Moving

And so it begins. Farewell California. Hello Massachusetts. My bags are packed and I'm ready to go. Now if my mom could just get her shit together we would be good.

Arrow's Girlfriend

This is Scarlit, the neighbor's Rottweiler puppy. I ADORE HER! Scarlit came to visit a few days ago and she fell in love with Arrow. She followed his around licking his face and pouncing on him. Arrow was less than impressed. He isn't really a fan of other dogs, particularly when they are rambunctious. He thinks they are just so juvenile.

Yeah, This Confused Him

Arrow helped me load up a bunch of boxes last week, so I decided to repay him by putting him inside one.  He was not amused.  

Step One

The first tangible step in this whole cross-country move process happened on Friday: Greta the Jetta was packed full of my stuff and loaded onto a large truck. Right now I would guess that she is somewhere around the Rockies. A few days before we shipped her, Greta got a makeover in the form of a brand new paint job. The paint on her hood (the clear coat actually) was peeling off and I was concerned about what a Boston winter would do to any exposed paint. Now Greta looks great and will do just fine this winter.

For a while after I decided to go to Northeastern, I assumed that I would sell Greta here and use public transportation in Boston. Then I saw the difference in commute times from school to work (15 minute drive or 50 minute train and bus ride) and decided that having a car would give me so much more independence. I have had one car or another since I got my permit at 15 and I really wasn't looking forward to relying on public transportation for everything. I had heard horror stories about driving and parking in Boston though, so I had concerns. Then I visited and saw that it was no more complicated than driving and parking in San Francisco. Plus, having my car means that I can take little trips around the East Coast if I want (like to Martha's Vineyard!).

So, that's where things stand right now. Greta (packed with a ton of my stuff that would have been crazy expensive to ship) is on her way to Boston and looking good doing it. It was strange to hand her over, knowing that the next time I see her will be at my new place in Boston. Things are happening fast now folks. Really fast.

Snacking, Veg Veg Revolution Style

This is another one of my current favorite snacks: Mango.  Right now they are juicy and sweet and absolutely delicious.  Also, I think it's much more fun to pronounce it Mongo, like Bongo.  Plus, when I cut them up they look like little hedgehogs.  I'm such a geek.

Yeah, So This Happened

I dropped my iPhone.  On the sidewalk.  And it cracked.  A lot.  And I was very sad. 

The case I had for my iPhone didn't provide protection for the back, which is made of glass.  Luckily, I had the insurance policy on the phone through Verizon, so I got a new phone shipped to me without paying the $600.  I am a pretty careful person, so this was a surprise.  This is a public service announcement for my readers: get the insurance on your phone.  And get a good case for it.  And don't drop it.  

Pocket Sidekick

This is Kick*, the youngest member of the Harvard family.  I saw them a few weeks ago and got in a good photo shoot with her.  She was super cooperative and loved having her picture taken!

*Not using real names for the family

Snacking - Veg Veg Revolution Style

It's been over 4 months since I started my vegetarian journey (see ticker on sidebar), and I wanted to show you one of my current favorite snacks.  Be warned, they are really hard to make.  You have to go to the store, buy snap peas, rinse them off, and eat them.  Phew!  Did you get all that?  Anyway, here are a few photos of these yummy bites of goodness. 

 I don't know why, but I really like this dark photo of the pea that I took when adjusting my camera settings.  

Don't Be A Drag, Just Be A Queen

Just put your paws up.  'Cause you were born this way, baby.

Insert Clever Title Here _______

I was tempted to title this post "AHHHHH!!", but I thought that it might scare some of my more delicate readers away. Since my last update on Boston I have signed a lease for the place I mentioned. This is a huge relief. Now I can finally picture where I will be living. I can imagine how I will decorate it and what life there will be like. The "apartment" is actually the top floor of a wonderful Victorian house in Brookline. It is MASSIVE compared to the places I saw when I visited in June. It has a large bedroom, living/dining room, kitchen, and (wait for it!) CLOSET SPACE! Also, it has a ton of windows and a skylight which makes for a bright and cheery place.

The entrance to the apartment is at the back of the house near the large backyard. There are a couple of decks on the way up that I can use as well. The house is owned by a wonderful couple with college aged kids and a black lab. I will have full use of the "grounds" of the house including the swimming pool! I am ridiculously happy about all of this. After looking at studio apartments all over Boston, I had a pretty sad idea of where I would be living. All I could picture were tiny studios (a room and bathroom), on busy roads with one or two windows usually looking right at a brick wall. No view. No natural light. I could never have imagined a third story place on a tree lined street, huge yard, pool, wonderful (non-smoking, which is harder to find in Massachusetts than California) family below me, free off-street parking (a HUGE perk in Boston with the snowplows and parking restrictions) and near the oldest country club in the nation (called simply "The Country Club"). The price of an apartment in Boston is ridiculous so I won't even go into that. When I feel a little lightheaded looking at the numbers, all I need to do is glance at this picture of the house and I am reminded of how lucky I am to have this place (which was on the market for about two seconds for the first time in three years).

I will be sure to add a ton more photos once I move in. Obviously, I have pictures of the interior of the apartment, but they are all of someone else's stuff. I wouldn't want you to think that my interior design skills are so poor.

So, the apartment is just the first (rather large) piece of this whole story. I need to set up the second part of the story with a little bit of information and background. The fall semester at Northeastern starts on September 7. Most students (undergrads that is), move in on September 1, and that's when most leases begin. I initially thought I too would be moving then, the day that moving vans take over the city. (Remember, Boston is pretty much owned by students between September and June. Boston is home to about 35 colleges and Universities like MIT, Harvard, NU, Boston College, Tufts, and Boston University. Over 100,000 students migrate there for school.)

That was the plan. Then, the family I will be working for when I move said that they wouldn't mind having my help for some of August too. And here's another piece of background for you - I have worked as a part time nanny for many years. I work on-call through an agency which means that I work part time for many families. At the beginning of this year I got a call from a woman in San Francisco who got my number from a mutual friend. The woman and her husband have a vacation rental here in Napa Valley and were looking for someone to watch their almost 2-year-old son when they visited. I did this several times and we really hit it off. Then, the crazy universe decided to do some matchmaking. Right around the time I decided to go to NU, the father of the family decided to go to Harvard to get his PhD, starting this Fall. We all joked about the serendipity and how we should keep in touch. Long story short, we realized that my school schedule would allow me a lot of time to work and they were looking for a nanny for 25-30 hours a week. Everything quickly fell into place. I will be nannying for their son (and brand-new baby girl!) as much as they need me. And let me just stress that they are the nicest people. I adore them. So, when they said that they could use me around August 15th, I thought "Why not!?". The owners of my apartment were initially looking for someone to move in on August 1st, right after their current tenant moves out, so the realtor thought an 8/15 move in would be more appealing to them than a 9/1 move in.

Then, I got an offer that I couldn't pass up. The family (now on referred to as the Harvards. And the kids will be Mac and Kick.) has a beach house on Martha's Vineyard. They decided to spend the first few weeks of August there and asked if I wanted to come work and play on the Vineyard for a few weeks, starting around August 1st. Are you kidding me?! Of course I want to spend a few weeks at the end of the Summer on a gorgeous island instead of in the hot and humid city. Duh, Winning! Could there be any better way to relieve the tension of moving than hanging at the beach?!

Well, that's where things stand right now. I will move in on August 1st. I will fly there with my mom, and my car is being shipped. I will spend a few days with my mom at my new place getting settled, then she will fly home and I will drive to the Vineyard. Hopefully there won't be too many hiccups in the arrangements. As always, I will keep y'all updated as much as possible. And again, thank you all for your support.

(Oh, and right now I an recovering from a head full of snot and lungs full of phlegm so blogging has been a bit hit and miss. I apologize.)