I know that Thanksgiving is approaching soon but I have been sidetracked by everything else especially Opera, which (shameless plug) will be today, November 7, 2008 at 8 pm at Jemison Hall in Sanborn and also tomorrow, Saturday, November 8, 2008 at 8 pm and Sunday, November 9, 2008. I am probably going to be bogged down once again because of exams and papers as well as executive stuff. There is a lot of do this semester and I cannot believe I am done with the first third of my senior year. I am so pumped about everything I have been doing in the last couple of months.
Thursday of Mid-Semester Break was exciting. I am going to skip most of what happened Wednesday after I got on the Greyhound unless you like hearing me talk about the long, 18 hour ride to Minnesota (you don't- well, good!). I will say this about the trip though, all of the elements of conflict and frustration was actually not present for most of the trip, the layovers were not so bad, and I got most of my reading done on the bus. The infrastructure of the Greyhound bus stations in different cities was very interesting. Some looked very good w
hile others were not as good. I especially loved the terminal in Milwaukee and its lighting at night. The bus terminal in Milwaukee looked like something from Star Wars- ironically, I felt like I was in Star Wars at 3:30 am in the morning, getting a vending machine turkey breast sandwich and some Gatorade and chips to satiate my bus-lagged, sleep-deprivated, light-jolted body.
I arrived at the Hilton around 6:30 am. I got off the Greyhound, headed towards the nearest Taxi parked outside the Terminal, and used $40 to get from downtown Minneapolis to suburban Bloomington. I was still somewhat dazed by the time I got to the hotel but the anxiety left me when I entered the Hilton. I was finally to my destination. I got a single, king bed room (one of my other anxieties since I did not know if there were going to be any rooms available). I immeidately wanted to change into some workout clothes and to kick myself into gear (being on a cramped Greyhound bus will make you want to stretch and work out.) The Hilton exercise room was comfortable. After a 30-minute jog, I wanted the feeling of a nice jet-streamed whirlpool on me. I changed into my swim gear and lounged about the pool area for about 30 minutes. In the whirlpool, the feeling of "This trip is going to be a blast!!" came to mind. The joys of travel. I was so preoccupied that I did not realize the beauty of the room I purchased. I was ecstatic. I really cannot describe how the room is but the pictures I took are of a million words. This room is one of the comfortable rooms I ever had a chance to reside in. Take a look!
On to the good stuff! Well, I ate breakfast and did a little more reading for my classes while waiting for my shuttle to the Mall of Breakfast. Everything about the Hilton was beautiful and made for an awesome consumption space during my time in Bloomington. Around noon, I hopped on the shuttle for a 15-minute drive down to the Mall of America. I had no idea what to expect from the biggest mall in America. I did some research on it before I arrived but I knew that that research was going to be useless once I stepped in the mall. I had some nice conversation with the shuttle driver (thank goodness the drive was pleasant). I stepped foot on the Mall of America, entered the building and I was astonished by the number of people in the front part of the building... early in the day. Since I would have three days to explore, I would be able to explore every inch of the mall. Thursday would also be my biggest splurge in my shopping. If you did not know, I love shopping. It is like a fetish I cannot rid of. Let me try to summarize the purchases I bought. (Caution, this will be a runoff sentence!!) New black dress shoes- which I used for my Opera performances as well as the recent Heritage Day ceremony, new Puma's, three new and customized ties including a blue Donald Trump signature tie, a Street Fighter shirt, and some others in which I cannot think of off the back. For the first day, I stayed at the Mall of America for about eight hours and I actually managed to hit about 80% of the mall.
Since the mall is so big, I was confused. For the first day, I realized that there was four exits; North, South, East, West. I really had to orient myself to get to know the Mall of America in order to be happy with the trip because of its size. I never had seen anything like it for a mall. Outside an outside type of space but a mall? It was amazing. Beside a theater, there was a putt station and an amusement park mainly for children but exhibits for everyone. I was buying up a storm and exploring the many different stores (some competitive, some totally unique) in the Mall of America. The crowd only increased in numbers and there was definitely a tourist feel to the mall. I ate pretty well- there are a lot of restaurants inside the mall. Thursday was a night that I will never forget; it was fun and inspiring to say the least.
Stay tuned as I have more pictures and explanation for Friday and Saturday. The trip only gets better with time and experience.
Becoming one with the Mall of America on Mid-Semester Break,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10
P.S. Some of these picture repeat- I don't know why but they do.
