The Good, The Kinda Bad but Also Exciting, and the Ugly

Lately we've been quite busy with both good and bad things.

First, my car bit the dust. We sold Dan's car before moving because, frankly, it was worth more and we needed the money. But the cross-country move was apparently too much for my 1997 Mercury Sable and its sad little check engine light came on and stayed on. The repair shop brought out a three page list of issues that totaled up to almost a grand more than the thing was worth. (And I already sunk over a thousand in it prior to moving to MA.) Some of these issues were safety related and needed to be fixed relatively soon.

So Dan and I had a talk and we decided that while it might not be the ideal time to get a new car, it would be silly to invest two thousand dollars (the price of fixing her up) in a car that has had numerous issues ever since I bought it. We had some ideas about what we wanted and managed to find a good deal on a 2007.....
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(Wait for it)
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Honda Accord Hybrid!

Isn't she pretty? And yes, that is my sad, dejected Sable to the right.

At first I was a little nervous about getting it, but I've already grown to love it. My new game when driving home is to see how high I can get the miles per gallon. Currently my record in 5:00 traffic is 40 mpg, though my overall average for the drive - which includes highway and city driving - is about 28 mpg.

So going along with the good note I met with my future major professor and the administrative staff at BU. They were all so very nice and helpful and I really feel good about going in. Plus, the campus is gorgeous and the buildings are really lovely. In New Orleans they would have long ago turned them into bed and breakfasts, but here they are just used for classes and offices.


Sure beats our crumbling hovel in the asbestos lined attic at LSU, huh girls?
(Shout out to the FFBs)

Speaking of universities, Chessa (who I've been friends with since I was 13 - we were in Girl Scouts together!!) is coming into town this weekend for an interview with MIT next week. She stopped by this past weekend on her way to a conference in Maine and we got to hang out for a bit. But she had to jet the next day so she could present a poster on something to do with decapitating mice and looking at calcium in brain cells (at least that is what I got from a gigantic poster I didn't understand a word of.) So I'm excited to hang out this weekend with her and my husband (finally.)

See, ever since we moved up here, Dan has been busy studying for the Massachusetts bar exam. In the beginning he was somewhat free to explore Boston but lately he has been in hibernation mode as the exam date loomed. Today was his first day of testing and he'll take the second half tomorrow. So say some prayers, light some candles, make some offerings, or whatever it is you do because Dan could use some good juju right now. Tomorrow he has 10 hand written essays to do and then he has to wait three long months to find out if he even passed. Now that, my friends, is ugly.

Reunited!

Carey, one of my bestest from grad school, was in a wedding in CT this past week. Afterwards she and her bff and her bff's 2 1/2 year old daughter Lisa all drove up to Boston to hang out. Another good friend from LSU grad school, Jessie, drove up from CT as well so we had a big reunion.

Since we had a small child in tow we had to forgo the pubs and Red Sox mania for more family friendly activities. So we headed over to the Boston Commons where there are some beautiful public gardens.


Jessie wisely borrowed a stroller so we didn't have to carry Lisa as we traipsed all over Boston.

After walking through the gardens we walked through the park to Frog Pond. The area is a skating rink in the winter, but in the summer when the ice melts it is a wading pool for kids. Lisa had a blast in the water and the nearby playground.

Everytime she got in the water, Lisa had to run up to us and inform the crowd that she got wet.

Dan, Carey, Jessie and I all just relaxed under the shade of the trees while Lisa and her mom played in the water.


Afterwards we went to go eat and then back to our apartment. Jessie drove home but Carey, Stephanie and of course Lisa spent the night. Thank goodness for our new IKEA sofa bed (and thank mom & Randolph too since they gave us the gift card.)

It was so great to see Jessie and Carey again. It has been decided that they both have to get jobs up here. If nothing else, Carey has to come visit again sometime soon. We'll all go exploring Boston together and then hop over to NYC for a weekend. It'll be so much fun!

Mmm Food

As I promised last time, here are those pics from Rebecca's feast.

Wythe was a good boy and helped chop some herbs.

She didn't have any bbq sauce so we made up a recipe as a collective effort. It came out really well, especially considering we had no real idea what we were doing.

Just a little more lighter fluid....

Weee flames

Rebecca's cat did not want to share her throne.

Work - Finally!

I haven't posted in a while because I finally got some work. I am temping but working full-time hours at Viisage L1id. The company deals with biometrics, fingerprint scanning, ID cards, etc. I'm just helping out the HR manager who is overwhelmed because the director recently left and the company is growing like wildfire. It is in Billerica which is about 40 minutes away, but my boss is really great and it seems like a nice place to work.

On another note, there are a few things I've noticed about Boston.

First, they have no idea how to make coffee. The only "flavorful" coffee I've found so far uses beans so dark the whole mess tastes burnt. The rest of it looks like dirty dish water and tastes about as good. A proper cup of joe should not be the color of tea. Dunkin' I love your vanilla flavored coffee - if only you knew how to brew it!

Second, the "r" at the end of a word is completely optional. This one threw me at first. I was listening to a lady at work talk about how she got this sad call from "Petaah" and it seriously took me at least a minute to realize she meant "Peter" and not PETA the animal rights organization. But other than the occassional confusion, the Boston accent is highly entertaining. I'm sure my Southern accent makes them smile too, but somehow sitting through car commercials is so much more entertaining when every five seconds they say "caaah" instead of "car."

Third, people on the streets are either unnervingly friendly or Massholes (as the locals call them.) There seems to be little middle ground. On the one hand, people will go out of their way and walk blocks in the opposite direction just to show you how to get somewhere. And some of them love to talk up random strangers on the street. These people are especially drawn to Dan. It is like he has some magical lonely boy magnet. He'll be standing alone at the T stop, headphones on, tapping his fingers to his iPod when some stranger will walk up and start talking to him about their dreams for owning a music store. And yet, within the span of 30 minutes, you'll enivitably bump into a total jerk. People honk and flip the bird for no apparent reason. The other day we were catching the bus and this car behind the bus started honking like crazy because it was forced to stop. There was clearly a line of people getting on the bus at a designated stop, but the car driver didn't care. He or she continued to lay on the horn the entire time people were boarding. Then, once we starting driving down the road, the car cut in front of the bus and stopped in the middle of the road as some sort of revenge. It all makes it a bit hard to know how to react when you first run into a person. Which category will they fall into?

And on yet another note, Rebecca made us some awesome food Monday. I have pictures but I'm too lazy to upload them to my computer right now. So I'll save that for another post.

Red Sox Game

I've been told that to truly experience Boston, you have to go to a Red Sox game. So, Dan and I bought some internet tickets and went to the Red Sox vs Cardinals game last night.

When we got there it started raining so we grabbed a bite to eat and waited it out.


We braved it in the rain briefly but didn't have to wait long. Here the boys are removing the rain tarp:


The rainbow in the sky looked like a good sign for the Red Sox. Sadly not, though.


They wore green jerseys and mowed a shamrock in the grass to honor the Celtics. Before the game started they also had a ceremony and Paul Pierce threw the ceremonial first pitch:


Manny Ramirez at bat:


Manny sliding in:


During the game:


Fenway:


After the game. The cop was yelling at us to leave as some nice girl took this pic:

Celtics Parade

To celebrate their NBA championship, Boston held a parade today for the Celtics. No beads, beer, or nudity so it was completely unlike the parades I'm used to. But the crowd did get a bit rowdy at times and threw toilet paper around for entertainment until the "floats" (i.e. Duckboats) arrived. Dan, Rosie, and I squeezed into the crowd so we could get a glimpse of the team as they passed by.

Killing time throwing toilet paper


Coach Doc Rivers


MVP Paul Pierce


Sam Cassell


Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell


Glen "Big Baby" Davis


Rosie and Me


Dan and Me

Family Time

My mom and grandmother stopped in for a couple of days on their way back from Quebec. It was really nice to see them again and spend some time with the family. They stayed with my aunt and uncle in Dunstable, which is about an hour away from where we live. We had a nice dinner there Monday evening and Tuesday we went to see the new house Aunt Kap and Uncle Jon are buying (see pics below.) Then mom and I rode the train into Boston (Dan drove back Monday night since he had class the next morning) and she got to see our new apartment and walk around Cambridge with us for a few hours. Aunt Kap, Uncle Jon, and Grandma Toy all came in that evening and we met up at a Cuban-French restaurant for dinner. I wish they could have stayed longer, but I'm glad we got to see my mom and grandma at least for a couple days.

After dinner we went home to watch the Boston Celtics absolutely demolish the Lakers for the national championship win. It was great to watch Garnett win his first championship (Dan has been a fan for years and years) and to watch Glen "Big Baby" Davis (a former LSU basketball player) score a few points in the finals game. Apparently, like South Louisiana, Boston has a reputation for celebrating too hard. The mayor requested bars turn their TVs or put down the blinds so crowds don't form in the streets and cops were all over to make sure things didn't get out of hand. Even still, at least 30 people were arrested and things got a bit out of hand. (See these riots)


Here are some pictures of the house they bought. By my count it has:
Basement:
-1 sunroom
-1 kitchenette connected to a den area with a woodburning stove
-3/4 bath (no tub but everything else)
-Pool room
-Two workrooms/bedrooms/whatever rooms

First Floor:
-2 dens
-Kitchen and breakfast room
-Large bedroom
-Dining room
-Deck leading to pool/hot tub area

Second Floor:
-1 Master bedroom and master bath
-2 guest bedrooms
-Full bath

Outside:
-Barn
-Greenhouse
-"Pool House"
-Large garden
-Orchard with 3 apple trees and 2 peach trees
-Large paddock for horses

Back of house (for some reason I didn't take any pics of the front)


Dining room


Den


Kitchen


Master bedroom on second floor


Whirlpool tub in master bath


Pool


The current/previous owner shows Aunt Kap how to clean the pool


Barn for the horses


Garden to the left, greenhouse in the center and "pool house" (AKA chicken coop) to the right


Strawberry from the garden. It was delicious!

Scooperbowl Thursday and Graffiti Friday

Every year Boston holds the Scooperbowl - a fundraiser for cancer research and treatment. Ice cream companies donate tons of ice cream and volunteers scoop up everything from Cold Stone to Ben and Jerrys. For $8 bucks you get to eat as much as you want. Dan said it was the best $8 he had spent in a long time.

View of the plaza it was set up on:


It was in front of the city court house. Guess what's legal in MA?


We also walked around BU a little to see what the campus is like. Dan was already somewhat familiar with the campus since that is where he takes his bar prep courses.

Chapel on campus. In front of it (not pictured) is an abstract memorial to MLK who was an alumni.


BU flag


Today I had an interview that hopefully went well. On my way back to the T I stumbled across some amazing graffiti art and took a few pics: