CSI: Boston/Melting Pot

I didn't know if I should write about CSI: Boston or my birthday dinner out with some friends at my favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot...so I'm going to write about both. Dinner was at 8pm, so I putz around downtown after work. I ran and got some new lipstick from Victoria's Secret, since I've lost 2 lipsticks in the past 4 months while traveling b/t CA and Boston. Then bought a hate at DSW with my birthday rewards (couldn't find shoes that I wanted). Then, as my coworker and I walked to the T stop to go meet up for dinner at the Melting Pot we saw all this police tape and crime scene markers and tons of cops. It was like a real life CSI scene. You had a police bike with blood on it and a pile of blood and paper towels on the ground. Then some cars surrounded by police tape, no idea what happened or who the bloody person was, but I snapped this photo b.c it's the first crime scene I've seen (besides the time when they came to my house to try seeing if any evidence was left when my car was violated). I didn't get home early enough to find out what had happened.



I love cheese, I love chocolate and I love fondue. I had a delicious cucumber mojito (minus the sugar cane stick of course) and enjoyed a nice dinner with some close friends. We had a blast and ended the night talking about 80s TV shows and toys. The restaurant had a birthday card for me signed by the staff and they put a candle in my cheesecake to dip in the chocolate. It was so nice having a glass of wine with dinner (first time since lent that I've had wine in Boston). I totally feel it and think I might have to take it easy tomorrow, but yummy! Great night out. I didn't think I'd be able to eat fondue tonight b/c my stomach has been bothering me today from the stress for the party tomorrow. (Either that or it's from not getting enough sleep thanks to the acapella hip hop singers serenading me and everyone else in the building at 1am.) I really hope I can enjoy my party; I can't wait to put on my tiara, dress, and sparkly shoes.

Speaking of tiaras. I did watch some of the Royal Wedding live today while getting ready for work and while I was at work. Makes me feel sad that I'm no where close to marrying my prince charming and that I'll never be a true princess. Like most American's I got sucked into this real life fairy tale. Oh the British Monarchy.

Stinky

I arrive in Boston and EVERYTHING is in bloom. Which stinks...literally. Like this cherry tree. It stinks so bad I have to hold my breath every time I walk out my front door. I can't wait for them to be done blooming. So far the allergies that I don't have haven't been bothering me; I think it helps that I've been taking my allergy meds well before things started blooming.

New Pots and Pans

First day back to work and I slept well, but snoozed so I only had 15 minutes to get ready and out the door to catch the bus. It was somewhat muggy out and I had forgotten to grab my oatmeal, so I had to stop at McDonald's for my breakfast. I was rather exhausted, but managed to get all caught up. Of course, the work didn't stop when I left work. I had 3 suitcases and one bag to unpack and put things away, straighten up the apartment so I can mop, dust and vacuum the apartment before Saturday's party. Of course, I spent a lot of time doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen tonight. My new pots and pans I bought for my birthday arrived so I brought the 25 pound box home from work and washed them. I'm so excited! Throw in a husband, and I'd be a happy housewife [I mean, who else gets excited over kitchen stuff?]

I grew up with these pots and pans and now I feel a little more at home. Last year when the ex-roommate moved out, I had to go out quickly to buy all the apartment necessities and couldn't find these pots and pans at the time. Now, every time I cook, I will be reminded of home. As far as the cleaning went, well... I still have 2.5 days left to get things ready for 25 guests. OH! And I tested my White Russian recipe for Saturday's party...using vanilla soymilk since I don't have milk... and it tasted fine to me. I wonder who else would like it since I'm always banned from playing bartender (mostly b/c I don't make the drinks strong enough).

Fly Day

4am wake up call for my 6:40 flight. I'm exhausted. The flight to St. Louis was fine; I got the best window seat on the plane and we arrived about 30 minutes early. Unfortunately, the flight to Boston wad delayed by a half hour. Spent the flight time reading. I got into Boston at 5:40 and decided to leave my 2 checked bags and go home with my carry on bags first, then make a second trip back to get my checked bags. It's a good thing too, the escalator was broken at Gov't Center, so I had to carry my bags up two flights of stairs to get to my line. There's no way I would have been able to do so with 4 bags, esp. With them weighing close to 50lbs each. I didn't escape without getting a war wound. I banged my knee and skinned it getting off the bus (why do they have steep stairs on an airport shuttle bus!??) and one of my items in my luggage broke (but not the liquor, it was just an Ikea decorative dish that I use with my fountain motor (but can be replaced) now I just have to wash the blankets it was wrapped in b/c of the little glass pieces. We hit a lot of turbulence coming to Boston and I do not do well when it feels like the plane is going to fall from the sky; there were numerous times where I caught myself holding my breath (as if that would help if we were actually plunging to our death). It is weird being back and this time I came home to clean mouse traps (so no mice have been around).

Last Day Home

Today we had nice weather. I spent my time between packing playing outside with my niece and nephew and pulling weeds. Oh, how I miss getting my hands dirty and growing gardens. I didn't get out of my pajama pants and am not looking forward to tomorrow. 6:40am flight and connecting in St. Louis, where they just reopened yesterday after being closed b/c of tornadoes and then seeing tomorrows weather and major storm activity in the direct flight path into STL...my flight to BOS from STL is already delayed by 45 minutes and that's the night before, so I imagine it will be later than that by the time I get into STL. 3 suitcases packed, 2 boxes of books ready to be mailed and another box to be shipped a little later full of misc. things. Part me just doesn't want to ship anything else back b.c deep down I feel like I'll be back living in CA in the future, how far in the future? That has yet to be determined.

Happy Birthday!

Today is a day I've been waiting 19 years for. When I was 10, I looked up my birthday in a World Almanac book and saw that my 29th birthday would fall on Easter. I've always wondered what it would be like to share a birthday with a holiday and I'm not a fan. I mean, it's cool to say "my birthday is on Easter" (which I've been saying for weeks now to anyone I knew) but it's hard sharing with a holiday. A tradition that I missed last year, I made sure I would spend today with my very best friend and her family for the Easter brunch and egg hunt. We had the traditional egg hunt outside, mimosas (my favorite), brunch. They placed a candle on a peep cupcake and sang happy birthday to me. It was sunny while we did the egg hunt but then got cloudy and rainy, so not the best weather (but still warmer than Boston). For my birthday, Ang and I went out to Carlsbad for some Mexican food and ate at the beach before we went to Claim Jumper to have a glass of wine and some cake. I really miss these days: walking the dog, catching up, having some adult time without the kids. I'm glad I came out for my birthday and that I was able to spend it with Ang and her family. I am so thankful for having them in my life and can't wait for them to visit me in October!! So, as I enter my last year in my 20s, I will say this...I'm already thinking about what I want to do for my 30th birthday party. :) And to all of you who wished me a happy birthday, thank you and I will make sure I don't delete you from my group of friends :)

Just Another Day

It was a gorgeous day out here in San Diego. I walked up the street to visit with a family I grew up babysitting and house/pet sitting for. It was nice to catch up and relax with them. I had my birthday dinner with my parents at the Olive Garden (growing up it was my favorite birthday dinner restaurant, until they stopped making the chocolate lasagna). I had my first glass of wine since lent tonight with dinner, it was a house red but really delicious, very similar to a Chianti. I got dropped off at my very best friend's house and it was like I hadn't left. I was asked when I was going to live in the same town as them again by their 4 year old, we had wine and went down to grab a movie, FroYo and groceries for tomorrow's Easter brunch. This was my first time at FroYo (or any other yogurt place like this) and had so many choices, I did some tasting and decided on some Original Tart and Cake Batter with mochi balls and some cookie dough. I think I'm going to have to hit up Pink Berry when I get back to Boston b/c frozen yogurt is tasty!

Surprise Party!

Everyone deserves a surprise birthday party at least once in their life. After a month of planning, I along with my very best friend's husband, we pulled off my very best friend's surprise 30th birthday party downtown at the Shout House (dueling piano bar). It was a blast! Lap dances, divorce parties, bachelorette parties, and tons of birthday's. Now, yes, my birthday is Sunday and my very best friend's isn't for 2 more weeks, but I couldn't let her celebrate without me being there. It was a long day for me.

6:30am- wake up (still on East Coast time)
9:00am- run errands with sister, niece and nephew
10:50am- get home and gather my things for my long night ahead
11:10am- head out in my mom's car, driving for the first time this year and hit traffic as I make my way into Carlsbad for lunch with my very best friend and her sons
11:50am- arrive at Islands with cheese fries waiting for me
12:30pm- head out to go down to UTC mall in La Jolla
1:10pm- after driving around forever, found a parking spot
1:10-3:30pm- walked, shopped, Starbucks, sit down and read, Starbucks, sit down and talk on phone/read.
3:30-5pm- meet old coworker, Starbucks and catch up
5pm- head down to Costco and make 2 wrong turns (thanks Google Maps Navigation for not being clear enough- just goes to show I can get lost in my own home town just as easily as I can out of state)
5:25pm- arrive at Costco, pick up b-day cake and head downtown
6:00pm- find a parking spot on the street (no meters) and walk 7 blocks to Shout House
6:15pm- sit down and relax until people arrive
6:30pm- order Guinness on draft for $1, meet some friends
6:45pm- order another Guinness $1 draft and meet another friend
7:25pm- b-day girl finally arrives- Surprise!
10pm- we are tired and ready to call it a night
10:30pm- head out, walk to car with a friend (of course I parked where all the bums sleep)
11:00pm- half way home and phone dies, thankfully I am able to find my way home after it got me out of the downtown area
11:30pm- home, shower and reminded what it was like partying downtown and having to drive an hour to get home, it's so hard staying awake when your driving on a freeway forever, totally different than just sitting on a T to get home after a night out on the town.

Today after walking and driving around all these familiar places, really made me miss living here...probably the first time I've said this since moving to Boston nearly 2 years ago. So much fun!! Now off to bed; I've had a long day and am beyond exhausted, I haven't been up this late in ages.

DMV

Today is the day that I was stressing over. Time to go to the DMV to renew my license. I was stressing that I would have to take a written test, but thankfully all I had to do was do the eye exam, provide a thumb print and take a new photo. I was in and out of the DMV in 20 minutes (a record). While I was there 2 of my friends were also getting their licenses renewed. Of course I didn't know it at the time, only after I left and saw facebook posts did I know we were all there at the same time. Had I known, it could have been a mini reunion. I'm glad to finally have a new photo b/c the one on my current license is 12 years old. I did learn that the new CA State licenses are taking awhile for them to get mailed out and that they are coming from MA, of all places. Afterwards I ate at In-N-Out then past some time while the cars tires were getting rotated and walked around Costco, where I ran into some good friends and nearly dropped to my knees as I walked the aisles of alcohol Costco had (an nearly lost it when I saw that almost all the liquors had coupons). The weather was nice after the clouds burned off and had fun playing outside with my niece and nephew.

Travel Day

Today I woke up early, not stress and made it to work at 8:30. I planned on eating breakfast at work and by 9am when my tummy was rumbling I began to wonder why. That's when I realized I never fixed my oatmeal when I got to work. I went into my cabinet and there were no more oatmeal packets. So, I walked down to Starbucks and got a coffee (plus a chai latte they made by mistake and gave me for free) and then hit up McDonald's for some hash browns and hot cakes (cheaper than buying at oatmeal there). I left for my 6:05pm flight at 3:30. And this is why I leave 3 hours before my flight. It takes a little less than an hour to get to the airport and today there was a long ass line to check my bag. I made it threw security a little less than 30 minutes before they start calling for pre-boards. I get to my gate and there is a fire and rescue with their lights on behind the plane at the gate. Medics are working on an old lady who is in a wheelchair and then I see a bunch of people coming off the jetway with an older guy laying on a wheeling stretcher with a oxygen mask on. Now, this gate also services the smaller jets of Cape Air, but most have been grounded due to weather so I doubt they came off one of those crop dusters. I am curious about what happened and if it had anything to do with the aircraft I am about to board. If all goes well I should be in San Diego by 9:17pm (west coast time).

Surprise!

Today was back to work day. It's a 2 day work week for me and I was playing catch up and get ahead today. My colleagues surprised me with a Boston Cream Pie birthday cake. It was really delicious, and I've never had a birthday cake that was a Boston Cream Pie, so I'm glad it happened the year I decided to blog my life. It was a rainy day and I am looking forward to CA. I'm just about all packed and recovering from my dinner. My coworker and I went and had sushi and we totally ate too much. The birthday stuff just keeps on rolling. I took home my ice cream maker I purchased for myself with my Amazon gift certificate, then Panera and Finale sent me my free birthday goodies. I am very thankful for my friend who will be plant sitting for me. My egg carton full of plants looks pathetic next to her large bean plants. I hope they behave for her.

Boston Marathon/Patriot's Day

Today was a State holiday here in MA. I didn't get it off even though I work in Boston, so I took a floating holiday. The race goes right past my apartment. I can see it from my back porch, or walk up to the corner to have a front row view. I went out around 11:30am as the wheel chair race was going. It was a fun time. You saw people wearing sandals, running barefoot, running in tons of different outfits (yes, some costumes like Batman, Robin, Wonder Women, Cowboys, ballerinas, hamburgers, etc) and even Army guys in full gear ran the 26.2 mile race. The Kenyans are tiny people and the winner broke the record coming in at 2:03:02, in fact, the top 4 men beat the old record which was 2:05:52. I went back in to put on some more sun screen about 2pm and came out for another hour and half to cheer for the runners. Clapping and shouting out names that were written on runners arms, legs or shirts and calling out colleges or cities that were represented. I feel beat from standing, but nothing compared to what theses athletes feel tonight. It was a gorgeous day out, started out with a cool breeze in the 40s and got to the high 50s before the clouds came in towards the late afternoon. The local Tavern were out barbecuing and selling alcohol. Neighbors were having parties all day and continue as I type this. I'm just sad that this year was the one year that my friend didn't run. This is totally a Boston experience and I am glad I was able to see it this year. Oh, and of course, like the other years when I watched the marathon on TV or the computer...I have the urge to pick up running, which never lasts too long.

Palm Sunday

It was rainy/cloudy/sunny type a day. I had some April sprinkles drop on me when I walked to church this morning. It was a longer mass today than normal as it was Palm Sunday, when we get palms and stand a lot more as we read out loud the reading of Jesus' crucifixion like a play. Every Palm Sunday, for as long as I can remember, while listening to the sermon I fold my palms and create a cross which I then display in my room or now my apartment until the next year's Ash Wednesday. This year was no different. Using only the palm (yes one palm) I constructed a cross. I noticed that there were many others that did this to their palms while the sermon was going on (or during the readings).

One more week until my birthday and looking forward to having a glass of wine. I've almost done it!

Party Shopping

Today the exterminator came back to lay more traps in my apartment and basement. He put glue traps down behind my radiator and washing machine so I really hope any mice that get stuck, do so when I am in San Diego next week. Afterwards I ended up going shopping for our birthday party on the 30th. Suz was sick so I went ahead and went to the party store and spent almost $60 worth of decorations (not including balloons or the cake and this was after a 20% off coupon). I'll be purchasing the alcohol for our specialty drinks on Monday. It doesn't look like I got much, but the crowns along cost $13 each. I'm really excited despite stressing about cleaning, rearranging and decorating since I'll be away and only have 3 nights to prepare. Anyway, since our party is the night after the Royal Wedding, we have a royal theme (hence the silver and royal purple color theme). Now I have to figure out what dress I'm going to wear with my glittery shoes.

TGIF

TGIF! I woke up today and it felt like a Saturday. I didn't have any work to do so I ran out to the library to pick up some books on my lunch break. When I got back my coworker and I went to a colleagues surprise wedding shower his department threw. He's the sweetest guy and the first gay person I know. After his shower I went to a "green team" meeting. Many of you may not know this, but I'm really into recycling and conserving so being a member of this group is right up my ally. In a future post I'll write about going green. After walking home from work (speaking of being green) I headed out to Cambridge (past Harvard) for another friends going away party. Another friend I'm losing to the south. I've never been to this neighborhood where the Cambridge Common bar is located, but loved looking into all the shops. (I reckon I'm a bit of a shopaholic, esp. when it comes to home items). I didn't plan on staying long, just enough for a couple of drinks, but ended up staying out late (hence blogging at 11:30. I enjoyed taking to people I didn't know, especially since the people at my table were travelers, so I really enjoyed sharing stories.

Photo of one of the longest escalators I've ever been on...at Porter

PS: I was blogging on the T and the announcements were off by one stop and I almost missed getting off my stop to switch to the green line. They closed one side of the doors and I escaped out of the other side. That'll teach me to ride and blog!

Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race Exhibit

I walked home from work tonight at 9pm after missing the last bus on my route because I stayed to visit the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Museum traveling exhibit Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race which is in the Countway Library at Harvard Medical School through July 17th. After viewing the exhibit, we went into the conference center for the public program where we learned more about physician involvement in the Nazi regime and heard from Irene Hizme, a twin who was an Auschwitz child survivor thanks to a nurse that hid her under her skirt when they went to gas the remaining twins whom they were doing "medical" experiments on (she was a guinea pig while her twin brother was the control.

How could doctors be involved in organized torture and mass murder when medicine is to help cure? Physicians were called on to select who should die. During Hitler's reign about 50% physicians supported the Nazi party. Using Eugenics to eliminate weak genes for the master race. This started with sterilization of those with infectious germs, alcoholism, malformations and eventually lead to what most of us think of when we think of Nazi Germany and concentration camps. What I found interesting was the U.S. had 30 states that had sterilization laws, "Fitter Family" contests were held, using a US hereditary chart, if you were a WASP, you and your family were a fitter family. Most older physicians more than likely were taught from the anatomy book created by one of the Nazi physicians who used cadavers he acquired from camps to study the human body. These doctors were not tried for eugenics but for experiments done on humans. What is interesting is in the US criminals and others were being used for experiments and injected with cancer, hepatitis and syphilis (and not give penicillin to treat). There are some parallels between what was done in the 40s and what we are doing today (genetic testing/screening for genetic disease, physician assisted suicide, criminal punishment) the only difference is in the 40s, they were state sponsored while now it is an individual choice. Such an interesting program and encourage you to take a look as this is something most history books do not discuss.

Photo is from part of the exhibit "10 Commandments for Choosing a Mate" and reads:
1. Remember that you are a German
2. If you are hereditarily healthy, you should not remain unmarried
3. Keep your body pure (of venereal diseases)
4. You should keep your mind and spirit pure!
5. As a German choose only a spouse of the same or Nordic blood
6. In choosing a spouse, ask about his ancestors
7. Health is a requirement also for physical beauty
8. Marry only for love
9. Seek a companion in marriage and not a playmate
10. You should wish for as many children as possible

Games

Today I went to one of my best Boston friends apartment after work. Unfortunately, she is moving to the south and I'm really gonna miss her, but on the upside, I get to go shopping in her apartment! Today I walked away with a black dress, a pair of pants and a blouse, some books and a whole bunch of games. As a Game Night original, she knows her games will be used. These are just a few of the games I got, since it was raining all day long I couldn't carry everything back home in one trip. Now I just have to find someone with a truck so I can get a futon and possibly two chairs for the living room. If anyone knows anyone willing to help, let me know.

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day

Last night I was up until 3:30am. Neighbors were playing loud music again between 12:30 and 1:30am. I was so pissed, I couldn't sleep even after it stopped and went into the living room to watch NCIS. I ended up falling asleep on the couch around 3:30/4am (and I must admit, the sofa is pretty comfy!). When my alarm went off at 8, I felt like crap so I emailed work to let them know I was going to take a half day. I went back to bed and slept until noon. While I was getting ready the Jay-Z music that the neighbor upstairs played early in the morning was playing the music again. I placed a call into my landlord about that. 2 nights in a row now there's been loud bass keeping me up. It was so loud I actually was able to figure out what song it was and that it indeed was coming from upstairs. I was so ready to call the cops but wasn't 100% sure which unit it was coming from (2nd or 3rd floor). I was not going to go knock, but probably should have.

So I was sleep deprived today, but not enough to pass on Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day! Everyone who knows me, knows that I love free stuff and am always on top of things when it comes to freebies. Today, I was told about the Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day and I don't think I've ever participated in this. So, after work my coworker and I headed out to B&J's at the Pru's food court. There was a line wrapped around the courtyard. We would have waited for about 20 minutes, but a worker came over to the area where we were in line and asked if we were ready for some free ice cream, I was the only one who was like "yeah!" and no one else said anything. He gave me a front of the line pass, so we by-passed the line and got our free scoops. It took us 10 minutes from the time we stood in line, got the pass and was served... we saved about 10 minutes thanks to me speaking up. I got Coconut Seven Layer Bar and it was delicious.

Happy (early) Birthday to Me

Today I struggled to get through work. It was horrible last night, I was still awake until close to 2am b/c a neighbor was playing loud rap music and the "bump bump, thump, bump bump" sound was pounding in my head and got a headache. I woke up with a headache and so did not want to get out of bed. I wish I could have figured out who was making that noise b/c this is the 2nd time in a week that this has happened.

It is muggy today, heat wave at 69°. I didn't have much to bring for lunch so I grabbed my strawberries and blackberries I bought at the store last week, 2 pieces of bread for toast and butter and some yogurt and carrots. I was eating the berries during lunch and happened to glance down and saw little tiny white worms (fruit fly larvae!) on the blackberries. OMG I wanted to throw up. So out went the berries into the trash, leaving me hungry. Since it was muggy in the office and slow as snails, I did a J.P. Licks run. I've already got some Victoria's Secret goodies for my birthday and today I got my free birthday sundae. Oh, so yummy! Oreo cookie batter w/ marshmallow sauce, hot fudge and reese's. YUMMY! Such a great day to enjoy a cold treat. I think I might have an appletini when I get home from work to help wash down the larvae I consumed. I'm so sick of bugs and rodents! Someone told me I'm not that special to celebrate my birthday for a whole week and I beg to differ. I'm very special and am celebrating my birthday all MONTH long. Just so much to do, so many friends to see, so many free treats to redeem. I just think they are a little jealous that they aren't as cool as me ;) Birthdays rule!

Red Sox vs Yankees

Tonight I went to the 3rd game of the Sox/Yankee home opener series. Best seats I've ever sat in, 8 rows from the field giving me perfect view of Derek Jeter scratching his butt. It was a great game. I loved the guys from Dorchester who sat behind me (with their accents). They were talking baseball the entire night. Love it! I need a guy like that. The Sox beat the Yankees 4 to 0. I was slightly disappointed with the boys from San Diego who didn't do much. It started sprinkling during the 7th, but stopped. Then came down quite a bit in the 8th. When Papelbon came in for the 9th the weather cleared up. Now I can't get "Sweet Caroline", Dropkick Murphy or some of the batter songs out of my head "what you know about that?". Home by midnight (that's one thing I hate about east coast nationally televised games, they don't start until 8pm here). I had a blast and can't wait to go to more games later in the season.

[mouse news: I had just bought a bag of M&Ms today at CVS and some peeps, and I left them in a bag by my back door on the floor... came home from the game to see M&Ms all over the kitchen floor by the bag... the freakin mice are not going away and now they are getting into my food!! Time to call the landlord I think! GRRRRRR.]

Donkey Show

Never have I been in a place with so many gay boys. Donkey Show = glitter, butterflies, donkey, dancing boy fairies, disco music and dancing. It's quite an experience. We were on the dance floor during the entire show, which meant we were dancing with the boys and moved around the floor to accommodate the show which took place all over the place. It was boys night, but there weren't as many gay guys as I had imagined. I have to admit I was quite nervous about going tonight. Totally out of my element and my conservative side showed, it took me awhile to take off the sweater (even after the bottle of beer). I'm glad I went, can check it off my bucket list.

Photo: This was our favorite gay, who pulled Jenna up a few times to dance and was selected to dance along the moving stage during the show.

Opening Day

Today was the home opener for the Sox. Going in 0-6 they ended up winning their first game of the season against none other than the NY Yankees. I wish I had my camera when the jets did their fly over before the game b/c they flew right over HMS. It was awesome! No one did much work today, I even watched the game on my computer thanks to Harvard TV. I was told today by a friend's husband that I'm a fair-weather fan and that it's very clear that I'm not from here. I didn't quite understand that until I was watching "Fever Pitch". A movie I've seen many times and have made it sort of a ritual since moving to Boston. Ever since moving into my Fenway apartment in the summer of 2008, I have watched "Fever Pitch" at least once every baseball season, often before I physically go to a game. I guess I can dust off my Buchholz shirt and wear it to Sunday's game. I'm so excited. Baseball season always reminds me of the boy I thought I'd marry in San Diego and laugh every time I watch "Fever Pitch" b/c he was in many ways like Fallon's character and I, at times, felt like Barrymore. I'm sure there are boys in Boston like this, but I, for whatever reason, have not found them. Maybe it's for the best, but watching that movie really got me excited for baseball season (don't tell that ex) and made me happy that I live in Boston.

Today's Adventure Is Brought To You By:

This morning I was getting things ready for work and saw a mouse dropping on the counter. I turned the light on to see better and sure enough I was right. Then I looked in the corner where I had newspaper and a mousetrap and there was no mouse trap. I'm like "wait a second" and looked around...SHIT, the mouse trap was right next to my pot I had drying on my towel...the mouse was underneath the pot. I said "not going to do this right now". I would be late for work and just didn't want to deal [good thing I waited too]. Meanwhile I am at work and it occurs to me "shit! I left my homemade scones I baked last night on my dining room table with the lid off. I'll be so pissed if mice got into that and all the other sealed snacks I have on the table."

So, I was dreading coming home, knowing I'd have to deal with the mouse. I had put all the stuff I had drying on the towel away except the things the mouse may have touched (which I then soaked in scalding hot water and soap in my sink for hours). I go to lift the pot and SHIT!! THE MOUSE IS STILL ALIVE, STARING AT ME! It had chewed my towel, crapped and peed while it's foot was stuck in the trap and the mouse inside my pot- ALL-DAY-LONG. I'm like "shit, shit, shit" after I screamed like a freakin' girl that I am [while I had my back door open so the whole neighborhood could hear] and jumped back. I'm sure the F-bomb came out a few times too as the mouse now started to run around my counter with the alligator trap dragging along with it. I felt really bad, but I a) did not want the mouse to bite me b) have the injured mouse run lose in my apartment. I had no idea what to do. So I had to think fast and got an old cereal box out of the recycling bag, grabbed my old pasta box that was right next to it and tried to get the mouse into the cereal box. I so wanted to reuse that alligator trap, but in the box it went with the mouse attached to it, in the bag the box went and in the outdoor trash the mouse with the trap in the box in the bag went. [Phew!] Then I had to sterilize my counter again. I got the droppings off my towel and now I'm trying to decide how to make sure that towel gets 100% sterilized so I can wash it without freaking out about mouse excretions being on it.

[I know, most of you are probably saying "just throw it out" and you would be right, I mean it chewed a hole in the towel and shit (literally) but other than that, it's still a usable towel. I even thought about just cutting that part off and washing the rest to use as a rag or something, but it was one of my better towels!]

Ugh! I am so sick of this. And I feel bad that I left the mouse to die in the trash, and it was cute and scared and I so wish I had a boyfriend or a manly husband to be my knight in shining armor to save the day and do this dirty job, but I don't so I had to do it myself. Oh well, guess it toughens me up, right? So, it's 8:30pm and I'm just now eating a quesadilla for my dinner b/c I've spent all evening cleaning the freakin kitchen, making sure everything is sterilized and didn't want to use the pot to cook something (which, by the way is now on it's 4th hot water and soap bath). I may be overreacting a tad, BUT I DO NOT DO WELL WITH THESE RODENTS!

So thanks mouse for ruining my evening I had planned and for giving me material to write about tonight.

Glass Half Empty

There are two types of people in the world. The glass half empty and the glass half full type, and I am the former. Granted, I am not nearly as bad as I used to be, but I still have my moments. I've been dubbed "Negative Nancy", accused of kvetching, and I always expect the worst and hope for the best b/c it helps me stay grounded and not feel so rejected if things don't work out as I like. I definitely go through cycles where if I am extremely bored, alone, and just can't decide things I become super negative. I feel like that's where I am at right now. I am bored and work and tell myself I can be doing so much stuff at home instead of sitting at my desk wasting away doing nothing. Living by myself is hard b/c I love being around people and doing things (sitting around doing nothing drives me nuts) so when I am bored and everyone else has work to do, I start thinking about all this stuff I could be doing. Then there's decisions. I have so much I want to do and yet have a hard time deciding when, where and how I'm going to do it. I'm definitely getting antsy and keep thinking how nice it would be to just up and go someplace for a week or so, remembering what it used to be like when I lived out of a suitcase travelling all the time. I feel like a dam ready to burst after a rainy season. I thought moving someplace new would keep me from feeling these things, but no. I feel like I'm in the same place I was before my epiphany in San Diego. I feel half empty, longing for the full feeling where I have no complaints and feel like I'm actually doing something with my life.

Now, the reason I picked this photo (besides proving I'm not brand bias- as this is my Sam Adams glass and I have Coors Light in it) is because I can NEVER finish a can/bottle of beer at home. I try and I always end up wasting about half whenever I'm drinking along at home. I swear, they need to start thinking about smaller cans like Coke did b/c I'm tired of pouring my half empty glass of beer down the drain.

Celtics Game

Tonight was my second Celtics game. Loge seats this time around which makes the game that much more enjoyable; someday it would be nice to have floor seats. We sat in a section that had many distractions b/c people weren't sitting in the right seats. Shaq was out bc of an injury, but I sported my Shaq shirt, Irish drinking socks with shamrocks and my shamrock head band. It was a good game. Celtics won 99 to 82. I do prefer going to games than watching them on TV, even if I don't know all the terms and positions...there's so much going on in the arena. Like Lucky running around getting the crowd going or the dancing fans, the people in crazy costumes, the cute boys sitting in the boxes above us...yes, you don't get that when watching the game on TV. I'm totally a Celtics fan!

April Showers

Started the day by walking to work. I've been walking either to or from work for a little over a week now. 32 minutes door-to-door. Weather called for rain this afternoon so I decide to walk to work (since it wasn't raining yet) instead of walking home after work in the rain. It's dark and gray out and was hit with a downpour the minute I walked out of the gym on my lunch break. Thank goodness I had an umbrella ready, but I still decided to go in through the Longwood Ave entrance and navigate the corridors of the TMEC building to get back to my office so I didn't get soaked. There's still some patches of snow from our April 1st snowstorm, but since we are supposed to warm up this week and get more April showers, I have a feeling we may have seen the last of snow until the late fall.

Back on Top

Today was the last day of regular season bowling. Our scores from today will be added and determine what time we have our playoff game next Sunday. We started off ok. The girls scored higher than the guys and we beat the team next to us. The second game I did better and was happy that my score was back up to my average after having a few weeks below 100. It wasn't enough for us to win though. The team next to us beat us by a few points and our team high scorers sadly had an off day. One more Sunday left of Bowling until the league starts back up again in the Fall/Winter.

Sam Adams Brewery Tour & International Pillow Fight Day

Who gets up on a Saturday morning to drink free beer before noon? Who in their 20s participates in pillow fights? Me! I got up for an 11:20am Sam Adams brewery tour. We had a cute tour guide who is a teacher during the week; I guess I kind of have a thing for nerds, b/c he was definitely a cute nerd from Buffalo, NY. I so wanted to talk to him, but I’m chicken shit; I totally need a wing girl. ANY-WAY, free beer and glasses on the tour. I want to go back so I can collect all 5 of their glasses. We were pretty buzzed by noon and walked across the parking lot to get another beer and some pizza. Afterwards, some of us made our way to Cambridge to participate in International Pillow Fight day. All around the world pillow fights broke out in public locations. We showed up just before 3PM with pillows hidden, joining hundreds of others before the pillow fight broke out. It was crazy! We had fun though, it was a great way to release tension, anger, etc. and you know what? If we all had a monthly pillow fight, imagine how peaceful this world could be? Some people brought down feather pillows and a couple exploded onto the Cambridge Common. We lasted about 30 minutes before heading to Charlie’s Kitchen for some food and drinks (non-alcoholic mind you) and it started to rain, so instead of sitting in the beer garden we had to eat inside. Boy, were we lucky with the timing of things. So glad that the rain held out until after we were done having our pillow fight so I could cross this off my list.

April Fools

Well the joke was on us! The snow storm that the weather folks said would miss us ended up dumping a few inches of snow on us. The streets were yucky this morning with the rain melting the snow into a slushy mess. By the time I got off work and made it into the city, most of the snow had melted. Met up for a couple of drinks at the Charlesmark before hopping next door for some sushi. It turned into a great girls night and am ready to climb into bed and call it a night.



Dancing Bear Martini @ Charlesmark