Most people might think of Minneapolis - St. Paul as this little city up north where people talk like the characters on Fargo. Oh wait, actually most people probably don't even know about Minneapolis nor St. Paul, the twin cities straddling the Mississippi up north in southeast Minnesota. Which is amazing really, considering how much Minneapolis have contributed to the United States and the world to some extent.

This medium-size metropolitans (9 miles from each other, downtown-to-downtown) is where that piece of thin plastic with glue on one side is invented. Yes, Minneapolis is the home of 3M, it still is. Two major US retailers Target and Best Buy also hail from the state who elected a pro-wrestler as their governer long before the term governator existed. Caribou Coffee, General Mills, Northwest Airlines... they all part of the 16 Fortune 500 Companies that are headquartered here where pop means soft drink.

Economy issues aside, Minnesota Nice is more than just a saying. In both the negative and positive sides of it, Minnesota really is nice. Well, obviously I'm talking about everything but the weather. Just like every where else, some people are good, some are don't, but in Minnesota (and even in the big city like Minneapolis), they are all nice.

As for the supposedly provincial attitude... while it's not totally unfounded, Minneapolites are anything but hillbilly. Minnesota is actually a very liberal state and Minneapolis is just as metropolitan as Chicago, if not better in some ways. One only needs to hang at Edina or Uptown to see how diverse the city could be, from the lady-who-lunch set to the bohemian, pot-smoking, starving artists, and everyone in between, we got them all here. Well, granted we might be missing the fashion forward clique, but one can't have it all, can he? If anything that's actually a plus since you don't have to work too hard to be posh.

Well, I might be biased since there were so many firsts for me here. The first time I lived on my own, first actual grocery shopping, first bills, first house parties, etc. etc. But anyway, it is a blog, so I guess it is supposed to be subjective. So here the eight reasons why I love the twin cities.

8. Smart Traffic Lights
Some time ago I posted an article from Popular Science about their ranking of US cities. Even in their editorial, they noted their own disbelief to have their computers producing Minneapolis as the top tech city after all the data tallied. Every driver in the world is familiar with that frustration you got when you're waiting for the light to turn green at a deserted intersection where you are the only car. Well, I guess Minneapolis drivers are the exception because most of the traffic lights here are smarter than your average lightbox. They have sensors that compensate with the traffic. Therefore, if they see you approaching the red light while no cars are visible on the crossing road, the light will turn green and you just keep rolling.

7. Target
Who doesn't love Target? Yes, it's basically another discount retailer albeit swankier and slightly more expensive. But I think the added value does worth the cost. Target, on the contrary to the urban legend, is not French. It's one of Minneapolis' contributions to the world of upmarket discount retailing. Which other discount retailer could say that their designers do runway shows in Paris, Milan, and New York? From Michael Graves to Sonia Kashuk to the latest member, Luella Bartley, Target introduces style to the common American household.

6. Lake Calhoun
New York has Central Park, San Francisco has the Palisades, Minneapolis has Lake Calhoun. Rankings done by health magazines in recent years have consistently put Minneapolis in the top 10, even though winter lasts for a good 6 months here. When you go to Lake Calhoun at any given sunny day (I don't think temperature matters much, it's the sunray index that matters it seems), you'll see yuppies, couples, moms and dads with their child, pretty much the cross section of the city's healthy elite is here. Either kayaking, skating, jogging, power-walking, rollerblading, or biking along the 3.2-mile path encircling the lake. If your kind of chick or guy is one that hangs at Jamba Juice, do 5K's for fun, and can handle subzero climate then this is where you'll most likely to find your soulmate. Actually it feels like Santa Monica au naturel, sans steroid.

5. Rwa Mit
The first question I asked the waiter whenever I'm at a Thai restaurant is, "Do you have pha ram long song?" 9 out of 10, I'll get a no for an answer. And among that 10% that said yes usually shows up with a plate of weird looking spinach with watery peanut soup. It is only at Rwa Mit, the only place where the peanut sauce consistency is just right, with enough spiciness to tickle my taste buds and sweet enough to soothe it. The spinach is boiled and strained properly to avoid adding water to the sauce while the tofu are crunchy on the outside but silky soft on the inside. If that doesn't water your mouth, I don't know what will.

4. Uptown Minneapolis
The bohemian enclave. A playlist from a random passerby's ipod would yield the likes of The Jets, Jack Johnson, Arctic Monkeys, Relient K, and Death Cab for Cutie plus some world/lounge dj mixes. A haven for the vintage-meets-urban-outfitters crowd, uptown is definitely where I'd live if I ever move back to Minneapolis. The cafe-lined streets, great vintage shopping, a huge second-hand cd store, an art cinema, and most importantly the interesting mix of crowd walking up and down the road. On Hennepin & Lake, it's not surprising to see sterling pierced goths and punks standing beside a nuala-clad long-limbed yogi in front of the MAC store waiting to cross the street.

3. KCLD & KDWB
KCLD is actually St. Cloud's radio station — a city 70 miles northwest of the twin cities but if you're driving an SUV, you'll be able to get the signal. Don't ask me why, but I've tested this on a half-dozen SUV's and a dozen cars. KDWB is your regular "hit music station" radio of Minneapolis. I don't think anybody would ever expect Minnesota radios to be so current, but I don't think there's any other adjective that would best describe these radio stations. I'm not a big fan of American radios because their playlist tend to stay the same for the longest period of time. You can record a couple of hours worth of radio, replay it, and you'll pretty much get the same had you turned on the radio. But on KCLD, songs would be top requests way before Washington, New York, or LA has even heard about it. Everytime I come to Minnesota I always found a song playing constantly on KCLD only to find out the same song finally get airplay a full month later in DC. This time it's "Where'd You Go" by Fort Minor featuring Holly Brook and Jonah Matranga.

2. Café Latte
The best American cheesecake ever. Period. Oh and the fact that it opens late with plenty of seatings doesn't hurt either.

1. Kiana Tardia
The recently-turned-one member of the big family. Twenty-four pounds (it sure felt more) of pure cuteness sprinkled with a healthy dose of energetic prowess, my youngest (well, she's my only really) niece is probably the most alert baby I've ever seen. Yeah, especially when you're just as adverse to little kids as me, family ties really does matter. LOL. I don't think I'll make a fool out of myself for any other baby. But really though, some babies are cool, some are shy, but some are like Kiana... curious, always looking at things with super intensity. :) Love ya little devil ! 'Met ulang taon yah!! Baek-baek ama papah mamah.