There's no place like home

Minneapolis, MN St. Louis, MO

Before moving out of Minnesota, I thought it was a horrible state. Having moved there unwillingly at 3 months old from the sunny state of California, Minnesota was all that I knew. I wasn't born there, but I was raised there all of my life. Family from both sides: mom and dad are all there, friends whom I grew up with since we were in diapers are there, I pretty much know Minneapolis, St. Paul, and their suburbs inside and out. If you had all of that what on earth would make you move out of the state right? I only have two answers for you: curiosity and the strive to be independent.

Like many young adults who grew up in one state all of their lives, Minnesota was all I knew. I wanted to see what was out there besides the Mini Apple (gotten it's nickname b/c of the Twin Cities: Minneapolis & St. Paul, it's a "mini New York City"). I didn't want to move somewhere where I didn't know anyone, so I chose St. Louis. Why St. Louis you ask? Well, after a year of being here I honestly don't know why I chose this city, but I bet if you asked me about a year ago I would've known the answer. I only knew one person here and it was my uncle Jimmy, everyone else I've met along way I've had to use to my charms, and personality to win them over (okay ha ha right?).

Independence, oh where do I start? Eversince I've learned how to make money on my own I've been striving to be independent. I guess it's just apart of how I was raised and is in my personality. I hate hate hate depending on others for things. Whether it be financially, mentally, emotionally, or just me needing a ride from someone to get somewhere, I hate asking people for things, or leaning on someone for something. I guess I think it makes you more vulnerable and fragile so I don't want to put myself in that position. But boy did moving out of my parents' house let alone the same state they were in make me more independent as a person (which I won't list out), even my parents have seen the difference, and it makes me really happy to see them proud of me.

I won't go into anymore details of what made me move out of the place where my everything was but the pro's and con's. I guess you really don't know what you've got until it's gone!

What I missed about Minnesota:

• the 10,000+ lakes; I really really do miss running around lake calhoun, jetskiing, boating, fishing, bbq'ing, pontooning, swimming, or just plain old driving by the lakes in the spring/summer
• the cleanliness; I know this probably sounds really stupid, but after living in STL boy have I missed the cleanliness of MN..from parks to parking lots or the malls MN is just cleaner
• the nightlife; the nightlife in MN really was just that much better than STL's...no offense but the clubs down here are whack unless I take 6 shots of unknown drinks and 5 patron shots like the previous weekend then maybe I'll dance my ass off and have fun.
• Sushi Tango; I love their yummy green muscles (I actually missed this so much that I found a similar recipe online which I will be trying out asap) and oysters...everytime I visit I've had to make a stop.
• living in the suburbs; I miss the private hill that my parents' house is on. I miss not having to know how to parallel park a car
• Mystic Lake; not the gambling or the hundreds of asians that go there everyday, but the weekly all you can eat seafood buffet, mMmMMm prime rib, oysters, and crab legs here I come!
• MOA; I love how all of my favorite stores are all under one roof! one stop shop
• no sales tax; sure it may only be a couple of dollars, but a couple of dollars here and there really do add up! i bought a pair of booties the other day and the sales tax was nearly $7.00!!! that's lunch.
• Cub Foods; their prices are REALLY "everyday low prices" . Schnucks prices just can't compare.
• MN state fair; corn on the cob covered in butter and salt, cheese curds, funnel cakes, tons of deep fried food on a stick, fair like type rides, concerts..whats not to love? I haven't been to the Great Minnesota Get together in two years now and everytime Labor day weekend rolls around I'm tempted to buy a plane ticket up there for a day just so I can goto the fair.

What I will miss about St. Louis, MO:

• Steak 'N Shake; their Frisco melt is the reason why I gained 10lbs
• working Downtown; I love working in the business-ish atmosphere, plus the hours of operartions downtown seems to run on (no work on weekends!!!)
• the closeness of everything; everything is so close together that driving 20minutes out to my uncle's restaurant for lunch/dinner seems like a road trip. saves on gas!
• the fujiyama roll from Nippon Tei; that roll is my favorite all time sushi roll. i don't know whats in it but I know the roll is breaded and deep fried...YUM. Plus this restaurant seems to be the only good sushi restaurant in STL
• pride in the STL Cardinals; I love how they have so much pride in their team whether they're winning or losing. oh and how much they hate the Chicago Cubs.
• Harry's Cheesecakes; best strawberry cheesecakes in the WORLD. i bought one for chairty in our buildings cake walk thing and I killed the cake.

What I didn't miss about MN:

• money is everything to everyone here; it seems like 90% of the asian community just wanna get rich and everything is about money. how annoying.
• the super cold freezing temps plus the snow; there was a point in life where i loved the snow, but that was when I could jump in the snow, build snow forts on the deck of my house and have a big snowball fight with all of the kids on our block but since those days are over, i hate it.

What I won't miss about MO:

• the drivers; 90% of these people need to go back and retake their road test. you don't know how many i just wanna get out of the car w/a bat and smash these people's windshields.
• hwy 64/40 construction; it was one of the most used highways in the STL metro and they close half of it down for construction for a year and then after that they'll be closing the other half down..bringing the traffic to all the little inside roads.

come back later for the entire entry. it's getting late and I'm getting tired. ::yawns::