so I'm back

in the sweltering bosom of Florida.

Actually it's been raining fairly regularly, at all times throughout the day, so the temp will climb and then fall when the rain hits...not bad at all really. Average I would say like 85?

It was so weird coming home. First, I had been traveling for a collective 24 hours...never good for the contacts or the skin. Arriving in Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport was thrilling...mainly due to excessive turbulence on approach, and the giant group of youth-groupers who were hustling through customs and security to connect to another flight. Me, I had a good 2 hours before my connection, so I sat and watched people. It was rather unsettling how different (and NOT in a good way) the people of America are from Europeans. Yes, I know I've spent 5 months bashing them, but at the very least, most Europeans have the decency to treat air travel like a respectful, dignified occasion. Anyway, I won't go into great detail...only to say that "middle-america" is just as scary as ever.

Anyway, onwards to Tampa. Got in Thursday night, late. Friday got up, puttered around. The weekend was fairly lazy, with the parents out of town and no real list of things to be done. Hit the saks sale (couple of nice finds, nothing big though), and hung out with Blair.

I find Tampa to be such an interesting place. First of all, I had no trouble falling back into my routine, with the gym, with driving, with calling Blair and arranging dinner. It was all very easy...as if I'd never left.

Otherwise, I remark upon how...mainstream many formerly exotic things have become in Tampa. Allow me to elaborate: 10 years ago, there was no big fancy mall. No Saks 5th Avenue, no Neiman Marcus. No Louis Vuitton or Gucci. Certainly fewer Mercedes and BMW. And most of all, fewer 20 and 30-somethings hanging around South Tampa.

Now I know all cities grow up sooner or later, gain more worldly appeal, etc. I guess with Tampa I still consider it to be a B-city, a younger sibling to Orlando...a place relatively quiet. And certainly not a hot place for under-30s (although now I believe the city is rated something like #1 or #2 in nightlife by Maxim magazine, but don't quote me).

But, drive around a bit here, and you could prove me wrong (as I do myself every day). Every other blond post-college female has a BMW 3-series or Audi A4 (if I had a dollar for every...)...and authentic Louis Vuitton bags are in great popularity. There is a full-fledged LV boutique as well as a concession counter in Saks 5th Avenue. And Chanel has opened 2 concession store-in-store boutiques, one in Neiman and one in Saks.

I guess the point of all my feelings and observations is that, so many things are no longer exclusive or special. To see a Bentley on the street here isn't all that rare, and seeing women with real, $1200+ handbags is almost expected. And the percentage of patrons under 30 at restaurants, clubs, and gyms has to be in the 60-70% range. Tampa is turning into a real, international city, with wide appeal and praise. I'm not sure I like it :)