The End of The Begining

Minneapolis is coming to an end, my time has expired and it is time for a drastic change in my lifestyle. The infamous in-town project. Something i haven't truly experienced in 18 months. No more frequent flyer miles, no more hotel points, my status is going to fall faster than a penny from the empire state building. My therapist says I just need to start breathing and i will make it through these rough times.

The following are events that took place in Minneapolis, that I won't forget:

1. Feeling stupid and knowing nothing about the financial services industry. Luckily I had a lot of great support that believed in my abilities.
2. Drinking Fat Cat beer. Don't do it. It tastes like shit. Even though their slogan is "It's really really good"... i promise, they are lying.
3. The apartment at Loring Park with the sweet view of some crazy church
4. Walking to work in the snow when it was -10 degrees outside and my hands and ears began hurting almost instantly.
5. Watching a dinner date vomit in a trash can.
6. Going on a date with a Minnesotan country girl who was very clueless and very strange
7. Getting drunk on Mardi Gras night at The Drink and taking shots of jager
8. Valentines Day in Minneapolis - Two male coworkers and myself wanted to go somewhere nice to eat. We walked in to a nice Italian restaurant, noticed that there were a lot of couples, and then realized... oh shit... it's Valentines day isn't it. From there we went to a bar and had burgers and beer. The waitress convinced us to go to the pajama party that was going on downstairs. One of my coworkers thought things were going well, so he went home and returned in his boxers and tshirt. He came back in the 15 degree weather and told us to come on in. Asked her to dance. She was too busy. It was fun as hell though either way. Walking home in the cold with him in his boxers was pretty funny too.
9. The night i got pretty damn wasted and decided to move and knock over construction cones at 2 am. Little did i know that the guy that set them up was watching me. He drove up next to me and asked why i did it... me being drunk and scared stood there and said nothing, my boy D stood up for me and basically told the guy to f' off. It was great.
10. My 25th Birthday -The team here in Minnesota made me a cake and had me blow out candles. So cute.
11. Going to the mall of America... borrrrrring.
12. Eating a Jucy Lucy... tasssssssssty.
13. Having a prostitute try and pick me up after my Montreal trip on my way home on hennepin ave.... good times.
14. Watching the Dallas Mavericks lose game 6 of the NBA finals in the NBA Bar with tons of Miami Heat fans... not so good.
15. Getting drunk at Key's bar... and then bar hopping in downtown with Ameriprise folks
16. Going to The Drink where they had free food buffet from 530-730 and happy hour. Spending our dinner per diem on drinks.
17. Eating the biggest (not best) burrito I've ever had a Chino Latino in Uptown.
18. Watching the Twins play in the toilet bowl
19. Running around the University of Minnesota and feeling like a college kid again.
20. Ice Fishing... wait, never made it that far
21. The frozen Mississippi
22. Two Words... Double Decker Skyway
23. Seeing Robert Earl Keen and Cross Canadian Ragweed play to a bunch of Minnesotans
24. Damian and Jim, the guys that work the bar at Zelo (the best Italian restaurant in DT Minneapolis). Jim always talking about football and the cowboys, and me acting like i care/know anything about it.
25. The peeps at the hotels that know me.



As of now i only have 8 days left including today... only a few more nights to make memorable things happen (three to be exact).