Getting Settled

We've officially been in Boston for a week now. Well, technically we are living in Brighton but that's close enough. In fact, if you go to Google Maps and type in 104 Strathmore Rd Brighton, MA 02135 it will pull up a street view that (strangely enough) is of 98 Strathmore Rd - our building. I took a few pictures of the neighborhood and our building that you can see below.

We haven't done too much yet since we are still unpacking and getting settled. Dan installed a window A/C unit and I am SO excited about it. Silly me, I thought going to the Northeast would get us away from the oppressive heat of the South. But without any A/C or even overhead fans, our apartment has been stifling hot. We're going to put another unit in our bedroom because we've been told that come July we won't be able to sleep without it.

Dan did start his first day of MA bar review classes though. He is taking them at BU so right now he knows more about the campus than I do. As for me, I'm just trying to get the apartment set up and I'm applying everywhere for a summer job. We have had the opportunity to do a few fun things though. We went to see Indiana Jones 4 and tonight we went out with Wythe and his girlfriend to play trivia again. We came in 2nd place! Yay!

Front of our building


Front room - this is where the call box is


View down Strathmore Rd


Many of the buildings in our neighborhood have interesting architectural details.


I've noticed a few of these - clearly the building's owners disagree about how it should look.


A church down the street from us. It is actually the Chinese Christian Church of New England.


Close up


Dan in front of the T - the subway system we take to get everywhere.


View from the T


PS If you haven't figured it out, click on the pictures for larger images. :)

Boston!

We FINALLY made it to Boston! It was a long drive and both of us were a bit irritable for a bit. But it is nice to be here. The drive did have a few pluses - the view once we got up North was lovely.

Behind Dan in Pennsylvania.



View out the window in PA.


However, some of the hotels we stayed at were not so pretty. Let's just say, never stay at the Scottish Inn in Milford, PA...

Once we got to Boston parking was very difficult. Most of the streets in our neighborhood are one way and they definitely were not built with a 26 foot U-Haul in mind. But the apartment is cute with wood floors, black and white tile in the kitchen and new appliances. See the pics below:

Kitchen


Master Bedroom


Guest Bedroom

Entrance


Bathroom


Porch


Mike is horrified - he refuses to walk on the wood floors. He managed to find a tiny hiding space between some cabinets and the wall. Wythe saved the day, however, and got him out.


Apollo was also terrified. He decided the best plan of action was to pretend he was a pillow. To get around the room he pushed the pillow in front of him as camouflage.


After resting for a bit, we went out with Wythe and some of his friends to a local bar to eat, drink, and play trivia. It was fun but now I'm exhausted.

Big Changes

Well, I graduated Friday. The ceremony was boring (as graduation ceremonies tend to be) but it was nice to finally get my diploma. I am officially a master of the arts in anthropology. Beforehand, Grandma Toy took Dan and me out to Maison Lacour for a celebratory lunch. Below are a few pictures of graduation day.


Grandma Toy and Me at Maison Lacour


Dan and Me at Maison Lacour


At graduation


My major professor, Miles Richardson, and me after graduation



Afterwards, we went home and finished packing (what a way to celebrate, huh?) Then on Saturday, we had some friends come over and help us move the heavy stuff out to the 26 foot U-Haul we rented. The truck is monstrous but we managed to fill it to the brim, even after selling off a lot of our things. Many thanks to Randolph and Anthony for their amazing help - there is no way we could have done it without you two. THANKS!! Today our goal is to clean, clean, clean and then tomorrow morning we head out - Dan in the U-Haul and me following in the Sable. Good times.


The U-Haul: Dan's Home For the Next 3 Days


We filled that puppy up


oOoh U-Haul has something about evolution on the side of their truck? How racy. They must have known an anthropologist was renting it ;)

Packing, packing, packing

School is officially over, today was the last day of work for both of us, and now all we have left to do before the big move is pack. See, Dan and I are about to move from Baton Rouge, LA to Boston, MA. I've just finished up my masters in anthropology here at LSU and I start the anthropology PhD program at Boston University in the fall. I had a wonderful time at LSU doing research on modern Vodou (i.e. Voodoo) practices in New Orleans and I am graduating with a 4.0 this Friday, May 16. I hope to continue my research on Vodou with the large Haitian population in Boston and nearby New York City. But first, we've got to get there.

The packing is slow, but steady and I'm sure we'll be ready in time. We leave Monday the 19th in order to make it up there by Wednesday so that Dan can start his bar review course. He takes the MA bar at the end of July so he will be spending the summer studying. I plan on working a temp job, but I won't start until a week or two after moving up there so I can unpack and get used to things. The ride up there will be 26-30 hours (not including stops.) It will be brutal, but we're going to stop off at hotels along the way so it won't be too bad.

I hope I get to see everyone before we leave, but life is crazy right now so I apologize if we can't. I hope you can all come visit us in Boston, though.

Well, back to packing. I leave you with a few images of our last days here in Louisiana:
Cinco de Mayo with friends, Mother's Day, and, of course, Mike the Tiger. :)