Finally!

I got a mirror and a desk chair today. The desk chair is just a wooden folding chair the same color as my desk, $20, just what I was looking for.

I hung the mirror by myself. I knew I should have waited for Frank to get back into town but I was impatient and I like doing stuff like that. So I hung it, using the . . . what’s it called . . . floor molding? Floor paneling? Anyway, I used that as my guide . . . Only to discover that the paneling is CROOKED and therefore my mirror is crooked. Obviously crooked. But I’m too lazy/tired/frustrated to rehang it right now. I’m trying to convince myself that I can just live with it like that and it’s not a big deal, but my OCD flairs up really bad at crooked hanging things. I give myself two days or until Frank gets tired of my complaining about it and helps me redo it, which is probably for the best anyway.

In other news, I bought five new movies to watch tomorrow afternoon since I’m getting five cavities filled. But remember, no root canal, so that’s good! After this, I’ll have to probably get a crown on the cracked tooth because I’m almost entirely convinced now that it’s what makes my mouth hurt, but then that’s all the scheduled work I’ll need unless the other cavities get worse. Hurray! Now the big challenge tomorrow will be getting myself from Somerville to my South End apartment (about 45 minutes of travel) via the subways while I’m goofy on laughing gas and all swollen and slobbery with Novocain.

I’ll post pictures of the apartment soon, now that my room is finally nearing done. I still need a few more wall hanging thingies, and if I ever find a SUPER cheap surface rug that’d be nice . . . but otherwise, I’m done! Hurray!

Random things

Being back in Boston is wonderful — except for the missing Texas, family, and friends part. But the weather is much better, it’s good to be back with the boyfriend, and I’m actually being quite productive.

Last weekend had two daytime adventures. Saturday took Frank to the haymarket, which he had apparently never been to before. If you lovely readers will remember, it’s a giant open air farmer’s market that sells everything from fish to veggies to cheese. For someone who loves food and enjoys spending money impulsively — Frank in a nutshell — it is excellent because prices are ridiculously low. This time our purchases included pineapples for .50, grapes for .99, and four pounds of broccolli for two dollars. It’s made Frank’s and my attempt to eat healthy a BIT better — though other “bad” foods keep somehow slipping in.

Sunday Frank, me, and Richard went to the aquarium which none of us had been to before. Richard had never seen penguins in real life before. I was quite impressed with Frank’s retained knowledge from his fish studies class at Harvard (kay, I don’t remember the actual course name); he served as sort of our personal guide and was able to give us a lot more information than was on the plaques. The aquarium was definitely smaller than Corpus Christi or Monterrey, but I mean, even a bad aquarium is fun, and it wasn’t bad.

This week I have mainly been getting some writing and odd errands done. Not having internet at the apartment severely limits what I do doing the day (I’ve decided not to turn my internet on this month; it’ll save my $65!) but I’m still managing to be productive, and it means I budget my internet time much better. We’ve watched a bunch of movies, gone out a couple of times, but overall pretty lowkey.

Interesting talent alert!: So it is a joke about how I will eat food until right up to the point at which it will kill me. I cut the mold off of cheese or bread, gouge out the mushy parts of fruit, etc. But one thing I DO NOT budge on is milk. If milk smells the slightest bit off, I say no. I have had no many episodes of taking a big gulp of milk that I thought would be fine only to run my tongue along the carpet to get the stale milk taste off.

Well Frank has apparently taken note of this talent, and I am now the high judge of food. If he can’t decide whether it’s good or bad, he brings it to me and says, “Smell.” This all started the other day when, after baking a chocolate cake (I said we were TRYING to eat healthier), he poured us a glass of milk. After downing half the glass in one gulp, he held it out to me and asked, “Does this taste funny?” Sure enough, it was three days past expiration day and WAY funny tasting. Ick. The smell was revolting.

Anyway, that’s all the news for now. I’m procrastinating actually sending anything in to be published, which is what I’m actually supposed to be up to these days. Send good luck, concentration, peppy, and focus vibes my way, please! I have a fiction and a nonfiction piece both ready for submission, a couple poems I might submit, and a couple of fiction pieces that need some reworking but will soon be ready. Oh, and those two ten-minute plays can be submitting, and a one-act that is almost ready. Also, I’ve realized that a full-length play I started a year ago, which I’m a third finished with, would probably do well either as my BFA thesis or publication. So definitely lots of projects to be working on.

earthfest and misc.

Saturday took Frank and Curtis with me to meet up with some friends (Stef, Jessye, and Sarah, plus a few) at Earthfest, a big free concert put on by Whole Foods and some radio station by the Charles River.  We got there pretty late but still got to enjoy some overpriced crummy carnival food (fried dough? ew) and dance to some cool tunes, haha.  I’ve actually always wanted to go to the summer concerts that Boston frequently has there, and hopefully I’ll go to a few more during my trips back here within the next two months, or once I’m back in August.

In other news, I’m headed back to Texas on Monday.  I’m actually quite excited about being home and seeing my Texas friends and not having to deal with public transportation EXCEPT that I’ll miss the few friends that I still have here in Boston quite terribly.    I hate having two homes and only being able to be in one at a time.

I know I haven’t caught up with my Ireland entries yet.  This week I will, alongside job hunting, as well as scanning in my polaroid shots.  I’ve taken some super cute photos.

Saw Up last night, the new Pixar movie.  I definitely recommend it.  I cried probably four times, haha; it’s an adorable and endearing movie.

Also made another blueberry pie for the boys, per Frank’s request.  Unfortunately, I had an hour in which to construct and cook it, and my blueberries were frozen.  Instead of being a normal intelligent person and defrosting them with like a microwave or something, I used the heat from the oven, which means they were still quite chilled when I put the pie in.  I forgot about the fact that while frozen, they have a LOT of juice which I drained last time, to keep the pie from being too runny.  So, go figure, the pie is really more of . . . a blueberry soup with some crust.  Frank and Richard have both very kindly insisted it’s perfectly fine and that they love blueberry soup as muh as they love blueberry pie, and both ate heaping plates (should have been in bowls . . . ) in front of me.  Boyfriend and boyfriend’sbrother win, haha.  I didn’t cry because my first pie for them was darn near perfect, but it still was a baking failure, and those are never fun.

Really wish I had a scanner and already could post my polaroids, but since I don’t, I’ll settle for these two photos Jessye took of me at earthfest with a D80.  A D80!  She checked it out from our school for her summer digital imaging class, which means I’ll have access to it when I take digital imaging in the fall.  Hurray!!

That’s me and Stef listening to the music.

And that’s me and Frank.

Have I mentioned my friend Jessye is an awesome photographer?  You may have seen the portraits she did of me for her photo project about a year and a half ago, as well as a couple portraits she took of me while we were in Europe.  She definitely knows how to make me look good in a photo.

Oops

So yes, I am back in the states, and I have been really really bad about updating.  I’ll get all caught up with Ireland stuff maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.  In the meantime, I actually came home to Boston two days early.  After seven straight days of pouring rain, all my clothes were drenched, I was getting sick, and I was exhausted and homesick — and broke!  Took 22 hours to get from Dublin to Boston via Chicago, but I am here and have been spending most of my time with Frank, his brother (who is here for the summer), and his roomies.  It’s very, very strange to be in Boston when most of my friends are not, but I’m enjoying the week and a half of having NOTHING that I have to do.  I’ve started knitting again, working on learning more advanced stitches.  Have cooked a bit, too (made fiesta chicken for Frank and Richard last night and they loved it, which is aways a GREAT response.  Came over a few minutes ago to find them arguing over leftovers in the kitchen.  Success!)  Today we are making quiche and tomorrow blueberry pie, and possible going to the beach if it’s warm and sunny.  Anyway, just having a fun time running around Boston, doing whatever I want, whenever I want.  Though I will admit, I’m homesick for the south, and were it not for Frank being here, I would already happily be home (and working, making some money!)

Anyway, am actually at Frank’s right now, just chilling.  I’ll try to be better about posting; I’m not at my laptop hardly at all lately, hence the lag in updates.  I’ll get everything caught up Tuesday or Wednesday, though, and finish posting pictures (if I remember correctly, through Belfast are posted on my webshots, but I still need to put up my three days in Galway-area, as well as update my photography portfolio with the best of the best.)

windows take a year to fixtrue

truefact.

I have been mentioning to my landlord and calling into facitilies since I MOVED IN SEPTEMBR 1st about my broken window.  I just called again because it is 65 degrees outside and beautiful and I would like to have my window more than 5 inches open.  I was told “we are waiting for parts.”  “Since September 1st?”  “Sometimes these things take a while.” 

If it isn’t fixed within a week, I am going to “fix” it myself.  Not kidding.

Also, gold stars to Mom for quite possibly saving my weekend and my photo final grade. 

Saw Godspellw ith Diana last night at a convention center that is within walking distance of our new apartment for next year, in South End.  It’s such a cute neighborhood.  We are going to have way too much fun.  Our apartment is SO cute and in a creepy looking brownstone.

Birthday party tonight. 

Did I mention my electricity went out momentarily again?  I was in the shower an suddenly everything went dark and I thought, “Well I am naked; what do I do now?”  So I continued to shower and it came back on within a few minutes, but it blew up my hairdryer so I had to buy a new one today.  That kinda sucked.

Just got back from running and I’m all sweaty and gross, so I’m going to go do some kickboxing and then prepare for Indian food dinner date with Frank and then birthday party.  I keep thinking of other random things I haven’t blogged about because I’m just too wicked busy.  Was home for 19 hours for Easter last weekend, haha, with 11 hours of flying.  I do the dumbest travel things sometimes.  Ugh. 

Also, this morning with Diana discovered a bus that basically goes directly between my apartment and Central, where both her and Frank live.  Could have been saving myself SO much time with that . ..  well now I know!

Okay, but seriously, I’m yucky and sitting down right after working is giving me a headache, so I’m going to go finish.  Hooray for beautiful weather; let’s hope it sticks!!  Off to continue enjoying my 4-day weekend!

happy april!

I had a wonderful time last night, even though it meant I was, for the third night in a row, only able to snag about two hours of sleep before time to start the day.  Classes went well, and even though I feel physically exhausted, I’m not really sleepy.   It was supposed to rain all day but it was pretty and sunny until only a short while ago.  The coffee shop downstairs had its grand opening today, which meant FREE COFFEE.  I came home for lunch to find a beautiful flower arrangement from Mom and Jerry for Easter/my birthday next week AND a birthday present from Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dan.  I haven’t opened it yet.  I don’t think anything exciting is actually going to happen for my birthday this year, even if it is 21.  It’s on a Wednesday in the middle of the most stressful month of the schoolyear.  I might go home for Easter the following weekend, in which case I could go celebrate with Texas friends, but everyone is really too busy to do anything here.

The only downsides to the day really are that I really AM exhausted and I still have a big paper to write tonight.  I talked to my photography professor about my unhappiness with having a B and we talked about what I can do.  I have to reshoot my large format project, which sucks because that means completely redoing a photo project WHILE I’m also trying to do the final photo project (which is more work, of course, than a normal project) –that’s shooting, processing, and printing.  Plus I have final papers for all my classes, second papers for two classes, another piece of fiction to write and workshop, two final exams to study for, not to mention all the daily class work.  PLUS, I really would like to have submitted at least two pieces to things for publication by the end of the semester.

Oh, and less than a month to do all of that. 

Anyway, here are pictures of the flower arrangement from Mom and Jerry, the ridiculous LACK OF CARE INSTRUCTIONS that I was given (apparently I’m supposed to just have some sort of maternal plant instinct), and the plant I bought with Thomas while he was visiting on St. Paddy’s day.  That photo was taken TODAY, meaning it is STILL ALIVE.

I’m quite proud of myself.

Best week after spring break

Thomas came back to Boston with me to Boston for St. Patrick’s Day, and we had a lot of fun.  Except I basically walked him to death.  I forget people aren’t used to my way of seeing a city, and I just assumed that since he’s a 19-yr-old guy he’d be fine walking.  For like six hours.  Haha, he went home last night and has probably been asleep last night.  Ate out a lot (had AWESOME corned beef at the Pour House, which was “McPour House” for the day), got pastries from the 24/7 pastry place in North End, laid out in the Common to read in the sun (and crazy wind), and saw Coraline.  Which is really good, btw, but wicked creepy.  I’m pretty sure he had fun.

Just went to a meeting about my BFA thesis, and it is SO much less time consuming and stressful than I had feared.  I’m actually really excited about it.

AND Gary’s spring break is this week.  And he is GONE.  WHICH IS SO GREAT.  No slamming doors, no French people yelling outside the window, no stupid techno music playing until 2am, no weird noises that normal human beings don’t make. 

 Thomas’ new hat we got for him.

 Chilling in the apartment with Thomas and Diana for a bit before we walked to the North End for pastries.

 This is the pastry I got.  It’s the cookie monster.  He’s even barfing up a cookie.  He was good but I could only eat a few bites of him at a time.  Sooooo muuuuuch suuuuugar.

Blogging will resume

now that I am back in Boston for spring semester.  It was beautiful outside today.  Lots of snow. 

But that’s not why I’m here.  I’m here to ask the question that’s on my mind right now:

What happens if you put milk through a britta filter? 

. . . Not going to lie, I may be conducting an experiment this weekend . . .

Vlog

Looooong entry

Got up at 5am this morning -read: yucky- to make it to my 7am flight.  I knew I was cutting it close with the weight on my bag: it wound up being 49.5 pounds, and the cut off is 50lbs.  I believe that officially makes me the world’s best packer (no, I didn’t use a scale beforehand).  I should give seminars.

Slept through almost the whole flight.  Landed in Boston to discover the airline broke the wheel off my HUGE bag, and so I had to DRAG this 50lb. bag to the taxi stand, and then down a block from where the taxi dropped me off.  I discovered the carbon monoxide detector was beeping in the Loft and had to go tell the office (low battery), and then made a mad dash to my noon class.  Got there at 12:27 to find . . . an empty classroom.  Turns out my professor e-mailed everyone because she’s stuck in the midwest.  Go figure.  I also had an e-mail from the teacher for my class after that in which he made it *sound* like class was cancelled, and I knew my friend wasn’t going to be there, and I knew I had a LOT to do.  So I skipped. 

On my way home, hit up Border’s to get the extended Prince Caspian DVD which came out TODAY and BOOYAH: I got the very last one in the store.  I went and asked at information because I could only see the regular version, and she called around the store.  An employee grabbed the last one and waited for me at the bottom of the escalator to hand it to me, and the employee I had asked led me down to meet him.  I felt sort of like VIP, and the lady at checkout gushed how jealous she was that I got the last one. 

Came back and slept like a fiend, then set in to doing all the cleaning that I didn’t get to do before I went home.  Bright spot: discovered Grandma had copied down her cornbread and chili recipe for me and I apparently tucked it in a bag and I found it today!  Downspot: did you know coffee molds?  I guess I had assumed it didn’t.  Fortunately it’s rather friendly moldy and washed out of the caraffe very easily.  Unfortunately, there’s an AWFUL smell coming from the bathroom sink and it only gets worse when i run the water.  Seeing as I visited the office twice and called once today, I’m almost scared to call again, haha.  But it’s awful smelling.

On a further bright spot, I decorated the Loft for Christmas!!  Here are pictures!:

Those have flour, sugar, rice, coffee, and the other one will be brown sugar.  I also got a sugar pourer thing for splenda, and a cute little shaker for my cinnamon.  The organization is good for my heart.

Forthcoming: a video blog showing the coolest part of the decorations, AND a post about laundry like I promised.