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« ...from finalist Chris Haworth | Main | ...from finalist Karen Cinpinski »

May 29, 2007

Comments

Casandra H.

Sounds like you had a fun weekend, everything from experiencing a popular, Southern tradition to enjoying Sunday's beautiful weather at Kitefest.

I can hardly wait to hear how your bike ride turns out; good luck!

Johnny Love Dart

I love crawfish- this was a great tip about where to get them

Tiffany

Your post made me laugh out loud about "food looking back at you", a personal pet peeve of mine! Good for you for having the courage to eat a crawfish. Your helpful links let me know where to find some for myself if I can summon my own courage.

Margaret

Glad to hear that you're a supporter of the arts! I look forward to hearing about your experience with the Ride as well as future posts concerning the arts scene in Milwaukee.

EC

I've been wanting to try Bayou--didn't know they had crawfish boils. Takes me back to my college days in N'Awlins! Thanks for the info, and keep up the clever and informative blogging...

Bicycle Bob

Thanks for the reminder, Miller Ride is a big event for the arts and I'm planning on doing my first 50 miler! Keep up the support for the event.

Holly Golightly

You are completely right about Memorial Day being a reward for the 9 months of crap weather we have to endure here. Your recap of the weekend was well-written and funny, and you inspired me to go to the lakefront this coming weekend! Excellent blog!

Julia

Love the description of your Bayou experience! Definitely an adventurous meal and hope you are able to share more adventurous outings ahead!

Jennifer

Thanks for the hints! As a newcomer to Milwaukee, this gave me some great ideas on new things to try.

Joe Guff

I really liked your description of the events. I didn't know about the crawfish boil and would really like to experience it some time. I also think that having links embedded is an excellent idea and helps those who find interest in the events to learn more about them. I wrote here, though, because I wanted to comment on:
"After about nine long months of intolerable weather"

I've lived in Milwaukee my whole life and find winter to be nowhere near intolerable. What you call intolerable, I call fun and exciting. Cross-country skiing, whacking some balls at the golf dome, visiting the Mitchell Park Domes, sledding, snow-(wo)men, snowball fights, nights around the fire. There is much for Milwaukee to offer in these "intolerable" months I don't think it's right to drive people off 9 months out of the year.

Molly

Hey Joe-
You're right. There are tons of things to do in the city when it's freezing outside. I personally prefer the November-January stretch, but come February-April I start to get really impatient for spring. I'm a little more enthusiastic just after the fall because I do love skiing and sledding. I'm also always amazed how the city is a little muffled by snow cover and it forces us to slow down a bit. Around the months of February and March I do start to miss color and foliage making the last few weeks of winter seem unending.

"Intolerable" is merely an over-reaction to how excited I was about this spring. My flair for the dramatic got the better of me. Thanks for your input!

stephanie perry

(In response to Joe's comment:)
While many people enjoy winter sports in Milwaukee, you have to admit that waiting for a bus or scraping inches of ice and snow off of your car in the sub-zero temperatures with the icy wind in your face is less than ideal. I actually do find it intolerable, but kudos to you for finding pleasure in it! Many people enjoy the long winters here, but when the sun is shining and I can run around outside in the grass in shorts and a tank top, I can't help but feel a sense of relief and appreciation for the summer here. It doesn't mean that you have to leave during the cold weather or that many people don't love the winter; I just think it causes us to be more grateful for the warm summer weather!

Clare

As a life long Milwaukee resident who thought she knew everything about this city,I was happy to see your description of the Kite Fest. I have never been, but now I am intrigued and will have to check it out next time.

Also, as far as winter being "intolerable," I can absolutely see where you are coming from with that. I like winter for about 2 days, and then I am ready for the nice weather to come back. When the long winter ends, spring and summer are such a welcome change from the dreary, cold, gray days. While Milwaukee has a lot to offer all year round, summer is where it truly shows it's colors. I saw intolerable exactly as how you meant it. Good luck on the Ride!

Michael

This blog is okay if I was curious about you as a person AND Milwaukee, but since I would be coming here to read about the city of Milwaukee I would be more interested in hearing about the city than yourself. I honestly don't think you take pride in the things that Milwaukee has to offer, regardless of the weather we may have to deal with from time to time.

Erin

Michael, if you want to read *just* about the city of Milwaukee, pick up the Journal Sentinel.

The whole purpose of a blog is to get to know the author so that you get a feel for where the perspective is coming from. By allowing you into his or her personal life, the blog author builds credibility and a rapport with the readers.

And to say that she doesn't take pride in what Milwaukee has to offer after just one short post is slightly ridiculous.

Krista

Amen to that, Erin.

I actually want to know MORE about these bloggers.

Keep doing what you're doing, bloggers.

Julia

Yes, there are plenty of resources to hear about Milwaukee (OnMilwaukee.com, MJS, etc.), but I think the point of Play in the City is to give a little personality to this great city of ours and hear the "real" story and insider perspective.

Julia

Yes, there are plenty of resources to hear about Milwaukee (OnMilwaukee.com, MJS, etc.), but I think the point of Play in the City is to give a little personality to this great city of ours and hear the "real" story and insider perspective.

Julia

Yes, there are plenty of resources to hear about Milwaukee (OnMilwaukee.com, MJS, etc.), but I think the point of Play in the City is to give a little personality to this great city of ours and hear the "real" story and insider perspective.

Molly

Michael,
Simply by being here and participating in this contest I think shows that all three of us finalists really want this position because of our passion for Milwaukee. This is technically a volunteer position, so if any of us only had luke warm feelings none of us would have applied. I didn't realize that I needed to say, "I take pride in my city" to showcase that I'm actually proud of Milwaukee. I would have to say my approach is a more subtle than that.

I agree with Erin and Krista. Expounding only on the city from a sterile point of view isn't a blog. That's not what it's meant to be. I fully anticipate injecting my personality and experiences into my writing and unfortunately that is nearly impossible to convey from one blog entry and a 100 word bio. We were also limited in our word count which I know was challenging for me as I'm sure it was for the other bloggers. Additionally, this contest is supposed to last until June 7 with this one blog entry. I personally would like to post additional entries to keep the contest fresh and give the readers more information to base their decisions off of.

If you're looking to read just about the city then please feel free to vote that way. I fully intend on starting a dialogue with my readers about life in Milwaukee, both the ups AND the downs.

Krista

Amen to THAT, too, Molly. :)

Kelly

Molly - I really enjoy your writing. I am also behind you with the winter months being a tad intolerable. As fun as the snow is the first time around...it definitely is not as fun come March. I like what you said when you pointed out that none of you would have applied for this job if you only had luke warm feelings about the city. I think that sentiment is what is so great about this blog. I like to see others love Milwaukee as much as I do. Good luck!

Molly

I find it interesting that my word choice of “intolerable” to describe Milwaukee winters has created such a stir. I think one of the most distinctive characteristics of Milwaukeeans is our ability to laugh at ourselves. Living here, we face so many extremes, not only in climate (though frankly, I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say “I love this!” when it’s 20 below zero outside), but also in lifestyles. As mentioned in other posts, we have our beer and cheese, which is quite popular and has become a stereotype, but we do also have an extensive list of cultural opportunities, from the arts to restaurants and nightlife. Milwaukee is a combination of all of those things and I personally find the juxtaposition of the craving for both a cheese curd and a martini terribly amusing. I think it’s great that we don’t have to choose one or the other as our only option.

Erin commented on Chris’s post asking us to answer two questions. I thought it would be rude to answer on his about myself, so I’m posting here instead.

1) I think the best way to answer this is to tell you about what I’ve been up to in the last week or so. I didn’t have enough space to write about this in my post, but last Monday I attended my first Brewer’s game of the season. I also tailgated for the first time and I had a blast. There is such an energy in Miller Park’s parking lot and the general friendliness and open attitudes of everyone in attendance is really welcoming. This week I also attended the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s production of The Nerd. It was absolutely hilarious (literally, I snorted several times throughout the show) and one of the most original productions I have seen in a while. This Friday, I’m taking a group of friends of mine from Chicago on their first Lakefront Brewery tour and fish fry, one of my personal favorite activities. Saturday, we plan on making the most of the Downtown Dining Out Week specials and trying some new restaurants around town. As I’ve mentioned, Sunday I’m headed out to pedal the 25-mile route for the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts. I think this week-in-my-life glimpse showcases the diverse activities I choose to occupy my time with and would really love to share with the readers of PlayintheCity.com.

On the horizon, I plan on attending Summerfest (particularly to see Bon Jovi, but I’m sure I’ll be there several other days as well), I’d like to attend a cooking seminar at the Public Market, maybe even try the new oyster bar there, possibly take a class at Bucketworks or at Danceworks, learn how to sail, make some trips to nearby areas for camping and other outdoor activities, and many other adventures yet to come. I’m open to suggestions and happy to be the readers’ guinea pig.

2) I foresee my main sidekick being my friend, LeeAnn. Her and I both make an effort to challenge each other to try new things and evolve in different ways. We sometimes act like an old married couple anyway, so it’s pretty predictable she’ll be playing Shirley to my Laverne. We’re both single and hate getting into a repetitive lifestyle. I’m also fortunate enough to have my family nearby (most of which are participating in the Miller Lite Ride with me) and a large selection of good times-seeking coworkers that keep me informed on all the latest arts-related know-how. On particularly unpredictable weekends, my college buddies from UW-Eau Claire that are now scattered throughout the Midwest descend upon this city determined to make it their own.

I hope this answers all of your questions. If you have any others please feel free to ask.

Erin

Thanks Molly! Sounds like you're a busy gal! :) We're thinking of trying out Lakefront Brewery's fish fry in a couple of weeks, too.

Molly

How fun! I love the perch, but I'm pretty sure all of their fish fries are good. Don't leave without at least one round of a polka!

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