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The Thing With The Guy In The Place

  I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to write a post about my trip to Boston.  I could give you excuses like jet lag, stress, busy work schedule, and so on.  It could have something to do with the fact that I tweaked my back last weekend...again.  Or, who knows, it could be because the new season of Toddlers and Tiaras is on and I just HAVE to see parents give their three year olds Red Bull, then wonder why their kids are melting down.  We'll never know.  Anyway, here's the story...

  The flight to Boston was long, but not too terrible.  Mostly I just kept thinking that I would be repeating the trip pretty often, and that wasn't really appealing.  The hotel was lovely, as were the people and the shopping.  My mom and I got some good quality mother-daughter time in, anticipating the fall when we won't see each other much.  We were in the city on Memorial Day which meant lots of tourists, some cool flag memorials, and busy tours.  The first day was also unbearably hot and humid, leaving me sweaty and frustrated.  Luckily, I was told that that kind of weather is not the norm, especially during the school year.  

  I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about what we did on the trip.  I will say that we did both city and harbor (pronounced hah-buh) tours, rode the T a lot, and saw a few movies (my abs are still sore from laughing so hard at Bridesmaids, a much needed emotional lift). We enjoyed a lightning storm, toured my school, and searched for apartments.  I loved the tour of my program, conducted by my advisor.  Northeastern's campus is well known, and is used as a model for other urban campuses.  This could be because they have a strong Architecture program which results in gorgeous buildings, grassy quads with painted Adirondack chairs, and rooftop gardens.  This means that the campus feels like a sanctuary in the middle of the city.  Calm and relaxed.  

  The apartment hunt didn't go as well  We met with two realtors.  One showed us absolutely abysmal studios, the other showed us nice studios, but nothing fantastic.  This left me frustrated.  VERY frustrated.  I didn't expect to land a place while I was there, but I would have liked to have some prospects.  The good news on this front is that I now have a possible place to live!  The papers are being signed and now all I can do is just hope that it all works out.  I will share more about it if/when it comes through.  Let me just tell you this - $1500 a month for a studio.  Yep.  Ugh!

  When I sat down to write this post I wanted to make sure that it was a true account and not a whitewashed story.  It most certainly was NOT all rainbows and unicorns.  I wanted to be clear about this because I don't want other people in this situation to think "Why is it hard for me, she made it seem like a dream?!"  My emotions on this trip were up and down like Charlie Sheen and his Tiger Blood.  Sometimes I was too excited to be scared, and sometimes I was too scared to think straight.  Until the trip, Boston had been just an idea, not a reality.  When I was finally there, a place I had never been and didn't know my way around, I kept thinking "I don't live here!  This isn't home!".  Now, I realize that this is true, I don't live there yet, and don't yet have ties to the city, but I was hoping to feel and immediate connection to the city like I had with the University.  It didn't happen.  Part of this was because I was tired, hot, stressed, and scared.  Part was because I couldn't look at the city through the objective eyes of a visitor.  I was there knowing that, come hell or high water, I will be moving there in a couple months.  A lot was riding on my relationship with the city.  One of the BIG stressors I have had, both during and after the trip, is that I don't know where I'm living yet.  I don't have a place to think of as home.  I can't distract myself by thinking of how I am going to decorate my new place, or what the area will be like to live in.  When that piece falls into place I know I will feel 100 pounds lighter.  I do know I will be taking a little piece of home with me - my car (Greta the Jetta).  I was initially planning on selling her here, but between work and school it became clear that a car would be a huge help and open many doors.  

  So, that's the story.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  I will continue to update you this summer as my August 15 or September 1 move in date approaches.  Thank you all again for your support through this, and enjoy these pictures of my new city.

Boston - 10pm

It Was A Dark And Stormy Night

Before I get into the entire story of my trip to Boston I wanted to share these photos of a lightning storm from one of the nights I was there.  I learned something that night - lightning is really difficult to photograph.  These photos were taken at about 11 o'clock at night, so the only light you see in the sky is from the lightning.  It was amazing.

Benches, Northeastern University

I Just...I Mean...Wow

As a soon to be Bostonian, I am officially offended.  You know, between fits of hysterical laughter.  I love the part where the British were taking our guns and Paul Revere came at them with "papers".  I'm not sure if she made it all up or is mashing together the right to bear arms and the story of Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses.  (I'm TOTALLY betting it was the Theses mixup.  Sarah is just so likely to know about that).  The "shots and bells" part is another classic.  And not to be outdone by their feckless leader, Palin supporters then went on Wikipedia to change the page on Paul Revere to more accurately reflect Sarah's account.  Oh Sarah, how I have missed you since the 2008 election.  Welcome back Beauty Queen, Welcome Back.

Boston, Dusk

Two Words: Jet Lag

While I work on a post or two about my trip to Boston, I thought I would share a bit of this cuteness with you.