The Midwest Argonaut vol. 2

The second issue of The Midwest Argonaut is officially published! The last two weeks have been absolutely insane and nerve wrecking— I still can't believe Maddy and I managed to create a magazine while on separate continents. Nonetheless, we are proud of our baby. 

Make sure to check it out here.
If you're feeling generous, support us and buy yourself a copy for $8!

A Day Trip in the Cities

Today, the plan was to have a kickass time at the 10,000 Sounds Music Festival. The problem was, we last minute found out that it's a 21+ show— a fact that they forgot to advertise on the homepage, banners, and countless radio mentions I heard over the month, might I add. Since I had already taken the day off, I figured why not do something fun anyway. 

And so, me, Ally, Alvin, and Anthony got together around 9:20 am and headed to the Mall of America. We ate our breakfast there and went shopping for a few hours. We shopped our butts off at the overwhelmingly large Forever 21 store, took silly photobooth pictures at the Doc Martens store and sent some to Mr. Terpstra (a former economics teacher of ours), and we found an Italian restaurant that smells like dogs (perhaps it's the smell of some grains or wheaty ingredient). 

After we were done with our shopping, we headed over to IKEA. For whatever reason, Saturday afternoon is the perfect time for people to crowd inside of IKEA stores. Our IKEA trip was filled with sitting on couches, beds, and chairs, and reading the Swedish names of items out loud. Anthony was in heaven; he bought a set of 310 thread count bed sheets, a set of Space Invader decals, and wooden hangers. The whole time I had an overwhelming yearning to live in a cozy brick apartment in St. Paul and decorate it with cute IKEA things. I was fantasizing about buying cute rugs, furniture, wall decor, and lamps for my future apartment.

Once Anthony was done purchasing his items with the help of a cashier that looked a lot like T-Pain, we made our way to the Walker Art Center. None of us had ever been to the Walker Art Center, and getting there in the first place was quite the ordeal. There were plenty of exits missed, lane changes gone awry, expletives directed at Google Maps, and angry drivers behind us. Needless to say, we were extremely relieved when we finally got there.

A super cool pic of the Walker Art Center, taken from the official website: http://www.walkerart.org/visit

The first thing we did was check out the gift shop. Art museum gift shops make me drool. I skimmed through thick books with delight, played with all the cool little gadgets, and indulged in the beautiful ambiance that is art museums. 

After we had our fill of the gift shop, we finally remembered that we still had to explore the museum. Once we got our visitor tabs at the desk, the lady told us that we had 45 minutes left before the museum closed. All of a sudden I recalled the MOMA debacle from March and had a slight panic— what if we don't explore it all in time?

It's always difficult exploring a museum under time constraints. You want to get to everything but still be able to take the time to absorb it all in depth, and it's difficult to figure out that balance, especially in a museum you've never been to before. We quickly zipped through the museum within half an hour, and missed a few galleries because they were closed for maintenance. After we knew we had gone through everything, we went back to carefully analyze and get a full look at what we saw. 

I had a lot of fun going through the museum and reading the stories behind the pieces. I'll be honest that I was weirded out by a handful of the pieces, but it's a modern art museum, what can you do? I was immediately reminded of MOMA, even as we stepped into the gift shop. I truly enjoyed the clean white walls and minimalistic ambiance, as well as the interactive set up. 

Once the museum closed, we walked over to the sculpture garden. It was a lot of fun, minus the hot and humid weather. There were three weddings going on at the same time, which was kind of fun to watch from afar. We went through the Cowles Conservatory, marveled at the beautiful plants, and viewed the sculptures, including the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture often accompanied with Twin Cities/Minnesota guide books. Meanwhile, Anthony was taking pictures of the sculptures and adding hilarious captions to them on Snapchat. 

After a long an exhausting hour or so of walking, we sat down and tried to figure out where to go for dinner. We ended up going to Peninsula, a Malaysian cuisine restaurant located on Eat Street. We ordered achat salad, roti canai, shrimp fried rice, and mango beef with white rice. The food was spot on and super delicious. Although it was pricier than we had expected, we were able to split the cost between four people and pay about $10 each. 

Overall, it was a fun and exciting day. It was extremely exhausting and stressful at times, but it was totally worth it. I cannot wait to go back.

For more information on the Walker Art Center, click here.
For more information on Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine, click here.

Paddleboat Shuggie

When Ally asked me to hop aboard a Kann family trip to rural Wisconsin, I couldn’t say no. It’s always fun being a part of someone else’s family for a bit, if only for a few days. Given my chaotic, slightly crazy, Vietnamese American upbringing, the Kanns are like exotic birds in my eyes. They go to bed early, wake up early, have extended TV channels, are absolutely insane about Trader Joe’s snacks, prefer brown rice over white, don’t throw parties on the weekends,  the list goes on and on. I suppose it’s a bit strange for me to write about them as if they’re unicorns or aliens, considering the majority of American households are like this, but I can’t help myself sometimes.

On a Thursday morning, I arrived at the Kann residence with backpack and duffel bag in hand. We departed around 11:15 am, picked up Maria from summer school, and hit the road soon after. The majority of our three hour drive was spent staring out the window, talking about college things, eating snacks, and listening to groovy tunes (minus the Watercolors Sirius XM radio station, because I hate it). Y’know, the usual road trip activities.

After passing through a handful of small towns, the geographical center of Wisconsin, and barns with collapsed roofs, we had arrived at our destination. We started things off by stopping at Grandma Kann’s cottage and eating lunch at a nearby bar, owned by the Hotchkiss family. Ally and I played one game of foosball and two games of pool. Foosball was great, but pool was an embarrassing, hot mess. I had never played pool before in my life and Ally had limited experience. Needless to say, we were both terrible at it. But, it was a great learning experience— it just happened to be accompanied by confused old men sitting at a nearby table.

After we were done with our bar stop, we checked into Uncle Bob and Aunt Shelly’s residence, where we would be staying for the next few nights. Once we finished settling in, we went back to the cottage, and proceeded to take a ride in the paddleboat. Later that night, we joined Mama Kann in watching a celebrity scandal TV show, just for kicks. And of course, I learned a great deal about Chris Farley, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mickey Rourke in the span of a few hours, and in the most unbiased manner possible. We got back to Uncle Bob and Aunt Shelly’s house soon after our Celebrity Scandal session and spent the rest of the night watching Drake and Josh, Anna and the King, and Family Feud.

The next two days were filled with more relaxation and bumming around. Once again, it was nice being taken away from my usual tight schedule filled with work and errands. I have never watched so much television in my life, nor have I paddleboated so much in my life. Despite the immense relaxation, I was slightly sleep deprived and averaged 4 - 4.5 hours of sleep each night. But it was fun.

On Friday, we went into a nearby city, Marshfield, for brunch. We then went back to the cottage and did some more paddleboating. We paddled around for hours, and boy was it nice and breezy outside. We talked about everything from boy problems to religion and traveling. I don’t remember what we did after that, but I do remember making fried rice, watching Sharknado and Kevin Hart’s I’m a Grown Little Man. We also stuffed our faces with cream cheese pineapple peach salsa, tortilla chips, and banana chips. Good stuff.

Our last full day started off with a delicious pancake, eggs, and bacon breakfast. We sat around, watched a Sandra Bullock movie, and hung around the house until it was time to go to Saturday afternoon church. I almost never go to church, but when I do it’s always with the Kanns. We got to church fifteen minutes early, because that’s how the Kanns roll. I sat there and observed the glass stained windows, the incoming flow of Stratfordians, and the crying baby somewhere in the front. I was a bit anxious before the service because I always stick out like a sore thumb at church. I don’t have anything memorized, I can’t sing the hymns without a book, and I can’t cross myself with confidence.

The man of the hour was an Indian priest named Alphonse. He wore the usual priest attire, was roughly a foot taller than me, and had a thick accent. Usually when I go to church I have a rough idea of what’s going on, but this time I was absolutely confused. There was no program or guide to follow, and no one ever pulled out the hymn books. And I couldn’t even B.S. it and pretend I knew what was going on. But, it was all worth it because I got to shake hands with an Indian priest named Alphonse, like how cool is that?

After church, we went back to the cottage and I experienced my first pontoon ride. It was a very nice, relaxing, and scenic. Shortly after, we did some chalk drawing on the driveway while listening to a world music radio station. Once I had completed my chalky rendition of Starry Night and Ally finished her Pooh bear inspired drawing, we took off in the paddleboat once more.

Watching the sunset on the paddleboat was absolutely satisfying; the golden rays of the sun bounced and reflected on the water until it finally hit behind the clouds. All was going well, until a handful of redneck, tweeny bopping boys decided to moon us on their pontoon. It was immature and laughable that these kids could find satisfaction in flashing a pasty pair of butt flabs to a couple of older girls, but we made it clear that we were indifferent towards them and paddled on. They circled around us and mooned us twice until we finally got out of their sight. I did the proper, adult thing and dedicated a freestyle rap to them (very expletive heavy, but very clever). We got a huge kick out of it and recorded a video of it, with me rapping and Ally doing third-rate beatboxing in the background, just in case I wanted to send it to a record company someday. Once it started to get dark, we went back to shore and Papa Kann drove us back to Uncle Bob and Aunt Shelly’s house. When we got back, we sat in Ally’s room and hung out until 4 in the morning. We had a mini dance party, followed by loads of girl talk.

Four hours later, we got up, packed up our stuff, ate breakfast, and hit the road. We drove to Menomonie to drop off a car for one of Ally’s cousins, who needed a car to drive once she flew in from Seattle (or something like that). We listened to mix CDs and The National on the way there. I learned that in addition to having a Sparta, Wisconsin also has an Athens. And not only are there towns named after Greek city states in Wisconsin, but there is also a Little Cuba, Belgium, and Berlin in Wisconsin. After we dropped off the car, we finally headed home.

Overall, it was a nice trip. I got to experience rural Wisconsin at its finest. I am thankful for the Kann family for taking me away from my busy schedule, even though it was only temporary. This trip not only showed me the joys of pontooning and fancy coasters, but it also deepened my love for white rice, which I had not consumed for four days. Shout out to Father Alphonse for being cool, and shout out to the congregation that sang that one hymn in the wrong key and it was hilarious.

Summer in Rochester: Finding free music on the banks of the Zumbro

Big crowds turn out for Thursdays at First and Third. Photo courtesy Rochester Downtown Alliance.

Alas, my music journalism career has started (sort of). I got a gig writing for the Current's blog as a part of their college contributors program— and I got published just today.

Take a look here.

Canoeing Mishaps, Car Lunch, and Patrick Danz: My Day in Lanesboro

Yesterday morning, around 10:30 am, Alvin and I embarked on a journey to Lanesboro, MN, a charming little town with a population of 734. According to Chad (my Jesus doppleganger coworker), its population nearly doubles during the summer because of all the tourists that come by (it's a popular spot for tubing, canoeing, kayaking, and biking, in addition to being the Bed and Breakfast Capital of Minnesota). It's always fun and relaxing to be in Lanesboro, which is why it's no surprise that it was named one of the best 20 small towns to live in 2014 by Smithsonian Magazine. 

Anyway, the big mission of the day: survive a canoeing adventure. Alvin only went canoeing once before, a long time ago, and I had never gone before. We went to the Little River General Store to check in, met a nice but super buff guy named Caleb at a spot by the river, followed him in our car to an area downstream, left our car there and went in his to go through a trail and to a spot upstream, and then got in our canoe. As I carefully stepped down into the canoe, a giant cloud of gnats engulfed me, and I thought that this might have been a bad idea. 

And it kind of was. We sucked at canoeing. But Alvin was worse than me at it (no offense to him). He wasn't the best paddler (rower?) and tended to over-paddle, which would then lead us to spin around and often run into things. Of course, my inexperience is also to be blamed, but I was the one leading us throughout the whole thing. I admit we got better during the second half of the journey, but it was still a constant struggle. We also brought Arthur, the puppy. He seemed pretty bored and annoyed due to the heat and occasional bumping of the canoe into rocks. By the time we finished, I was extremely relieved. Two hours of canoeing down a river for the first time was a lot more intense than I had imagined. 

I can't trust Alvin to man the boat while I'm taking pictures, because usually he ends up making us go in the wrong direction and/or run into something. Here's an example of something we crashed into.

This is Arthur. He's a miniature poodle puppy. Super cute and fluffy.

Alvin Faisal, Prince of Jakarta, searches the river for any sign of his jeweled crown.

By the time we got to the car, we were extremely sweaty, exhausted, and bug bite-ridden. More importantly, we were hungry. Alvin was kind enough to bring us sandwich supplies and I brought bacon cheeseburger slider flavored potato chips. Because we wanted to stay in an air conditioned area with no bugs and no other place would let us sit around and eat our own food, we decided to eat in the car. We parked in front of a theater, made sandwiches, and indulged in the car's air conditioning. It was an amazing sandwich by the way— Laughing Cow cheese, lettuce, sliced bell peppers, pepper jack cheese, and roast beef on a French baguette. 

After lunch was done, we stopped by the Slant Avenue Mercantile. It's the coolest shop in Lanesboro, no questions asked. The shop carries all sorts of useful things, including potato chip chocolates, cat butt soap, stationary, classic toys, coffee, tea, and cigar box guitars (called Bro-Jo's). It has a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and even better, dogs are allowed. 

This is Patrick. He's not actually as wide as he looks in the picture— he was just standing on a stool and his stretched out shirt and the camera angle made him look wider.

I met Patrick (the head honcho of the Mercantile) during a tenth grade English field trip to the Commonweal Theatre, and have been cool with him since. He is one of the forrealist chillest guys I have ever met. He's got a friendly aura and nice smile, and he's one of those people you just wish made self help tapes because his voice is so relaxing to listen to. He's also one of those people you wish would write an autobiography because he's so cool. From what I gather, he was an actor, lived in Oregon, and knows cool people. I am forever grateful for him, as he introduced me to my idol Lucy Michelle (formerly of the Velvet Lapelles but they changed their name to Field Trip) at a Lanesboro BBQ joint last year.

Patrick and I talked for a while. I told him about the Midwest Argonaut, and he was cool enough to hand me 7 bucks and order a copy (everybody should consider following his example). He told me he was trying to organize a local music and art festival here in Lanesboro sometime in October, and of course I told him to keep me updated and that I would definitely come. I ended up buying some Nag Champa beauty soap and Stay Away From Assholes white tea violet luxury soap from him, as well as a bottle of Wait— was that slutty? hand sanitizer that I got for Dalena. 

After feeling satisfied about my visit to the Mercantile, we left and went out for ice cream. Alvin got a vanilla, pecan, and caramel mix and I got strawberry. It was pretty good, until a random hoard of mosquitoes came out of nowhere and attacked us. We quickly finished our cones and headed to the car.

Overall, I was satisfied with my day in Lanesboro. It could've gone a lot smoother, and I wouldn't have minded not getting bug bites, but I suppose there's no such thing as an adventure without mishap. I conclude this post by suggesting that people visit Lanesboro when they get the chance. It's a real hoot.

To check out the Slant Avenue Mercantile online, click here.

To check out the Little River General Store (where we rented our canoe), click here.

Summer Reading List (thus far)

1. Animal Farm by George Orwell

     I read this book in eighth grade, and I distinctly remember wanting to jump off a bridge (figuratively) when I finished it. That's just how messed up this book is. But I loved it. So when I stumbled upon a used copy in a bookstore in Perham, MN, I couldn't resist. Right now I'm halfway through, and I can hear my guts squelching inside of my stomach with every chapter. Long live Snowball and Boxer, forreal though.

2. Eastern Europe! Everything You Need to Know About the History (And More) of a Region That Shaped Our World and Still Does by Tomek Jankowski

     I don't even know if I capitalized that subtitle correctly. One can only ask why someone would want to read a nearly 600 page long book on East European history, but hey, I dig it. I was looking at the book's sheer mass and thought to myself, shucks, this could go very badly, but I checked it out anyway. And much to my surprise, I absolutely love it so far (I'm 83 pages in). This guy is hilarious. I don't know if it's just dork humor that losers like me could only find funny, if it's just because he kind of sounds kind of like me (or rather I sound like him), or a combination of both, but believe me when I say this book is actually pretty entertaining. Fun fact: Santa Claus was born in what is now western Turkey and destroyed pagan shrines before he got a gig as a Christmas mascot. Also, the first blue-eyed humans ever were from what is now Ukraine.

3. Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire by Judith Herrin

     I've been fascinated with Byzantium since the 9th grade. I decided to find a pretty looking book about Byzantium from the library and this is what I got. Also, I didn't want a book that just straight up summarized the history of the Byzantine Empire, but rather analyzed its history and culture. Cause nothing is cooler than Byzantine culture, am I right?

4. Reading Women: How the Great Books of Feminism Changed My Life by Stephanie Staal

     Being the feminist I am, and being the thrifty person I am, I grabbed this the moment I saw it in the $3.99 section at Barnes & Noble. And since I couldn't remember the last time I bought a brand new, unused book, it just looked all the more appealing. 

5. Zaatar Days, Henna Nights by Maliha Masood

     Another find in the $3.99 section at Barnes & Noble. I read the description and thought, this is definitely my kind of thing! The author, Maliha Masood, basically goes on a soul searching journey in the Middle East. And it sounds like a blast.  Who wouldn't want to camp out in the Sahara?

6. Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche 

     Good looking cover, good looking description, and it's Nietzsche. I got a beautiful hardcover copy from Barnes & Noble for like 7 bucks. It just feels nice. Anyway, I kind of see it as a Zoroastrian version of Siddhartha (I hope that didn't offend anyone for whatever reason). In other words, I hope to get a real kick/epiphany out of this.