No Rain

Today I was prepared for the rain the weatherman said we would wake up to and when I got up and it hasn't rained yet; I was prepared for the rain the weather girl said we would have this afternoon when I watched the weather while getting ready for work. So I took my raincoat, my rain boots and my umbrella to work today, and naturally, there was no rain. I kept checking the weather on weather.com today, the rain that was supposed to be here kept being delayed. So after work, I had to lug all my rain gear on two Ts and a bus, while I went shopping at Kohls (needed to get a CorningWare set and a work outfit). I let one T go by before I got on one, it was jammed packed on the Orange Line, but I didn't mind waiting. I have been working on being patient when it comes to public transportation in this city. My trip was a success, and still no rain (but crazy wind... it was hard to stand at times with strong gusts). It's also still in the 80s, really yucky... I am looking forward to the rain we are supposed to get because after it arrives, a cool down begins...and I cannot wait for the 50 degree weather to return. With that, I leave you a photo of the Orange Line T on my way home, much better than earlier when the entire car was jammed pack with people everywhere.

Boston

This is the view of Boston, probably the best view of Boston I've seen since moving here. Today I visited a colleague in the same building my gym is located (a Harvard Medical School building) and took this picture from the top floor. This is probably my favorite view because I can see the Pru, the State House, Fenway Park and the Citgo sign, the silly bridge, the Bunker Hill monument in Charlestown and part of the Emerald Necklace (the Fens). If I waited a few weeks, we would also have a wonderful photo of the fall leaves. Some leaves are changing and the smell of wet fallen leaves filled the air on my way to work this morning. Boston is so pretty and I would love to have an office view of this (or even an apartment with a view like this!). Glad I took this photo today; we had a break from the rain so it was really clear. San Diego may have the beautiful beaches, but I love Boston's landscape and this is how I know it was meant to be. I truly am in love with this city that I now call home.

Let's go to the Movies

A rainy day in Boston. Temps in the 70's... humid. Perfect day to go to the movies. I love going to the movies on Tuesdays. As a frequent viewer, I get $1 popcorn every Tuesday. It used to be free, but they keep increasing the size of the popcorn bag, so now I pay a buck. Do you remember when a large was the size of the current small? I do, and yet, years ago I would order the kid's size and be content, only to find myself nearly finishing off a small all by myself now (which used to be a large back in the day). I also bring my own soda. Yup, I brought in a can of Coke Zero to drink with my theater bought popcorn, along with my water bottle. Oh, and I usually spend $7 on the ticket instead of the $11.50 they charge for tickets now a days, and because I'm a frequent movie go-er and earn points, tonight's movie was free. (I really know how to live on the cheap, maybe I'll fill you in on some tips in a future blog.)

Anyway, me and my friend Suzanna (who makes a great movie date) saw "The Town". I must say, I dunno what movies my friends are watching, but there weren't any jumpy parts in this one (at least not for me, maybe b/c I love action movies and am used to blood and guys getting shot up??). It's funny because now that I live in Boston, I love watching movies that were/are filmed here. It's cool knowing exactly where the scenes take place, and yet I never see anyone filming things when I'm walking around town and have yet to run into a celebrity (I did run into Tiger Woods, literally ran into him, a few years ago, but that was in NYC, so it doesn't count). I liked the movie, but if I were to buy it, I think it would be just b/c it takes place in Boston, and not because it's a terrific movie (I didn't think it was). I also wonder what the rest of the US thinks of this movie b/c I know some of the lines we in Boston totally get because we live here, but the rest of the world doesn't have a clue (or do they? not like California's know Southie and Dorchester could be compared to some ghetto neighborhoods in L.A.). Another thing I was think, the characters could be anyone from Boston. I swear, I've ran into guys just like the ones in the movie. The look, the talk, the tats...those are not the Boston boys I dreamt about meeting when I moved here (just for the record). So friends and family from outside New England, if you see "The Town", I am curious to hear your reaction and thoughts.

Me and Dexter

Sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep b/c I am afraid of what could happen while I am sleeping. I don't get nightmares, but it's probably all the crime dramas I watch, murder mysteries I read and news stories that make me fear bad things. Now clearly, watching my latest addiction "Dexter" is not helping any... Ugh, what a day. I had a hard time falling asleep last night, then made myself get up early so I could do yoga before work. I get to the bus stop and realize I forgot my cell phone. I debate if it's worth risking missing the bus to grab. I decide to go for it. The bus never showed, same people waiting at the bus stop when I return. Check my phone for the bus location, it is 5 minutes away... now 20 minutes late. Of course, it's rainy and when the bus gets to my stop, its full so not everyone can get on it, bus driver say "there's another one behind me by 7 minutes". I'm like "bullshit" to myself of course and decide to screw the bus and take the T. Well, then Plan B screwed me. Walked to where there is usually more than 4 different buses including the LMA shuttles, and nope, had to wait for buses then too, so if I had waited the 7 minutes for the next bus I still would have been late, but not as late as I ended up. Then today I had to let the 9 hour first date guy know that I couldn't do dinner with him b/c I wasn't interested. I said yes to dinner on our second date without thinking and then had to communicate via text, despite wanting to go to dinner at The Abbey. But, I couldn't let a nice guy pay for the mattress boy's faults. So tonight, was just me and Dexter. I'm now done with the first season and can go to bed at normal hours until I get Season 2.

Football- the Girls Way

Sunday football, Pats vs. the Bills. My BBFF had a few of us over for a savory dinner during the football game. Roast w/ gravy, veggies, turnip, stuffing, green bean casserole (made by yours truly), wine and apple tart with ice cream. Of course, I fixed some tofu and it was a really fun evening. Kind of felt like Thanksgiving, with savory food cooking while football was playing. The weather was strikingly different from yesterday, definitely felt like a Fall evening. The Pats won, but the Bills didn't make it easy. It was great company, conversation and food. Hoping we do more things like this this Fall/Winter; definitely cheaper and better than going out for dinner and drinks.

Fluff Festival

Today was Fluff Fest, you know that yummy marshmallow Fluff that you make Fluffernutters with? It was a hot Indian Summer day, sweaty and unpleasant. We were excited about the festival, but were utterly disappointed once we got there. We tried some Fluff smore's, Fluff with peanut butter and Nutella on a cracker and I bought a pumpkin whoopie pie and a whoopie pie with peanut butter and Fluff. Restaurants close to the Fluff Fest block had specials, like this drink I had at a pub where I had this Smortini, very sweet, very strong. This fest was geared more towards little kids I think, but glad I was able to add this to my list of "Boston Firsts". Today was also the first time I have ever spent so much time in Somerville, and the first thing I noticed was there are dogs everywhere. I can't believe how many dogs I've passed in a couple block radius. This neighborhood must be really dog friendly, quite different from where I live.

LBD

Tonight was one of my friends birthday party. It's one of many birthday I'm celebrating over the next few weeks. It took place at Marliave, a place where I went with my old coworkers a year ago, and had some memories I would love to forget (black outs, breaking down into tears, coworker leaving a pretty true, but brutal message on the boyfriend at the time's voice mail, etc.). However, tonight I made better memories. All dressed up in my LBD and red heels (thank goodness it feels like summer tonight) and a spray of my perfume I bought in Paris. Yes, feeling super uncomfortable wearing something so revealing and sans undergarments, but a girls got to do what a girls got to do. We had the upstairs bar, and I stuck to water, so no drunken mishaps on the ride home this time. It was a fabulous time seeing everyone all dressed up, some people I had to do double takes with because I didn't recognize them at first. Here I am. posing with my BBFF (who requested that she not be put in my blog so had to crop her out) and another close girlfriend/teammate of mine who didn't mind starring in my blog.