Saturday, August 14, 2004
Market Mayhem
She flaked! Well, not really, but it didn't work out. A friend of mine and I have been playing phone-tag for the first half of the summer. We hadn't seen each other all summer long, and before leaving to college I really wanted to get together, spend some time, and say goodbye for the next few months. She called me on Thursday and told me she couldn't meet up on Friday.
Her parents own a little plot of land outside of the suburbs of this burgeoning metropolis where they grow all sorts of vegetables. Every weekend, they set up camp in the Minneapolis Farmer's Market, and sell their goods. She told me she'd be there from 5am till 1pm. So I decided that I'd go visit her there.
I rolled out of bed at 10:30am, which, ladies and gents, is still early for a college student on a weekend on summer break. I brushed my teeth, shaved, cut myself a slice of home-made banana bread, and stormed out of the house with my mom. My mom wanted to buy some fresh veggies, and she (sort of) knew how to get there, so we went together.
The market was huge! I had no idea! People walked up and down the rows of vendors like little ants. Randomly stopping, bumping into each other, looking, touching, and creating traffic-jams. A big sign boasted, "the largest open-air market in the Upper Midwest," to which I wanted to add, "the most crowded, too."
Mom and I walked around a little, but after realizing the immense size of this place, and how nutty-busy it was, we figured it'd be a waste of time to keep wandering around. Giving up my hope to surprise my friend, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed her digits.
"Hey! I'm here!"
"Hey."
"Where are you?"
"What?!"
"I'm at the Farmer's Market looking for you! Where are you?"
"Ahhh no! I left!"
"What?!? You said you'd be here till 1pm!"
"My other job called. I just got there."
"Oh... I see."
"I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, don't worry about it."
"I'm so sorry, are you there alone?"
"I'm here with my mom, too."
"Well, that's good. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. Well, I guess I'll just talk to you later."
See, plan A was to hang out with my friend at her booth while my mom shopped her heart out. Instead, I had to go with plan B. Tagging along to my mom while she shopped her heart out for fresh veggies. To give my mom some credit, she was pretty efficient this time around. But it was so annoying to have to stop every two seconds, to bump into I-don't-know-how-many people. At least I could help her carry some bags. And at least we got some nice, fresh, home-grown, vegetables.
I feel bad for my friend though. I feel bad that I couldn't get together with her, and that another couple months will have to go by till we meet up again. I also feel bad because she has to work so hard. She's working three jobs plus she's a college student, too. How in the world?
Her parents own a little plot of land outside of the suburbs of this burgeoning metropolis where they grow all sorts of vegetables. Every weekend, they set up camp in the Minneapolis Farmer's Market, and sell their goods. She told me she'd be there from 5am till 1pm. So I decided that I'd go visit her there.
I rolled out of bed at 10:30am, which, ladies and gents, is still early for a college student on a weekend on summer break. I brushed my teeth, shaved, cut myself a slice of home-made banana bread, and stormed out of the house with my mom. My mom wanted to buy some fresh veggies, and she (sort of) knew how to get there, so we went together.
The market was huge! I had no idea! People walked up and down the rows of vendors like little ants. Randomly stopping, bumping into each other, looking, touching, and creating traffic-jams. A big sign boasted, "the largest open-air market in the Upper Midwest," to which I wanted to add, "the most crowded, too."
Mom and I walked around a little, but after realizing the immense size of this place, and how nutty-busy it was, we figured it'd be a waste of time to keep wandering around. Giving up my hope to surprise my friend, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed her digits.
"Hey! I'm here!"
"Hey."
"Where are you?"
"What?!"
"I'm at the Farmer's Market looking for you! Where are you?"
"Ahhh no! I left!"
"What?!? You said you'd be here till 1pm!"
"My other job called. I just got there."
"Oh... I see."
"I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, don't worry about it."
"I'm so sorry, are you there alone?"
"I'm here with my mom, too."
"Well, that's good. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. Well, I guess I'll just talk to you later."
See, plan A was to hang out with my friend at her booth while my mom shopped her heart out. Instead, I had to go with plan B. Tagging along to my mom while she shopped her heart out for fresh veggies. To give my mom some credit, she was pretty efficient this time around. But it was so annoying to have to stop every two seconds, to bump into I-don't-know-how-many people. At least I could help her carry some bags. And at least we got some nice, fresh, home-grown, vegetables.
I feel bad for my friend though. I feel bad that I couldn't get together with her, and that another couple months will have to go by till we meet up again. I also feel bad because she has to work so hard. She's working three jobs plus she's a college student, too. How in the world?
