2009 was good to me... other than the last few weeks. I've been fighting a pretty nasty cold for almost two weeks but I'm finally on the mend.
2009 was filled with amazing trips- Disney World, the West Coast, and a fabulous staycation in Boston. I'm hopeful 2010 will be just as exciting. Work has been so stressful lately that I've decided to put a new plan in place to keep me sane. In addition to my resolutions from September:
1) 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day (I was really sticking with this until the last few weeks)
2) Purell, Purell, Purell! (Apparently not enough!!!)
3) Going to the gym 2-3 times a week (I just signed up for a new gym membership today)
4) Minimal use of frozen lunches (Only 1 all year)
5) Mandatory blogging time- I find it therapeutic
6) Monthly maintenance of communication with friends that live far away (I have to get going with this one)
7) Read each week (more than just a magazine) and watch one movie per week
8) Regular attendance at "Book Clubs"
9) Leaving school at school (Not even close to achieving this)
10) Cooking more! (see number 1)
I'm going to try to plan one fun city outing per week. I think part of my problem over the past few months, in terms of stress level, has been that I haven't had any dedicated "me" time. As a result, I feel like I haven't been taking advantage of this amazing opportunity that I have in living in Inman Square!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Christmas in the City
This weekend was filled with all things Christmas. Friday night JO and I went into Boston to see all of the holiday light displays and have dinner in the North End. The Public Gardens looked beautiful with the bridge lit up.
We walked through the Gardens to the Common and down through Faneuil Hall. The tree in Faneuil Hall is massive, and absolutely gorgeous. The only problem is that it is so bright the closer you get to the tree the foggier your eyes become. Our theory is that the part of your eye that receives white lights is on overload and starts to "wig" out. Real scientific right? It is a breathtaking view and I really do recommend visiting it if you get a chance.
We finished the evening with a delicious dinner in the North End. Lasumma Restaurants is a really cute restaurant just off of Hanover Street. It was nice to be away from the crowds and the food was quite yummy!
On Saturday we woke up early to get our Christmas Tree because we wanted to beat the storm that was quickly approaching. This is the part where I brag about my neighborhood... we walked 5 minutes down the street to get our tree. We didn't have to worry about tying the tree to our car, and getting needles everywhere. We just bought the tree, from Ricky's Flower Market and walked down the street. I've never had a real tree so it was a lot of fun to shop for a tree. We
certainly were a sight to see. We spent the afternoon decorating and I will say that I think our tree came out fantastic!
We ended the evening by celebrating a friend's birthday at Solas Bar. It was a lot of fun to sit inside a great bar in Boston and watch the snow fall outside. I have to say this weekend was extremely fun and was exactly what I needed.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
A Battle with Stuffed Mushrooms, 700 Wins, and a Tree Lighting- A Story of Thanksgiving Break
The Thanksgiving break always goes by too fast. I really can't believe I'm sitting here getting ready for another week at work. Where did the time go?
Let's see. I'm extremely lucky to have had Wednesday off... no crappy half day malarkey for me. I can't even explain how wonderful it is to have the whole day off before Thanksgiving. It really makes the break seem like a break. Thanks to a brilliant plan, thought up by a good friend, I spent the day drinking sangria and eating yummy steak quesadillas at Casa de Pedro. The delicious lunch was followed up with a trip to the nail salon and some pre-Black Friday shopping at Target. Lets just say that I am totally ready for tree decorating next week.
Thanksgiving day was a lot less stressful than it has been in the past, with the exception of the stuffed mushroom incident. My mom sent me off to the high school football game with a plate of stuffed mushrooms for my twirling coach. There was no way I would actually be able to deliver these mushrooms since you can't bring outside food into the stadium and the mushrooms would be unrefrigerated for about six hours before my coach could even think about eating them. This was a bit ridiculous but we played along. My dad stuffed the plate under my passenger seat so my mom wouldn't catch on and we were off to the game.
After the game I had a quick dinner with my parents, avoided the impending allergy attack with a little Claritan, and was off to JO's for dessert where I enjoyed a delightful evening of board games. We returned home and I was stuck parking pretty far away. As I was gathering up all of my stuff from my car, including a 3/4 down jacket that I love... but didn't get to wear on Thanksgiving Day due to the unseasonably warm weather, I remembered that my dad had put that plate under my seat. I figured I couldn't leave the mushrooms there overnight so I grabbed them and set off down the street to our apartment. The problem was that my hands were pretty full and that jacket is pretty bulky.
I was almost home when the mushrooms slid out of my grasp and started dropping all around me. I didn't really care about the mushrooms but I did care that they were falling
onto my jacket! I did something I'm not proud of... but it had to be done. I ditched the plate, with the remaining mushrooms on it, on top of someone's trash barrel. Unfortunately it was too late for the jacket, which is now covered in mushroom grease. I'm hoping the dry cleaner's can get rid of the stains.
Friday arrived, a
nd so did a monsoon, but it didn't stop us from going to the UConn game. We had a great time and got to see Coach Auriemma win his 700th game.
Saturday started with major debacles at the grocery store and at the rock gym. In addition our street was closed for a while due to a gas leak. Luckily, we recovered in time to hit up Harvard Square for the annual tree lighting and a toast at Daedalus Resturaunt. This is definitely one of my favorite holiday traditions that JO and I have. The tree looked beautiful, despite the 40 mph winds I wasn't cold at all in my mushroom stained down jacket. Any time we were indoors though I was like a furnace.
Unfortunately we weren't able to get seats at the bar at Daedalus at 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday so we went next door to Trata and toasted with some sparkling white wine. Trata is no Daedalus so we tried again to get a spot at Daedalus but no such luck so we hit up Garden at the Cellar: 991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA ... for one final drink before heading home.
Today I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and did some Christmas shopping in the square. I only have a few more presents to buy. Tonight I'm going to kick the holiday season into full gear by working on my Christmas cards and watching Elf with good friends.
Let's see. I'm extremely lucky to have had Wednesday off... no crappy half day malarkey for me. I can't even explain how wonderful it is to have the whole day off before Thanksgiving. It really makes the break seem like a break. Thanks to a brilliant plan, thought up by a good friend, I spent the day drinking sangria and eating yummy steak quesadillas at Casa de Pedro. The delicious lunch was followed up with a trip to the nail salon and some pre-Black Friday shopping at Target. Lets just say that I am totally ready for tree decorating next week.
Thanksgiving day was a lot less stressful than it has been in the past, with the exception of the stuffed mushroom incident. My mom sent me off to the high school football game with a plate of stuffed mushrooms for my twirling coach. There was no way I would actually be able to deliver these mushrooms since you can't bring outside food into the stadium and the mushrooms would be unrefrigerated for about six hours before my coach could even think about eating them. This was a bit ridiculous but we played along. My dad stuffed the plate under my passenger seat so my mom wouldn't catch on and we were off to the game.
After the game I had a quick dinner with my parents, avoided the impending allergy attack with a little Claritan, and was off to JO's for dessert where I enjoyed a delightful evening of board games. We returned home and I was stuck parking pretty far away. As I was gathering up all of my stuff from my car, including a 3/4 down jacket that I love... but didn't get to wear on Thanksgiving Day due to the unseasonably warm weather, I remembered that my dad had put that plate under my seat. I figured I couldn't leave the mushrooms there overnight so I grabbed them and set off down the street to our apartment. The problem was that my hands were pretty full and that jacket is pretty bulky.
I was almost home when the mushrooms slid out of my grasp and started dropping all around me. I didn't really care about the mushrooms but I did care that they were falling
onto my jacket! I did something I'm not proud of... but it had to be done. I ditched the plate, with the remaining mushrooms on it, on top of someone's trash barrel. Unfortunately it was too late for the jacket, which is now covered in mushroom grease. I'm hoping the dry cleaner's can get rid of the stains.Friday arrived, a
nd so did a monsoon, but it didn't stop us from going to the UConn game. We had a great time and got to see Coach Auriemma win his 700th game.
Saturday started with major debacles at the grocery store and at the rock gym. In addition our street was closed for a while due to a gas leak. Luckily, we recovered in time to hit up Harvard Square for the annual tree lighting and a toast at Daedalus Resturaunt. This is definitely one of my favorite holiday traditions that JO and I have. The tree looked beautiful, despite the 40 mph winds I wasn't cold at all in my mushroom stained down jacket. Any time we were indoors though I was like a furnace.
Unfortunately we weren't able to get seats at the bar at Daedalus at 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday so we went next door to Trata and toasted with some sparkling white wine. Trata is no Daedalus so we tried again to get a spot at Daedalus but no such luck so we hit up Garden at the Cellar: 991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA ... for one final drink before heading home.
Today I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and did some Christmas shopping in the square. I only have a few more presents to buy. Tonight I'm going to kick the holiday season into full gear by working on my Christmas cards and watching Elf with good friends.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving... A Little Early
A few years ago I made a huge, somewhat spontaneous decision, to move from the South Shore to Watertown and live in an apartment with three other girls that I met on Craigslist. I had hit a wall in my personal life and felt so stuck. Looking back it was a crazy idea, giving up a pretty secure job (even though I had been pink slipped with tenure...but that's another story) and a relatively affordable apartment to move somewhere where I didn't know anyone. The move could not have played out any better if I tried. In the end that one decision changed my life forever.
I ended up finding amazing friends and wound up in a great relationship with a great person. One of the great things about this new group is how close they still are, post college. I had a pretty close group of friends from college but we have spread out all over the country since graduation. One of my favorite parts of being in this new group are the yearly traditions.... Oktoberfest, Thanksgiving, and Meat Fest. At least three times a year the entire group gathers together and I know how lucky I am to be part of it.
This past weekend we celebrated our Thanksgiving. JO and I hosted the event at our apartment and it was so much fun. I loved watching JO measure out the kitchen, bargain shop for folding chairs, and prepare the turkey. He gets really excited to be the host and he wants to do right by his friends.
In the end w
e had 21 people at a big long table and more food then we could possibly ever need. Almost every year there is a slight panic over whether or not we will have enough food which almost always results in over shopping. Last year it was the 20 pounds of potatoes we
prepared and the two turkeys that got cooked. This year it was the two emergency pies and the ridiculous amount of beer that we got.
We've been eating leftovers since Sunday but you wouldn't know if by looking in the fridge. Thank goodness today is a Guys Night Out, a weekly tradition for the guys in the group, so that a dent can be put in the beverages. I am going to have to insist that any guy in attendance tonight drinks 3-4 beers at minimum :-)
It is so special to me to be able to say that I am a part of a group that works so hard to stay connected. I know how lucky I am and was thrilled to be able to help JO host such a great evening. My big contribution to the event was the wine bar I set up in the living room. (It didn't hurt that my Huskies beat Notre Dame in double overtime on National tv!!!) I remember what it was like to live in the "woods" and feel like your friends were so far away. I can't believe how much my life has changed in the past three and a half years.
I ended up finding amazing friends and wound up in a great relationship with a great person. One of the great things about this new group is how close they still are, post college. I had a pretty close group of friends from college but we have spread out all over the country since graduation. One of my favorite parts of being in this new group are the yearly traditions.... Oktoberfest, Thanksgiving, and Meat Fest. At least three times a year the entire group gathers together and I know how lucky I am to be part of it.
This past weekend we celebrated our Thanksgiving. JO and I hosted the event at our apartment and it was so much fun. I loved watching JO measure out the kitchen, bargain shop for folding chairs, and prepare the turkey. He gets really excited to be the host and he wants to do right by his friends.
In the end w
e had 21 people at a big long table and more food then we could possibly ever need. Almost every year there is a slight panic over whether or not we will have enough food which almost always results in over shopping. Last year it was the 20 pounds of potatoes we
prepared and the two turkeys that got cooked. This year it was the two emergency pies and the ridiculous amount of beer that we got.We've been eating leftovers since Sunday but you wouldn't know if by looking in the fridge. Thank goodness today is a Guys Night Out, a weekly tradition for the guys in the group, so that a dent can be put in the beverages. I am going to have to insist that any guy in attendance tonight drinks 3-4 beers at minimum :-)
It is so special to me to be able to say that I am a part of a group that works so hard to stay connected. I know how lucky I am and was thrilled to be able to help JO host such a great evening. My big contribution to the event was the wine bar I set up in the living room. (It didn't hurt that my Huskies beat Notre Dame in double overtime on National tv!!!) I remember what it was like to live in the "woods" and feel like your friends were so far away. I can't believe how much my life has changed in the past three and a half years.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Choice...Not Because I "Have To"
I'm just going to say this. It is my choice to live in the city. In fact, I kind of think of it as a privilege. Everyday I wake up and I think about how lucky I am to live where I live. Just knowing that the entire city is at my fingertips makes all of my work stress easier to deal with. I love walking to get my coffee in the morning and am so looking forward to grabbing a delicious hot chocolate at 1369 when the colder weather comes. I love that almost everything I need is a five minute or less walk from my house.
It's really starting to bother me when people insinuate that I have to live in the city because my life isn't like theirs. I choose to live in the city! I willingly signed up for this life and I wouldn't change any part of it. Sure there are nuisances like having to park on the street and deal with the crazy bike riders. But living other places comes with their own set of issues. I remember when going to Wal-Mart was a day trip and trying to get take out food was like jumping through hoops. I remember how I couldn't go for walks because we didn't have sidewalks and being bored meant a trip to the mall.
Now, I could walk to my nearest Target if I wanted to. I have access to food from virtually any region you can think of, and long walks (especially to the river) are easy. If I'm bored I can go to a museum, go for a walk around one of the squares, see an independent film at Kendall, take pictures by the river, etc.
Recently I feel like a lot of people have been judging my life choices using the same standards they use to judge their own lives. Unacceptable! First of all, no one should be judging my life choices. Second of all, by my standards my life is completely and 100% successful. Sure there are some things I would love to change. For example, I'd love to wear more Ann Taylor than Old Navy but Old Navy is cheaper and I don't want to cry when a kid accidentally paints me green in it. I'd love to have a fancy pair of shoes but working with 10 year olds doesn't require it so I don't bother. But in the end, I could not be happier with how I live my life, where I live my life, and who I live my life with. I don't need a house, a yard, or a ring to be happy!
This is the life I chose. This is the life I made happen for myself by taking a huge risk and moving in with three girls I didn't know. This is the life that makes me smile every morning because this is my life, not yours, and I don't need what you have to be happy!
It's really starting to bother me when people insinuate that I have to live in the city because my life isn't like theirs. I choose to live in the city! I willingly signed up for this life and I wouldn't change any part of it. Sure there are nuisances like having to park on the street and deal with the crazy bike riders. But living other places comes with their own set of issues. I remember when going to Wal-Mart was a day trip and trying to get take out food was like jumping through hoops. I remember how I couldn't go for walks because we didn't have sidewalks and being bored meant a trip to the mall.
Now, I could walk to my nearest Target if I wanted to. I have access to food from virtually any region you can think of, and long walks (especially to the river) are easy. If I'm bored I can go to a museum, go for a walk around one of the squares, see an independent film at Kendall, take pictures by the river, etc.
Recently I feel like a lot of people have been judging my life choices using the same standards they use to judge their own lives. Unacceptable! First of all, no one should be judging my life choices. Second of all, by my standards my life is completely and 100% successful. Sure there are some things I would love to change. For example, I'd love to wear more Ann Taylor than Old Navy but Old Navy is cheaper and I don't want to cry when a kid accidentally paints me green in it. I'd love to have a fancy pair of shoes but working with 10 year olds doesn't require it so I don't bother. But in the end, I could not be happier with how I live my life, where I live my life, and who I live my life with. I don't need a house, a yard, or a ring to be happy!
This is the life I chose. This is the life I made happen for myself by taking a huge risk and moving in with three girls I didn't know. This is the life that makes me smile every morning because this is my life, not yours, and I don't need what you have to be happy!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Ginger Express
Recently a new restaurant, Ginger Express, opened up in Inman Square. I finally had a chance to try it out last night.
Ginger Express looks a bit out of place surrounded by The Druid, Bukowskis, and All-Star Sandwich Bar with it's silver chrome exterior. We sat at the high top tables but quickly moved to the bar since the chairs at the high top tables have no backs and seemed to be quite flimsy. The bar offered hooks under the counter for our jackets and purses, always a plus. As my friend noted, "Everything in here seems flimsy...cardboard and glue!"
Furniture excluded the service was good, the drink selection strong, the flavors distinctive, the portions large, the prices reasonable, and the chicken super tender. I got the Pad Thai which was covered in chopped peanuts and served with a lime, both pluses in my book. I will say that the dish was spicier than most Pad Thai I've had but it was good.
Ginger Express is no Spice and Rice, the other Asian restaurant in Inman, but it offers another option for eating out in the square. We also definitely enjoyed the fact that we were able to go out to eat on a Friday night without a big hassle. It was just a two minute walk home :-)
Ginger Express looks a bit out of place surrounded by The Druid, Bukowskis, and All-Star Sandwich Bar with it's silver chrome exterior. We sat at the high top tables but quickly moved to the bar since the chairs at the high top tables have no backs and seemed to be quite flimsy. The bar offered hooks under the counter for our jackets and purses, always a plus. As my friend noted, "Everything in here seems flimsy...cardboard and glue!"
Furniture excluded the service was good, the drink selection strong, the flavors distinctive, the portions large, the prices reasonable, and the chicken super tender. I got the Pad Thai which was covered in chopped peanuts and served with a lime, both pluses in my book. I will say that the dish was spicier than most Pad Thai I've had but it was good.
Ginger Express is no Spice and Rice, the other Asian restaurant in Inman, but it offers another option for eating out in the square. We also definitely enjoyed the fact that we were able to go out to eat on a Friday night without a big hassle. It was just a two minute walk home :-)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Whew! A Day Off!
I had a much needed day off today. Considering I had a two hour meeting after school on Tuesday, and four hours of meetings tomorrow afternoon/evening, I really needed it. Thankfully Hurricane Ida has been delayed, so we were able to enjoy the city today. We live so close to Central that it only takes us about 25-30 minutes to get to Park Street.
We decided to go to The Marliave for lunch. The Marliave is the sister restaurant to The Grotto. We've eaten at The Grotto twice, and both times it was amazing...so we had high hopes for The Marliave, and it didn't disappoint. The atmosphere, especially in the upstairs dining room, was fantastic. The food and wine were great. There are so many delicious things on the menu...so I'll certainly be going back.
After a delicious dinner we hit up Macy's for the Veterans Day shoe sale extravaganza. JO and I don't normally go shopping together because our shopping styles are so radically different, but I really couldn't handle the Macy's at Downtown Crossing by myself. It's to crazy in there on holidays. JO was my shoe "scout" and helped me find a great pair of boots :-)
We finished our day in the city with a walk through Boston Common and the Public Gardens. The Public Gardens is my absolute favorite place in the park. It is so peaceful in there, and the bridge reminds me of a fairy tale. It was a beautiful day for a walk through the park. The park seemed to be going into hibernation all covered in a blanket of leaves. The flower beds have been dug up and prepared for the winter and the squirrels were digging for acorns.
I feel rested and relaxed. We'll see how long that lasts!
We decided to go to The Marliave for lunch. The Marliave is the sister restaurant to The Grotto. We've eaten at The Grotto twice, and both times it was amazing...so we had high hopes for The Marliave, and it didn't disappoint. The atmosphere, especially in the upstairs dining room, was fantastic. The food and wine were great. There are so many delicious things on the menu...so I'll certainly be going back.
After a delicious dinner we hit up Macy's for the Veterans Day shoe sale extravaganza. JO and I don't normally go shopping together because our shopping styles are so radically different, but I really couldn't handle the Macy's at Downtown Crossing by myself. It's to crazy in there on holidays. JO was my shoe "scout" and helped me find a great pair of boots :-)
We finished our day in the city with a walk through Boston Common and the Public Gardens. The Public Gardens is my absolute favorite place in the park. It is so peaceful in there, and the bridge reminds me of a fairy tale. It was a beautiful day for a walk through the park. The park seemed to be going into hibernation all covered in a blanket of leaves. The flower beds have been dug up and prepared for the winter and the squirrels were digging for acorns.
I feel rested and relaxed. We'll see how long that lasts!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Something to Look Forward To
I hear that it's going to be near 70 on Monday and surprisingly I don't have any meetings. Harvard Square, and Charles River, here I come!!!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Taking Time for Myself
I needed to run some errands after work today. For me, that means hitting up Harvard Square. Errands don't seem so bad when you get to go the square. Earlier today one of my students told me that he was worried about me because I didn't put my jacket on when I went outside and I seemed to be acting like Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. I thought about what he said and I realized that he was right. I've been moving in fast forward and feeling like I don't even have time to put on my jacket on my way to a meeting. I decided to listen to his warning, slow down, and really take time to enjoy my time in the square. So, I decided to take my camera with me. I love the square in the fall. It's so full of color... and it's still nice enough to enjoy walking around. I love being a tourist in my own city!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Happy Halloween
Earlier this week JO and I had to literally take out our calendars and schedule a time to carve our pumpkin. That's what I've been reduced to :-(
Here's our goofy pumpkin.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Overwhelmed!
I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed these past few weeks. I have literally had 3 or 4 meetings per week. When you're a teacher, these meetings extend your regular working day. I totally understand that most of my friends work a lot more hours than me, so I don't want anyone to think I don't their jobs are hard... but the fact is that if I get home before 5:00 I can enjoy everything around me. If I get home after 5:00 I have to focus on getting ready for the next day.
This has really been stressing me out recently. I haven't been able to walk around the river in forever. I can't even remember when the last time was. Apparently in my meeting craze our neighborhood got a new Asian restaurant. I didn't even know if was done until I had to walk to the bank the other night. I feel like I'm missing so many great opportunities around me because I have so many meetings. I'm missing out on enjoying my city.
No matter what, I am enjoying some sort of city fun this weekend. I am putting my foot down and I mean it! Until then, I'll look at these two pictures and smile... my most favorite place in the city is the Public Gardens and the Skywalk Observatory is fabulous!
This has really been stressing me out recently. I haven't been able to walk around the river in forever. I can't even remember when the last time was. Apparently in my meeting craze our neighborhood got a new Asian restaurant. I didn't even know if was done until I had to walk to the bank the other night. I feel like I'm missing so many great opportunities around me because I have so many meetings. I'm missing out on enjoying my city.
No matter what, I am enjoying some sort of city fun this weekend. I am putting my foot down and I mean it! Until then, I'll look at these two pictures and smile... my most favorite place in the city is the Public Gardens and the Skywalk Observatory is fabulous!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Pictures, Pictures, Pictures
On a friend's request, I'll be adding some pictures to my blog!
Unfortunately I don't have anytime to write anything tonight... but enjoy the pictures of some of my favorite pictures of Cambridge in the fall!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
There's Only one Place I'd Rather Be...
There's only one place I'd rather be than Cambridge. Well maybe two, but my lack of French language skills makes living in Paris unfortunately a no go. If I wasn't in Cambridge I would hopefully be living in Storrs, CT...the college basketball capital of the country!
I'm a huge UConn Husky fan, and it's just about time for the best season of the year... college basketball! I'm what you might call a fanatic fan.... I have pom poms, game day rituals, a stuffed animal Husky, and a different Husky shirt for every day of the week.
Last night was First Night and JO and I headed down as soon as I was done with work. I wasn't even tired from having gotten up at 5:15 to go to work early. We hit a ton of traffic on the Mass Pike, so I missed the autograph session, but we made it with enough time to catch the pre-event twirling which made me smile. The show itself was great. The highlight video was awesome and the slam dunk contest was a lot of fun. I'm all pumped up for another run to the National Championship.
Once upon a time, I dreamed of moving to UConn and getting my PhD. I came really close a few years ago and was horribly disappointed when that didn't work out. My mind still wanders in that direction every so often, but I can't imagine leaving the city for the small town, albeit college town atmosphere, that is Storrs, CT. Who knows? Maybe I'll retire there :-)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Urban Hiking
One of the things I love about living in Inman Square is that I can walk almost anywhere I want. Who doesn't love a good urban hike? Over the past few years my friend and I have learned that the girl's definition of urban hiking is a lot different then the boy's definition.
The boys think it is perfectly acceptable to walk from our Cambridge neighborhood to Fenway Park. Although this walk is doable it's not much fun... and prevents hikers from wearing cute shoes! I prefer my definition of urban hiking!
If I had my own dictionary the entry for urban hiking would look like this:
1. Walking from Inman to Harvard and then around the Charles River before heading back. This would be the "exercise" form of the word :-)
2. Walking through Cambridge and Boston with multiple and frequent stops for shopping.
This past Saturday, after realizing that the majority of my pants were capris, and with temps dropping, I decided an urban hike of the shopping variety was much needed! I actually did double duty since JO and I hit up the square and the river in an attempt to be a cool Cambridge couple. After returning from our walk I headed out to buy pants, shoes, and anything else that struck my fancy. It was a gorgeous day, and I loved walking down Boylston Street from the Prudential Center to Downtown Crossing (I had no idea there was a DSW warehouse there! Good to know!!!)
Urban hiking is so much more fun than going to the mall. First, it's a great combination of fun and fitness since the stores are a little bit further apart than in a mall. Second, you get great inspiration for your new purchases. You're surrounded by every style possible. Finally, you find yourself walking by tons of great "watering" holes... and really what goes better with some urban hiking than a great cocktail... say at the Marliave for instance?
And speaking of the Marliave... JO and I had dinner at The Grotto on Beacon Hill. Delicious and the perfect ending to a perfect city day.
The boys think it is perfectly acceptable to walk from our Cambridge neighborhood to Fenway Park. Although this walk is doable it's not much fun... and prevents hikers from wearing cute shoes! I prefer my definition of urban hiking!
If I had my own dictionary the entry for urban hiking would look like this:
1. Walking from Inman to Harvard and then around the Charles River before heading back. This would be the "exercise" form of the word :-)
2. Walking through Cambridge and Boston with multiple and frequent stops for shopping.
This past Saturday, after realizing that the majority of my pants were capris, and with temps dropping, I decided an urban hike of the shopping variety was much needed! I actually did double duty since JO and I hit up the square and the river in an attempt to be a cool Cambridge couple. After returning from our walk I headed out to buy pants, shoes, and anything else that struck my fancy. It was a gorgeous day, and I loved walking down Boylston Street from the Prudential Center to Downtown Crossing (I had no idea there was a DSW warehouse there! Good to know!!!)
Urban hiking is so much more fun than going to the mall. First, it's a great combination of fun and fitness since the stores are a little bit further apart than in a mall. Second, you get great inspiration for your new purchases. You're surrounded by every style possible. Finally, you find yourself walking by tons of great "watering" holes... and really what goes better with some urban hiking than a great cocktail... say at the Marliave for instance?
And speaking of the Marliave... JO and I had dinner at The Grotto on Beacon Hill. Delicious and the perfect ending to a perfect city day.
Friday, October 9, 2009
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Last night JO and I decided to go to the Reel Rock Film Tour in Arlington. It should've been a really fun evening watching some great rock climbing on film. I had a meeting until 6:00 so we decided it would be best to have JO pick me up at my meeting and head over to the movie.
The first unfortunate event occurred when there was a mix up with the address of the school where my meeting was. He ended up on the other side of the city, and I really couldn't help him since my sense of direction relies heavily on big red houses and light displays instead of street signs. JO is really good with directions, and doesn't like being directionally challenged. Needless to say there was a little stress here. Because of the mix up, we ended up being a half hour behind schedule.
The second unfortunate event occurred on our way from Waltham to Arlington. Hmmm... Route 2 at 6:45 p.m. is no one's friend! As a result, we didn't arrive at the theater until 7:00 which didn't leave us much time for dinner. We had two choices...a little Chinese place or Papa Gino's.
The third unfortunate event occurred when we picked the Chinese joint over Papa Gino's. I'm not sure what we were thinking, and why we didn't run when upon entering we were greeted by a table covered in the remnants of the owner's dinner of rancid cantaloupe and coleslaw. Our food didn't come out until 7:35, and the movie stared at 8:00. We took a few bites and ran across the street to try to find seats.
(The movies were great! The climbing was insane and pretty inspiring.)
Flash forward, by the way that's an excellent show, to this morning when I woke up severely dehydrated and dizzy. Ughh! I had to call in sick to work the day before a long weekend which doesn't make you look so good. Plus, I left all of my stuff at one of my schools and so now on Tuesday I have to go to that school to get the stuff before going to my Tuesday school. I'm pretty sure my illness can be traced back to MSG in the Chinese food!
Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow...I have a full weekend of shopping, dinners, drinks, and festivals to look forward to.
The first unfortunate event occurred when there was a mix up with the address of the school where my meeting was. He ended up on the other side of the city, and I really couldn't help him since my sense of direction relies heavily on big red houses and light displays instead of street signs. JO is really good with directions, and doesn't like being directionally challenged. Needless to say there was a little stress here. Because of the mix up, we ended up being a half hour behind schedule.
The second unfortunate event occurred on our way from Waltham to Arlington. Hmmm... Route 2 at 6:45 p.m. is no one's friend! As a result, we didn't arrive at the theater until 7:00 which didn't leave us much time for dinner. We had two choices...a little Chinese place or Papa Gino's.
The third unfortunate event occurred when we picked the Chinese joint over Papa Gino's. I'm not sure what we were thinking, and why we didn't run when upon entering we were greeted by a table covered in the remnants of the owner's dinner of rancid cantaloupe and coleslaw. Our food didn't come out until 7:35, and the movie stared at 8:00. We took a few bites and ran across the street to try to find seats.
(The movies were great! The climbing was insane and pretty inspiring.)
Flash forward, by the way that's an excellent show, to this morning when I woke up severely dehydrated and dizzy. Ughh! I had to call in sick to work the day before a long weekend which doesn't make you look so good. Plus, I left all of my stuff at one of my schools and so now on Tuesday I have to go to that school to get the stuff before going to my Tuesday school. I'm pretty sure my illness can be traced back to MSG in the Chinese food!
Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow...I have a full weekend of shopping, dinners, drinks, and festivals to look forward to.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
May I Recommend
One of my favorite places to go out for dinner and/or drinks is the Precinct Bar in Union Square in Somerville.
I found the Precinct last spring when I was craving outdoor dining. It's a quick ten minute walk from our apartment so it's very convenient. After our first visit, I was hooked. The food is great, the prices extremely reasonable, and the beverage selection outstanding! I pretty much love any restaurant that serves Prosseco by the glass.
Over the past few months we've been hitting up The Precinct on a pretty regular basis. I was there last night for a Girls Night Out and we had a great time. How can you go wrong with a roasted half chicken, glazed carrots, and risotto for $12?
So if you're in the area check it out.
I found the Precinct last spring when I was craving outdoor dining. It's a quick ten minute walk from our apartment so it's very convenient. After our first visit, I was hooked. The food is great, the prices extremely reasonable, and the beverage selection outstanding! I pretty much love any restaurant that serves Prosseco by the glass.
Over the past few months we've been hitting up The Precinct on a pretty regular basis. I was there last night for a Girls Night Out and we had a great time. How can you go wrong with a roasted half chicken, glazed carrots, and risotto for $12?
So if you're in the area check it out.
Monday, September 28, 2009
A Weekend Get Away
The city has so much to offer, but sometimes you need to take a trip to New Hampshire to get back in touch with your inner "New Englander."
We headed out to New Hampshire pretty early Saturday since we had so much planned. It was one of those beautiful fall days when the sun is shining and it's in the mid-60s. Our first stop was Brookdale Apple Farm in Hollis, NH. The cashier gave us our 1/2 bushel bag and we figured it was pay by the bag so we set out on our merry apple picking way. We filled our bag to the brim with over 60 apples. We got a nice mix of baking apples and eating apples. When we got to the check out we realized it was "pay the weight" of your bag. It was all good though since our apples were so delicious looking. I have to say that I really thought this apple farm was well organized and very clean and bug free (a big plus in my book)!
Our next stop was Parker's Maple House for a lovely rustic lunch. Then it was on to Miller State Park to see the panoramic view of all of the big mountains in New Hampshire. I'm not a huge state park person but the views were beautiful and we snacked on apples while we walked around so it was pretty nice.
After leaving the park we headed over to the Candlelite Inn in Bradford, NH. I can't say enough positive things about this Bed and Breakfast. The inn keeper was so sweet and told us all about the fun happenings going on. Plus, we stayed in the "Blue Room" which is of course my favorite color! We put our stuff away and headed over to The Fells- a historic property with beautiful gardens and forests.
The Fells was amazing and one of my favorite parts of the trip. The ecological walk along Lake Sunapee was beautiful. The historic home was beautifully decorated and the gardens were gorgeous. There was even a fairy village which made me think of building fairy houses with my classes when I was a classroom teacher.
We quickly headed back to our inn before heading out Daniel's Restaurant in Henniker, NH. We had a great table overlooking a river. Who knew red onion would taste so good in lobster salad? After a delicious dinner we headed over to the Bedford Village Inn to try out Corks Wine Bar. It took us a while to get a table, but I'm really glad that we waited. You know it's a good experience when you have six wine glasses, thanks to a wine flight tasting, on your table and a dessert that everyone else is staring at. I have never enjoyed a dessert so much as I enjoyed the Chocolate Bag. The Chocolate Bag was a eight inch chocolate molded sandwich bag filled with white chocolate and chocolate mousse with assorted berries and Chambord soaked sponge cake. It was so delicious. We left full and very, very happy.
The next morning we decided to live the small town life by hitting up the Chowder Fest Challenge by Lake Sunapee. We had a tough day ahead of us... 16 chowders to taste :-) There were a couple of scary chowders...who in their right minds makes a Chinese Manhattan Clam Chowder...but most of them were delicious. Our favorite was the Guinness Beef Stew but I don't think it ended up winning since these small towners were totally confused about it. With full bellies we decided to return to the city and catch the end of the Patriots game.
I certainly enjoyed my weekend away... but I was right back at the River again this morning!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The City in the Fall
One of my favorite seasons is fall. I love the change from hot, humid, oppressing heat to cool, crisp air. I love that I can take advantage of walking around the city without fear of melting. Lately I've been taking a loop around the Charles River in Harvard Square. It's so peaceful and makes me so happy.
There are some other great events/happenings this fall to look forward to:
*The Revels (this already happened and I didn't get to go this year but I went last year and it was so fun...it is a chorus that sings on the pedestrian bridge on the river)
*Oktoberfest in Harvard Square- always a fun time
*The Regatta- by far one of my favorite annual events. Hopefully the weather will be nice!
*Evening baseball at Cardullo's... can we say playoffs!
I drive through Harvard Square to get to work, and for most people this would be super aggravating. But for me, it's a kind of therapy. It helps me forget how much I don't want to go to work in the morning, and relaxes me after a long, ridiculous day. Brattle Street is amazing and if I was to ever win the lottery I would buy a house there. I love seeing all the people in the square. I especially love the cool, hip Cambridge couples. I aspire to be them.... actually I like to think JO and I are one minus JO drinking coffee and wearing a man scarf :-)
There are some other great events/happenings this fall to look forward to:
*The Revels (this already happened and I didn't get to go this year but I went last year and it was so fun...it is a chorus that sings on the pedestrian bridge on the river)
*Oktoberfest in Harvard Square- always a fun time
*The Regatta- by far one of my favorite annual events. Hopefully the weather will be nice!
*Evening baseball at Cardullo's... can we say playoffs!
I drive through Harvard Square to get to work, and for most people this would be super aggravating. But for me, it's a kind of therapy. It helps me forget how much I don't want to go to work in the morning, and relaxes me after a long, ridiculous day. Brattle Street is amazing and if I was to ever win the lottery I would buy a house there. I love seeing all the people in the square. I especially love the cool, hip Cambridge couples. I aspire to be them.... actually I like to think JO and I are one minus JO drinking coffee and wearing a man scarf :-)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Reality Check
Since everything seems to be falling apart in my professional life I decided to revisit my resolutions. At a workshop I went to today, I learned that you need to look at small, manageable goals and not everything going on. My resolutions were:
1) 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day
2) Purell, Purell, Purell!
3) Going to the gym 2-3 times a week
4) Minimal use of frozen lunches
5) Mandatory blogging time- I find it therapeutic
6) Monthly maintenance of communication with friends that live far away
7) Read each week (more than just a magazine) and watch one movie per week
8) Regular attendance at "Book Clubs"
9) Leaving school at school (I put this on the list but it will never, ever happen... my friends enjoy my stories too much...and I couldn't possibly keep it all in... it could kill me)
10) Cooking more!
I have been successful with #1, #2, #3, #4 (only once), #5, #8, and #10. When you look at that it seems like I'm having a great start to my year. I must say though, none of these resolutions are necessarily work related :-)
1) 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day
2) Purell, Purell, Purell!
3) Going to the gym 2-3 times a week
4) Minimal use of frozen lunches
5) Mandatory blogging time- I find it therapeutic
6) Monthly maintenance of communication with friends that live far away
7) Read each week (more than just a magazine) and watch one movie per week
8) Regular attendance at "Book Clubs"
9) Leaving school at school (I put this on the list but it will never, ever happen... my friends enjoy my stories too much...and I couldn't possibly keep it all in... it could kill me)
10) Cooking more!
I have been successful with #1, #2, #3, #4 (only once), #5, #8, and #10. When you look at that it seems like I'm having a great start to my year. I must say though, none of these resolutions are necessarily work related :-)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I'm Having a Bad Day
This week I kept true to my resolutions for a better school year for two whole days. Today though, after a particularly stressful day, I've broken almost all of them! Since I can't write about my work annoyances, because I could get in trouble, I'll write about some other, much less stressful, annoyances in my apartment building... just because I feel like I need to vent a bit!
First, let me reiterate that I love my apartment. It's the Cambridge version of a Downtown Boston apartment. I'm smack in Inman Square, 10 minutes from Central, 10 from Kendall, and 15 from Harvard Square. Plus, my apartment is pretty big in terms of "city" apartments. Sure we pay a lot but in the end it's worth it... and if we ever have a mortgage it will most likely be less than our rent so it will feel like we are saving money :-)
We have a rather big living room and a huge kitchen! I will probably never have a kitchen like this in any other place I live. We can fit about 15 people, at least, in there. We have more cabinet space than I ever dreamed possible, which is a really good thing since we went a little overboard in Crate and Barrel and wound up with over 50 glasses of varying shapes and sizes. No problem thanks to our multitude of cabinets. Even with the absence of a garbage disposal, it is an amazing kitchen. It makes me happy and I love it. Sure our bedrooms are on the smaller size, but I can't complain since our bedroom has a partial Boston skyline view. Plus, the bedrooms are in the back of the building so we never hear any street noise. Also, living on the third floor has allowed us to keep our heat bill quite low.
Our apartment is rather well constructed. We never hear any of our neighbors. Even the people that live next door and blast their radio at 10:00 in the morning. The only way I knew that they did that was I happened to be in the stairwell when they cranked up the volume. That's really the only time you hear another tenant...if the stairwell doors to your apartment are open. At least that's what I think!
So I adore living here. I wouldn't want to move. That's why these two annoyances are labeled as annoyances..not problems.
I'll start with the doorknobs. We seem to have very "mind of their own" doorknobs in the living room and the bedroom. For instance, on the day of our house warming party I was cleaning the bedroom and my boyfriend had gone out to grab lunch for us. In order to vacuum the entire room I had to shut the bedroom door. I vacuumed and was all set to clean the kitchen, when in an unfortunate incident, I became locked in the bedroom. The knob wouldn't turn correctly and I was stuck in the bedroom just like that. I didn't have my phone, but I did have a tv, so I took a break until JO could rescue me. I yelled through the door that I was stuck in the bedroom, and after he stopped laughing, he was able to jiggle the handle in such a way that I was able to get out. Ever since then, I never shut the door unless I have my phone with me.
The bedroom door, and the bathroom doors, are really the only ones we close. But with the warmer weather (well what warm weather we had this summer) we've been closing the living room doors to keep the cold air trapped in there. This led to another unfortunate incident a while back. I was trying to bring in the butter, salt, and napkins for corn, when I got locked out of the living room. I'm not as afraid of being trapped in the living room though. It overlooks a major street in Cambridge, with lots of people I could yell too for help.
The other annoyance has to do with the neighbors. For the most part I really love my neighbors. They don't bother us and we don't bother them. They are always nice and polite. The sweet foreign family in #2 helped me bring in all of my stuff from my Cape vacation in to the building. The people in #4 seem super cool...and I would totally want to be their friends if given the chance. People only live in #1 every few weeks...I think they may be hiding from immigration but they seem really nice. That leaves #3 and #6. Lets start with #6. There are three people that live there...and it's the apartment next door to us. They are really nice, a very cool eclectic Cambridge couple and a friend of theirs. The boyfriend may actually be our landlord which makes the following situation all the more difficult to navigate.
The apartment is really not meant to house three individuals. Even though it is big it just doesn't work for three people. As a result they have taken over the landings in the front and back of our floor. The front landing is an oasis of their shoes and winter gear. I can totally deal with that because once the girlfriend moved in she totally organized all of it and it's not in my way at all. What I don't like, am annoyed by if you will, is the box of towels/blankets that they have positioned on one of the larger stairs that go downstairs. It's weird and I don't like it. But they don't complain about us so I can look past it.
The back landing is another story. Again, if they weren't so nice, I probably would've gone all Jen Lancaster on them, but they are nice...and may be our landlords. (We were told our landlord was a woman who one the lottery, bought our building, and then moved to Florida. One night JO was out at a local bar and actually ran into the couple that lived in our apartment before us. They said #6 was our landlord...so who knows.) While the front landing is organized the back landing is not so much. They keep their recycling out there, a laundry hamper, one of the big stairs houses their mop and bucket, and on occasion they leave dirty pasta pots and actual bags of trash out there. I actually did end saying something about the trash because it reeked and I was afraid of bugs. Yesterday I almost fell down the stairs when I tripped on a set of venetian blinds that were propped against the air conditioner they are using as a shelf. Again, if they were annoying this would really be a problem. But still, it bugs me a little bit.
The people in #3 though could be a real problem. Shortly after we moved in we had our friends over. We broke out our new Rock Band equipment and started playing. Granted it was late, and we didn't notice, so when #3 knocked on our door we felt really bad. Until, that is, his major complaint was not that we were playing the drums and singing karaoke at 11:30 at night. No, his major problem was that we walked too much. Excuse me??? I'll try not to walk anymore. We blew him off, since that was such a lame complaint. He hasn't given us any more trouble but I always feel like we have to look out for him. Lately he and his girlfriend have been leaving the front and back doors to their apartment open in an attempt to garner a cross breeze (umm...until today's high was 68???) So yesterday I my radio on and I went downstairs to do my laundry, leaving my back door open, when he glared at me. Well, you know what? The only way to hear noise from the other apartments is when you have the doors open. It's your fault, not mine...get an ac!
He also glared at me when I went downstairs to dump the smelly water left in my vase. I couldn't dump it in the apartment, it smelled too gross. I would've gone out back but people were eating out there and I didn't want to gross them out. So I went to dump it on the sidewalk, near a tree. The vase was quite heavy and he had just unlocked the front door to come in so I asked him to hold it. At that exact moment our friend showed up and tried to unlock the door...I don't think #3 liked that our friend had a key...but you know what. He has a key for two reasons:
1) We don't have a buzzer (another annoyance) and he visits a lot
2) He can come rescue me the next time I get locked in the bedroom.
Even though these aren't the real annoyances I would like to blog about, I do feel a bit more relaxed after venting.
First, let me reiterate that I love my apartment. It's the Cambridge version of a Downtown Boston apartment. I'm smack in Inman Square, 10 minutes from Central, 10 from Kendall, and 15 from Harvard Square. Plus, my apartment is pretty big in terms of "city" apartments. Sure we pay a lot but in the end it's worth it... and if we ever have a mortgage it will most likely be less than our rent so it will feel like we are saving money :-)
We have a rather big living room and a huge kitchen! I will probably never have a kitchen like this in any other place I live. We can fit about 15 people, at least, in there. We have more cabinet space than I ever dreamed possible, which is a really good thing since we went a little overboard in Crate and Barrel and wound up with over 50 glasses of varying shapes and sizes. No problem thanks to our multitude of cabinets. Even with the absence of a garbage disposal, it is an amazing kitchen. It makes me happy and I love it. Sure our bedrooms are on the smaller size, but I can't complain since our bedroom has a partial Boston skyline view. Plus, the bedrooms are in the back of the building so we never hear any street noise. Also, living on the third floor has allowed us to keep our heat bill quite low.
Our apartment is rather well constructed. We never hear any of our neighbors. Even the people that live next door and blast their radio at 10:00 in the morning. The only way I knew that they did that was I happened to be in the stairwell when they cranked up the volume. That's really the only time you hear another tenant...if the stairwell doors to your apartment are open. At least that's what I think!
So I adore living here. I wouldn't want to move. That's why these two annoyances are labeled as annoyances..not problems.
I'll start with the doorknobs. We seem to have very "mind of their own" doorknobs in the living room and the bedroom. For instance, on the day of our house warming party I was cleaning the bedroom and my boyfriend had gone out to grab lunch for us. In order to vacuum the entire room I had to shut the bedroom door. I vacuumed and was all set to clean the kitchen, when in an unfortunate incident, I became locked in the bedroom. The knob wouldn't turn correctly and I was stuck in the bedroom just like that. I didn't have my phone, but I did have a tv, so I took a break until JO could rescue me. I yelled through the door that I was stuck in the bedroom, and after he stopped laughing, he was able to jiggle the handle in such a way that I was able to get out. Ever since then, I never shut the door unless I have my phone with me.
The bedroom door, and the bathroom doors, are really the only ones we close. But with the warmer weather (well what warm weather we had this summer) we've been closing the living room doors to keep the cold air trapped in there. This led to another unfortunate incident a while back. I was trying to bring in the butter, salt, and napkins for corn, when I got locked out of the living room. I'm not as afraid of being trapped in the living room though. It overlooks a major street in Cambridge, with lots of people I could yell too for help.
The other annoyance has to do with the neighbors. For the most part I really love my neighbors. They don't bother us and we don't bother them. They are always nice and polite. The sweet foreign family in #2 helped me bring in all of my stuff from my Cape vacation in to the building. The people in #4 seem super cool...and I would totally want to be their friends if given the chance. People only live in #1 every few weeks...I think they may be hiding from immigration but they seem really nice. That leaves #3 and #6. Lets start with #6. There are three people that live there...and it's the apartment next door to us. They are really nice, a very cool eclectic Cambridge couple and a friend of theirs. The boyfriend may actually be our landlord which makes the following situation all the more difficult to navigate.
The apartment is really not meant to house three individuals. Even though it is big it just doesn't work for three people. As a result they have taken over the landings in the front and back of our floor. The front landing is an oasis of their shoes and winter gear. I can totally deal with that because once the girlfriend moved in she totally organized all of it and it's not in my way at all. What I don't like, am annoyed by if you will, is the box of towels/blankets that they have positioned on one of the larger stairs that go downstairs. It's weird and I don't like it. But they don't complain about us so I can look past it.
The back landing is another story. Again, if they weren't so nice, I probably would've gone all Jen Lancaster on them, but they are nice...and may be our landlords. (We were told our landlord was a woman who one the lottery, bought our building, and then moved to Florida. One night JO was out at a local bar and actually ran into the couple that lived in our apartment before us. They said #6 was our landlord...so who knows.) While the front landing is organized the back landing is not so much. They keep their recycling out there, a laundry hamper, one of the big stairs houses their mop and bucket, and on occasion they leave dirty pasta pots and actual bags of trash out there. I actually did end saying something about the trash because it reeked and I was afraid of bugs. Yesterday I almost fell down the stairs when I tripped on a set of venetian blinds that were propped against the air conditioner they are using as a shelf. Again, if they were annoying this would really be a problem. But still, it bugs me a little bit.
The people in #3 though could be a real problem. Shortly after we moved in we had our friends over. We broke out our new Rock Band equipment and started playing. Granted it was late, and we didn't notice, so when #3 knocked on our door we felt really bad. Until, that is, his major complaint was not that we were playing the drums and singing karaoke at 11:30 at night. No, his major problem was that we walked too much. Excuse me??? I'll try not to walk anymore. We blew him off, since that was such a lame complaint. He hasn't given us any more trouble but I always feel like we have to look out for him. Lately he and his girlfriend have been leaving the front and back doors to their apartment open in an attempt to garner a cross breeze (umm...until today's high was 68???) So yesterday I my radio on and I went downstairs to do my laundry, leaving my back door open, when he glared at me. Well, you know what? The only way to hear noise from the other apartments is when you have the doors open. It's your fault, not mine...get an ac!
He also glared at me when I went downstairs to dump the smelly water left in my vase. I couldn't dump it in the apartment, it smelled too gross. I would've gone out back but people were eating out there and I didn't want to gross them out. So I went to dump it on the sidewalk, near a tree. The vase was quite heavy and he had just unlocked the front door to come in so I asked him to hold it. At that exact moment our friend showed up and tried to unlock the door...I don't think #3 liked that our friend had a key...but you know what. He has a key for two reasons:
1) We don't have a buzzer (another annoyance) and he visits a lot
2) He can come rescue me the next time I get locked in the bedroom.
Even though these aren't the real annoyances I would like to blog about, I do feel a bit more relaxed after venting.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Charles River
So my idea of planning "fun city outings" when I know I'm going to have a bad work day worked like a charm today. With every crazy email, comment, and annoyance I just kept my mind focused on what a peaceful afternoon I would have. And you know what? I did!
I walked from Inman to Harvard, cut through JFK park, and down the river to the Pedestrian Bridge. I walked back towards JFK park via the Boston side of the river. Then I cut back through Harvard Square before returning to Inman. It was so nice to see Harvard Square so full of people. The last few times I've gone it has been very empty... college kids don't seem to rise before 10:00 a.m. on the weekends :-)
Now I'm celebrating all of that great exercise with a frappe. Not an ordinary frappe though...a Christina's frappe. A few years ago my friend was on a big frappe kick so we tested them out all over the place. I can say confidently that Christina's has the best frappe in the area! I'm justifying this frappe by focusing on all of the Calcium I'm getting!
It's all in the perspective!
I walked from Inman to Harvard, cut through JFK park, and down the river to the Pedestrian Bridge. I walked back towards JFK park via the Boston side of the river. Then I cut back through Harvard Square before returning to Inman. It was so nice to see Harvard Square so full of people. The last few times I've gone it has been very empty... college kids don't seem to rise before 10:00 a.m. on the weekends :-)
Now I'm celebrating all of that great exercise with a frappe. Not an ordinary frappe though...a Christina's frappe. A few years ago my friend was on a big frappe kick so we tested them out all over the place. I can say confidently that Christina's has the best frappe in the area! I'm justifying this frappe by focusing on all of the Calcium I'm getting!
It's all in the perspective!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Resolutions
I'm taking a hiatus from talking up the city to post my ten resolutions for a better school year. I'm a teacher so September is always a tough time of year. Summer vacation ends rather suddenly and you're right back into the work thing. There used to be a time when I loved the new school year... it was exciting to meet the group of kids you would be spending six hours a day with for the next 180 school days. Since leaving the world of classroom teaching for a specialist position I don't have that same excitement that used to get me out of the bed on September mornings. In fact, since JO is away on vacation for the next two weeks I'm a little worried about who is going to prevent me from not going to school in the morning. I would love to go back to classroom teaching, but seeing as the economy is m.i.a. that's not an option at this point.
As a result, I've made a list of my 10 resolutions to ensure that this school year isn't completely stress filled.
I will preface this by saying that I made this last week as I was sitting in my office contemplating running away and hiding from work related stress... and in only 3 days back at work I've broken several of them so I'm going to start again tomorrow with a clean slate.
1) 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day
2) Purell, Purell, Purell!
3) Going to the gym 2-3 times a week
4) Minimal use of frozen lunches
5) Mandatory blogging time- I find it therapeutic
6) Monthly maintenance of communication with friends that live far away
7) Read each week (more than just a magazine) and watch one movie per week
8) Regular attendance at "Book Clubs"
9) Leaving school at school (I put this on the list but it will never, ever happen... my friends enjoy my stories too much...and I couldn't possibly keep it all in... it could kill me)
10) Cooking more!
Also, on particularly awful days I'm going to see school as a 7 hour obstacle to doing something fun in the city. For example, tomorrow I'm going to go for a nice long walk along the Charles River after school.
As a result, I've made a list of my 10 resolutions to ensure that this school year isn't completely stress filled.
I will preface this by saying that I made this last week as I was sitting in my office contemplating running away and hiding from work related stress... and in only 3 days back at work I've broken several of them so I'm going to start again tomorrow with a clean slate.
1) 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day
2) Purell, Purell, Purell!
3) Going to the gym 2-3 times a week
4) Minimal use of frozen lunches
5) Mandatory blogging time- I find it therapeutic
6) Monthly maintenance of communication with friends that live far away
7) Read each week (more than just a magazine) and watch one movie per week
8) Regular attendance at "Book Clubs"
9) Leaving school at school (I put this on the list but it will never, ever happen... my friends enjoy my stories too much...and I couldn't possibly keep it all in... it could kill me)
10) Cooking more!
Also, on particularly awful days I'm going to see school as a 7 hour obstacle to doing something fun in the city. For example, tomorrow I'm going to go for a nice long walk along the Charles River after school.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
The Road Trip Revisited
As I said in my last post, I was M.I.A. for a few weeks due to a "staycation" and a mega-road trip.
I parted way with my good friend at the at the airport...and headed over to meet JO in terminal A. We were ready to hit the road for an 8 day, 1,000+ mile "mega road trip" from Phoenix to San Francisco. As you know, I love the city life so I was a little uneasy about so much time in the car driving through deserts and other desolated areas. Additionally, one version of this trip had us driving through Death Valley where it is typically 120 degrees. Needless to say, as much fun as I knew I would have on the trip, I was a bit hesitant to go on it. I like my vacations to be relaxing- one place over an extended amount of time. This trip featured a different location almost every day. The trip was also back to back with my amazing Boston "staycation" so it would be hard to top that.
Apparently there were weather issues while we were in Boston so Continental did us a favor by putting us on an earlier flight to Newark to catch our connector to Phoenix. Score us! We rushed through security and enjoyed a very quick 40 minute flight to Newark. Had we been more educated on the airports of the Eastern seaboard we wouldn't have blown off our captain's message, "We are right on time...quite surprising for Newark!" Away we went to kill two hours in Newark before our next flight. I was slightly grumpy since I hate to fly and I had just said goodbye to my best friend for an undetermined amount of time. So when we sat down to eat our McDonald's and I happened to feel something sticky on my arm I wasn't too happy to find melted ice cream all over our table and my arm. I rushed off to the restroom to disinfect. I returned to finish my burger but was interrupted again when JO pointed out that my shirt was now also covered in the pink grossness! Having completely lost my appetite I threw out the remaining burger and fries and set out to buy some Purel. Eight dollars later we went to check in on our flight status and it said it was on time! We hit up some of the shops and returned to our gate to get ready to board. No plane in sight but the status still said on time. Long story short- our "on time" flight status never changed but we left two and half hours late!
I'll spare you the details of our ridiculous flight which included no food service and no blankets!!! We landed in Phoenix and were greeted by the "dry" heat you hear so much about. At midnight it was a balmy 97 degrees. We grabbed our bags, got the rental, and headed out to our motel in the "ghetto" of Phoenix, arriving around 1:00 in the morning. The motel itself wasn't bad but we hardly slept because we were both so hungry so it wasn't surprising when we woke up at 8:00 ravished by hunger. In a stroke of pure luck the McDonald's was located right next to the Dunkin Donuts where a medium ice coffee cost me 54 cents and made me very happy.
We set out for the Grand Canyon. Along the way I experienced difficulty with the rapid and frequent changes in elevation, an asthma attack, and the desert. That being said the Grand Canyon was beautiful and quite breathtaking. We continued to drive to Las Vegas. Along the way we saw the Hoover Dam. I'm not a gambler, and I don't like to watch, so my big Vegas plan was to lounge by the pool and relax. Unfortunately our hotel's pool had a stipulation- if you use it be warned that they have a live webcam and are allowed to use your image and/or voice in print and other media. I'm an elementary teacher so this was most certainly a no go for me. Combined with the heat I was pretty grumpy during our stay in Vegas. There were some highlights though- the Paris Casino was great, lunch at Mon Ami Gabi delicious, souvenir shopping at the ESPN Zone was fun, and the fountains and lions were cool. We had some run ins with less than friendly staff at our hotel so we were both in a bit of a mood when we headed out for Mammoth Lakes, CA via the desert! Apparently I was quite upset because I had a bit of a freak out in the desert and once again when we drove through two mountain ranges.
I'm just going to say it- I do not like the desert. No part of driving for three hours through the desert is fun for me! I'm not intrigued by the desolation! I'm a city girl... I like noise, I like people, I like hustle and bustle. JO did a nice job of calming me down and navigating the mountains finally delivering us to Mammoth Lakes, CA. I was ready to relax the night away in our hotel but JO convinced me to head outside. I'm so glad we did. This actually ended up being my favorite place on our trip. Mammoth Lakes is this cute mountain town that is a skiers dream in the winter and a haven in the summer. It reminds me a lot of North Hampton, MA. The big attraction are the series of lakes set into the mountains. They are absolutely stunning and actually got me contemplating how fun it would be to camp around them... and I am not a camper!!! After driving around the various lakes we went to dinner at Slocumb's which the front desk lady had recommended. It was by far one of the best places we ate on the trip and exactly what I had been hoping for on vacation... total relaxation! When we got back to our hotel we decided to use the hot tub in the "outdoor" spa... it was so much fun and we could see all of the stars!
Of course, the next morning we had to get right back in the car but this time I was excited because we were going to Yosemite National Park. Growing up I had heard a lot about the park from my dad who had gone when he was just out of college. I've always wanted to go... again surprising for me since I hate most things "nature." It rained a little bit at the beginning of the day but the sun broke out and it was a beautiful day.
After Yosemite we continued to drive for four more hours (a bit more driving than I could really deal with) to arrive in Sacramento, CA. I've heard good things about Sacramento and I was certainly excited to be back in a city! Plus I had researched a couple of delicious restaurants so I was excited to hit up the city even though it was a Sunday night. After driving around the entire city we came to the conclusion that we missed the memo- nothing is open on Sundays in Sacramento... and very few people are even outside on Sundays. I am still mystified by our experience in Sacramento- maybe it has something to do with the budget woes in California. We were able to find one pub open at the late hour of 6:30! During dinner I heard several of the other diners complaining that it was cold out... it was 70 degrees out! As a New Englander this made my blood boil but I digress.
We had to get a good night's rest since the next day was a big one- Napa Valley. Back when JO planned the trip I was quite nervous that we only had one day in Napa Valley. Since JO would be driving, I would have to be the one doing the majority of the drinking. I didn't think this would end well at all! Due to ridiculous amounts of traffic we were a bit late for our first winery. We had a lovely picnic, the weather was beautiful, and shared a bottle of wine. Our second winery was equally beautiful and we had a private table and concierge for our tasting which was super relaxing. We had a third winery planned but that didn't happen due to the fact that that would have been a lot of wine!!! Instead we set off for San Francisco, our final destination.
I am sad to admit that I was sleeping off the winery so I missed driving over the Golden Gate Bridge :-( but I recovered quickly and was surprised with The Westin St. Francis as our hotel. The Westin is absolutely gorgeous and has glass elevators to take you to your room... we were on the 29th floor which led to a spectacular view. Tourists actually come to the hotel to ride the elevators. Our hotel was right in the heart of Union Square and we wasted no time hitting up the local diner and all of the awesome shopping... I'm talking a 5 floor Old Navy and a gigantic Gap! You name it the store exists in Union Square... even my beloved Paul Frank has a store there. We turned in early so we could enjoy a full day of tourist activities the next day. I love cities and hadn't been to a "new" one in a while. I was eager to compare it to Cambridge and Boston.
For all the crap the MBTA takes I have to say it is a relatively easy system of travel compared to the MUNI and BART systems in San Francisco. Some buses only come at certain times of the day, often you have to take 3-5 buses to get anywhere, and they are always super crowded. Think green line on game day and increase it more! The public transportation was really the only negative of my experience in San Fran.
We figured out how to navigate the MUNI and arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked all the way through the park down to Fisherman's Wharf. It was beautiful out and quite fun. We stopped for lunch at the Blue Mermaid and then headed over to see the sea lions. I could've stayed there for hours. As it was we watched them for about an hour. I loved them!!! We toured the piers a bit more before heading back to the hotel to take a quick nap before heading out for the evening.
Quite by accident we stumbled onto the B Restaurant located near the MLK Jr. memorial. The B had a great atmosphere, and Prosecco by the glass! Yummy! After dinner we walked around Union Square some more.
The next morning we were back on the MUNI, not the bus but the cable cars! I know the cable cars are a must experience in San Fran and now that I have I think I have my fill. I can't even imagine having to take these as a commuter! It was fun at first but after a little bit I couldn't take the herky jerky bumps every two seconds. Also, most of the tourists on the cable car "Ohhh" and "Aww" on every hill on Nob Hill which is quite annoying. We exited at Lombard Street which has 8 hairpin turns on it. It's absolutely amazing and I can't imagine what driving down it would be like. We walked over to Ghiradelli Square but missed out on the yumminess because it was only 10:00 a.m. and nothing was open! Oh well! We walked over to Telegraph Hill to see the wild parrots on our way to Coit Tower. I quit half way up the stairs that lead to Coit Tower because I'm a wimp who is ok with being a wimp. We changed up our route, grabbed some lunch at a cute pub along the way, and ended up the Ferry Building...a sophisticated version of Quincy Market.
One of my favorite things about San Francisco is that every day there is some sort of Happy Hour promotion going on. JO and I wondered the streets looking for the best deal and found it at Zingari's. Five dollar drinks and half price food. We had a great time relaxing and eating yummy appetizers. Then we headed out to find the French neighborhood and had a delightful dinner at Cafe Claude. We finished the evening with drinks at the Clock Bar at the Westin.
Our trip home was much less uneventful then the trip out, although the clearly married man next to me on the flight home from Seattle did have six vodka cocktails and spent the whole flight flirting with the stewardess.
I learned that I hate the desert, that it's fun to visit other cities, but that in the end my heart belongs here... where everything is at my doorstep!
I parted way with my good friend at the at the airport...and headed over to meet JO in terminal A. We were ready to hit the road for an 8 day, 1,000+ mile "mega road trip" from Phoenix to San Francisco. As you know, I love the city life so I was a little uneasy about so much time in the car driving through deserts and other desolated areas. Additionally, one version of this trip had us driving through Death Valley where it is typically 120 degrees. Needless to say, as much fun as I knew I would have on the trip, I was a bit hesitant to go on it. I like my vacations to be relaxing- one place over an extended amount of time. This trip featured a different location almost every day. The trip was also back to back with my amazing Boston "staycation" so it would be hard to top that.
Apparently there were weather issues while we were in Boston so Continental did us a favor by putting us on an earlier flight to Newark to catch our connector to Phoenix. Score us! We rushed through security and enjoyed a very quick 40 minute flight to Newark. Had we been more educated on the airports of the Eastern seaboard we wouldn't have blown off our captain's message, "We are right on time...quite surprising for Newark!" Away we went to kill two hours in Newark before our next flight. I was slightly grumpy since I hate to fly and I had just said goodbye to my best friend for an undetermined amount of time. So when we sat down to eat our McDonald's and I happened to feel something sticky on my arm I wasn't too happy to find melted ice cream all over our table and my arm. I rushed off to the restroom to disinfect. I returned to finish my burger but was interrupted again when JO pointed out that my shirt was now also covered in the pink grossness! Having completely lost my appetite I threw out the remaining burger and fries and set out to buy some Purel. Eight dollars later we went to check in on our flight status and it said it was on time! We hit up some of the shops and returned to our gate to get ready to board. No plane in sight but the status still said on time. Long story short- our "on time" flight status never changed but we left two and half hours late!
I'll spare you the details of our ridiculous flight which included no food service and no blankets!!! We landed in Phoenix and were greeted by the "dry" heat you hear so much about. At midnight it was a balmy 97 degrees. We grabbed our bags, got the rental, and headed out to our motel in the "ghetto" of Phoenix, arriving around 1:00 in the morning. The motel itself wasn't bad but we hardly slept because we were both so hungry so it wasn't surprising when we woke up at 8:00 ravished by hunger. In a stroke of pure luck the McDonald's was located right next to the Dunkin Donuts where a medium ice coffee cost me 54 cents and made me very happy.
We set out for the Grand Canyon. Along the way I experienced difficulty with the rapid and frequent changes in elevation, an asthma attack, and the desert. That being said the Grand Canyon was beautiful and quite breathtaking. We continued to drive to Las Vegas. Along the way we saw the Hoover Dam. I'm not a gambler, and I don't like to watch, so my big Vegas plan was to lounge by the pool and relax. Unfortunately our hotel's pool had a stipulation- if you use it be warned that they have a live webcam and are allowed to use your image and/or voice in print and other media. I'm an elementary teacher so this was most certainly a no go for me. Combined with the heat I was pretty grumpy during our stay in Vegas. There were some highlights though- the Paris Casino was great, lunch at Mon Ami Gabi delicious, souvenir shopping at the ESPN Zone was fun, and the fountains and lions were cool. We had some run ins with less than friendly staff at our hotel so we were both in a bit of a mood when we headed out for Mammoth Lakes, CA via the desert! Apparently I was quite upset because I had a bit of a freak out in the desert and once again when we drove through two mountain ranges.
I'm just going to say it- I do not like the desert. No part of driving for three hours through the desert is fun for me! I'm not intrigued by the desolation! I'm a city girl... I like noise, I like people, I like hustle and bustle. JO did a nice job of calming me down and navigating the mountains finally delivering us to Mammoth Lakes, CA. I was ready to relax the night away in our hotel but JO convinced me to head outside. I'm so glad we did. This actually ended up being my favorite place on our trip. Mammoth Lakes is this cute mountain town that is a skiers dream in the winter and a haven in the summer. It reminds me a lot of North Hampton, MA. The big attraction are the series of lakes set into the mountains. They are absolutely stunning and actually got me contemplating how fun it would be to camp around them... and I am not a camper!!! After driving around the various lakes we went to dinner at Slocumb's which the front desk lady had recommended. It was by far one of the best places we ate on the trip and exactly what I had been hoping for on vacation... total relaxation! When we got back to our hotel we decided to use the hot tub in the "outdoor" spa... it was so much fun and we could see all of the stars!
Of course, the next morning we had to get right back in the car but this time I was excited because we were going to Yosemite National Park. Growing up I had heard a lot about the park from my dad who had gone when he was just out of college. I've always wanted to go... again surprising for me since I hate most things "nature." It rained a little bit at the beginning of the day but the sun broke out and it was a beautiful day.
After Yosemite we continued to drive for four more hours (a bit more driving than I could really deal with) to arrive in Sacramento, CA. I've heard good things about Sacramento and I was certainly excited to be back in a city! Plus I had researched a couple of delicious restaurants so I was excited to hit up the city even though it was a Sunday night. After driving around the entire city we came to the conclusion that we missed the memo- nothing is open on Sundays in Sacramento... and very few people are even outside on Sundays. I am still mystified by our experience in Sacramento- maybe it has something to do with the budget woes in California. We were able to find one pub open at the late hour of 6:30! During dinner I heard several of the other diners complaining that it was cold out... it was 70 degrees out! As a New Englander this made my blood boil but I digress.
We had to get a good night's rest since the next day was a big one- Napa Valley. Back when JO planned the trip I was quite nervous that we only had one day in Napa Valley. Since JO would be driving, I would have to be the one doing the majority of the drinking. I didn't think this would end well at all! Due to ridiculous amounts of traffic we were a bit late for our first winery. We had a lovely picnic, the weather was beautiful, and shared a bottle of wine. Our second winery was equally beautiful and we had a private table and concierge for our tasting which was super relaxing. We had a third winery planned but that didn't happen due to the fact that that would have been a lot of wine!!! Instead we set off for San Francisco, our final destination.
I am sad to admit that I was sleeping off the winery so I missed driving over the Golden Gate Bridge :-( but I recovered quickly and was surprised with The Westin St. Francis as our hotel. The Westin is absolutely gorgeous and has glass elevators to take you to your room... we were on the 29th floor which led to a spectacular view. Tourists actually come to the hotel to ride the elevators. Our hotel was right in the heart of Union Square and we wasted no time hitting up the local diner and all of the awesome shopping... I'm talking a 5 floor Old Navy and a gigantic Gap! You name it the store exists in Union Square... even my beloved Paul Frank has a store there. We turned in early so we could enjoy a full day of tourist activities the next day. I love cities and hadn't been to a "new" one in a while. I was eager to compare it to Cambridge and Boston.
For all the crap the MBTA takes I have to say it is a relatively easy system of travel compared to the MUNI and BART systems in San Francisco. Some buses only come at certain times of the day, often you have to take 3-5 buses to get anywhere, and they are always super crowded. Think green line on game day and increase it more! The public transportation was really the only negative of my experience in San Fran.
We figured out how to navigate the MUNI and arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked all the way through the park down to Fisherman's Wharf. It was beautiful out and quite fun. We stopped for lunch at the Blue Mermaid and then headed over to see the sea lions. I could've stayed there for hours. As it was we watched them for about an hour. I loved them!!! We toured the piers a bit more before heading back to the hotel to take a quick nap before heading out for the evening.
Quite by accident we stumbled onto the B Restaurant located near the MLK Jr. memorial. The B had a great atmosphere, and Prosecco by the glass! Yummy! After dinner we walked around Union Square some more.
The next morning we were back on the MUNI, not the bus but the cable cars! I know the cable cars are a must experience in San Fran and now that I have I think I have my fill. I can't even imagine having to take these as a commuter! It was fun at first but after a little bit I couldn't take the herky jerky bumps every two seconds. Also, most of the tourists on the cable car "Ohhh" and "Aww" on every hill on Nob Hill which is quite annoying. We exited at Lombard Street which has 8 hairpin turns on it. It's absolutely amazing and I can't imagine what driving down it would be like. We walked over to Ghiradelli Square but missed out on the yumminess because it was only 10:00 a.m. and nothing was open! Oh well! We walked over to Telegraph Hill to see the wild parrots on our way to Coit Tower. I quit half way up the stairs that lead to Coit Tower because I'm a wimp who is ok with being a wimp. We changed up our route, grabbed some lunch at a cute pub along the way, and ended up the Ferry Building...a sophisticated version of Quincy Market.
One of my favorite things about San Francisco is that every day there is some sort of Happy Hour promotion going on. JO and I wondered the streets looking for the best deal and found it at Zingari's. Five dollar drinks and half price food. We had a great time relaxing and eating yummy appetizers. Then we headed out to find the French neighborhood and had a delightful dinner at Cafe Claude. We finished the evening with drinks at the Clock Bar at the Westin.
Our trip home was much less uneventful then the trip out, although the clearly married man next to me on the flight home from Seattle did have six vodka cocktails and spent the whole flight flirting with the stewardess.
I learned that I hate the desert, that it's fun to visit other cities, but that in the end my heart belongs here... where everything is at my doorstep!
Monday, August 31, 2009
M.I.A....Explained
Over the last few weeks I've been on some crazy vacations... both of which solidified my feeling that Cambridge/Boston is the place to be!
First up was a Boston "staycation" with a great friend in town for two weeks from France. The second vacation was a road trip extravaganza from Phoenix to San Francisco (and the desert in between!) Since I can't possibly tackle both trips in one sitting, I'll start with the "staycation."
My Boston "staycation" included- all of the Cambridge Squares, Public Gardens, Boston Common, Newbury St., Prudential Center, Skywalk, Futures Game at Fenway, Marlborogh St., Quincy Market, the Aquarium, Whale Watch, rooftop pool at the Colonnade Hotel, Sam Adams Brewery Tour, the Museum of Fine Arts, the ICA, the Museum of Science, Fenway area during a game, drinks at the Top of the Hub (twice), Newport (not exactly Boston but only an hour and half away), Christina's ice cream (on a few occasions), Museum of Science, Butterfly Garden, the North End, and so many restaurants I can't even list them all.
Needless to say, I think it is a great opportunity to see your city through a visitor's eyes! This area has so many great things to offer...why leave???
...to go on a mega roadtrip! Stay tuned.
First up was a Boston "staycation" with a great friend in town for two weeks from France. The second vacation was a road trip extravaganza from Phoenix to San Francisco (and the desert in between!) Since I can't possibly tackle both trips in one sitting, I'll start with the "staycation."
My Boston "staycation" included- all of the Cambridge Squares, Public Gardens, Boston Common, Newbury St., Prudential Center, Skywalk, Futures Game at Fenway, Marlborogh St., Quincy Market, the Aquarium, Whale Watch, rooftop pool at the Colonnade Hotel, Sam Adams Brewery Tour, the Museum of Fine Arts, the ICA, the Museum of Science, Fenway area during a game, drinks at the Top of the Hub (twice), Newport (not exactly Boston but only an hour and half away), Christina's ice cream (on a few occasions), Museum of Science, Butterfly Garden, the North End, and so many restaurants I can't even list them all.
Needless to say, I think it is a great opportunity to see your city through a visitor's eyes! This area has so many great things to offer...why leave???
...to go on a mega roadtrip! Stay tuned.
Monday, August 3, 2009
This Wouldn't Happen in the Suburbs
I had intentions of blogging about my other inspiration for the blog, my recent epiphany, but
a) I'm exhausted and don't have the energy for a lengthy post
b) I'm still laughing about this four hours after it happened
So here goes. I woke up today feeling tired and cranky. My day only got worse once I checked my work email. So I decided I needed to regroup and go into Harvard Square. I absolutely love walking into the Square on summer mornings for an iced coffee and quality reading time. I knew this would be the perfect antidote for this new layer of stress that had been added to my life.
Like I said in an earlier post, I'm not Carrie Bradshaw. So instead of Manolo Blahniks, I donned socks and sneakers, some shorts, and a tank top. I tucked my hair into a hat, grabbed my black book bag, and headed out the door. I turned on my Nano and set out to reclaim my summer calm.
I've been walking down Harvard St. recently to get to the square as it offers the most direct route to Dunkin Donuts and my secret squirrel reading spot. As I turned onto Harvard St. this older woman who was waiting for the bus hissed at me and made claw gestures with her hands. I'll admit that I was slightly caught off guard by this. I decided my best course of action would be to just continue walking. As I passed her she started yelling at me, quite angrily, saying that I was lazy and that if the straps on my bag weren't so long I wouldn't have to hold the straps. This lasted for about 30 seconds. She was so loud that the people in the cars were staring at us.
Now I will have you know that I am not lazy. Nothing about my appearance today would suggest that I was lazy. I was wearing sneakers and clearly walking from point A to point B. I'm fit and in shape and there many words people could use to describe me but lazy is not one of them! Also, I typically walk with my right arm on the straps of my bag, not due to lazyiness (which isn't even a valid attack in this situation as my having my arm on my bag's strap doesn't equal lazy behavior) but because I don't like the strap pushing on my shoulder.
The point of this story is that this is a classic incident that anti-city people use to explain why they don't want to live in the city and/or why you shouldn't live in the city...last time I checked it was my money paying the rent, but I digress. The fact is, this is why I live in the city. It's unpredictable, it's fun, and I always have stories to tell. If I lived in the 'burbs I'm pretty sure my blog would be empty.
a) I'm exhausted and don't have the energy for a lengthy post
b) I'm still laughing about this four hours after it happened
So here goes. I woke up today feeling tired and cranky. My day only got worse once I checked my work email. So I decided I needed to regroup and go into Harvard Square. I absolutely love walking into the Square on summer mornings for an iced coffee and quality reading time. I knew this would be the perfect antidote for this new layer of stress that had been added to my life.
Like I said in an earlier post, I'm not Carrie Bradshaw. So instead of Manolo Blahniks, I donned socks and sneakers, some shorts, and a tank top. I tucked my hair into a hat, grabbed my black book bag, and headed out the door. I turned on my Nano and set out to reclaim my summer calm.
I've been walking down Harvard St. recently to get to the square as it offers the most direct route to Dunkin Donuts and my secret squirrel reading spot. As I turned onto Harvard St. this older woman who was waiting for the bus hissed at me and made claw gestures with her hands. I'll admit that I was slightly caught off guard by this. I decided my best course of action would be to just continue walking. As I passed her she started yelling at me, quite angrily, saying that I was lazy and that if the straps on my bag weren't so long I wouldn't have to hold the straps. This lasted for about 30 seconds. She was so loud that the people in the cars were staring at us.
Now I will have you know that I am not lazy. Nothing about my appearance today would suggest that I was lazy. I was wearing sneakers and clearly walking from point A to point B. I'm fit and in shape and there many words people could use to describe me but lazy is not one of them! Also, I typically walk with my right arm on the straps of my bag, not due to lazyiness (which isn't even a valid attack in this situation as my having my arm on my bag's strap doesn't equal lazy behavior) but because I don't like the strap pushing on my shoulder.
The point of this story is that this is a classic incident that anti-city people use to explain why they don't want to live in the city and/or why you shouldn't live in the city...last time I checked it was my money paying the rent, but I digress. The fact is, this is why I live in the city. It's unpredictable, it's fun, and I always have stories to tell. If I lived in the 'burbs I'm pretty sure my blog would be empty.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Welcome to the City
I was recently visiting an absolutely fabulous friend of mine, Abdu, at his home in the Cape. He told me I was his Carrie Bradshaw and I thought... you know what, hat's an awesome title for a blog! So here I am, blogging away. I've kept a blog for about five years now, but it's always been more of a journal for me to keep track of my thoughts and occasionally rant and rave. I felt so invigorated after my visit with Abdu and a recent epiphany at a party that I decided to give real blogging a try.
Disclaimer- I am nothing like the real Carrie Bradshaw. I don't have lots of extra money to spend on fabulous shoes, amazing clothes, and delicious meals at upscale restaurants. But, what I do have is a great life in an amazing city... and I wouldn't want it any other way.
I absolutely adore living in Cambridge, MA and never pass up an opportunity to share my experiences with anyone who will listen. I get mad when people tell me I'm too "old" to live in the city and that I need to grow up. After all, I am super old at the ripe age of.... 31! We don't all want to be married with kids living in the suburbs. I get mad when people tell me about how much easier my life would be if I didn't live in the city. Apparently having a Whole Foods, hardware store, Dunkin Donuts, hair dresser, performance space, and post office all within five minutes of my apartment is really difficult. Not to mention the amazing restaurants and bars that surround me. And I'd be remiss to not mention the fact that a few months ago my boyfriend and I decided to buy a new bed. Did we drive to IKEA or Jordan's? Nope! We walked across the street to the furniture store, bypassed the delivery fee, and walked our stuff back to our apartment.
I grew up in Central Square in Cambridge so I've always had strong ties to the city. When I was seven my parents bought a house in a small town on the South Shore. I immediately went into culture shock. At my 7th birthday party I was the only native English speaker and now I was in a town where everyone was exactly the same. I failed at my first attempt to return to the city when I couldn't get a large enough scholarship to attend Lesley University. After I graduated college I ended up taking a teaching position in the same school district I had attended. I never intended for that to happen, in fact it was my worst nightmare. I always felt trapped.
Luckily for me three years ago I got pink slipped and having hit the rock bottom of my twenties I decided to get a new job, closer to the city, find an apartment with cool roommates, and basically completely change my life. It's a long story, that I'm sure I'll tell at some point, but long story short three years later I live in an awesome apartment in Inman Square (ten minutes from where I lived when I was little) with my wonderful boyfriend. It took me 23 years to get back to Cambridge and I couldn't be happier!
Disclaimer- I am nothing like the real Carrie Bradshaw. I don't have lots of extra money to spend on fabulous shoes, amazing clothes, and delicious meals at upscale restaurants. But, what I do have is a great life in an amazing city... and I wouldn't want it any other way.
I absolutely adore living in Cambridge, MA and never pass up an opportunity to share my experiences with anyone who will listen. I get mad when people tell me I'm too "old" to live in the city and that I need to grow up. After all, I am super old at the ripe age of.... 31! We don't all want to be married with kids living in the suburbs. I get mad when people tell me about how much easier my life would be if I didn't live in the city. Apparently having a Whole Foods, hardware store, Dunkin Donuts, hair dresser, performance space, and post office all within five minutes of my apartment is really difficult. Not to mention the amazing restaurants and bars that surround me. And I'd be remiss to not mention the fact that a few months ago my boyfriend and I decided to buy a new bed. Did we drive to IKEA or Jordan's? Nope! We walked across the street to the furniture store, bypassed the delivery fee, and walked our stuff back to our apartment.
I grew up in Central Square in Cambridge so I've always had strong ties to the city. When I was seven my parents bought a house in a small town on the South Shore. I immediately went into culture shock. At my 7th birthday party I was the only native English speaker and now I was in a town where everyone was exactly the same. I failed at my first attempt to return to the city when I couldn't get a large enough scholarship to attend Lesley University. After I graduated college I ended up taking a teaching position in the same school district I had attended. I never intended for that to happen, in fact it was my worst nightmare. I always felt trapped.
Luckily for me three years ago I got pink slipped and having hit the rock bottom of my twenties I decided to get a new job, closer to the city, find an apartment with cool roommates, and basically completely change my life. It's a long story, that I'm sure I'll tell at some point, but long story short three years later I live in an awesome apartment in Inman Square (ten minutes from where I lived when I was little) with my wonderful boyfriend. It took me 23 years to get back to Cambridge and I couldn't be happier!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
