Day 3: Mall of America - Meet Your Match!

One of my goals in life was to not only visit the Mall of America, but to finish it. All of it. Meaning I , single-handedly would complete shopping in the mall from top to bottom. Speaking with everyone throughout the past two days, from my shuttle driver to a local student attending the "M", nobody thought that I could complete it in one day. Oh, how wrong they were!

But let's start at the beginning of the day, shall we?

Target provided a tour of the city that morning. We met at 8AM, but it was well worth it! What I love about Minneapolis is that not only is it truly a metropolitan for young people, but it's unique in that you're always safe and the people are ridiculously nice!

Downtown skyline. Skyscrapers AND trees? My eyes must be playing tricks on me!


Famous "Spoon and Cherry" sculpture in the 11-acre park!


Mississippi River. Have never seen it until now!

The tour was quite interesting as we saw everything, including Mary Tyler Moore's old house and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. We even went to the other "Twin City" of St. Paul. More historical than Minneapolis, it definitely is the the more traditional city in architecture and atmosphere.

After the tour and final goodbyes to everyone, I packed up and pumped up for my goal of completing the Mall of America! It was already 11AM and I had a flight at 8PM. Clock is ticking! 11.1 acres. It's own zip code. 500 stores. Bring it on!

With the warm-up last night, the first floor was a good one! It's a brilliant layout really. Unlike other malls, each time you take a turn in the mall, it leads you to a new spot. Hence, you just get lost and keep on shopping!

I definitely spent a good hour in a quotes store. I'm a sucker for that!

I love this!

Inspiring...

It was challenging because there were definitely multiple Victoria Secrets and Abercrombie & Fitches. I kept twisting and turning into the same stores!

But, long story short, I completed the WHOLE mall, all FOUR floors in ONLY 5 1/2 HOURS! Take that non-believers! It IS possible to finish the Mall of America in a day!

Day 2: The Interview, But More Importantly....Painting the Town Red!

On Fridays, you can tell exactly who is interviewing and who actually is employed by Target. All the employees come in business casual, while all the interviewees sit in the lobby in business professional.

The interview process was actually quite interesting--we had overviews of the company, took a few tests, went on a tour, and only sat in two interviews for half an hour each. I know that we were being judged the whole time, but regardless, Target seems like a great company to work for! After the interviews, they treated us to a Target Happy Hour where I met with Sara Lopez and Ken Tamura--both recruiters. We'll see what happens!

Afterwards, the night began with a few of the other interviewees. Onto the fun!

At the Metro station--barely missed the first train!

Mall of America! Check off the "Life To Do List"
















Tip: Make sure to ride Paul Bunyan's Water Log Ride! (A water ride in the mall!)

The Mall of America's own min-Legoland!

After doing a quick practice run in the Mall before tomorrow's power shopping, (I was able walk the first floor in about an hour), we headed off into Minneapolis's nightlife. I didn't think it would be so good!

Chino Latinos! There's no sign for this restaurant/bar-you
just have to know about this local hot spot.

Mmm...sushi! Thanks for dinner, Target!

We spent the rest of the night laughing while enjoying a great meal and drinks at Chino Latinos. The interviews were over with as people had a great time before their flights the next day.

Minneapolis is actually a great city for young people--the average age is only 30! A great night to end the interview with. The best thing about travel-going by yourself and then enjoying the night with friends!

Minneapolis--Nice First Impression!

At the Monster Diversity Leadership Conference in July, I had the great opportunity to network with some fantastic recruiters and employees from various major companies. From the weekend event (which I highly recommend every undergraduate to attend), I met Sara Lopez of Target. A fellow alum, she contacted me a couple months later to fly out to Minneapolis and interview with the company. Obviously, I dropped everything and flew out a couple weeks later!

At the airport, I first exchanged my leftover Euros to dollars. Wait, I go to Minnesota, so I must first exchange my Euros to American money in Los Angeles? My life is random....

Yeah, Target!

Fanciest Radisson I've ever seen! (And I know a thing or two about Radis)

Ironically, a fellow DLP conference participant, Mark Diment, flew out for Target 's interview as well! The moment we met up, we obviously did what we do best--eat!

Classic "I'm at the Hard Rock Cafe" Pic

My delicious steak dinner. Thanks, Target!

The city was cold, not going to lie; however, the people were ridiculously nice and although a big metropolitan, Minneapolis definitely provided safe streets. Good first impression!

Off to bed for a big interview tomorrow!

Goodbye Rosarito...

Woke up this morning and took a lil' stroll on the beach before leaving. With the beach just minutes within walking distance, I almost felt like we should have tried spending the night sleeping on it!

Beach bums! Just check out our clothing :)

Photoshoot with El Rancho Del Mar sign.

Driving back had us waiting for over an hour and a half in bumper to bumper traffic at the border (and it wasn't even that Monday of Labor Day Weekend!).

Tip: ALWAYS make sure your car has air conditioning if you're doing a road trip anywhere from or to Southern Cali!

Great weekend getaway! Until next time!

Rosarito, Mexico! Woo!

For Labor Day Weekend, Steven Anaya and I took a lil' trip south of the border! We left late Friday night, so props for not running into traffic.

Today we went to explore Rosarito and walked around the town. We ate chicken tacos at the most delicious outdoor taco stand.

Delicious! Just look at them!

Senor Frogs, anyone?

After shopping (of course), we relaxed at Club Iggy's watching the entertainment under the Mexican sun. It was hilarious watching people complete their dares, like stealing boogie boards and then sand surfing on them.

Steven and me enjoying the show on the beach

Warning: Beware of the "Tequila Men!" They will blow a whistle and force Tequila down your throat if you're not careful!

Poor Steven got hit with a tequila shot!

Gorgeous sunset...

That night, Steven made me a delectable steak dinner on the barbeque above his beach house. It was a delicious dinner to be had as the sun set over the ocean. Romantic!