Day One in the City

Having said goodbye to the town of colleges, cows and contentment, and a short unemployed stint in my parents’ basement, I find myself in the gigantic, scary city of Minneapolis. While not completely foreign to me, this city is holds many untapped resources: places and things for me to explore, hear, swim in, see, and eat. No parents, no homework, and no cows. With my meager earnings brought in by a paid internship that has nothing to do with my biology degree, I am off on my own for the first time in a big city.

Thus begins my first workday in downtown Minneapolis. Bye-bye parent’s basement in suburbia!

The plan: my father has equipped me with a GPS-enabled Blackberry and two canisters of mace. “Be careful getting on and off the bus,” he warns, “and stay away from Block E! That is where all the gangs hang out!” Having little idea of the location of Block E, I look him in the eyes and say in my most convincing tone, “Don’t worry, dad. I will have my mace holder unlocked and ready to spray at all moments, I won’t talk to strangers, and I will only use public transportation when it is light out.” Dad almost believes me, sends me on my way, and tells me to call if I get lost.

After boarding the bus from my new place in St. Paul, my ride goes smoothly enough. I’d looked up the fare and had my $2.25 rush hour fare in correct change, I sat up in the front, intently studying the street signs I passed so as not to miss my stop. Since I have almost no sense of direction, it took me a while to realize that my bus, though the right number, was heading in the wrong direction.
After about four stops, I asked the driver, “Is this bus going to downtown Minneapolis?”
“Downtown St. Paul, actually. You want to get on the bus across the street.”
A lot of good my GPS phone did me.

My first day at work was full of informational pamphlets and too many faces and names to remember. I ate lunch alone, observing various business professionals scurrying around the skyway, acting busy on their phones, convening for lunch meetings, and power walking in their dress skirts and tennis shoes.

The bus ride back to my car was headed in the right direction, and pretty uneventful, save for the 3-year-old who sat next to me and sang hip-hop melodies while picking his nose and jumping around the entire ride:

    Feel the melody in the rhythm of the music around you, around you
    I'm gonna take you there, I'm gonna take you there
    So don't be scared . . .
    We can go anywhere, go anywhere.

Chris Brown never sounded so good.