Welcome to Minnesota

Yes, as many of you probably already know I moved to Minneapolis earlier last month. It was a big step in my life but I am happy to have done it. What many people don't know is that Minneapolis is a big city with many affluent people. The Twin Cities is home to many corporate head quarters such as Target, Best Buy, 3M, General Mills, and many more... This is a huge job market which is part of the reason I have decided to move here.The other part was I moved for my boyfriend I met in Italy a year ago named Elliot Botten.
So much has happened since my move! Elliot and I were house sitting for two different family members so we were going from house to house. While house sitting Elliot's Mom and I were cleaning the condo so we could get it ready for all the repairs. Many of the upgrades and repairs we have decided to do ourselves with the carpenter skills of Elliot's dad Bruces help. I have learned many new handy skills such as laying click wood flooring, installing tile, putting together furniture, painting, and many more. You never thought I would be so handy didn't you? lol I suprised myself! I think growing up watching my parents build a house really helped!
We will be living down town near the new Twins stadium in a refurbished warehouse converted to condos. It is really neat and the location is very metropolitan with lots of restaurants and bars nearby. I am very excited to see what happens to this area after the stadium is complete. I think it will be like Petco Park in San Diego. We are hoping to be able to get settled sometime in the next two weeks.
I am constantly being asked about the weather and I must say it hasn't been too bad. Initially, it was a little colder in the mid 30's (Fahrenheit) and I even was able to experience some wet snow (which was beautiful and melted by noon) but its warmed up significantly since then. What has been amazing is that regardless of the temperature you always see people walking, jogging, or cycling along the roads. This area is very active, probably a result of the cabin fever they have been experiencing.
My parents drove my car out from California and visited me which was a wonderful treat! We had a blast visiting the surrounding areas and being tourist. We ate at the famous 5-8 Club a Juicy Lucy which is a hamburger with molten hot cheese in the middle. If you haven't had one before you need to because it is delicious! We celebrated my dad's birthday at ChinaLatino which is an amazing restaurant with an infusion of Chinese and Latin food. My dad got to wear a bandanna with the yin yang symbol and learned to drink a sake bomb. Also during my parent's visit, Elliot's mom Sue made a delicious Pallela which I wanted to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the leftovers! Elliot's parents and mine got along great. They truly developed a nice friendship at the end and were sad to see one another leave. During my parent's stay they even looked into condos in the down town area. Who knows maybe my parents will end up moving here too!
I haven't had a lot of time to commit to the job search since I have been exhausted working on condo or entertaining my parents during their visit. After we move into the condo, hopefully in the next week or so, I will be back to the job search. In the meantime I have joined a couple networking groups which I plan to attend soon. Everything seems to be falling into place. The more people I meet the more I get my name out there. I had an informational interview last week with the Marketing director at Allina Hospital and Clinics who is going to pass my resume and information along for me.
So that is my update from Min-ne-sota, yah!