My friend suggested that I watch this documentary. Very well-made.
It tells the story of the Miami cocaine scene of the '70s, and how a large portion of Miami was built on drug money from the early '70s through the mid '80s.
Miami has since changed to a tourism hub, as opposed to a drug hub, but it's still interesting to learn that the majority of the early skyscrapers and high-rise condos of Miami were purely investment projects of the drug lords of the day.
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Thursday, February 3, 2011
Moving Update
Hello Faithful Readers, if any even exist :-)
Just to fill you in on my progress:
I got back to Chilton, Wisconsin, my hometown, on Monday night. Since then it's been a flurry of (read slow, procrastinating) packing and cleaning. My parents want me to rid all of my high school memorabilia and knickknacks from my childhood room. They're converting it into something or other, as you'd expect.
Some interesting finds include:
1. A tape, that's right, tape, titled "Backstreet Boys: Millennium." Finally, I've spent the last 12 years looking for it!
2. Old "love notes" from junior high. Very interesting to read nearly 10 years later.
3. Parent's wedding albums, pre-marriage albums and old baby pictures. Mostly of my sisters, no surprise that the youngest child gets the fewest pictures. No way I was adopted though, I look IDENTICAL to my dad's junior high class picture. Eerily similar.
4. A Shaq basketball card from circa 1995, when he was playing with the Orlando Magic. Still in protective plastic display case. Could be worth some money, who knows.
5. A book entitled, "Trapping Raccoons." Only in Wisconsin!
My sister is coming up from Chicago on Friday or Saturday to hang out until Sunday, when we'll both go back to Chicago together. From there it's off to the airport for a Monday AM or PM flight. I purchased a 6pm flight, because I got a great deal (Spirit Airlines $9 Fare Club), but I'm hoping they'll put me on the 9am flight if there are any available seats.
Only a few more days!
Just to fill you in on my progress:
I got back to Chilton, Wisconsin, my hometown, on Monday night. Since then it's been a flurry of (read slow, procrastinating) packing and cleaning. My parents want me to rid all of my high school memorabilia and knickknacks from my childhood room. They're converting it into something or other, as you'd expect.
Some interesting finds include:
1. A tape, that's right, tape, titled "Backstreet Boys: Millennium." Finally, I've spent the last 12 years looking for it!
2. Old "love notes" from junior high. Very interesting to read nearly 10 years later.
3. Parent's wedding albums, pre-marriage albums and old baby pictures. Mostly of my sisters, no surprise that the youngest child gets the fewest pictures. No way I was adopted though, I look IDENTICAL to my dad's junior high class picture. Eerily similar.
4. A Shaq basketball card from circa 1995, when he was playing with the Orlando Magic. Still in protective plastic display case. Could be worth some money, who knows.
5. A book entitled, "Trapping Raccoons." Only in Wisconsin!
My sister is coming up from Chicago on Friday or Saturday to hang out until Sunday, when we'll both go back to Chicago together. From there it's off to the airport for a Monday AM or PM flight. I purchased a 6pm flight, because I got a great deal (Spirit Airlines $9 Fare Club), but I'm hoping they'll put me on the 9am flight if there are any available seats.
Only a few more days!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Two Different Views
Monday, January 31, 2011
Minnesota, It's Been Real
Au revoir Minnesota!
It's all over. After two weeks of goodbyes and wrapping up loose ends, I've moved out of my St.Paul house and I'm heading back to Wisconsin. I'm currently spending the night at my aunt and uncle's place in the suburbs, hanging out with my cousins, aunt and uncle, and my mom. We'll be leaving in the early AM for our drive back to Wisconsin.
From there it's all about ridding myself of extra possessions and other things I don't need, trying to whittle my load to a manageable size. My goal is to take only one suitcase with me to Miami, so I've got plenty of work to do.
I moved to Minneapolis almost six years ago. It's been a good run but I'm ready for new adventures.
It's all over. After two weeks of goodbyes and wrapping up loose ends, I've moved out of my St.Paul house and I'm heading back to Wisconsin. I'm currently spending the night at my aunt and uncle's place in the suburbs, hanging out with my cousins, aunt and uncle, and my mom. We'll be leaving in the early AM for our drive back to Wisconsin.
From there it's all about ridding myself of extra possessions and other things I don't need, trying to whittle my load to a manageable size. My goal is to take only one suitcase with me to Miami, so I've got plenty of work to do.
I moved to Minneapolis almost six years ago. It's been a good run but I'm ready for new adventures.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Pre-Departure Thoughts vs Post-Experience Feelings
I recently began to think about how my upcoming experience in Miami might have some similarities to my Buenos Aires experience, but not in the "moving from one city to another" kind of way. Let me explain:
Before I left for Buenos Aires, I had all these images of the city being this bustling metropolis, just like New York City. I told everyone I met how Buenos Aires is supposed to be "The Paris of South America." Just thinking that I used that horrible phrase makes me sick.
I came back from Argentina 14 months later with a completely different view of the city. It was a bustling metropolis, but it also had sprawling slums that no one talked about in the guide books. Once you left the safety of the north part of the metro, you got to see the real Buenos Aires. I came back with a completely different, but more accurate and complete, view of Buenos Aires. A true view of the city that I love so much. Thinking how naive I was before arriving in Argentina is laughable.
Right now, my thoughts about Miami are beaches, palm trees, Little Havana and being "the capital of Latin America." All the stereotypical things that a novice would think; just like the thoughts I had about Buenos Aires before I arrived. I wonder if I'm going to look back in a year at my pre-arrival Miami thoughts with disgust/disbelief like I do at my per-arrival Argentina thoughts?
Did that make sense?
A Place to Call Home
It's official; I've found a place to live in Miami!
I just got word back from my future roommate, J, and she says we're good to go. I'll be living in Midtown Miami near 33rd and Biscayne Boulevard, two miles away from downtown and only a few more miles from South Beach. I guess the building has quite a few younger tenants, some of which are into biking, so maybe I'll find a road biking crew.
More details to come!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Storm Excitement
Growing up in Chilton, which is located in Northeast Wisconsin on the east side of a large lake, all the big storms always missed us, minus the Hail Storm of 2000.
My sisters and I would always watch in dismay as the largest, darkest, most ominous part of the storm would split in half, with one part going north of Chilton and the other going to the south of Chilton. There could be thunder and lightning all over the area, but Chilton would be sunny.
That being said, Miami has hurricanes, and I'm really excited about this. I understand that once in a while they deviate from their path, but if AL Roker says a hurricane or tropical storm is going to hit Southern Florida, you better believe Miami is getting at least SOME type of stormy weather.
I don't plan on being stupid and sticking around if they evacuate areas of town, but I'm still extremely excited to sit in my apartment during a torrential downpour, watching palm fronds blow down the streets. How many people from Wisconsin can say they've hunkered down and waited out a hurricane?
My sisters and I would always watch in dismay as the largest, darkest, most ominous part of the storm would split in half, with one part going north of Chilton and the other going to the south of Chilton. There could be thunder and lightning all over the area, but Chilton would be sunny.
That being said, Miami has hurricanes, and I'm really excited about this. I understand that once in a while they deviate from their path, but if AL Roker says a hurricane or tropical storm is going to hit Southern Florida, you better believe Miami is getting at least SOME type of stormy weather.
I don't plan on being stupid and sticking around if they evacuate areas of town, but I'm still extremely excited to sit in my apartment during a torrential downpour, watching palm fronds blow down the streets. How many people from Wisconsin can say they've hunkered down and waited out a hurricane?
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