"Toto, We're Not In Kansas Anymore..."

Firemarshall J flew out back to da City today. The past two days have been filled with touristy activities that hubby and I are just exhausted! Don't get me wrong- we were definitely glad to have him here. It was filled with movie nights, PS2 matches, Quizilla tests, Mall of America laps, and walks in the freaking cold so we can take pictures of the mighty Mississippi. Having him here and showing him around was just another excuse for hubby and I get outta the house and be tourists ourselves. Plus, it was so cool to have someone from CA visiting us. Makes us feel special. =)

Homie arrived on Monday afternoon and was welcomed by 34 degree weather. He called from his layover in Chicago and was freaking out how cold it was. Dude...this ain't Hawai'i! We were waiting outside the arrival gates for this totally lost looking dude who was like a fish out of water. I swear, you couldn't miss him...PLUS, he wouldn't have missed US waiting for him. We were the only two brown skinned people there! Hahaha, Firemarshall J was experiencing a case of culture shock. He was like, "There are so many white people here!" Yah, well, this IS Minnesota...

From the airport, we brought him to our place to chill. The whole ride, Jon kept trippin' on how flat it was here. Sorry, no rolling hills, no city long blocks, nothing like da City. Hubby and I did our best to point out some of the features of Minne-snow-ta: the myriad of water towers bearing the name of the city that welcomes you, the 55 MPH speed zones, the multiple lakes we drove by or across, the neverending sea of leafless trees, and of course, the snow covered streets. Since it hasn't snowed for a few days, much of the beautiful white snow had been converted to black, mushy, dirty slush. Not too visually appealing, but snow nonetheless. We had to point out the Target and Bestbuy Headquarters simply because those are places worth mentioning. =) Firemarshall J was in a state of shock. This is the farthest east he has gone since he was a kid and the whole change in geography was too much to take in. He kept muttering that line from the Wizard of Oz that I now find totally hilarious, "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore." Nope. Sorry. Woodbury, Minnesota is where you at now, homie.

Mall of America...part I

After chillin' at Casa de Manimtim for a while, we decided to head out to Mall of America (MOA). That was part of our To Do list for Tuesday, but we figured that MOA cannot be done in one day. There is really no way anyone can...even if you wanted to. Anyways, all we did was take laps. We kept trying to figure out which way we wanted to go. All Firemarshall J could do (and WOULD do the entire time he was here, dammit!) was shrug his shoulders and say, "I'm cool. Whatever." Man, ya' took too much island with you here. Decide dammit! Lol! (just keepin' it real, dude!)

Once again, Jon was in a state of shock. He had to keep pulling his jaw from off the ground 'cuz he couldn't take in how huge MOA was. First of all, it's four levels. That doesn't include the Aquarium on the bottom floor, a campus university, the chapel (for those who want to tie the knot in the mall!), the multiple full-sized restaurants, and of course, Camp Snoopy. Camp Snoopy is the mini-theme park in the center of MOA complete with rollercoaster, ferris wheel, water ride, and other rides and games. Now we're not talking Six Flaggs or Great America type of rides, but still. Ain't no other mall has what MOA has and sheesh, it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from where we live.

We ended up eating at MOA at this really nice restaurant, Twin Cities Grill. The food is so yum over there. The three of us were eating Filipino style...no, not with our hands, but the whole letting each other try our dishes thang (grilled salmon, beef tenderloin tips, and the grilled shrimp special). Now what happened next was so NOT supposed to happen. The FIGHT. Ya'll know what fight I'm talking about. The fight for the bill. I tried my best to get the check (as hubby was too busy trying to unstuck his wallet from his jacket), but my grip wasn't good enough. I barely got two fingers on it, but it slipped away. Firemarshall J was just too quick and like the sucker that he is, he paid for dinner. Dude! That's against the rules- "thy guest shall not payest for dinner." But we'll let that one go. As much as it wasn't cool Firemarshall J, hubby and I are most gracious.

We walked off our dinner with more laps around MOA, browsing in and out of some, but not doing any real shopping (did I mention that there is NO TAX on clothes over here?!). We stayed until almost closing time. Had to take some quick pics of the sign that greets you at the door: "Minnesota Law bans guns on these premises." Yes people, you read that correctly. Guns are legal here. Legal in the Midwest. Pshh....and people wonder WHY certain things happen out here in the supposed best place to raise your kids...yah, whatever.

Movie Night

Got home, the night was still young, and plus homie was running on either California or Hawai'i time. We decided to watch "Better Luck Tomorrow." It's that movie by director Justin Lin. It came out earlier this year. Now this is what we've all been waiting for. It was a movie by an Asian, about Asians, starring Asians, BUT nothing like the played out issues of the PCN's back home. It was just like any other movie 'cept the only thing different was that the main characters weren't white. It did focus on some of the typical stereotypes like being an overachiever and model minority, but damn, this movie takes it to a different level altogether. The main character, Ben Manibag, is Filipino, but he's played by a Chinese actor. It's all good though. For what these high schoolers in an L.A. suburb get themselves into seems so beyond my imagination, but maybe that attitude stems from my private school upbringing. As crazy as I thought something was, hubby and Jon were agreeing and making comments like, "yah, reminds me of this guy I once knew." If that's the case, well damn, that only validates why I choose NOT to teach any grade higher than 4th! Too damn scary. Oh yah, besides all the other "unknowns" that sorta look familiar, the movie also stars the "MILF" guy from the American Pie movies. Know who I'm talking about? Hahaha, sorry, I don't know his name. In any case, if ya'll haven't had a chance to see it, go see it. It's different, it's fresh, it's something that the world has been waiting for. We need more movies like this one.

Man, Mall of America, movie night, and PS2...and it's just the first day...