The Jumbotron-iest thing I saw today!

When visiting the area in St. Paul near the RNC Convention, I saw this large monstrosity perched between the Cathedral of Saint Paul and the Minnesota State Capitol, right on the last leg of the route the delegates took to their convention site:


What cracked me up at the time was that I instantly assumed that this eye sore was an installment by the GOP for their convention...

WRONG!

It was the work of True Blue Minnesota, who took the opportunity to exercise their free speech with constant footage of things like post-Katrina media coverage and Frontline exposes on prominent Republicans.

I suppose that is excessive technology that I can get behind...and under!

The nosy-est thing I saw today

When I was at the protests on Monday, I was humored by the three lines of participants; like a layered cake they spanned the street:


The 3 P's:
Police
Press
Protesters

The Press filled the space between the riot police and the protesters. They spent most of the time watching the police. In this shot the press are running to catch up with the deviating anarchist group.

I also noted that all of the 3 P's had camera and video equipment. All three layers were documenting the happenings, all for varying reasons, I think.

The cat and mouse-iest thing I saw today!

On Monday, a friend and I went to St. Paul to check out the big anti-war march on the RNC.

We grew impatient waiting at the rally for the march to start, so we headed into downtown St. Paul to witness what else was going on.

Prior to the start of the big march, we saw a lot of the anarchist crowd during their approved protest and the trouble they stirred up when they reached the end of their approved route and kept right on marching.

They splintered off into little groups like a bunch of mice. We saw them running up and down side streets followed by law enforcement. It was comical and disturbing all at the same time.

We saw a lot of police in riot gear and even some police horses in riot gear.



We saw this guy get pepper sprayed.

Many anarchists went off and broke windows and damaged other property. 200-some were eventually arrested that day.

Then they came out again yesterday and did it all again.

The kickin'-est thing I saw today.

I was stuck on a slow-and-go bus out of downtown the other day, thankfully this guy was walking in tandem to entertain me:He kicked that shoe steady-on for a good 4 blocks before the bus finally broke free of the downtown stop and go bubble.

Do you suppose he was trying to understand someone better by walking a mile kicking their shoes? Or was he breaking a shiny new pair of sneakers in?

The No Rush-iest thing I saw today!

I love checking out garage sales, especially on a whim as I drive around town. I am a sucker for signage like: "MOVING SALE!" or "Multi-Family Sale!" and the best is "Estate Sale!". I will follow those signs around and see what kind of treasures they lead me towards.

I saw a sign in my neighborhood the other day that was not nearly as enticing:


Isn't a perpetual sale actually a STORE?

On another note, the Great Minnesota Get Together starts today! Yes, the Minnesota State Fair is now open for business. I love the fair and I hope to find lots of fodder for drawing when I go on Sunday.

If you love the fair too, or if you need to be educated about the MN State Fair, I recommend the blog My Pronto Pup. The mere fact that someone has a year round blog dedicated to the Fair should be a big clue as to how much people here love the Fair. The author is one of MANY people who go every day of the fair (August 21-Labor Day).

Also, I saw this crazy article in the Strib today about a family from NW MN who walked 400 miles to the fair with an ox cart. What?!?!? I am not sure if the pronto pups and cheese curds are THAT good!

The Team workiest thing I saw today

Today is the one year anniversary of the I-35W Bridge Collapsing here in Minneapolis.

I live and work near the bridge, so I have been watching how hard all the bridge builders have been working ever since that day one year ago.

There are people working on the bridge 24 hours a day. They worked through bitter cold in the winter and hot humid days in the summer. There are all kinds of cool trucks and cranes and barges getting things done.

You may not know this if you don't live here, but they have already made the bridge connect across the river:

It is scheduled to open in September.

I am very impressed at how fast all the legislators and what not worked to get organized and get the project going, I mean, if they had just decided to replace the bridge it probably would have taken a year just to narrow down a design and decide who would pay for the bridge. am I right?

Then of course the people working on the bridge are amazing. I have seriously driven by around 1am on cold winter night and seen people out working on the bridge. BRRR!


Oh and the people who survived the collapse! They are out of this world. For example, the kids that were on the school bus made this mural together:

The mural is right by my house, so I can go by and think of how brave they are all the time!

Lastly I am proud of the community-at-large for supporting the victims and for dealing with the lost bridge very patiently. If you do not live here, then you probably do not know that this bridge is a major freeway artery and also that a long stretch of freeway just south of the bridge had already been under major construction before the collapse (and still is today- FYI 35W will be closed this weekend between 494 and 94). I have not heard people complain about having to detour around the bridge...but they do complain about the "normal" construction!

Way to be a little patient, community-at-large!

The Goal-iest Thing I Accomplished Today!

Around 6 years ago I went to a motivation workshop at work and we had to draw a long term goal for ourselves on a note card. I drew this:It is hard to make out via the scan, but this goal card is the goal to earn a Master's degree. In the bottom right I have drawn myself stressed, but in a good academic sort of way. In the upper right there is a lecturer.

I have had this card posted at my desk ever since, it has followed me through 4 jobs, buying my home, meeting and marrying my partner, and meeting so many wonderful friends.

Today my thesis project was approved! I am DONE. I have met my goal. My work is off to be bound.

I am a Master.

The sick thing is....now I want to draw a new card about me working for a PhD!

Ha!

I am so thrilled to be done.

I hope that you keep your goals posted somewhere and that you can work towards being done too!