Laura's Blog

Tourists Should Be Banned From Mall of America!!!

So, I went to the mall of america today...BIG MISTAKE. I should have known what I was getting myself into when I exited the freeway. Cars kept cutting me off and changing lanes at the last minute, like they have no clue where they are going. One thing that makes me laugh though, is how the tourists park so far away from the mall, in those parking lots across the street. I dont know, maybe the ramps are for Minnesotans only? Anyways, I get into the mall and its chaos. There are so many people walking around holding maps and they dont watch where they are going. Also, no tourist trip is complete with out stopping the 8 people in your group in the middle of the hall to have your picture taken in front of the damn Disney store. I know this is easy for me to say because I've been going to the mall since it opened, but come on people its a mall for christs sake! You dont need your picture taken in front of each of the 400+ stores!. On the plus side, I did get a really cute pair of pants and a shirt from Urban Outfitters, so the day wasnt a total waste.

Michael: RIP

Today marks the 5 year anniversary of the day that my awesome cat Michael died. I dont have a picture of Michael, so here is a pic of my other deseased cat, Honey.

Finally Something Interesting...

Al Franken buys townhouse in Minneapolis
Bob Von Sternberg, Star Tribune
May 20, 2005 FRANKEN0520

By year's end, comedian Al Franken will be a Minnesotan again, taking a big step toward possibly running for the U. S. Senate seat held by Norm Coleman.

"It's one of the things I need to do if I decide to make a run," Franken said from his current home in New York. "I haven't made the decision yet, but if I do, I'll have to have been living in Minnesota a while."

Franken, 53, said he and his wife, Frannie, bought a townhouse in a new development on the edge of downtown Minneapolis late last month.

He plans to shuttle between his two homes between now and the beginning of 2006, when he also plans to relocate his daily three-hour radio show broadcast on the liberal Air America network to Minnesota.

"I haven't figured out the details or the staffing yet," Franken said.

For the past 18 months he has been publicly flirting with the idea of running for the seat once held by his friend and political mentor, U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, who died in a plane crash in 2002.

Franken, who grew up in St. Louis Park, has not lived in Minnesota since he was 22.

"But I've always come home a lot, mostly to visit my mom, who passed away a year and a half ago," he said. "And I've always had a lot of friends there. Like a lot of people who live in Manhattan, after all these years I still consider myself a Minnesotan."

In addition, now that the Frankens' two children are grown, "it feels like we're empty-nesters, so this is something we can do," he said. "When they were younger, I didn't want to uproot them."

Franken's comedic career began with Dudley Riggs' improvisational troupe and carried him to the "Saturday Night Live" TV show, where he was both a performer and a writer. His work has become more overtly political and partisan in recent years, made abundantly clear in his most recent book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right."

He worked for Democratic candidates, including Sen. John Kerry, during last year's election campaign and has made occasional stump appearances in Minnesota this year.

Two factors -- the reach of the Air America network and the rest of the senatorial field -- will have a big effect on whether Franken jumps into the race.

"Those are the other aspects of the calculus," he said. "It'll depend how important the show is, how big of a platform that'll be for me. And what if someone emerges who has a better chance to beat Norm? If somebody does, I'll campaign for them."

He's not yet certain whether a formally declared candidacy would force him off the air, as it did former Gov. Jesse Ventura, another radio talk-show host, who launched an improbable run for Minnesota's governorship in 1998.

"I've still got to look at the rules," Franken said. "I've got to look at the [FCC's] rules and make sure I obey the letter of the law -- probably the spirit, too."

Jenny is watching

Hello. I am at the melrose. Jenny was standing behind me reciting the opening lines from Strangers with Candy. So today I had to clean window sills with a toothbrush and q-tips. It was great fun. We are going to go to Subway soon. Jenny is going to get a bacon chicken ranch sandwich. God my blog updates rock. I've done nothing this past week so I really dont have much to talk about. I did get my popular dvds in the mail so that has kept me entertained. I got Anne and Jenny hooked on them too. Its pretty much the best show ever made. Im taking my drug test for my new job on Monday. Hopefully I'll pass, i did do a lot of crack last week though. My cousin had a baby yesterday her name is Kate. Ok, I've bored myself enough. See ya never!

At Home

I am officialy moved out of the dorms and good riddance! No more showering with shoes on and eating food that is a step above jail food. I cant wait to live a the Melrose next year, hopefuly with Jenny and Anne thanks to my dad bitching out the leasing staff. So now I have a month in front of me of doing absolutlely nothing to do until I start my job on June 6th. RIght now im watching Heavy Weights (one of the best movies ever) on the Disney channel, yeah Im cool. Once again, I have nothing profound and interesting to write...so yeah...see ya never.

Finally a new update!

So, people have been nagging me to update my blog so here I am. I am not sure what to write in this. Hmmmm.... So I just got done with my bio final and I am way too tired to contemplate whether or not I did well. I got a call from Wet Seal today about a second interview. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction to save me from summer #3 at Marshall Fields. I really wish I had something profound and interesting to write about but I am just too damn tired. Maybe later today after a sufficient nap I will write more.