An Interesting Day

An interesting day. My hubby and I traveled to St. Paul, MN to the Minnesota Department of Education building. Their directions were full of errors, and the workshop registration had typos on it, which I find amusing. I attended a meeting to explain the Licensure Via Portfolio path to gaining my Minnesota Public Schools teaching license. John came along because he's thinking that a career change to Math Instructor might be a good thing. Let me tell you, this portfolio program is no cake walk!! It's a highly detailed process wherein you argue that your life experience and education are equal to the standards for a public classroom teacher. It's only slighty less involved than earning a Master's, but a lot less expensive.

After the two-hour workshop, we headed to downtown St. Paul for a burger at Mickey's diner. This place is an icon. It's not a yuppified "redo" with cutesy kitsch and fake history. This place is the REAL DEAL. Rust is holding up most of the exterior. The interior has not changed since about 1942, nor has it been dusted much. The wait staff are funny and will makes jokes at your expense. Within 10 minutes, we became known as the "ding-a-lings at the end of the counter". We also learned by watching that the garbage can right outside our window was a favorite with local trash divers.
My burger and hash browns were perfect diner food. If I'd had access to this stuff in college could have cured many hangovers. Or maybe I'm the only person who craved greasy diner food when hungover. Luckily it wasn't too often. And perhaps lucky this place is a good distance from the University of Minnesota campus or they'd be packed even fuller on weekend mornings.

From wikipedia - Mickey's Diner is a classic Art Deco diner car restaurant in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was prefabricated in New Jersey, shipped to Saint Paul by rail, and installed downtown just before World War II. It looks much like it did then and is still open 24 hours a day (and according to its employees, non-stop since it started). It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as the only building of its kind in Minnesota.

On the way home, my husband repeatedly drove IN THE PASSING LANE while everyone backed up angrily behind him. He obtusely insists that he is allowed to drive in the left lane although the facts are staring him, or flipping him off, right in the face. Would someone else please phone him up and tell him to just quit it already? I'm getting nowhere.