday in a seminar all about job searching, including resume writing and preparing for interviews, and the whole deal. It was pretty interesting, but also on the "information overload" side of things. So, to treat myself at the end of the day, I made a stop at the Mall of America.

For those of you who haven't actually been to the Mall of America, it's... well... it's huge. And, yes, it has a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, after you've been there a few times you realize that there's not really any good reason to spend time there--unless, of course, you're a teenager hoping to hang out and wander around for hours (or ride the rides in the amusement park). Frankly, most people I know who live around here pretty much avoid the place like the plague.

Of course, since most of the people I know avoid the place, that means that the crowd at about 4:30 Friday afternoon was overwhelming split between two groups: teenagers doing their best to be tragically hip, and tourists who were not afraid to get their pictures taken while gawking at the great hugeness of it all. Now don't get me wrong. Either of those groups is fine, in moderation. (I fully admit I've taken tourists there and taken their pictures.) But the Mall was PACKED with people--and they all seemed to be from one of those two groups.

**Stereotypical Sidenote** Having had to dodge the gaggles of tourists wandering four-abreast through the hallways, I could easily have decided to use this post to comment on how sad it was that so many of the people I passed perfectly fit the stereotype most other countries have of Americans--a whole lot of the people I passed were stuffed into overly-tight t-shirts, waddling along while gorging themselves on something from one of the fast food stands. I have to admit, I kind of enjoyed feeling uncharacteristically thin. But as much as it made me happy, it also made me kind of sad. **End Stereotypical Sidenote**

Back to the main point... While I was tramping around the Mall, I noticed that one of the things we pretty much all had in common was that we were in jeans. There were the tragically hip teens in their tragically hip jeans. There were the moms in their mom jeans (for the record, I am proud to say that, as far as I can remember, my mom has never worn mom jeans). And I was there in my "almost-business-casual" black jeans, too.

Sure, the windows at Express Men were pushing the 1960s-style suit made popular by the series "Mad Men" and there were pushes for khakis in the back-to-school windows all over the place, but jeans were omnipresent. And there were two jeans moments I'll never forget.

While I was heading out after picking up my Panda Express 2-item combo (Orange Chicken and Kung Pao Chicken with White Rice, in case you're wondering--Yes. That was my reason for going to the Mall in the first place), there were three 20-something black men walking my way laughing and punching each other in the arm and looking back over their shoulders at a black male teenager going the other way. I don't know if they knew him, but I heard one of the 20-somethings say "dude, pull up yo damn pants" as he laughed.

I passed those three and came up behind the younger kid and noticed that the crotch of his jeans was probably about to his knees. He was talking on his cellphone and the friend he was with was gesturing toward his pants and shaking his head. Cellphone kid cradled the phone on his shoulder, reached down, and pulled his pants all the way up. I can only imagine that, by the time the crotch actually fit him, the waistband was up to his nipples. But, at least from the back, he did look a lot better.

The second--and scarier--jeans story from the Mall came while I was on the escalator. I was going up, and mounted the steps just a few feet behind two young women. The blonde one on the left was slender and wore form-fitting jeans and a long-sleeved lightweight sweater. The burgandy-haired one of the right--directly in front of me, was a bit more curvy, and wore a cropped shirt and hip-hugging "Ed Hardy" (or at least Ed Hardy-esque) jeans.

**Non-promotional Sidenote** I feel I should explain why I'm not putting a link to an Ed Hardy site, here. It's because I think most of the "vintage tattoo inspired" clothing that he produces is absolutely ugly. It's everywhere on Hollywood's "it" crowd. But I think it needs to go away. So I'm not giving it any more publicity than it needs to make the point of my story. **End Non-promotional Sidenote**

Unfortunately, between the bottom of the cropped Harley t-shirt and the top of the tiger-bedazzled hip-huggers, about 3 inches of what could best be described as "plumber's crack" was visible. When she shifted her weight on the escalator, I feared that the crack would turn into a full-on fissure. I spent the entire ride averting my eyes, but as we neared the top I had to see where I was. As the two women stepped off the escalator, I had a horrible realization: The burgandy-haired one in the crop-top and hip huggers was actually THE MOM. At least 35 years old. Eww. But... questions of age-appropriateness aside, she and the jeans were simply NOT cut out for each other.

My stomach turned as my brain flipped. I was very glad I hadn't eaten my Panda Express meal, yet.

And so, a public service reminder for everyone out there: If you don't have the genes, maybe you really shouldn't wear those jeans.

Pearson's Edina Restaurant - Go There!

Last night, Christopher and I went out to dinner with my cousins Katie and Kris (the ones who will be doing the Breast Cancer 3-Day later this month) at a place that really blew us away.

We try to get together once every few weeks for dinner, frequently trying places we haven't all eaten at, before. Sure, we break our own rule from time to time (some places are just way too good to ignore), but last night's meal at Pearson's Edina Restaurant was a first for all of us. And by the time we left we were all vowing to be back soon.

Unfortunately, the reason we chose Pearson's was an article in the newspaper Sunday a week ago saying that the restaurant might be closing later this year (to be replaced--in that case--by a Walgreen's, of all things). Since we drive past it all the time in Edina, it seemed like we really needed to go and check it out.

The place has been around for years (full history is on their website), and the interior reflects that. There's a "cafeteria"-style section when you first come in that's got a counter with stools and a bunch of booths. After you pass through that section you come into one of two dining rooms, with tables set throughout. We were seated in the farthest dining room--where we were one of three seated tables in a room with at least a dozen tables.

The menu is fairly extensive, and as we searched past the burgers and salads and Swedish Meatballs and--I kid you not--Casseroles, we found that they even do most of their breakfast menu all day. Christopher took the breakfast-for-dinner route of ham and eggs with pancakes and hash browns. Kris had a simple cheddar cheeseburger and fries. Katie had the "exotic" bruschetta burger (tomatoes and onion and garlic all under melted cheese on a burger). I dove straight in with the Wild Rice Chicken Casserole, with a starter of a house salad (green salad with a mayo-based dressing with peas and bacon and cheese), and sides of pureed squash and a cranberry relish.

Everyone liked what they had, but I have to say that I think I had the best meal of the night. The salad was--if you know what this means--basically a deconstructed 7-Layer salad. The squash had a wonderful depth of flavor--maybe maple, maybe butter. And the Wild Rice Chicken Casserole--dense and filled with mushroom, chicken, bacon and onion, then topped with almonds--was amazing. I wanted to just keep eating, but decided to stop part-way through so that I could bring home a few leftovers.

Believe it or not, we left before dessert. But the dinner itself was so wonderful we didn't need to have that to cap off the evening.

Overall rating: A. The staff was friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. The food was amazing. The ambiance... well... it's perfect for what it is. If you have the chance, I highly recommend the place. But go soon, just in case it does close--missing it would be very very sad.

Ponderances du jour

A few random thoughts for this Thursday evening:

- Why do the scooter things that are available in grocery stores only have two speeds: slow and "if you push it, it might beat that snail"? I always seem to be ending up in the aisle behind them when I've got a cart. Not when I'm shopping with just one of those baskets, where I could maneuver around them, but when I've got a cart and I'm trapped.

- Why do people, upon seeing a police car parked on the side of the road, slam on the brakes so that they're going at least 10 miles per hour below the speed limit? There have been a lot of cops on the road the past few mornings, and my usual commuting speed of about 65 has dropped to about 48. It's not fun.

- Why is it that so many movies that I want to see always come out at the same time? For the past couple of weeks, nothing I want to see has opened. And this weekend there are three or four movies opening around here that I want to see. Of course, this is also happening at a time when I'm already overscheduled for the next few evenings. Of course.

- Why are the replacement pieces for the inside of a refrigerator so expensive? We broke one of the "rails" on one of our crisper drawers last weekend. So we decided to order a new one. It's probably about 1/10th the cost of an entirely brand new fridge. Too expensive to seem completely worthwhile. Too necessary to not replace. The new one should be here on Monday.

- If the Post Office goes to delivering only 4 or 5 days per week, what will that do to my Netflix deliveries? I know that's probably not the most important thing in the world, but it dawned on me today as I was sending back Disc 2 of The Best of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in.

Whew. Now that I've gotten those off my chest, I should be able to sleep tonight.

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Blog...

As you may remember from a while back (March 26th, to be exact), in a post entitled 'Cuz You Gotta Have Friends, I mentioned that two of my cousins (Kris and Katie) were preparing to walk the Minneapolis version of the Breast Cancer 3-Day. At the time it seemed like ages and ages into the future, but the walk is now just a couple of weeks away.

I was already thinking that I should mention them, again, when I got one of Katie's emailed updates in my inbox, today. I don't know about you, but that seems way too much like karma for me to ignore it. So... Here is Katie's latest update: (I'll meet you down below...)

Hello everyone!

We're getting ourselves physically and mentally prepared to conquer the 60 miles in a few short weeks. I can't believe it's almost here.

Overall, we're in good shape physically - able to handle the days as they go by. Last weekend (July 24-25) was the peak of training: 18 miles one day and 15 the next. It was not too bad; I think the hardest part was not walking it with my partner in crime on this journey, Kris.

Speaking of Kris...together the two of us have walked about 400+ miles a piece thus far. Likewise, we have raised over $6,000 collectively - with your support - to fight breast cancer. How cool is that?

To answer the question I have been getting a lot: We are not familiar with the route yet. HOWEVER, they have posted the cheering stations!!!! (http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TC_Spectator)

Please consider coming out, but don't feel as if you have to. If you do decide to come to a cheering station, please let either of us know. I've been keeping the blog updated on occasion, and will try to send out one more message.

Thanks again for your ongoing support. Words of encouragement, audio book donations, music donations, chatting with me on the walks, monetary support, equipment support, etc etc etc. I am very grateful!

Talk to you soon!

Katie (and Kris)

Okay... back to me again... (you can tell it's me because the font changed)

I feel like I should mention that Kris hasn't really gone anywhere or disappeared or anything. She and Katie are still doing the walk together, they just live a little farther apart these days, so training together is a little more difficult.

Now... To the business at hand... If you're in the mood, and have a couple extra bucks to spare, feel free to donate to one of them. Katie's site is here. Kris's is here.

And, if donating isn't do-able at the moment, feel free to cheer them on -- in person or in spirit -- as they do their walk on August 21-23.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled irregular blog.

Some Days...

This afternoon I had a whole list of things I wanted to blog about tonight. But I was at work and couldn't do it.

Then I was on my way home from work and thinking about what I should write about and still had a few ideas but no way to write them down.

This evening I went out to Trivia Hell with a friend of ours (Christopher stayed at work until 8:30, so he missed Trivia) and, by the time we got done, I was completely without blog ideas.

So I give you the following:

Our pepper plants are big and bushy and actually producing chili peppers (which haven't gotten red, yet, so they're kind of hard to see). The marigolds are growing well and popping open new blooms just as fast as the old ones fade. I have finally got California poppies growing and blooming. And the willow tree is actually not looking too bad.

Some days when I look outside, I'm actually proud of how the yard looks.

Putting It Together

The past few days have been busy. My folks came into town on Thursday night, so the couple of days before that we did some minor house cleaning. Thursday evening we did a little running around, and then had dinner at "Best Steak House" -- a place which, though probably not worthy of the name -- does quite nice meals for fairly little money.

On Friday, while Christopher was at work, I took my folks to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It's an amazing place, with walking paths that take you to themed gardens as well as walking/hiking/driving trails to go through the "showcase" acres of trees, shrubs, hedges, and the like. It was a gorgeous day, and we wandered around for a couple of hours before driving the Three-Mile Drive.

We stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home and picked up pizza crust so that, for dinner, we were able to make "homemade" pepperoni pizza using that crust, some of Christopher's amazing spicy Red Sauce (from last winter -- he only makes it during the cold months), and some fresh mozzarella.

Before Mom and Dad left on Saturday morning, we watched (in about 3 installments), a DVD of Stephen Sondheim's "Putting It Together." (There are some good pictures of the cast, including Carol Burnett and John Barrowman, here.) Oh, we also had some marvellous Buttermilk Pancakes (Christopher cooked), and incerated about three pieces of our favorite bacon (I got distracted).

Later in the afternoon, Christopher and I headed out to Stillwater to celebrate his father's birthday with his sisters and his mom. It was a really nice afternoon. Very congenial and lots of great food. And -- I only mention this as a public service -- we learned that fringe can be hazardous to your health.

Back to the title of this posting, though...

The show "Putting It Together" is a revue of a bunch of Sondheim's music from various shows. And it does include the eponymous song. The song, itself, is all about taking the little pieces and putting them in place to create a whole (originally, it was used in "Sunday In the Park with George" as George Seurat created a pointillist painting). The foci (plural of focus) of the show are two couples -- one older and more experienced, one younger and just getting started. The songs weave together to tell amazing stories of life together.

It's interesting. When the DVD was done, Mom commented that it was kind of sad. But I feel it's hopeful. I guess, maybe, it has something to do with where we each stand in our lives. On the other hand, she commented along the way that John Barrowman was very cute -- so we definitely agree on some things.

And now, on Sunday evening, Christopher and are getting to do a little relaxing. Time for us to settle in, get ready for the week and... well... let our brains put it all together.

It's the Little Things

You know how it is when you're having a not-so-great day/week/whatever and you kind of feel like the world is simply icky?

Or maybe it's just a point when you walk out to your car every day thinking "that car needs to be washed" but you don't have the extra cash to waste on such a frivolity (and you don't have the energy to do it yourself)?

It's times like that when the little things in life can make all the difference.

As Christopher and I were walking out of the restaurant after lunch last Sunday, one of our friends pointed at my car and said "Oh... Look!" I wasn't thrilled that she was pointing out the fingerprints in the dust. Until I looked where she was pointing.

There, in the dust above the back bumper was a perfect little heart. I was a little slow on the uptake, but she was quick enough to ask Christopher "Did you do that?" to which, of course, he slightly bashfully answered yes. Anything else could have been going on in the world, but at that moment nothing else mattered except Christopher and that heart on my car.

Today, because it has been threatening to rain, I drove home as quickly as possible -- cursing every cloud that looked like it might wash off the back of my car. But, since we really do need the rain, I figured maybe I should hope for rain and take a picture, instead.

I'm still hoping it doesn't wash off, though, because it makes me very happy each time I go out to my car.

(Thanks, hon. I needed that.)