Entries from October 2006 ↓

It’s been an energy-wasting day. Really cold, then snowing… I spent lots of time waiting for a bus, waiting for a transfer bus, waiting for a return bus, then waiting for a transfer bus again…

I had a dentist appointment this morning and they almost wouldn’t let me have my appointment because I was late. I told them I’d rather wait then have to come back. I don’t have any cavities, but I do need to find a periodontist for some possible surgery.

I went to lunch at “Down Time” with Mary (used to be Mangia). It was okay, but I’m not sure that it’s the sort of restaurant that will flourish in Dinkytown.

Last night I met Rebecca at Hard Times. I had just finished up in the photo lab and she was taking a break from work. We’ll be spending quite a bit of time together this weekend, too. She’s taking me to the opening party for the “Pattern Language” exhibit at the Weisman on Friday, and I’m taking her to the Peter Ostroushko concert at the Bell Museum on Saturday. I’ll be wearing an extraordinary amount of black this weekend.

This afternoon I’ll be joining my coworkers at Cafe 421 to say good bye to one that is leaving us for a job in Michigan.

So many things going on! I need a nap.

Last weekend I went to Vermillion.

Friday: Kristi and I got in to town around midnight.

Saturday: I woke up around 8am, Ryan and Jane came over around 9am. We walked to Main Street for the big parade, which started at 10am. Sergei, Renee and their three kids joined us. We all chased candy. We went to lunch at Chae’s around 12pm. Got home around 1:30pm. Drank beers with Mom and her coworkers. Took a nap around 2:30pm. Went to Chili Blues at 6pm. Went to the Eagle’s at 8pm. Danced and drank. Wandered around the bar circuit on Main Street. Went to Jon’s house to watch “Conte and Mightee Return.” Continued drinking. Stumbled home while drunk dialing some very lucky people at 3:30am.

Sunday: Woke up at 8am. No one else was awake. Took aspirin then went back to bed. Woke up again around 10:30am. Brownies (from scratch!) had already been baked! Headache. We celebrated Jane’s 28th birthday with grilled chicken from Dad and potato salad from Mom. Kristi came over around 2pm to return to Minneapolis. We left. I took a little nap during the drive through Sioux Falls. We stopped at a very busy McDonald’s in St. Peter. We got home around 7:30pm.

The end!

This week I am working on my website for class (I am getting slightly better at Flash) and making a composite face of my coworkers for the other class. I am printing photos this week, too! I wish I always had access to these gigantic Epson 4800 printers.

Speaking of which, I need to go to class now.

Yesterday, shortly after 11am, the museum was evacuated. Today we have a little article in the Minnesota Daily:

Minneapolis fire crews responded Wednesday to a carbon dioxide leak that forced the evacuation of students and staff members at the Bell Museum of Natural History.
About 11:15 a.m., four fire trucks arrived at the museum as police cars blocked off surrounding roads. Firefighters evacuated the museum and stopped the leak, said 3rd District Battalion Chief Todd White.

Firefighters donned air packs and used special equipment to stop the leak, said Alison Falldin, a visitor service specialist for the museum.

“There was a haze and mist in the air,” she said.

Fans might be used to help ventilate the building, Falldin said.

The museum has a system located in a secure storage room in the basement that releases carbon dioxide to remove oxygen from the air.

The system helps preserve artwork in the building, said University Police Sgt. Brad Herberg.

Three out of four tanks leaked carbon dioxide, said Brad Hoff, Facilities Management’s communications director. There was no fire and officials are investigating why the leak occurred, he said.

Herberg said that though he doesn’t know how dangerous the gas was, “you don’t really want to breathe it.”

An organic chemistry test interrupted by the leak was not canceled, said Youa Xiong, a biology junior. The test was moved to Nicholson Hall.

A leak like this has never happened at the museum, Falldin said, adding the building has 30-year-old pipes.

Nina Shepherd, Bell Museum public relations director, said the museum is hoped to move to the St. Paul campus by 2010.

“The current building, which opened in 1940, really falls short of what visitors expect from a contemporary museum,” she said.

Shepherd said the museum does not have a large lobby, large galleries, open reception areas or air conditioning.

“It seriously limits what we can do,” she said.

We still weren’t allowed back in by 1pm, so I left for class early. Today I hope I can get all of yesterday’s work done, as well as today’s (which means I should probably not be blogging). I am getting a haircut at 2:30pm, so it’s another short day.

Also of note, a respectable-seeming dude on the street this morning told me that I look magnificent. I approve of his vocabulary choice.

I have been busy, which is sort of awesome. Work is going well and I really love my little home and I bought chips so I can eat the salsa my grandparents gave me a weekend or two ago. Everything feels good.

On Saturday, the Bell Museum launched “Touch the Sky,” an exhibit of prairie photographs by Jim Brandenburg. He’s a very lovely person and it’s a beautiful exhibit. At the end of the night, Mary and I took our photo with him.

On Sunday morning, I woke up early and went to the south side of Lake Calhoun to cheer on runners in the Twin Cities Marathon. Barry ran this year. Hooray!