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Thursday, August 26, 2004
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I am exhausted today, but I'm going to do some mindless writing while I watch the Olympics (yay diving).
I registered my car in Massachusetts today. Things are coming together more and more for me getting settled here. It was kind of sad to take off my lovely Illinois plates, but it had to be done eventually. I did strip a screw, though, so I need to get a new one for the front plate, but the new plates are there. Things to do still.... Somerville sticker and visitor passes, changing the address on my registration, register to vote, change my license.... ohh, and actually move. Haha. I'm really excited about really settling in to my adopted home city. :-)
There has been A LOT of nostalgia this week, though. Today was the first day of classes at Cornell, and that was a little strange for me. All week, I've seen (online) all of my younger friends return back to school, pumped up to start another year. I didn't think I'd miss it, since I'd seen so many people this summer and I love living in Boston... but I'll admit it, I miss Ithaca a whole lot. I think I always will, and the feeling of knowing I'll never live there again (let's face it, I'd hate it after awhile, now that I'm no longer a student) is still rather sad. The days match up perfectly to my freshman year (August 26th was my first day of classes 5 years ago) so the nostalgia has been really strong in regards to that. I still remember that first day. I only had one class, Italian, at 2:30pm. So I went to class, and then I raced back (as much as you can with a walk that long) to my dorm room in Jameson to call Rachel and wish her a happy birthday (Happy Birthday Rachel). Okay, so that isn't that much detail, but it's still strong in my mind. And it's hard to think that it's five years later, and college is over, and I'm living in Boston, and everything is finally falling into place pretty much the way I have always wanted it. Yet I'm not happy, partly because I yearn for the journey, I think. It gets harder and harder to remember the bad times, and the good times stick out and call me back. Add that to knowing everyone is moving into the PSP house on Oak Ave, and despite all the work I've put into it (along with so many other people) I'll never get to live there . I hope those people who are living there truly appreciate it (despite the current construction zone) and help to evolve it into a Beta Nu tradition though. Good luck to all of my friends this year - I wish you the best year at Cornell you could possibly have.
Other things in my life have involved some sad realizations. I was going to write about them, but now I don't feel like it.
- Lizzardie, at 8:36 PM
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Sunday, August 22, 2004
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I am sitting in my living room while everyone around me plays Scattergories. I refuse to play with them, so I'm fiddling on the computer. And watching West Wing. Woohoo.
I found an apartment the other day - it seemed that #17 that I viewed was a charm, since I went to see it and an hour later we were set with me living there. I'll be living with 2 girls, Anna and Jamie, and they seem really great. The apartment is really nice, too - offstreet parking, dishwasher, washer/dryer in the basement, hardwood floors, pantry, newly redone back patio, etc... plus my room will probably be on the second floor all on it's own, so plenty of privacy. Now I can't wait until September 1st to start making my new home. The roommates, though, are now looking for a new roommate, which is somewhat annoying for me, because they choose to do so on the weekend, which is an inconvenience. Couldn't they have done so while I was out looking at apartments? Stupid boys.
Went to see Alien v. Predator tonight. Stupid movie that I was dragged to see. I haven't even seen either the Alien movies or the Predator movies, so I think it was a bit lost on me. That's the 3rd Saturday in a row that I've gone to the theatre. That must be a record.
This was not an exciting update, but I needed to do something while they play this stupid game.
Ohh, and I changed my cell phone number. I think I emailed everyone, but let me know if I missed you and I'll fix that.
- Lizzardie, at 12:56 AM
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Tuesday, August 17, 2004
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The apartment search seems to have taken a turn for the worse. :-( I didn't get my dream apartment, and I decided the other one, with the photographer, wouldn't work just because of the size of the room. I really want to find a place that I'll feel comfortable in and will be able to make a home, and hopefully stay for a few years. It's been really difficult.
So I started all over again today, and saw 3 places. Only one of them is feasible, and it would mean 2 rooms, both small, but that would be enough (an office and a bedroom). The girls seemed really quiet, though (but one was a Cornell grad, so that's a plus), and are both MIT grad students, so we'll see. I'm seeing at least one more tomorrow.
And now, I've been relegated to my room to watch the Olympics on the crappy TV in here. Today is not a good day.
Perks: my supervisor took me out to lunch - sushi - and we got ice cream as part of Day 2 of Employee Appreciation Week. Tomorrow: breakfast (my favorite meal).
Let's hope some sleep is just what I need.
- Lizzardie, at 10:00 PM
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Monday, August 16, 2004
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So how did my weekend go? Saturday night I saw The Bourne Supremacy, so between that and The Village, I actually feel like I'm caught up with movies I should see - maybe The Manchurian Candidate, but that's really pushing it for me - 3 movies in so short of a period of time. :-)
Then Sunday, I would consider the most exciting part of the weekend, but pretty silly - I was in my first tropical storm! Tropical Storm Charley, barely a tropical storm at the point when it hit us but still a tropical storm, struck sometime in the early morning. Between being exhausted, no light in my room and my air conditioner/fan, I barely noticed, but I was excited nonetheless. You don't see many tropical storms in Illinois or Ithaca.
Later yesterday was my birthday dinner. I wore my pink and white strapless J.Crew dress to look nice, though the boning dug into my skin, which was not so good. Anyway, Eric and Susan met me at the house and we headed to the North End, to meet up with Jeff, Kristen and Liz. Herb was supposed to be there, but alas, managed to be at least half an hour late to dinner (mind you, that included walking to the North End from Haymarket, choosing a restaurant, getting seated at a restaurant, picking a wine, ordering food and socializing - so maybe more than half an hour late). The food was good, though - we went to Cafe Pompei, if you're ever in the North End of Boston. After dinner, Herb, Liz, Eric, Susan and I went to Mike's Pastries, which is apparently famous, but I don't know why - it was really crowded. And there was some festival going on in the North End - apparently it happens every Sunday for a different madonna, but I don't remember which last night - we watched a small parade and Herb insisted that everyone pitch in and get me an airbrushed lizard tattoo - I had it put on my shoulder since I was wearing a dress, but I really should consider getting the real one on my back, once I have money (and don't have to pay ridiculous amounts of money for an apartment/car insurance). After meandering around the North End, we came back to the apartment, opened a nice bottle of wine that Jeff gave me, and played a couple games of Taboo. It wasn't a bad celebration, but it always takes away from the evening when someone is late to dinner, especially that late and when you've had a conversation with that person about how important it is that he be there for your birthday celebration. Anyway, moving on.
Today was the start of Employee Appreciation Week. To start the week, we got gifts - fleece vests which are navy blue and have the company logo on them, which is nice for the cool New England weather. Then we had a clambake in Brookline. I had my first whole lobster (1 1/4 pounder from Maine), plus some New England clam chowda, some steamers, corn on the cob, salad and blueberry cobbler - a fine meal. Plus the park was pretty, even if it was cloudy. It was Larz Anderson Park, for all of you who may wind up visiting Boston (and Brookline) one day. I did of course get hopelessly lost on my way back to the Cambridge area, though, and had to call Herb to have him direct me back. Apparently I was south of Jamaica Pond, which is pretty damn far. Silly me. I eventually got back, and my Burgundy wine glasses were here, yay! So I had something to perk me up.
The other exciting part of my day was transferring my auto insurance. Okay, not so exciting, but it's one step closer to being a Massachusetts resident, officially. They'll send me a form soon so that I can register my car, then my license and registering to vote.... yikes! But first, to find an apartment. I may be close, so stay tuned for details....
- Lizzardie, at 10:17 PM
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Saturday, August 14, 2004
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Was the last time I updated really during the DNC? I kinda suck at this now. I keep meaning to update, and then I forget. I guess I'm going to have to back track a little.
That weekend, I took advantage of still having a T-pass, and went downtown to see Much Ado About Nothing, which was being performed on the Boston Common (I finally managed to go during its last weekend, after wanting to go all summer). I thought the performance was excellent, and it made me really miss seeing a lot of theatre. I'm going to have to start going to more theatre-type stuff. I did get sunburned, though, because I ended up being outside longer than I thought I would be, and the sun was beating down on my legs all day. Ahh well, it was worth it. And it was free! Whee! Anyway, I particularly enjoyed the costumes and set design, and all of the actors seemed marvelous to me.
Last weekend, I met up with Amy's boyfriend's friend Riaz, and we ate at this restaurant on Newbury Street, which I cannot remember the name of, and then went to see The Village. Neither of us knew what to think after the movie, though I think I liked it - I didn't see the twist coming, and I definitely didn't hate it. And it was nice to meet someone new - Riaz is also a graduate of Cornell, with both an undegrad degree and and M.Eng., which is cool for me. And meeting more people in the area is good for me.
As of August 1st, I've been hunting for a new apartment. It's been exhausting, looking at a few places every night. 2 of the places I saw yesterday (Thursday), though, are really great, and the roommates I've met seem nice, and I'm hoping I can give some news later on this weekend as to where my new home will be as of September 1st. I'm not looking for apartments by myself - I don't want to live by myself and it's expensive - so the task of finding a place is doubly difficult, because I want a nice place AND great roommates. It's looking like it'll definitely be in Cambridge, though, with on-street, residential parking, so I'm going through steps to transfer my registration to Massachusetts, which includes suspending my Illinois insurance and asking my parents for money to pay the insurance downpayment (which I hate doing, but my mom kinda offered, and I just haven't made enough money yet to afford that kind of cost AND put down the required deposits for a new apartment).
Let's discuss why I can't live by myself. I was home for a week here by myself and I was starting to crazy, which included nightmares that made it difficult to sleep. This was the case the last few weeks I was in New Hampshire last summer, too. I'm just not used to being the only one in the apartment/house for extended amounts of time, and I find it comforting to know that people I trust and know are sleeping nearby. Then, after Herb and Jeff returned from Maine, there were some "instances." Haha, these are minor, but totally freaked me out. I had gone to bed one night, and then gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I then immediately went back to bed. When I woke up in the morning, my door was wide open and my air conditioner was off. Now, the door being open has a simple explanation - I was tired when I got up, and if the door isn't closed properly, it swings wide open; I probably didn't notice this. The air conditioner also possibly has a simple answer - I wouldn't have turned it off (it was hot that night and I like the noise, so the most I would have done was turn it on fan), but as a power surge just demonstrated, the power could have gone out for a few seconds, which would have disturbed my air conditioner but left my clock untouched. It was just weird that it would happen in the SAME NIGHT. Jeff was somewhat freaked out, too, because apparently he had walked to the bathroom naked and noticed the door open (ahh, the joy of living with guys) but I was sleeping the whole time. Then, the next night, Jeff says my door was open again, and he closed it. That night, I had gone to bed, made sure the door was sealed, and then not gotten up at all during the night. So weird. Had those things happened while Herb and Jeff were in Maine, I wouldn't have slept for the rest of the week. Even now, I sometimes put a chair in front of my door.
Work is going okay. I think this coming week things are going to improve, because I'm figuring out what I'm doing more and what I need to do, and I'm going to try and make at least what I do more organized, which will at least involve journaling (haha, not here) what I do for each client each day, and trying to move forward with some of the side projects I have going. I want it to be more proactive and make the job what I want it to be, because right now I'm a little frustrating because I don't see much room for growth, and I'm fairly certain if my responsibilities remain where they are, then I'll be bored out of mine in a short period (and it's getting close to that even now). But I will do something about this! I have a lot I think I can offer, and making that happen is really up to me.
Monday was my 23rd birthday, so happy birthday to me. Thus far, it's been somewhat anticlimactic. Sunday, Susan had just arrived in Boston, and Dan had come with her to help her move stuff, so I went to help unload the car, and then hung out with them for awhile. Unfortunately, they both had to get back to the NYC area on Monday, so couldn't hang out with me on my actual birthday, but that's okay. On Monday, at work, I made myself a crown with white paper and highlighters and then wore it around the office all day. My mom had a boquet of cookies delivered there as well. Then, I left to pick up Liz Hartman from the bus station - for some reason, I decided to take back roads through Newton instead of jumping on the expressway, getting lost twice. Since there was an accident on, I-95, though, it was probably a good decision. I'll learn my way around eventually. After going back to the house, Liz and I headed downtown to meet up with Corinne and Kathy for dinner. We had yummy Mexican food with strawberry margaritas that didn't taste like they had any alcohol in them (which is okay by me, since I'm not a big tequila fan). Corinne and Kathy got me a wine bottle holder that looks like some sort of animal (pig? cow? antelope? no one can tell). I decided to name it Lars, after this article in the Improper Bostonian this week on typical Boston personalities. He's a "Cambridge Intellectual, " he lives in Somerville (like me! and soon to be Cambridge) and he enjoys going The Thirsty Scholar. :-) Kristen also got me a present, which was super sweet of her - she got me a bunch of note cards in a pretty box from this place called Bob Slate's, which is apparently a stationary store I need to go to. The really cool thing about the cards is that if you look at the copyright on the back, they say they are copyrighted from Bolingbrook, Illinois! How random is that, considering Kristen didn't even know?
So I guess I had fun on my birthday, but I'm a little disappointed in my roommates right now, which has been a big fight (which is why it's good that I'm moving at the end of this month). I'm supposed to be celebrating with them on Sunday - we're going to the North End for yummy Italian food, and Liz, Kristen, Susan and Eric are going to join us - so I guess I shall give them the benefit of the doubt until then. Both have mentioned something about presents at one time or another, which I guess is something to be excited about. I had wanted to celebrate either tonight or tomorrow night, though, and I'm somewhat annoyed that it didn't work - I don't think it's too much to ask of my friends to set aside some time for me for my birthday, particularly when I do my best to do so for theirs (*coughcough* including driving to Boston from Ithaca for the weekend in freezing January *coughcough*). And I guess it's a good thing we didn't celebrate at least tonight because I ended up coming home and taking a 4 1/2 hour nap - yikes!
I did get myself a birthday present, because Monday, my actual birthday, was my "New Every Two"date with Verizon, which meant $100 off the 2-year contract price of a new phone. Since I've had the same model phone for the last 3 years (4 different phones, though, since I seem to break them), I was excited to get a new one. I paid a little more money, since I could with the discount, and got the VX7000, which is a camera phone that also takes 15-second video clips. This, of course, is worthless to me, because the camera in the phone is .3 megapixels and I have a 5 megapixel digital camera that takes 10 minutes of video when the memory card is empty. But it's still fun. I've learned that I can get games such as Snood and Worms for my phone, which may mean the end of all productivity as I know it. I can't help but play with said phone, though. :-) Next week, as soon as the apartment search is over, I'm switching to a Boston number, which will mean caller ID/picture ID/unique ringtones! Woohoo. I think that's more exciting than the new phone, as I've gone 2+ years without caller ID.
Okay, I should probably go to bed. There's more apartment stuff to do, plus I want to go shopping (I need new jeans, since I got ink on my only good pair, and I want sunglasses) and clean my room. I'll try not to go so long between updates again (as I'm going to want to tell you all about the new apartment when I find out what/where it is and who my roommates are going to be. Until then, goodnight! :-)
- Lizzardie, at 2:49 AM
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