Well it's the 27th but family obligations continue to take up a lot of my time...Here's a recap:
Christmas Eve was at my Uncle's per usual. Food highlights included Polish mushroom-leek tarts as one of the appetizers, always-outstanding mushroom soup, the perfectly cooked salmon with Sorrel sauce, and my aunt's kołaćki. There was a break in tradition in that meat pierogi were served after years of request by my one uncle and cousin (Christmas Eve meal is meatless in the Polish tradition), but they were the only two that ate them.
Christmas morning is just my immediate family at our house - we had an Eggs Benedict Strata, which was good, and then just snacked on cookies and whatnot. Gift highlights from my family included spending money for my San Francisco Trip, a new external hard drive, cologne, clothing, and some fun knick-knacks like shot glasses with Polish sayings on them, gay-themed coasters, and some gift cards.
Christmas day was on my Mom's side at my aunt's. The new "tradition" is for my one cousin to bring some trashy friend with nowhere to go on Christmas, etc. to all of our events. Last year she brought her recently-divorced Jewish friend...Now correct me if I'm wrong, but if you are Jewish is it NORMAL to not have any place to go on Christmas nor have any qualms about it. This year we had not only the Jewish friend but some other woman. Much to everyone's surprise she was somewhat normal. We had the usual smorgasbord of ham, naleśniki, potato salad, kiełbasa, kapusta, etc. Since it was the first year that I was in the grab bag and not a regular gift-receiving child, I only got one set of gifts. I got Volver and The Orphanage DVDs, and then a small French Press coffee maker. I wanted all 3, so that was obviously good.
Last night we went to more relatives on my Dad's side. They alternate seeing us every Christmas Eve because of the usual Christmas Eve struggle between Polish families on both sides. It is always somewhat awkward seeing my two cousins (20 and 22) because we used to be like best friends and just kept drifting apart, but a steady flow of beer helped keep things light and fairly non-awkward. My one cousin who now actually has a job bought all the cousins gifts, which was surprising. I got a handle of Belvedere! Hopefully everyone realizes I live on loans and have no money.
That's about it so far. To add to my list of movies watched on account of not having anything to do I've now seen Zodiac, HellBoy, The Mummy IV, Funny Games, P2, and Goya's Ghosts. Today we are going to more family friends - they are known for always having delicious Old World European delights, so I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm ducking out around 8 to go out downtown (finally!) with some friends, so that should be fun.
TTFN!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
שלום
well i've been at home since thursday and i must say i am already bored. shocking. i love my friends but most of the time they are either working or just inaccessible since i'm still in the 'burbs without my own car. i am more or less trapped in this house with nothing to do other than watch movies and learn languages. so far i've watched - 5ive (a heinous horror film) Girls, Sex & The City, Borat, and countless hours of television...I've also been working on my Catalan and have decided to learn Hebrew.
i've managed to avoid getting sick all season, but lucky me, basically everyone in my house is dying of some ailment. i'm still popping my vitamin c and whatnot, so all i've had is a mild sore throat upon waking up. i hope to keep it this way.
one new thing i've gotten into are telenovelas thanks to Andy. we've watched maybe 3 hours of the late 90s soap opera 'La Usurpadora' which is actually quite entertaining. I can't wait to finish and move onto my next one. meanwhile i've started on the Spanish civil war soap 'amar en tiempos revueltos' which is apparently critically acclaimed in Spain. basically i am turning into a cat lady minus the cats.
i went out with my cousin karen the other night, along with kasia and ben, and a bunch of karen's friends. it was somewhat awkward being at least 10 years younger than everyone else, but whatever. i naturally managed to get shitfaced, so who knows what things i may have been saying. kasia and ben, who had left a few hours earlier, had chicken wings waiting for me which was glorious.
my christmas shopping is like half done, though i at least know almost everything else i need to pick up. i went old orchard with my parents the other day but didn't get anything. i can't take the 10% sales tax here. i had a mild trama with respect to a winter jacket - i finally found a coat i really liked, which my parents were going to get me as one of my xmas gifts, but of course A/X is out of my size company-wide. fuck me.
maybe i'll bake or cook something today, not that i can go buy groceries.
i've managed to avoid getting sick all season, but lucky me, basically everyone in my house is dying of some ailment. i'm still popping my vitamin c and whatnot, so all i've had is a mild sore throat upon waking up. i hope to keep it this way.
one new thing i've gotten into are telenovelas thanks to Andy. we've watched maybe 3 hours of the late 90s soap opera 'La Usurpadora' which is actually quite entertaining. I can't wait to finish and move onto my next one. meanwhile i've started on the Spanish civil war soap 'amar en tiempos revueltos' which is apparently critically acclaimed in Spain. basically i am turning into a cat lady minus the cats.
i went out with my cousin karen the other night, along with kasia and ben, and a bunch of karen's friends. it was somewhat awkward being at least 10 years younger than everyone else, but whatever. i naturally managed to get shitfaced, so who knows what things i may have been saying. kasia and ben, who had left a few hours earlier, had chicken wings waiting for me which was glorious.
my christmas shopping is like half done, though i at least know almost everything else i need to pick up. i went old orchard with my parents the other day but didn't get anything. i can't take the 10% sales tax here. i had a mild trama with respect to a winter jacket - i finally found a coat i really liked, which my parents were going to get me as one of my xmas gifts, but of course A/X is out of my size company-wide. fuck me.
maybe i'll bake or cook something today, not that i can go buy groceries.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
things i hate
scratch that blurb about not ranting. i feel compelled to make a list of all the things i currently hate
-the T and its workers
-Logan International Airport
-the fact that there is always miserable weather whenever i fly between chicago and boston
-that i haven't gone to the gym since thursday
-that i am getting fatter by the minute and once again ran out of time today
-the shirts i ordered from AE
-that i am giving everyone shitty xmas gifts
-that i am not in Europe
-professors that can't put up grades in any timely fashion
-that i have no money
-that i have no prospects for a job after getting my MA
-that so many of my friends have left
-that i will probably spend half of break forced to see people i could give a shit about
-that i went straight into grad school after undergrad
-that i stayed at the same university
-FLD
-religion and religion-driven bigots
-how many cookies i ate at work today
-that the fucking dining hall lied and didn't have my favorite wrap
-that i will probably be drunk tonight, then binge eat, then wake up and want to slit my wrists
FUCK ME
-the T and its workers
-Logan International Airport
-the fact that there is always miserable weather whenever i fly between chicago and boston
-that i haven't gone to the gym since thursday
-that i am getting fatter by the minute and once again ran out of time today
-the shirts i ordered from AE
-that i am giving everyone shitty xmas gifts
-that i am not in Europe
-professors that can't put up grades in any timely fashion
-that i have no money
-that i have no prospects for a job after getting my MA
-that so many of my friends have left
-that i will probably spend half of break forced to see people i could give a shit about
-that i went straight into grad school after undergrad
-that i stayed at the same university
-FLD
-religion and religion-driven bigots
-how many cookies i ate at work today
-that the fucking dining hall lied and didn't have my favorite wrap
-that i will probably be drunk tonight, then binge eat, then wake up and want to slit my wrists
FUCK ME
hi it's me
so apparently i subconsciously want to cut myself, because three times since thanksgiving have i sliced open the tips of my fingers...
1) at the airport i stuck my hand into my toiletry bag to get chapstick, instead finding my razor blade. blood started gushing, i had to get napkins at starbucks to wrap it, had to buy band-aids and neosporin, etc.
2) last week i was cleaning out my kitchen drain, and managed to rip open i think the same fingertip on the "jagged" edge of one of the drainage holes.
3) yesterday as i opened god-forsaken application materials from China, i managed to slice upon yet another fingertip on the letter opener.
classes/exams have been completed as of monday afternoon, and it feels kind of awkward not having anything hanging over my head. I've come into work the past few days, but i don't have any responsibilities tomorrow or friday other than eating and imbibing, i guess. i should go christmas shopping, but doing that yesterday only resulted in me buying myself two pairs of jeans and more socks. wunderbar.
with christopher all of the sudden in a bad mood about life, something rather atypical, i'm back to wanting to rant about hating life, hating boston, dropping out of grad school, etc. out of the kindness of my heart, however, i will spare you reader(s).
tonight we are going to white horse to celebrate lauren's bday (which happens over winter break when she is at home with no one to celebrate with), though not before going to some kind of holiday play at christopher's school he teaches at. i just CANNOT wait. i'm hoping one of the nun teachers asks me how i know him. "we are partners in sodomy" shall be my reply.
other than that i suppose i am looking forward to being home for xmas. minus the fact that my gifts to give suck on account of my being poor and i also will probably have too many structured days to see blah blah and so-and-so. VOM.
i just want to go to sleep. 45 minutes longer...
1) at the airport i stuck my hand into my toiletry bag to get chapstick, instead finding my razor blade. blood started gushing, i had to get napkins at starbucks to wrap it, had to buy band-aids and neosporin, etc.
2) last week i was cleaning out my kitchen drain, and managed to rip open i think the same fingertip on the "jagged" edge of one of the drainage holes.
3) yesterday as i opened god-forsaken application materials from China, i managed to slice upon yet another fingertip on the letter opener.
classes/exams have been completed as of monday afternoon, and it feels kind of awkward not having anything hanging over my head. I've come into work the past few days, but i don't have any responsibilities tomorrow or friday other than eating and imbibing, i guess. i should go christmas shopping, but doing that yesterday only resulted in me buying myself two pairs of jeans and more socks. wunderbar.
with christopher all of the sudden in a bad mood about life, something rather atypical, i'm back to wanting to rant about hating life, hating boston, dropping out of grad school, etc. out of the kindness of my heart, however, i will spare you reader(s).
tonight we are going to white horse to celebrate lauren's bday (which happens over winter break when she is at home with no one to celebrate with), though not before going to some kind of holiday play at christopher's school he teaches at. i just CANNOT wait. i'm hoping one of the nun teachers asks me how i know him. "we are partners in sodomy" shall be my reply.
other than that i suppose i am looking forward to being home for xmas. minus the fact that my gifts to give suck on account of my being poor and i also will probably have too many structured days to see blah blah and so-and-so. VOM.
i just want to go to sleep. 45 minutes longer...
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
hello hello
what a day what a day...chris drove me home circa 7:30 this morning, and i proceeded to sleep until noon. lucky for me i had not a single obligation for the rest of the day since yesterday was the last day of classes. i did, however, have a shitload of studying to do.
i had lox and bagels for breakfast along with a fried egg. it seems as though i've consumed seafood at every meal since i had (imitation) crab salad for lunch, then stir fry with shrimp and chicken for dinner. hopefully i won't die from mercury poisoning.
i transcribed some old church slavonic for my project (yes i have a fucking project even though classes are over), went to the gym, did some cleaning, studied for my thursday final, made dinner for me and mel, and now i am transcribing a glagolitic manuscript that i need to have prepared for my oral final exam next monday...
last night christopher and i saw 'milk' and i thought it was excellent. i had heard it was a bit too politically-oriented, but if i of all people didn't find it at all too overbearing, i think it is just fine for the masses. the theatre was surprisingly full for a monday night in brookline - a mix between old people and gays, basically. it was over two hours long, but it went by fairly quickly and had me crying at the very end. i would be interested to read a light history of the gay rights movement - perhaps kasia has something for me in her queer literature collection. i am particularly excited to be going to san francisco next month and being able to see the castro, etc. where all the shit went down.
another good gay-oriented film i have seen recently is 'were the world mine' - an interesting take on 'a midsummer's night's dream.' basically an all boy's high school is putting on a production of the play, the lone gay boy finds the potion to make everyone fall in love with whoever they first lay eyes upon, and as a result half the town turns homosexually-oriented. though it sounds cheesy, it was really cute and far superior to most gay films i have seen. the music was excellent (it was a quasi-musical) and i bought the soundtrack immediately upon returning home. hurray for gays!
the rest of the week is looking ok. tomorrow i again have nothing to do but study - bryan and i are going over some OCS during lunch, then perhaps coffee with chris beforehand. thursday i have to turn in a take-home final, then take my linguistic structure of english final before working a few hours at gsas. later that night i'll be dining with the bowens since they are in town. friday and saturday i have holiday parties, though with plenty of studying in between. gross.
i had lox and bagels for breakfast along with a fried egg. it seems as though i've consumed seafood at every meal since i had (imitation) crab salad for lunch, then stir fry with shrimp and chicken for dinner. hopefully i won't die from mercury poisoning.
i transcribed some old church slavonic for my project (yes i have a fucking project even though classes are over), went to the gym, did some cleaning, studied for my thursday final, made dinner for me and mel, and now i am transcribing a glagolitic manuscript that i need to have prepared for my oral final exam next monday...
last night christopher and i saw 'milk' and i thought it was excellent. i had heard it was a bit too politically-oriented, but if i of all people didn't find it at all too overbearing, i think it is just fine for the masses. the theatre was surprisingly full for a monday night in brookline - a mix between old people and gays, basically. it was over two hours long, but it went by fairly quickly and had me crying at the very end. i would be interested to read a light history of the gay rights movement - perhaps kasia has something for me in her queer literature collection. i am particularly excited to be going to san francisco next month and being able to see the castro, etc. where all the shit went down.
another good gay-oriented film i have seen recently is 'were the world mine' - an interesting take on 'a midsummer's night's dream.' basically an all boy's high school is putting on a production of the play, the lone gay boy finds the potion to make everyone fall in love with whoever they first lay eyes upon, and as a result half the town turns homosexually-oriented. though it sounds cheesy, it was really cute and far superior to most gay films i have seen. the music was excellent (it was a quasi-musical) and i bought the soundtrack immediately upon returning home. hurray for gays!
the rest of the week is looking ok. tomorrow i again have nothing to do but study - bryan and i are going over some OCS during lunch, then perhaps coffee with chris beforehand. thursday i have to turn in a take-home final, then take my linguistic structure of english final before working a few hours at gsas. later that night i'll be dining with the bowens since they are in town. friday and saturday i have holiday parties, though with plenty of studying in between. gross.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
hump day
'tis a glorious wednesday morning as i sit alone in christopher's apartment sipping my chai tea. normally on wednesday mornings he drives me home wicked early but today i stayed and slept in since i don't have class until 1. hopefully he will be here soon because i really wanted to make myself an omelet chez moi.
this week from hell has surprisingly been somewhat pleasant. i finished that book review on time for yesterday, i already had done my early romance project due tomorrow, connolly was clearly out of his mind in not really giving us an assignment, and i've written 6 out of the 8 pages of my paper for tomorrow! that means all i have left assignment-wise is the old church slavonic project-y thing due on monday. then finals and i'm home free!
i'm looking forward to a fun weekend. possibly going out thursday night with matt, then dinner at Tasca for erin's birthday on friday followed by going out somewhere. saturday i'm skipping LAG thanksgiving dinner (*tear*) to go spend the afternoon on the Cape with Chris, my mom, and some family friends. outlet mall on the way home followed by jillian's party.
ehh i think i'm going to have to walk home since i haven't heard from chris and he works on campus in half an hour. BLEHHHHHH.
this week from hell has surprisingly been somewhat pleasant. i finished that book review on time for yesterday, i already had done my early romance project due tomorrow, connolly was clearly out of his mind in not really giving us an assignment, and i've written 6 out of the 8 pages of my paper for tomorrow! that means all i have left assignment-wise is the old church slavonic project-y thing due on monday. then finals and i'm home free!
i'm looking forward to a fun weekend. possibly going out thursday night with matt, then dinner at Tasca for erin's birthday on friday followed by going out somewhere. saturday i'm skipping LAG thanksgiving dinner (*tear*) to go spend the afternoon on the Cape with Chris, my mom, and some family friends. outlet mall on the way home followed by jillian's party.
ehh i think i'm going to have to walk home since i haven't heard from chris and he works on campus in half an hour. BLEHHHHHH.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
post-thanksgiving
i'm not sure whether or not i should be embarrassed listening to david archuleta right now, but i really like his song 'desperate'. i'm uploading my family's christmas cds as well, so hopefully things in boston will feel a bit more christmas-esque. i really want it to effing snow already.
my thanksgiving break has been very nice, though unfortunately i haven't had the opportunity to see any BC chicagoans, i.e. jeff, christina, katie. I am hoping that over christmas break when I have a bit more time I can make that happen. i've seen kasia, ben, and andy quite a bit, which is great. nothing mind-blowing, but highlights have included all-you-can-eat sushi, caribou, flu birds (they fly - you die), and rockband.
today at 4 i am partaking in the annual family "christmasfest", which kicks off the holiday at my aunt's house with pajamas, champagne, holiday movies, games, food, etc. i like to have a good buzz going for it but i really don't know how much champagne i can consume after feeling like i was going to explode/pass out at thanksgiving. props to bc people like vanessa who can pregame with a bottle of andrè - not I said the pig.
i am pleasantly surprised with myself in that i have written 4 out of 5 pages for one of my papers i was supposed to finish over break. i'm hoping to finish it at the airport/on the plane tomorrow. that will just leave my 8-pager for thursday. manageable, methinks. i wish grad school were over...and to think it's only been a semester. VOM. i cannot wait to have a whole month of nothing but holiday cheer, a trip to san francisco, and some work @ GSAS...
my thanksgiving break has been very nice, though unfortunately i haven't had the opportunity to see any BC chicagoans, i.e. jeff, christina, katie. I am hoping that over christmas break when I have a bit more time I can make that happen. i've seen kasia, ben, and andy quite a bit, which is great. nothing mind-blowing, but highlights have included all-you-can-eat sushi, caribou, flu birds (they fly - you die), and rockband.
today at 4 i am partaking in the annual family "christmasfest", which kicks off the holiday at my aunt's house with pajamas, champagne, holiday movies, games, food, etc. i like to have a good buzz going for it but i really don't know how much champagne i can consume after feeling like i was going to explode/pass out at thanksgiving. props to bc people like vanessa who can pregame with a bottle of andrè - not I said the pig.
i am pleasantly surprised with myself in that i have written 4 out of 5 pages for one of my papers i was supposed to finish over break. i'm hoping to finish it at the airport/on the plane tomorrow. that will just leave my 8-pager for thursday. manageable, methinks. i wish grad school were over...and to think it's only been a semester. VOM. i cannot wait to have a whole month of nothing but holiday cheer, a trip to san francisco, and some work @ GSAS...
Thursday, November 20, 2008
quickie
it's a humdrum thursday night and i'm alone in the apartment. mel is at class, then watching Grey's with Lauren on campus...Christopher is out with his fellow sociology grad students. i finished my homework for tomorrow, went to the gym, had dinner, and have no motivation to leave this couch. 'the exorcism of emily rose' is on lifetime tonight (lol) - i think i know exactly where my night is headed.
earlier in the week christopher and i went to see 'the boy in the striped pajamas', which is a holocaust tale based on a best-selling book of the same name. in a nutshell, a young german boy moves to the countryside from Berlin after his father is put in charge of a concentration camp. the kid befriends a jewish boy through the electric fence, and so the story goes. the ending was very powerful, and as you might have expected, depressing. i saw a bunch of great previews, too, for Doubt (about catholic priest scandal) and Milk (about the first openly gay Californian politician). wee!
i really should be writing my Structure of English research paper or my book review, but i'd rather sit here and rot, pondering my plans for the weekend. Friday night is up in the air, but Saturday we are going to happy hour downtown and then to the tree lighting in Quincy Market. i am not a huge fan of holiday festivity this early (i.e. prior to thanksgiving), but whatever, it will be fun. my friend Inés joining us, so i look forward to a particularly good time.
earlier in the week christopher and i went to see 'the boy in the striped pajamas', which is a holocaust tale based on a best-selling book of the same name. in a nutshell, a young german boy moves to the countryside from Berlin after his father is put in charge of a concentration camp. the kid befriends a jewish boy through the electric fence, and so the story goes. the ending was very powerful, and as you might have expected, depressing. i saw a bunch of great previews, too, for Doubt (about catholic priest scandal) and Milk (about the first openly gay Californian politician). wee!
i really should be writing my Structure of English research paper or my book review, but i'd rather sit here and rot, pondering my plans for the weekend. Friday night is up in the air, but Saturday we are going to happy hour downtown and then to the tree lighting in Quincy Market. i am not a huge fan of holiday festivity this early (i.e. prior to thanksgiving), but whatever, it will be fun. my friend Inés joining us, so i look forward to a particularly good time.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
приятен уйкенд!
walking into my building this morning it smelled like someone took a huge shit in one of the hallways. how nice. this is after i had to sit amidst a pile of vomit (mostly chicken, with perhaps some beans - i'm guessing they had mexican) on the T last night. oh Boston, you're so classy.
last night christopher and i dined chez fleming-marino for raclette, which i had had a taste for since watching the Switzerland episode of Rick Steve's Europe. this time we added bacon and eggs to the items smothered in cheese, and it was a hit. my favorite combo was perhaps bacon and a cornichon covered in cheese, with ham and onions at a close second. we went through several bottles of wine and had a nice time, though i was tipsy if anything, while meanwhile christopher managed to get tanked. mel gibson is filming a movie in the area, but unfortunately we were redirected by the crew when we tried to cut through it to head back home. the T ride home was fun in that i got to watch christopher pass out over and over on the girl next to him.
i had dunking donuts for the second morning in the row today - oops. thanks to the influences of kasia and ben i now get my iced coffee with cream, though i do still prefer splenda over actual sugar. then we went to the Russian store where i picked up some tasty things for lunch - rye bread, smoked herring, and liver pate. being a Slav is wonderful!
it is very humid today, and can't say i'm planning on exiting my apartment again until later this evening. perhaps i'll curl up to a movie and translate some Old Russian. Joy!
last night christopher and i dined chez fleming-marino for raclette, which i had had a taste for since watching the Switzerland episode of Rick Steve's Europe. this time we added bacon and eggs to the items smothered in cheese, and it was a hit. my favorite combo was perhaps bacon and a cornichon covered in cheese, with ham and onions at a close second. we went through several bottles of wine and had a nice time, though i was tipsy if anything, while meanwhile christopher managed to get tanked. mel gibson is filming a movie in the area, but unfortunately we were redirected by the crew when we tried to cut through it to head back home. the T ride home was fun in that i got to watch christopher pass out over and over on the girl next to him.
i had dunking donuts for the second morning in the row today - oops. thanks to the influences of kasia and ben i now get my iced coffee with cream, though i do still prefer splenda over actual sugar. then we went to the Russian store where i picked up some tasty things for lunch - rye bread, smoked herring, and liver pate. being a Slav is wonderful!
it is very humid today, and can't say i'm planning on exiting my apartment again until later this evening. perhaps i'll curl up to a movie and translate some Old Russian. Joy!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
добар дан
well i've been up since 7:15 on my sleep-in day on account of chris having to wake up at the crack of dawn to teach. unfortunately i hate 2 out of my 3 classes and hence can't motivate myself to do any work. i have a problem set due tomorrow, and then everything else is more project-like, for example a book review and a research paper. BLEH.
seeing as how much i love Early Slavic Linguistics and texts, I got back on a Slavic kick. i've been brushing up on my Bulgarian, studying some Polish, and even was looking at PhD programs for Slavic Linguistics in Chicago. why am i so OCD....? kasia and i were also discussing the possibility of Poland next summer with our respective lovers. this would obviously be amazing. i just wish i had some idea of where the fuck i will be and if i will have a job and/or money to finance it.
last night chris and i went out to kingston station for dinner. its a bistro in downtown crossing, and we were for the most part pleased with everything. my sweet potato gnocchi with scallops was delicious, while chris' chicken milanese left something to be desired. nonetheless the atmosphere was fun and the drinks were good, so I would consider coming back. i just wish i lived downtown...it is always somewhat depressing to have to retreat back to allston or brookline. if only everything weren't so fucking expensive.
on today's agenda all i have is class at 1. i need to go grocery shopping but if i want to be able to purchase christmas gifts, i had best reconsider that. oh this life...
seeing as how much i love Early Slavic Linguistics and texts, I got back on a Slavic kick. i've been brushing up on my Bulgarian, studying some Polish, and even was looking at PhD programs for Slavic Linguistics in Chicago. why am i so OCD....? kasia and i were also discussing the possibility of Poland next summer with our respective lovers. this would obviously be amazing. i just wish i had some idea of where the fuck i will be and if i will have a job and/or money to finance it.
last night chris and i went out to kingston station for dinner. its a bistro in downtown crossing, and we were for the most part pleased with everything. my sweet potato gnocchi with scallops was delicious, while chris' chicken milanese left something to be desired. nonetheless the atmosphere was fun and the drinks were good, so I would consider coming back. i just wish i lived downtown...it is always somewhat depressing to have to retreat back to allston or brookline. if only everything weren't so fucking expensive.
on today's agenda all i have is class at 1. i need to go grocery shopping but if i want to be able to purchase christmas gifts, i had best reconsider that. oh this life...
Sunday, November 9, 2008
pensaments...
So Friday night at Hennessy's ended up being a lot more fun that I had anticipated. We pregamed for a few hours chez moi and around 9:30 Lou finally showed up. The $10 cover was no fun, but I had a nice time with everyone and particularly enjoyed the cover band. 65 dollars later we departed, but for some reason Lou and I ended up walking around for between 1 and 2 hours before getting a cab. I don't know what exactly we did, but we were feeling good and didn't particularly care about getting lost. The only thing that frustrated me was that not even in Chinatown did we find someplace to get food. At 4am we finally got home, made some quesadillas, and called it a night.
The next day we were up pretty early and got breakfast at Bagel Rising before going to Shaw's to get stuff to make spinach and artichoke things for Jonathan's. We spent the afternoon there, and it was nice to see everyone that came in from New York, etc., namely Mary and Christine. We headed to campus 5ish, but ended up just chilling at Jillian's instead of tailgating heavily. It was great catching up and reminiscing. Eventually we did make it to the mods, and at one point while talking to Lisa (who I hadn't seen since graduation) I randomly started to tear up. Awkward.
During the game I hung out on Gerald at Matt's place along with Lou. We played some games, chatted, etc. but I ended up leaving once the game was over to meet up with Jillian and Jonathan. I ended up being the 3rd wheel, which I didn't realize, so after some pizza I walked back to my apartment and waited up for Lou to get back.
Walking back home I became contemplative and analyzed my friend situation in Boston. I was bothered by the fact that after leaving Matt's I really didn't have many options. I know a lot of people here in Boston, but in terms of really close friends, I don't know...it's hard to really "label" or "categorize" my relationships. At this point I don't know how much longer I plan on staying in Boston. Obviously I have to finish my degree, so with the Fulbright/being abroad I am here until the spring of 2011. *sigh*
I need to do homework, but now I'm starving after watching a show about Spanish cuisine and culture. I think I'll plan my next meal...
The next day we were up pretty early and got breakfast at Bagel Rising before going to Shaw's to get stuff to make spinach and artichoke things for Jonathan's. We spent the afternoon there, and it was nice to see everyone that came in from New York, etc., namely Mary and Christine. We headed to campus 5ish, but ended up just chilling at Jillian's instead of tailgating heavily. It was great catching up and reminiscing. Eventually we did make it to the mods, and at one point while talking to Lisa (who I hadn't seen since graduation) I randomly started to tear up. Awkward.
During the game I hung out on Gerald at Matt's place along with Lou. We played some games, chatted, etc. but I ended up leaving once the game was over to meet up with Jillian and Jonathan. I ended up being the 3rd wheel, which I didn't realize, so after some pizza I walked back to my apartment and waited up for Lou to get back.
Walking back home I became contemplative and analyzed my friend situation in Boston. I was bothered by the fact that after leaving Matt's I really didn't have many options. I know a lot of people here in Boston, but in terms of really close friends, I don't know...it's hard to really "label" or "categorize" my relationships. At this point I don't know how much longer I plan on staying in Boston. Obviously I have to finish my degree, so with the Fulbright/being abroad I am here until the spring of 2011. *sigh*
I need to do homework, but now I'm starving after watching a show about Spanish cuisine and culture. I think I'll plan my next meal...
Friday, November 7, 2008
Guten Morgen
It's another dreary morning in Boston - far too muggy for my tastes.
I've done a lot of contemplating about what will happen next year if I don't get the Fulbright, and I've more or less decided that I will be shipping abroad regardless. Best case scenario I find some other means of supporting myself in Andorra. That way I can still carry out my research and hopefully produce a great MA paper on Andorran sociolinguistics. Since starting the application process in June I have envisioned myself gallivanting in Western Europe next year, and this idea has continued, and will continue until I either get the grant or don't. If I am denied, I feel as though next year will be simply miserable, a result of what might be summed up with the cliche "shattered dreams".
This really only has to do with myself, but some might feel as though they are not a good enough reason for me to stay in Boston, etc. False. When it comes down to it, I just have different needs, and my passions in life do not all lie within the Boston, East Coast, or even U.S. bubble. When I was abroad for 8 months each day was an exciting new adventure. I had the opportunity to put all my language skills to the test, and moreover my life skills in a foreign environment. Just because I need that excitement in my life, however, does not mean it is the only excitement, and that I cannot be happy living here with someone I love.
I made a mistake going straight into graduate school and feel somewhat burnt out. It all started with that fucking 5th year MA in higher education, which prevented my applying for a Fulbright senior year, and thus curtailed the change of my being abroad this year. Upon realizing I hated the program it was already too late. *Sigh*. I really do think that a year off will do me wonders and reinvigorate me for the second year of my MA program.
Anywho, this weekend is the BC/ND game on our turf, which should be quite the spectacle. It's estimated that some 10,000 people will be on campus, and that's just how many DON'T have tickets. I'm guessing someone will be stampeded to death in the Mods. Everyone and their mom from my graduating class will be here this weekend, including Lou, so that should be fun. Meanwhile, Christopher will be home in CT this weekend for reasons unknown, so I'll be free to spend more time with people.
That's all for now...I need to finish translating some Old Church Slavonic...
I've done a lot of contemplating about what will happen next year if I don't get the Fulbright, and I've more or less decided that I will be shipping abroad regardless. Best case scenario I find some other means of supporting myself in Andorra. That way I can still carry out my research and hopefully produce a great MA paper on Andorran sociolinguistics. Since starting the application process in June I have envisioned myself gallivanting in Western Europe next year, and this idea has continued, and will continue until I either get the grant or don't. If I am denied, I feel as though next year will be simply miserable, a result of what might be summed up with the cliche "shattered dreams".
This really only has to do with myself, but some might feel as though they are not a good enough reason for me to stay in Boston, etc. False. When it comes down to it, I just have different needs, and my passions in life do not all lie within the Boston, East Coast, or even U.S. bubble. When I was abroad for 8 months each day was an exciting new adventure. I had the opportunity to put all my language skills to the test, and moreover my life skills in a foreign environment. Just because I need that excitement in my life, however, does not mean it is the only excitement, and that I cannot be happy living here with someone I love.
I made a mistake going straight into graduate school and feel somewhat burnt out. It all started with that fucking 5th year MA in higher education, which prevented my applying for a Fulbright senior year, and thus curtailed the change of my being abroad this year. Upon realizing I hated the program it was already too late. *Sigh*. I really do think that a year off will do me wonders and reinvigorate me for the second year of my MA program.
Anywho, this weekend is the BC/ND game on our turf, which should be quite the spectacle. It's estimated that some 10,000 people will be on campus, and that's just how many DON'T have tickets. I'm guessing someone will be stampeded to death in the Mods. Everyone and their mom from my graduating class will be here this weekend, including Lou, so that should be fun. Meanwhile, Christopher will be home in CT this weekend for reasons unknown, so I'll be free to spend more time with people.
That's all for now...I need to finish translating some Old Church Slavonic...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
herro
the cool, drizzly weather this morning made me think of two things this morning. first off, i wish i were on the cape, or just on the ocean in general. i would love to just sit out wrapped in a blanket with some hot coffee and read a book.
secondly it made me think of one morning while at home when kasia, ben, (maybe chris) and i went to 'a taste of heaven' in andersonville for breakfast. i guess the weather was somewhat similar to today. i'm hoping we can have a repeat when i'm home (in a day and a month) for thanksgiving.
i've started to read a book for leisurely purposes entitled 'night train to lisbon'. the back cover review mentioned 'the shadow of the wind', a really great historical fiction mystery set in franco-era barcelona, so i thought i'd enjoy it. so far it is pretty good - a swiss philologist who teachers greek, latin, and hebrew at a lyceum randomly picks up and leaves his town after a chance encounter with a portuguese woman. he then picks up a book in portuguese and becomes obsessed with the language and heads to lisbon. that's where i'm at so far - it seems as though he's having a midlife crisis, but something deeper than that.
it makes me want to just pack up shop and move to Catalonia - I could support myself teaching English, rent a flat from some elderly Catalan woman, and get skinny from only consuming coffee. a wonderful life would i leave...
back to reality, i am pretending to re-immerse myself in grad school work. unfortunately the classes i am taking haven't really panned out to what i expected. 'linguistic structure of english', though good for my resume for fulbright hopes of teaching english, hasn't taught me much. it feels very elementary - i can't even describe it.
'comparative development of the romance languages' is in theory very interesting, but the professor has structured the class poorly and bounces back and forth from topic to topic and really i just have no idea what is going on. luckily for my final project i get to work alone on topic with catalan, so that may prove rewarding.
'early slavic linguistics and texts' is the only exception. though my most difficult class, it is really fascinating and i have actually acquired factual information about the structure, phonology, morphology, etc. of the language. i may take sanskrit after all, next semester. on va voir.
tonight i am hopefully seeing a movie with bobo, possibly 'quarantine', which looks reasonably frightening.
secondly it made me think of one morning while at home when kasia, ben, (maybe chris) and i went to 'a taste of heaven' in andersonville for breakfast. i guess the weather was somewhat similar to today. i'm hoping we can have a repeat when i'm home (in a day and a month) for thanksgiving.
i've started to read a book for leisurely purposes entitled 'night train to lisbon'. the back cover review mentioned 'the shadow of the wind', a really great historical fiction mystery set in franco-era barcelona, so i thought i'd enjoy it. so far it is pretty good - a swiss philologist who teachers greek, latin, and hebrew at a lyceum randomly picks up and leaves his town after a chance encounter with a portuguese woman. he then picks up a book in portuguese and becomes obsessed with the language and heads to lisbon. that's where i'm at so far - it seems as though he's having a midlife crisis, but something deeper than that.
it makes me want to just pack up shop and move to Catalonia - I could support myself teaching English, rent a flat from some elderly Catalan woman, and get skinny from only consuming coffee. a wonderful life would i leave...
back to reality, i am pretending to re-immerse myself in grad school work. unfortunately the classes i am taking haven't really panned out to what i expected. 'linguistic structure of english', though good for my resume for fulbright hopes of teaching english, hasn't taught me much. it feels very elementary - i can't even describe it.
'comparative development of the romance languages' is in theory very interesting, but the professor has structured the class poorly and bounces back and forth from topic to topic and really i just have no idea what is going on. luckily for my final project i get to work alone on topic with catalan, so that may prove rewarding.
'early slavic linguistics and texts' is the only exception. though my most difficult class, it is really fascinating and i have actually acquired factual information about the structure, phonology, morphology, etc. of the language. i may take sanskrit after all, next semester. on va voir.
tonight i am hopefully seeing a movie with bobo, possibly 'quarantine', which looks reasonably frightening.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
hola
he de començar a escriure més sovint, llavors aquí estic de nou...
this morning at 11 I had my on-campus interview for the Fulbright to Andorra, and I must say I think it went really well. my panel consisted of professor thomas (head of fulbright and my linguistics prof), professor rhodes (hispanic studies professor, and apparently catalan speaker), professor shepherd (my comparative romance professor) and some other man I don't recall. basically I spend the entire time explaining the linguistic, historical, and educational aspects of Andorra, since almost no one has any familiarity with the tiny country. i think it played in my favor in that everyone saw just how interested i am in going to this place.
the second half of the interview was conducted in catalan and spanish. i had no idea professor rhodes spoke catalan (not that i know her), so she ended up conducting both the catalan and spanish portions. for as stressful as having a trilingual interview was, i loved every minute of it. and that is why i am going to love Andorrashe commented that i have a Lleida accent, which is hot. Lleida (or Lerida) is an Eastern Spanish city. i think i did well in both languages, though looking back i said the word for 'winter' (hivern) instead of 'summer' (estiu) when describing when I learned Catalan. oh well.
other than that things have been ok. i went to the doctor today to get the thing on my leg checked out. a stream of liquid nitrogen was a simple solution. i now have a doctor in boston. for whatever reason i am exhausted today, so i think i shall now retire to bed.
bona nit a tothom
this morning at 11 I had my on-campus interview for the Fulbright to Andorra, and I must say I think it went really well. my panel consisted of professor thomas (head of fulbright and my linguistics prof), professor rhodes (hispanic studies professor, and apparently catalan speaker), professor shepherd (my comparative romance professor) and some other man I don't recall. basically I spend the entire time explaining the linguistic, historical, and educational aspects of Andorra, since almost no one has any familiarity with the tiny country. i think it played in my favor in that everyone saw just how interested i am in going to this place.
the second half of the interview was conducted in catalan and spanish. i had no idea professor rhodes spoke catalan (not that i know her), so she ended up conducting both the catalan and spanish portions. for as stressful as having a trilingual interview was, i loved every minute of it. and that is why i am going to love Andorrashe commented that i have a Lleida accent, which is hot. Lleida (or Lerida) is an Eastern Spanish city. i think i did well in both languages, though looking back i said the word for 'winter' (hivern) instead of 'summer' (estiu) when describing when I learned Catalan. oh well.
other than that things have been ok. i went to the doctor today to get the thing on my leg checked out. a stream of liquid nitrogen was a simple solution. i now have a doctor in boston. for whatever reason i am exhausted today, so i think i shall now retire to bed.
bona nit a tothom
Friday, September 26, 2008
hi
seeing that i was just caught in a monsoon it appears i am going to have to postpone my plans to go to the gym and instead sit and watch garbage television while stuffing my face. oh well.
things have been decent as of late. the only thing that is moderately stressing me is my fulbright. i'm almost done with my drafts, i've had my catalan evaluated, my three recommendations are being written, and the rest of the application is just about complete. the only thing that hasn't happened is my Spanish being evaluated, even though that is just something supplementary and not technically allowed. i suppose i need to send another e-mail to someone else. UGH and the deadline is wednesday...
mmk i just lost interest in this update...
things have been decent as of late. the only thing that is moderately stressing me is my fulbright. i'm almost done with my drafts, i've had my catalan evaluated, my three recommendations are being written, and the rest of the application is just about complete. the only thing that hasn't happened is my Spanish being evaluated, even though that is just something supplementary and not technically allowed. i suppose i need to send another e-mail to someone else. UGH and the deadline is wednesday...
mmk i just lost interest in this update...
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
el finde y más
as it is 7:23am on a day I don't have any commitments until 1pm, it appears as though I have lost the ability to sleep in. i went to bed after midnight, so it's not as if i slept excessively. oh well. chances are i'll need to be up by 7:30 every day anyway once my schedule is further solidified.
labor day weekend was very fun. friday night i went to peter and bryan's to hang out, and despite what they (and adam) think, and despite my inability to reach a decent level of intoxication, i had a very nice time. i ended up catching the last T to meet up with christopher, but since he ended up falling asleep on the C and going to the end of the line, thus having to walk 40 minutes back to his place, i ended up just going to bed.
saturday was another day at moogy's - not entirely unpleasant. that night i went to jtree to hang out with christopher's friends and watch the game. so many BC '08 people were there it almost seemed like senior year never ended. *tear*
sunday chris and i left for his place in rhode island, meeting up with bessie, meghan, and kristin at the beach. while i am not a beach person, it was an enjoyable day and satan knows i needed the color. we rounded out the evening with dinner at a local place on the water, mini golf, and then drinking chris' father's alcohol outside on the water before going to bed.
monday we were back to the beach. my snowy white body had taken in enough sun the day before, so i was forced to cover up after a few hours for fear of getting severely burnt. i also made the unfortunate discovery that southern rhode island 'clam cakes' are little more than flavorless balls of fried dough with tiny specks of clam in them. we ended up leaving sometime after 1 so as to make it back to boston without hitting traffic. that night we just relaxed at my place with some vi i formatge before going to bed.
'comparative development of the romance languages' greeted me at 9am tuesday as my first class. i think it is going to be awesome and i can't wait to start the reading. she encouraged us to, in addition to french, spanish, and italian, the main languages we would be working with, to explore other romance languages in our investigations. obvi i'm working with catalan.
speaking of catalan...while sitting in my 1:30 with CF, the girl in front of me turned around and asked if i was jeffrey. i recognized her from class earlier, and she asked if i was the one that mentioned being able to speak some catalan. YES YES YES! it turns out she is from Valencia doing a Linguistics M.A. here, her first language is catalan, and she would love to speak in catalan with! i literally started blushing i was so excited!
i had to work at moogy's 5-10 last night since they were desperate for someone, so i didn't do much else other than that. luckily it wasn't too busy so i didn't fuck everything up. after that i just took care of some things at home like ordering new contacts, then went to bed.
labor day weekend was very fun. friday night i went to peter and bryan's to hang out, and despite what they (and adam) think, and despite my inability to reach a decent level of intoxication, i had a very nice time. i ended up catching the last T to meet up with christopher, but since he ended up falling asleep on the C and going to the end of the line, thus having to walk 40 minutes back to his place, i ended up just going to bed.
saturday was another day at moogy's - not entirely unpleasant. that night i went to jtree to hang out with christopher's friends and watch the game. so many BC '08 people were there it almost seemed like senior year never ended. *tear*
sunday chris and i left for his place in rhode island, meeting up with bessie, meghan, and kristin at the beach. while i am not a beach person, it was an enjoyable day and satan knows i needed the color. we rounded out the evening with dinner at a local place on the water, mini golf, and then drinking chris' father's alcohol outside on the water before going to bed.
monday we were back to the beach. my snowy white body had taken in enough sun the day before, so i was forced to cover up after a few hours for fear of getting severely burnt. i also made the unfortunate discovery that southern rhode island 'clam cakes' are little more than flavorless balls of fried dough with tiny specks of clam in them. we ended up leaving sometime after 1 so as to make it back to boston without hitting traffic. that night we just relaxed at my place with some vi i formatge before going to bed.
'comparative development of the romance languages' greeted me at 9am tuesday as my first class. i think it is going to be awesome and i can't wait to start the reading. she encouraged us to, in addition to french, spanish, and italian, the main languages we would be working with, to explore other romance languages in our investigations. obvi i'm working with catalan.
speaking of catalan...while sitting in my 1:30 with CF, the girl in front of me turned around and asked if i was jeffrey. i recognized her from class earlier, and she asked if i was the one that mentioned being able to speak some catalan. YES YES YES! it turns out she is from Valencia doing a Linguistics M.A. here, her first language is catalan, and she would love to speak in catalan with! i literally started blushing i was so excited!
i had to work at moogy's 5-10 last night since they were desperate for someone, so i didn't do much else other than that. luckily it wasn't too busy so i didn't fuck everything up. after that i just took care of some things at home like ordering new contacts, then went to bed.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
almost back to school
kasia and ben left this morning after having been here a full week. despite my still having to work, i managed to join them on a whale watch, did a day trip to salem, shopped on newbury and at the pru, walked through the south end, went out on Landsdowne, etc. etc. sitting on our asses chicago 'burbs-style was obviously part of our week as well - we watched Juno (finally) as well as Prom Night. i surprisingly very much enjoyed both of them - Prom night really creeped me out.
our somewhat tearful farewell this morning has made me think about things once again, things being like where i am headed geographically in the next couple of years. this will be my 5th year of living in the Boston area, and I will at a minimum be here for one more year after this. if I get my fulbright i'll be off to andorra in 2009 and then back to Boston to finish my Master's in 2011. but then where...stay in Boston? go back to Chicago? New York? go abroad? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....
anyway...after being too poor to sign up for real at bsc, then sitting on my ass and getting fat(ter) even though i could afford it, i finally just walked over and joined at the end of last week. i now have a gold membership, and i have no excuses for not going considering it takes me literally 2 minutes to walk there. i tell myself that today my back-to-school eating/exercising plan will go into full swing. i've started with some heart-healthy oatmeal!
thanks to how stupid the loan system works i need to wait until after classes start, September 3rd in order to receive my money. i am fine with tuition, since it has been applied already, but with respect to living expenses i will now have to go into my savings for the time-being. god forbid they take into consideration that bills, etc. are due on the first of the month. i cannot wait to wait in line wednesday morning just to get my fucking check.
i have mixed feelings about starting classes again next week, but i'm mostly excited to have a legitimate routine again. working in the department M-Th 9-1 perhaps would have felt structured had i actually any work to do. i am also soooo excited to have weekends free again come October when i stop with Moogy's. i'm gonna be working one day a weekend in september, it seems, then calling it quits. classes plus one, hopefully 2 jobs during the week will be enough, thanks. i just hope i don't end up feeling like a super senior. i feel like i should wear a t-shirt that assures people i did, in fact, graduate, and am now getting a Master's.
my department job ends on friday. while i have enjoyed sitting and doing nothing and getting paid for it, its really just too tedious. im hoping to get more details on my assistantship soon, then friday morning i'll be applying for a work-study position in Bryan's office since i just LOVE working so much. after this long weekend and Rhode Island its full-speed ahead!
our somewhat tearful farewell this morning has made me think about things once again, things being like where i am headed geographically in the next couple of years. this will be my 5th year of living in the Boston area, and I will at a minimum be here for one more year after this. if I get my fulbright i'll be off to andorra in 2009 and then back to Boston to finish my Master's in 2011. but then where...stay in Boston? go back to Chicago? New York? go abroad? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....
anyway...after being too poor to sign up for real at bsc, then sitting on my ass and getting fat(ter) even though i could afford it, i finally just walked over and joined at the end of last week. i now have a gold membership, and i have no excuses for not going considering it takes me literally 2 minutes to walk there. i tell myself that today my back-to-school eating/exercising plan will go into full swing. i've started with some heart-healthy oatmeal!
thanks to how stupid the loan system works i need to wait until after classes start, September 3rd in order to receive my money. i am fine with tuition, since it has been applied already, but with respect to living expenses i will now have to go into my savings for the time-being. god forbid they take into consideration that bills, etc. are due on the first of the month. i cannot wait to wait in line wednesday morning just to get my fucking check.
i have mixed feelings about starting classes again next week, but i'm mostly excited to have a legitimate routine again. working in the department M-Th 9-1 perhaps would have felt structured had i actually any work to do. i am also soooo excited to have weekends free again come October when i stop with Moogy's. i'm gonna be working one day a weekend in september, it seems, then calling it quits. classes plus one, hopefully 2 jobs during the week will be enough, thanks. i just hope i don't end up feeling like a super senior. i feel like i should wear a t-shirt that assures people i did, in fact, graduate, and am now getting a Master's.
my department job ends on friday. while i have enjoyed sitting and doing nothing and getting paid for it, its really just too tedious. im hoping to get more details on my assistantship soon, then friday morning i'll be applying for a work-study position in Bryan's office since i just LOVE working so much. after this long weekend and Rhode Island its full-speed ahead!
Monday, August 18, 2008
medio agosto...
i discovered today that the most-watched television program in Catalonia features a young gay plot line and the whole show is in Catalan. 'El Cor de la Ciutat' will shortly become my new obsession.
It also came to my attention that with my miles I can fly to Tokyo round trip for $48 over spring break. Those tickets are normally like $1700, aka id really be getting my money's worth. The only problem is that I'd be a lot more reluctant to travel to Tokyo alone considering I don't know any Japanese, and also since it is so expensive. I would really want to be able to splurge on sick sushi dinners, etc. I'm thinking I'll end up going to Belgium, plus side trips to Luxembourg and Paris.
Kasia and Ben come tomorrow, which is exciting. Hopefully we can do fun things and not blow a ton of money. There is a potential trip to Maine in the works, maybe a whale watch, and certainly plenty of eating.
I am wondering if this is my last week in the department. Demetra is now in daily, so I basically have no reason to be here considering all my "projects" are done. Oh well. I'll continue to show up and log in hours until I hear otherwise. I have no problem with getting paid to do nothing :-)
I have now been 1 week without a normally functioning phone thanks to the incompetence of Verizon. My new fucking battery had best come in today. Last Monday on the walk back to the car from Eastern Standard my phone was knocked out of my hands and subsequently refused to turn on.
15 minutes til I can leave, thank satan. I'm grabbing lunch with Bobo then sitting on my ass until dinner at Tangierno tonight. I'm looking forward to some good Moroccan food!
It also came to my attention that with my miles I can fly to Tokyo round trip for $48 over spring break. Those tickets are normally like $1700, aka id really be getting my money's worth. The only problem is that I'd be a lot more reluctant to travel to Tokyo alone considering I don't know any Japanese, and also since it is so expensive. I would really want to be able to splurge on sick sushi dinners, etc. I'm thinking I'll end up going to Belgium, plus side trips to Luxembourg and Paris.
Kasia and Ben come tomorrow, which is exciting. Hopefully we can do fun things and not blow a ton of money. There is a potential trip to Maine in the works, maybe a whale watch, and certainly plenty of eating.
I am wondering if this is my last week in the department. Demetra is now in daily, so I basically have no reason to be here considering all my "projects" are done. Oh well. I'll continue to show up and log in hours until I hear otherwise. I have no problem with getting paid to do nothing :-)
I have now been 1 week without a normally functioning phone thanks to the incompetence of Verizon. My new fucking battery had best come in today. Last Monday on the walk back to the car from Eastern Standard my phone was knocked out of my hands and subsequently refused to turn on.
15 minutes til I can leave, thank satan. I'm grabbing lunch with Bobo then sitting on my ass until dinner at Tangierno tonight. I'm looking forward to some good Moroccan food!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
back from Chicago
well friends, after a relaxing long weekend at home I am back at BC sitting in the department. today i labeled file folders, delivered some paperwork to McGuinn, and made a pdf document. someday i'll look back and smile upon these days...
i am mad the department for shafting my favorite professor and the Bulgarian program here. intro to bulgarian was cut, as was 'society and national identity in the balkans' in the spring. wtf. everyone wants to learn stupid russian, chinese, and arabic. naturally the languages that interest me, namely Bulgarian and Catalan, are taught almost nowhere in the U.S. even portuguese, one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, was cut after I took it for one semester here.
anyway, most of my time at home was spent sitting on my ass doing nothing, which was exactly as i had planned. thursday i spend the day at home with the fam before going to dinner with my aunt and uncle (plus my family) to catch up. later that night kasia, ben, and andy came over to hang out, but i only lasted so long seeing as i had been awake close to 24 hours on account of my ridiculously early flight and the time change.
friday was the big trip to the new sonic that opened up in South Bend, IN, a mere two hours drive from the Chicago 'burbs. Considering we usually drive up to 4 and a half hours to get to a Sonic, this was a welcome addition to the Sonic family. there were a few new things on the menu, like 3 different cheeses to slather one's tots in, angus beef burgers, a fried ice cream shake, and a chili frito pie. naturally we tried all of them. technically we should have ordered 10 times each to keep up with tradition (this would have been our 10th cycle), but since last time we were miserable and almost vomiting, we decided it was best to just enjoy sonic without having to eat a certain amount. afterwards i chilled at andy's and watched the opening ceremonies before heading home.
saturday i hit up oakbrook with natalie and andy after lunch at Claimjumper. I had a chicken and brie sandwich, which was quite good. it was nice to have gloria jean's again (the only place to get a mochanut cooler after caribou discontinued it), too. i headed back to andy's where we watched the ashley tisdale movie 'picture this' which much to my surprise had two actresses from degrassi as part of the supporting cast. it was...entertaining.
that night was mexitalasian night, meaning we combined the wonders of mexico, italy, and asia with respect to food and beverage, and only the HIGHEST quality foods were consumed. we got pizza from nino's; crab rangoon, fried rice, and egg rolls from south china sea whatever, and then a bunch of stuff from taco bell. meanwhile we were drinking a mexitalasian cocktail, composed of tequila, limoncello, midori, and sour mix topped with club soda. it was actually really good. we saw andy drunk for the first time ever, which was entertaining. though he was somewhat annoying, i was just happy to see him drinking heavily. after hookah-ing outside a bit, we called it a night.
sunday was my grad party. i had a nice buzz going the whole time thanks to the margarita and pina colada machines we rented. i also had a beer now and then to counteract the acid from the other drinks that was eating away at my throat. christina came, which was great, though weird as expected considering i only know her in the BC context. it'll be great to be able to see her whenever i come home. nato and theresa flaked, but i had a great time with kasia, ben, andy, and everyone else. i ended up making waaaaaay more money than i expected, so now I can comfortably live for the rest of the month and was able to put a few hundred into savings for quebec city and other trips in the fall. per andy's request i need to spend his amex gift card on a splurge clothing item. now i just have to lose the 30 lbs i gained this weekend before i can fit into any reasonable article of clothing. good thing i have money to finally get my bsc membership! i'm just gonna wait til their next promotion.
as for the rest of today, in an hour i have reservations at Eastern Standard for lunch with Chris. since it's restaurant week i pay $20 for a 3-course meal! i suppose i'll have to order a cocktail - the September issue of Details actually talks about ES's 'Jack Rose' in their unusual cocktails article. I suppose i'll have to try it! then who knows. perhaps i'll treat myself to a worldly good of some sort.
i am mad the department for shafting my favorite professor and the Bulgarian program here. intro to bulgarian was cut, as was 'society and national identity in the balkans' in the spring. wtf. everyone wants to learn stupid russian, chinese, and arabic. naturally the languages that interest me, namely Bulgarian and Catalan, are taught almost nowhere in the U.S. even portuguese, one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, was cut after I took it for one semester here.
anyway, most of my time at home was spent sitting on my ass doing nothing, which was exactly as i had planned. thursday i spend the day at home with the fam before going to dinner with my aunt and uncle (plus my family) to catch up. later that night kasia, ben, and andy came over to hang out, but i only lasted so long seeing as i had been awake close to 24 hours on account of my ridiculously early flight and the time change.
friday was the big trip to the new sonic that opened up in South Bend, IN, a mere two hours drive from the Chicago 'burbs. Considering we usually drive up to 4 and a half hours to get to a Sonic, this was a welcome addition to the Sonic family. there were a few new things on the menu, like 3 different cheeses to slather one's tots in, angus beef burgers, a fried ice cream shake, and a chili frito pie. naturally we tried all of them. technically we should have ordered 10 times each to keep up with tradition (this would have been our 10th cycle), but since last time we were miserable and almost vomiting, we decided it was best to just enjoy sonic without having to eat a certain amount. afterwards i chilled at andy's and watched the opening ceremonies before heading home.
saturday i hit up oakbrook with natalie and andy after lunch at Claimjumper. I had a chicken and brie sandwich, which was quite good. it was nice to have gloria jean's again (the only place to get a mochanut cooler after caribou discontinued it), too. i headed back to andy's where we watched the ashley tisdale movie 'picture this' which much to my surprise had two actresses from degrassi as part of the supporting cast. it was...entertaining.
that night was mexitalasian night, meaning we combined the wonders of mexico, italy, and asia with respect to food and beverage, and only the HIGHEST quality foods were consumed. we got pizza from nino's; crab rangoon, fried rice, and egg rolls from south china sea whatever, and then a bunch of stuff from taco bell. meanwhile we were drinking a mexitalasian cocktail, composed of tequila, limoncello, midori, and sour mix topped with club soda. it was actually really good. we saw andy drunk for the first time ever, which was entertaining. though he was somewhat annoying, i was just happy to see him drinking heavily. after hookah-ing outside a bit, we called it a night.
sunday was my grad party. i had a nice buzz going the whole time thanks to the margarita and pina colada machines we rented. i also had a beer now and then to counteract the acid from the other drinks that was eating away at my throat. christina came, which was great, though weird as expected considering i only know her in the BC context. it'll be great to be able to see her whenever i come home. nato and theresa flaked, but i had a great time with kasia, ben, andy, and everyone else. i ended up making waaaaaay more money than i expected, so now I can comfortably live for the rest of the month and was able to put a few hundred into savings for quebec city and other trips in the fall. per andy's request i need to spend his amex gift card on a splurge clothing item. now i just have to lose the 30 lbs i gained this weekend before i can fit into any reasonable article of clothing. good thing i have money to finally get my bsc membership! i'm just gonna wait til their next promotion.
as for the rest of today, in an hour i have reservations at Eastern Standard for lunch with Chris. since it's restaurant week i pay $20 for a 3-course meal! i suppose i'll have to order a cocktail - the September issue of Details actually talks about ES's 'Jack Rose' in their unusual cocktails article. I suppose i'll have to try it! then who knows. perhaps i'll treat myself to a worldly good of some sort.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
един ден повече!
well thus far my morning has been rather abrasive. i awoke at 7:30, anticipating a leisurely morning before biking to work when I realized it was supposed to rain all day. I vacillated between just walking to work (30-40 minutes), but since it was just drizzling I decided to just bike. of course after about 1 minute on the bike it steadily started to rain harder and harder, and my hoodie was already almost soaked through. i almost turned back and didn't go to work, but i suffered through and here i am. luckily on account of the hoodie my t-shirt is dry. the same can't be said for my sandals, head, and front of my pants, however.
now i just fucked up getting information for some kid in australia that called the department. apparently i didn't take down his email right, because i'm getting an error message. bleeehhhhhh.
meanwhile Professor Thomas is making me feel more and more confident about my Fulbright proposal. she really wants me to push the fact that I have invested time into Catalan, and that my knowledge of the language sociolinguistically and otherwise really should set me apart from other applicants. ara només cal de llegir més i més!
in other news, my replacement hookah base should arrive today - at least according to UPS tracking. i look forward to going home and sitting with my hookah while watching the rain fall outside my window. then once mel gets back its off to Joshua Tree (again) for beer and half-priced burgers! i'm still undecided between the stuffed bacon and bleu and the smokehouse stuffed with bacon and cheddar. decisions decisions. hopefully it stops raining when it is time for me to depart from the department.
tomorrow morning is my 7:50am flight home! yay!
now i just fucked up getting information for some kid in australia that called the department. apparently i didn't take down his email right, because i'm getting an error message. bleeehhhhhh.
meanwhile Professor Thomas is making me feel more and more confident about my Fulbright proposal. she really wants me to push the fact that I have invested time into Catalan, and that my knowledge of the language sociolinguistically and otherwise really should set me apart from other applicants. ara només cal de llegir més i més!
in other news, my replacement hookah base should arrive today - at least according to UPS tracking. i look forward to going home and sitting with my hookah while watching the rain fall outside my window. then once mel gets back its off to Joshua Tree (again) for beer and half-priced burgers! i'm still undecided between the stuffed bacon and bleu and the smokehouse stuffed with bacon and cheddar. decisions decisions. hopefully it stops raining when it is time for me to depart from the department.
tomorrow morning is my 7:50am flight home! yay!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
2 more days...
well i must say i actually had a fun weekend, which was a nice change from the usual humdrum saturday and sunday, even though I still had to work...
Saturday I got stuck at Moogy's for an extra 45 minutes because naturally on the first day I decided to bike to work there was a torrential downpour. Since im a new-again biker, I dared not risk my life on Comm Ave. I would have either wiped out all by myself or been struck my some Masshole. Anywho, I made the best of it and read tabloids with Linda while enjoying a Stella. Since I had made almost $30 in tips that morning (and I typically get about $10 during the summer on a weekend morning), I was pleased to be able to afford a beer. It also instilled in me the desire to go out that evening.
Once Mel got back we decided that it was about time we had eaten at Joshua Tree again. After she had some wine and me some more beer chez nous, we headed next door. We got a pitcher of Coor's and split Spinach & Artichoke Dip and Buffalo Chicken Potato Skins. Since we had a free appetizer coupon, the entire bill came to $18. Amazing. A while later we headed to her friend Emily's house to pregame Whitehorse for a birthday celebration for one of Mel's friends. Jillian and Jonathan eventually joined us there, and it was very fun. I have, however, decided that Miller Chill just really isn't for me.
We were real classy with our Miller High Lifes at White Horse, but amidst good company it was a very pleasant. Mel unfortunately made friends with a sketchy dude and played pool with him the whole night, which eventually resulted in him wanting her to come home with her. Thankfully we convinced her otherwise. She received a presumably drunk text at 2am last night from him in which he told her he wanted to turn her inside out, asking her to call if she wanted a "real man".
Strike two for heterosexuals in bars.
Sunday was Moogy's again, and again I made surprisingly good tips. Christopher picked me up afterwards since he decided to come up for a couple days before his real move-in next Sunday. We decided to make French Onion soup for dinner, so we did that and split a bottle of wine and then a bottle of port before calling it a night. The soup was ok - I really need to ask my Dad for his recipe. Also, he didn't have the right rammekin-esque bowls to melt the gruyere over properly.
Monday I worked, followed by lunch at Aneka Rasa (Malaysian) with Christopher and Bryan. Their $6.95 lunch special was quite a bargain and quite delicious. I will definitely be going there again at some point - perhaps when Kasia and Ben are here and we want some cheap eats. We later got coffee and went to Pier One to look at some things. The rest of the evening was basically just spent lounging around. I watched an awesome Lifetime Original Movie about psychopath manipulative high school cheerleaders, much to Bobo's dismay.
As for today, Christopher left circa 6am, so after he drove me back to 1340 I just stayed up, did laundry, had tea, and enjoyed the morning. I think I shall start doing that more often, that is, waking up with ample time to spare before having to leave for work.
That gets me thinking about the fall, and of my predicament with Moogy's. I have received all of my loan information, and they are giving me more than enough, including work-study status. That being said, I have the possibility of a work-study job PLUS my assistantship in my department. If that ends up being the case, I really can't foresee myself doing Moogy's anymore. Certainly not both weekend days. For as much as the extra money would be great, I'd rather deal with the loans and have some semblance of a weekend.
Thursday I leave for home, and since I have zero commitments aside from eating, drinking, hookah-ing, and relaxing with friends and family, I am fucking excited. It will be just what I need before a whirlwind rest of August and then starting school in the fall.
Saturday I got stuck at Moogy's for an extra 45 minutes because naturally on the first day I decided to bike to work there was a torrential downpour. Since im a new-again biker, I dared not risk my life on Comm Ave. I would have either wiped out all by myself or been struck my some Masshole. Anywho, I made the best of it and read tabloids with Linda while enjoying a Stella. Since I had made almost $30 in tips that morning (and I typically get about $10 during the summer on a weekend morning), I was pleased to be able to afford a beer. It also instilled in me the desire to go out that evening.
Once Mel got back we decided that it was about time we had eaten at Joshua Tree again. After she had some wine and me some more beer chez nous, we headed next door. We got a pitcher of Coor's and split Spinach & Artichoke Dip and Buffalo Chicken Potato Skins. Since we had a free appetizer coupon, the entire bill came to $18. Amazing. A while later we headed to her friend Emily's house to pregame Whitehorse for a birthday celebration for one of Mel's friends. Jillian and Jonathan eventually joined us there, and it was very fun. I have, however, decided that Miller Chill just really isn't for me.
We were real classy with our Miller High Lifes at White Horse, but amidst good company it was a very pleasant. Mel unfortunately made friends with a sketchy dude and played pool with him the whole night, which eventually resulted in him wanting her to come home with her. Thankfully we convinced her otherwise. She received a presumably drunk text at 2am last night from him in which he told her he wanted to turn her inside out, asking her to call if she wanted a "real man".
Strike two for heterosexuals in bars.
Sunday was Moogy's again, and again I made surprisingly good tips. Christopher picked me up afterwards since he decided to come up for a couple days before his real move-in next Sunday. We decided to make French Onion soup for dinner, so we did that and split a bottle of wine and then a bottle of port before calling it a night. The soup was ok - I really need to ask my Dad for his recipe. Also, he didn't have the right rammekin-esque bowls to melt the gruyere over properly.
Monday I worked, followed by lunch at Aneka Rasa (Malaysian) with Christopher and Bryan. Their $6.95 lunch special was quite a bargain and quite delicious. I will definitely be going there again at some point - perhaps when Kasia and Ben are here and we want some cheap eats. We later got coffee and went to Pier One to look at some things. The rest of the evening was basically just spent lounging around. I watched an awesome Lifetime Original Movie about psychopath manipulative high school cheerleaders, much to Bobo's dismay.
As for today, Christopher left circa 6am, so after he drove me back to 1340 I just stayed up, did laundry, had tea, and enjoyed the morning. I think I shall start doing that more often, that is, waking up with ample time to spare before having to leave for work.
That gets me thinking about the fall, and of my predicament with Moogy's. I have received all of my loan information, and they are giving me more than enough, including work-study status. That being said, I have the possibility of a work-study job PLUS my assistantship in my department. If that ends up being the case, I really can't foresee myself doing Moogy's anymore. Certainly not both weekend days. For as much as the extra money would be great, I'd rather deal with the loans and have some semblance of a weekend.
Thursday I leave for home, and since I have zero commitments aside from eating, drinking, hookah-ing, and relaxing with friends and family, I am fucking excited. It will be just what I need before a whirlwind rest of August and then starting school in the fall.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Divendres
I must say I am quite pleased with the success of our food blog, Les Gourmands du South End. In but a couple of weeks we have risen to the #11 position, and, after Adam and I both posted today, we will hopefully make the top 10. If anyone reading this blog hasn't checked it out already, there is a link to the right of this post.
Despite it being my day off I woke up at 8:30 and decided to start the morning. After breaking the fast and updating Les Gourmands, I decided to bike to Peet's to work on Fulbright stuff as well as a final Latin extra-credit assignment. I really enjoy how bright the Coolidge Corner Peet's is during the day, as well as the great people watching on Harvard Street. I finished the second draft of my Project Proposal, and made good progress on the Latin. I soon found myself having to urinate quite badly, and rather than leave my laptop, etc. unattended I thought it best to just head back home.
There was some unpleasantness as I attempted to take the elevator to my floor after locking my bike up in the basement. I was basically yelled at by some man on the elevator moving his shit - apparently it was my fault not having used my x-ray vision to see that although he was on the 5th floor in the elevator, he had not yet pressed the button. Therefore he had to go ALL THE WAY TO THE BASEMENT instead of to the main floor one above it. Fuck you. I'm sorry you have to work as a mover. I went around to the front and took the stairs.
the rest of my day involved being domestic - things like washing dishes, organizing/cleaning the refrigerator, running to CVS, swiffering the kichen. lauren is coming over for dinner tonight, so mel and i will be heading to trader joe's shortly to restock on some things. i'm thinking its going to be a lowkey evening since I dont' really have money to spend.
it's times like i wish i had a small mammal, namely a sugar glider or fennec fox. the next time I am settled somewhere, i.e. not having the possibility of spending a year abroad in the somewhat near future, i am getting one. look how fucking cute they are.
Despite it being my day off I woke up at 8:30 and decided to start the morning. After breaking the fast and updating Les Gourmands, I decided to bike to Peet's to work on Fulbright stuff as well as a final Latin extra-credit assignment. I really enjoy how bright the Coolidge Corner Peet's is during the day, as well as the great people watching on Harvard Street. I finished the second draft of my Project Proposal, and made good progress on the Latin. I soon found myself having to urinate quite badly, and rather than leave my laptop, etc. unattended I thought it best to just head back home.
There was some unpleasantness as I attempted to take the elevator to my floor after locking my bike up in the basement. I was basically yelled at by some man on the elevator moving his shit - apparently it was my fault not having used my x-ray vision to see that although he was on the 5th floor in the elevator, he had not yet pressed the button. Therefore he had to go ALL THE WAY TO THE BASEMENT instead of to the main floor one above it. Fuck you. I'm sorry you have to work as a mover. I went around to the front and took the stairs.
the rest of my day involved being domestic - things like washing dishes, organizing/cleaning the refrigerator, running to CVS, swiffering the kichen. lauren is coming over for dinner tonight, so mel and i will be heading to trader joe's shortly to restock on some things. i'm thinking its going to be a lowkey evening since I dont' really have money to spend.
it's times like i wish i had a small mammal, namely a sugar glider or fennec fox. the next time I am settled somewhere, i.e. not having the possibility of spending a year abroad in the somewhat near future, i am getting one. look how fucking cute they are.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
hump day
hurray for hump day! time for a weekly recap...
sunday night i was invited to dine chez fleming-marino, where the menu included feta-stuffed peppers, a roasted chicken, prosciutto-wrapped melon (btw spellcheck is convinced i mean PROSTITUTE-wrapped melon, but that's fine...), garlic peas, smoked mozzarella and tomato, roasted potatoes, and great hill bleu cheese among other things. it was very nice of them and a great way to start the week after such a dismal weekend.
monday was work followed by a workout at CSC. latin that night was fine, and it was decided that our last class, tomorrow, will be held at the Publick House where we hope flowing beverage aids us in our translation. i'm excited! hopefully Classics gives the class some money to help pay for it.
that night i was convinced to meet Jeff and Alex at Club Cafe for some drinks. they had already been to fajitas and 'ritas, so i had some catching up to do. we ended up going back to my place for some runway action ( i have some scandalous photos), and then my night got fuzzy. i recall jeff flashing us, us walking him to the atm to get cash for a cab, eating pizza crusts, and then i woke up in my bed the next morning. fun!
tuesday was spent with quite the resaca, and i was a tad late for work. after working on the department brochure all day, i biked to coolidge corner and met kyle at starbucks for some coffee. the entire time there was a man sitting in the corner angled toward us and on-and-off staring at us. gross.
then last night i took the T to kenmore and walked over to the Fenway theatres to meet up with Bryan, Peter, Adam, and Bob since we were seeing Batman. as luck would have it my sandle broke on the way, so i had to go to the pharmacy and buy $1.29 sandals made for like asian circus performers - they were definitely too small but i made do. we had dinner at el pelon - i had a carnitas burrito - and then headed back to the theatre.
i thought the movie was very well done, and for as long as it was i would definitely say it held my interest the entire time. i just wish the seats at regal were more comfortable.
as for the rest of the week...
i don't have plans for the rest of today, really. hopefully i'll make those coca de vidre anise and pine nut pastries at some point, then just finish up the rest of my latin for tomorrow. thursday is work and class, then friday i'll venture to haymarket and then force myself to finish up my second draft of the fulbright proposal and personal statement.
i also hope my replacement hookah base comes in. since the blue/silver version was out, i opted for the green/silver.
sunday night i was invited to dine chez fleming-marino, where the menu included feta-stuffed peppers, a roasted chicken, prosciutto-wrapped melon (btw spellcheck is convinced i mean PROSTITUTE-wrapped melon, but that's fine...), garlic peas, smoked mozzarella and tomato, roasted potatoes, and great hill bleu cheese among other things. it was very nice of them and a great way to start the week after such a dismal weekend.
monday was work followed by a workout at CSC. latin that night was fine, and it was decided that our last class, tomorrow, will be held at the Publick House where we hope flowing beverage aids us in our translation. i'm excited! hopefully Classics gives the class some money to help pay for it.
that night i was convinced to meet Jeff and Alex at Club Cafe for some drinks. they had already been to fajitas and 'ritas, so i had some catching up to do. we ended up going back to my place for some runway action ( i have some scandalous photos), and then my night got fuzzy. i recall jeff flashing us, us walking him to the atm to get cash for a cab, eating pizza crusts, and then i woke up in my bed the next morning. fun!
tuesday was spent with quite the resaca, and i was a tad late for work. after working on the department brochure all day, i biked to coolidge corner and met kyle at starbucks for some coffee. the entire time there was a man sitting in the corner angled toward us and on-and-off staring at us. gross.
then last night i took the T to kenmore and walked over to the Fenway theatres to meet up with Bryan, Peter, Adam, and Bob since we were seeing Batman. as luck would have it my sandle broke on the way, so i had to go to the pharmacy and buy $1.29 sandals made for like asian circus performers - they were definitely too small but i made do. we had dinner at el pelon - i had a carnitas burrito - and then headed back to the theatre.
i thought the movie was very well done, and for as long as it was i would definitely say it held my interest the entire time. i just wish the seats at regal were more comfortable.
as for the rest of the week...
i don't have plans for the rest of today, really. hopefully i'll make those coca de vidre anise and pine nut pastries at some point, then just finish up the rest of my latin for tomorrow. thursday is work and class, then friday i'll venture to haymarket and then force myself to finish up my second draft of the fulbright proposal and personal statement.
i also hope my replacement hookah base comes in. since the blue/silver version was out, i opted for the green/silver.
Friday, July 25, 2008
asi pasa una otra noche en Boston, y aquí estoy yo sin nada que hacer...ha sido una semana bastante larga y me ha costado mucho emocionalmente. intento enfocarme en otras cosas, pero hasta que venga el once de agosto todavía me voy a quedar inquieto y deprimido. pero bueno...
wednesday night i was in a mood, and after drinking a half bottle of wine i dropped and shattered my hookah. i then continued with the other half of the bottle until inviting alex over so i didn´t have to drink into oblivion alone. i ended up forgetting to set my alarm and waking up at 945 the next morning, obviously late for work. when i ran to the T, i thought i lost my T pass, and consequently said fuck it and went back home. the rest of that day was a waste, though did go work out at Commonwealth Sports Club, where I have a new 7 day trial. its a really nice gym with both an indoor and outdoor pool, but with a $199 sign-on fee (well, 99 with whatever ¨promotion¨they are having) and then its $79 a month. too expensive for me.
today i was up early at 8, and since robbie stayed here last night we went our for bagels and then to haymarket for my weekly produce shopping. afterwards we went to bc where he was meeting friends, and i sat outside working on my fulbright proposal for a little bit before lunch with the linguists, including claire foley and then suzanne flynn from MIT. it was enjoyable.
nate drove me home, and ive pretty much been doing nothing since then. i have no motivation to go out, and i am working saturday and sunday from 10-4. melanie is in CT for the weekend, so i´m all alone, any rodents that are still around aside...wonderful!
wednesday night i was in a mood, and after drinking a half bottle of wine i dropped and shattered my hookah. i then continued with the other half of the bottle until inviting alex over so i didn´t have to drink into oblivion alone. i ended up forgetting to set my alarm and waking up at 945 the next morning, obviously late for work. when i ran to the T, i thought i lost my T pass, and consequently said fuck it and went back home. the rest of that day was a waste, though did go work out at Commonwealth Sports Club, where I have a new 7 day trial. its a really nice gym with both an indoor and outdoor pool, but with a $199 sign-on fee (well, 99 with whatever ¨promotion¨they are having) and then its $79 a month. too expensive for me.
today i was up early at 8, and since robbie stayed here last night we went our for bagels and then to haymarket for my weekly produce shopping. afterwards we went to bc where he was meeting friends, and i sat outside working on my fulbright proposal for a little bit before lunch with the linguists, including claire foley and then suzanne flynn from MIT. it was enjoyable.
nate drove me home, and ive pretty much been doing nothing since then. i have no motivation to go out, and i am working saturday and sunday from 10-4. melanie is in CT for the weekend, so i´m all alone, any rodents that are still around aside...wonderful!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
за мен, за теб, за любовта
so my lotto luck is on the rise - this morning while waiting for the T i just couldn't resist running into the convenience store to get a couple of Fast 50s. i immediately won my $2 back, so I ran in to get 2 more. i just scratched off the 2 new ones, and sure enough I've won another $2! only problem is that i'm getting embarrassed to go to the store - i feel like the asian girl hates me already and thinks my ID is fake. i can't wait until Constellation Convenience opens up down the street. then I can be a lottery junkie!
meanwhile i've found a new pasatiempo at work - tv shows online. god knows i have nothing better to do, so why not kick back and relax and catch up with the latest season of degrassi? yesterday i watched the spring break "movie" and another episode - i'm thinking at least 3 more today
the weather as of late, though stormy, has been wonderful. the fact that I can actually sleep under a sheet and not wake up sweating is glorious. i haven't even been turning my fan on!
yesterday was actually an ok day. after work i lounged around before deciding i would bike to Trader Joe's. I needed some stuff to make stuffed peppers, and then also some pine nuts to make these catalan sweet flatbread things. i also needed a little bit of anise-flavored liqueur, so when i came back i stopped next door at the liquor store. NO LUCK. wtf. all they had were bigass Sambuca, etc., and all i wanted was a nip.
anywho, i made the stuffed peppers and then came out pretty well, though i think the stuffing could have used some salt. i went to cvs and bought a pint of butter pecan ice cream and ate the entire thing while watching 'Carne Tremula', a 1997 film by Almodovar which i own but had never watched. it was a great film, though it surprisingly did not involve any trannies, as is typical of Almodovar. the closest thing was penelope cruz at the very beginning playing a pregnant prostitute.
once that was done i was ready for bed - and it was only 10 pm. i assumed mel hadn't been raped and murdered (since she still wasn't home from class) and called it a night.
after work i'll probably try out Commonwealth Sports Club since I got a 7-day free trial. i can't afford BSC or this club (if i like it) until August 1st, and my BSC trial is over, so now I'll have a week of CSC. robbie flies in from Munich today and is staying with us for a bit, so that will at least keep me somewhat entertained provided he's around. now its time for tv!
meanwhile i've found a new pasatiempo at work - tv shows online. god knows i have nothing better to do, so why not kick back and relax and catch up with the latest season of degrassi? yesterday i watched the spring break "movie" and another episode - i'm thinking at least 3 more today
the weather as of late, though stormy, has been wonderful. the fact that I can actually sleep under a sheet and not wake up sweating is glorious. i haven't even been turning my fan on!
yesterday was actually an ok day. after work i lounged around before deciding i would bike to Trader Joe's. I needed some stuff to make stuffed peppers, and then also some pine nuts to make these catalan sweet flatbread things. i also needed a little bit of anise-flavored liqueur, so when i came back i stopped next door at the liquor store. NO LUCK. wtf. all they had were bigass Sambuca, etc., and all i wanted was a nip.
anywho, i made the stuffed peppers and then came out pretty well, though i think the stuffing could have used some salt. i went to cvs and bought a pint of butter pecan ice cream and ate the entire thing while watching 'Carne Tremula', a 1997 film by Almodovar which i own but had never watched. it was a great film, though it surprisingly did not involve any trannies, as is typical of Almodovar. the closest thing was penelope cruz at the very beginning playing a pregnant prostitute.
once that was done i was ready for bed - and it was only 10 pm. i assumed mel hadn't been raped and murdered (since she still wasn't home from class) and called it a night.
after work i'll probably try out Commonwealth Sports Club since I got a 7-day free trial. i can't afford BSC or this club (if i like it) until August 1st, and my BSC trial is over, so now I'll have a week of CSC. robbie flies in from Munich today and is staying with us for a bit, so that will at least keep me somewhat entertained provided he's around. now its time for tv!
Monday, July 21, 2008
boring update
i don't know why i got excited to buy a couple of 'Fast $50' $1 lottery tickets. it's not like i have any luck (3750 aside). consequently i will now sit here and cram blue cheese/hot wings flavored doritos down my throat instead of going to the gym. and i wonder why i hate my body...
my weekend was pretty blah besides friday night. a bunch of bc people all went to roggie's to celebrate mary's 22nd birthday, since she never got to celebrate her 21st BC-style. i had a lot of fun with my end of the table playing 'median', a card game invented by Jillian. i had to walk home on account of the T and its stupid hours, but it was good considering all the cheap bear i poured down my throat.
saturday and sunday were both spent at moogy's 10-4. i really do borderline enjoy working there, but I'd much rather spend my weekends elsewhere. i'm still waiting for the imaginary assistantship that pays the rest of my tuition and allows me to have fun...
i haven't been this excited to go home in quite some time. oh the comforts of home - magical things like air conditioning! a stocked refrigerator! no noisy T from 5am past midnight! i had better make bank at my graduation party even though all the big spenders already gave me their checks. i figure at least $25 checks from family friends, so hopefully those will ad up.
i just talked with lou about going to Buffalo for Labor day weekend - they have a Wings festival, which could be deadly and delicious...we'll see how these plans unfold..
my weekend was pretty blah besides friday night. a bunch of bc people all went to roggie's to celebrate mary's 22nd birthday, since she never got to celebrate her 21st BC-style. i had a lot of fun with my end of the table playing 'median', a card game invented by Jillian. i had to walk home on account of the T and its stupid hours, but it was good considering all the cheap bear i poured down my throat.
saturday and sunday were both spent at moogy's 10-4. i really do borderline enjoy working there, but I'd much rather spend my weekends elsewhere. i'm still waiting for the imaginary assistantship that pays the rest of my tuition and allows me to have fun...
i haven't been this excited to go home in quite some time. oh the comforts of home - magical things like air conditioning! a stocked refrigerator! no noisy T from 5am past midnight! i had better make bank at my graduation party even though all the big spenders already gave me their checks. i figure at least $25 checks from family friends, so hopefully those will ad up.
i just talked with lou about going to Buffalo for Labor day weekend - they have a Wings festival, which could be deadly and delicious...we'll see how these plans unfold..
Friday, July 18, 2008
només volia anar a la feina...
i had previously anticipated working at moogy's this morning and picking up Hilary's shift, but apparently my abilities are lacking and i was hindered from doing so by my boss. i only wanted to work because i needed the money, not because i actually wanted to. thankfully i got a fat graduation check in the mail yesterday, so i should be all set for the rest of the month. i'm going to have to stop there later today to get quarters to do laundry (i got new sheets!) and to pick up my check.
so past few days...well wednesday i met bryan in chinatown at 5:30 since we decided to have a little dinner excursion. our main goal was to get bánh mì, these vietnamese sandwiches, and after walking around a bit we finally settled on a place. we split two different kinds - one was with shredded pork skin, fish sauce, and some other mysterious meats, and the other with pork and cilantro and some other stuff. i very much enjoyed both of them. we then had bubble tea as well as some pork pastries from a bakery. mmm. afterwards we headed back to bryan's where, on account of my painful contacts, I had to go blind for the rest of the night and put them in some water. we drank gin, watched margaret cho, and after 8 alex came over to continue with thedebauchery. peter came home later, wanting to kill all of us for our filthy ways, and since bryan insisted upon it, alex and i crashed on the blow-up bed.
the next morning was a bit of a struggle, but my everything bagel with lox and cream cheese from bagel rising on the way home provided me with some salvation. some advil and coffee later and i was ready to go to work. twas boring as usual, though bryan, MT, and I chatted a bit about Vietnamese and other things which was fun.
i had my exam on 40 chapters of Wheelock's Latin last night, plus my make-up quiz on chapter 40. whatever. i did mediocre on both of them, but i don't really care. i am angry to find out that one of the kids in our class was just 'sitting in' the whole time and wasnt' taking the final. here i am paying $1000-some for a 1 credit class that doesn't count for anything when apparently i could have just showed up. fuck me.
i came home and had some wine and smoked the hookah while listening to catalan radio and studying a bit before passing out sometime after 11. i intend to be somewhat productive today and get my check, do laundry, work out, and do some fulbright, latin, and catalan stuff before roggie's for mary's bday later tonight. can't say im thrilled about roggie's, but i suppose a Budzilla or 3 never hurt anyone. i'll pretend i'm still a senior.
so past few days...well wednesday i met bryan in chinatown at 5:30 since we decided to have a little dinner excursion. our main goal was to get bánh mì, these vietnamese sandwiches, and after walking around a bit we finally settled on a place. we split two different kinds - one was with shredded pork skin, fish sauce, and some other mysterious meats, and the other with pork and cilantro and some other stuff. i very much enjoyed both of them. we then had bubble tea as well as some pork pastries from a bakery. mmm. afterwards we headed back to bryan's where, on account of my painful contacts, I had to go blind for the rest of the night and put them in some water. we drank gin, watched margaret cho, and after 8 alex came over to continue with thedebauchery. peter came home later, wanting to kill all of us for our filthy ways, and since bryan insisted upon it, alex and i crashed on the blow-up bed.
the next morning was a bit of a struggle, but my everything bagel with lox and cream cheese from bagel rising on the way home provided me with some salvation. some advil and coffee later and i was ready to go to work. twas boring as usual, though bryan, MT, and I chatted a bit about Vietnamese and other things which was fun.
i had my exam on 40 chapters of Wheelock's Latin last night, plus my make-up quiz on chapter 40. whatever. i did mediocre on both of them, but i don't really care. i am angry to find out that one of the kids in our class was just 'sitting in' the whole time and wasnt' taking the final. here i am paying $1000-some for a 1 credit class that doesn't count for anything when apparently i could have just showed up. fuck me.
i came home and had some wine and smoked the hookah while listening to catalan radio and studying a bit before passing out sometime after 11. i intend to be somewhat productive today and get my check, do laundry, work out, and do some fulbright, latin, and catalan stuff before roggie's for mary's bday later tonight. can't say im thrilled about roggie's, but i suppose a Budzilla or 3 never hurt anyone. i'll pretend i'm still a senior.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
تكيف
i find myself in quite a pleasant mood at the moment. i'm playing Arabian princess - that means i'm sprawled out on my bed in my underwear smoking my hookah and listening to my 'Arabic Groove' album. this is all thanks to ben, who sent me new tobacco and new coals that work amazingly - i was getting so frustrated with the coal i have considering it wouldn't stay lit. with these i had thick, flavorful smoke in about 30 seconds. huzzah!
now this is after i biked home from campus. that's right, biked. i bought a bike from Jojo (LAG director) for $80 - a diamondback mountain bike with new city tires, a lock, and also an extra set of mountain tires. now since probably the year 2000 i have mounted a bicycle only once, while with my Polish boyfriend Jarek during the summer of '06. we went to the forest and lake region, Mazury, and we stayed at this lodge where he insisted we rent bikes to ride around. i recall being a huge spaz. nonetheless i managed to survive getting home today - it only took about 15 minutes. it was quite hilly, so i am definitely going to be sore tomorrow, but that's fine.
work was pretty lame as usual today, though i went and had coffee with bryan beforehand. i wish i could work in his office - everyone there is fun. i had to do some fulbright stuff for MT, which inspired me to work on the 2nd draft of my Fulbright proposal a bit. i think i made some good progress.
now this is after i biked home from campus. that's right, biked. i bought a bike from Jojo (LAG director) for $80 - a diamondback mountain bike with new city tires, a lock, and also an extra set of mountain tires. now since probably the year 2000 i have mounted a bicycle only once, while with my Polish boyfriend Jarek during the summer of '06. we went to the forest and lake region, Mazury, and we stayed at this lodge where he insisted we rent bikes to ride around. i recall being a huge spaz. nonetheless i managed to survive getting home today - it only took about 15 minutes. it was quite hilly, so i am definitely going to be sore tomorrow, but that's fine.
work was pretty lame as usual today, though i went and had coffee with bryan beforehand. i wish i could work in his office - everyone there is fun. i had to do some fulbright stuff for MT, which inspired me to work on the 2nd draft of my Fulbright proposal a bit. i think i made some good progress.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
weekend review
well i'm recovered from a wonderful weekend with christopher and couldn't have any less motivation for work and class as a result.
he came in late on friday, and I really have no recollection of us doing anything overly fun. saturday after I got off work we got ready to head to Aquitaine for a nice dinner to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. I took quite a long time to decide on a pre-dinner cocktail, basically because I didn't want to seem like a little bitch with a cosmo, regardless of how delicious Aquitaine's version of it seemed. neither or us could remember what was in a sidecar, so I opted for that, and sure enough there came my sugar-rimmed drink in a little cocktail glass. so much for that!
after eating their delicious little cheese puff bread things, I moved onto the chicken liver mousse terrine with cornichons, whole grain mustard & warm levain. it was delicious, though for some reason my palate just wasn't going for its saltiness that night. oh well. for dinner i had the roasted lamb provençal, something i did not see on the online menu. it came with artichoke hearts and some other vegetables that I don't recall - it was delicious. bobo started with a French Manhattan, had the salade du marché, and then the steak au poivre. we both had wine with dinner, but we ended up being too full for dessert.
we then met up with bryan and proceeded to drink sherry and wine before we finally figured out what christopher's friends were up to, and as a result headed back to his place. we managed to get in a fight on the way home, as is often custom when we leave bryan's, but after drinking more at dwight we were just fine. seeing people like kaitlyn, pam, and mark there was a pleasant surprise.
sunday i worked, and in the afternoon went to a bastille day festival in harvard. it ended up being lame, complete with very unfrench brazilian dancers, but walking around harvard square is always nice. bryan, peter, kristen, and john accompanied us. that evening i ended up being tired as shit and passed out by 11.
we spent monday morning in beacon hill (i ditched work and class) and sat at a cafe for a bit. after grabbing pizza at upper crust, we went to eat it in the public garden. some shopping ensued - i got nice pants from zara - and then we headed back. stopping at trader joe's, we picked up stuff for dinner, then made dinner for kristen and gopi back at dwight. later we drank a bit and made s'mores before heading back here to sleep.
today i worked at BC, but Chris picked me up for lunch at Fin's. i really do love their lunch specials - such a good deal! i got the Unagi Bento and he the maki lunch. then it was a quick stop at pier 1 and then back to his place to pack before he went back to CT. i ended up working out, buying a bike helmet, and stopping at shaw's. that's about the extent of my day/weekend!
he came in late on friday, and I really have no recollection of us doing anything overly fun. saturday after I got off work we got ready to head to Aquitaine for a nice dinner to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. I took quite a long time to decide on a pre-dinner cocktail, basically because I didn't want to seem like a little bitch with a cosmo, regardless of how delicious Aquitaine's version of it seemed. neither or us could remember what was in a sidecar, so I opted for that, and sure enough there came my sugar-rimmed drink in a little cocktail glass. so much for that!
after eating their delicious little cheese puff bread things, I moved onto the chicken liver mousse terrine with cornichons, whole grain mustard & warm levain. it was delicious, though for some reason my palate just wasn't going for its saltiness that night. oh well. for dinner i had the roasted lamb provençal, something i did not see on the online menu. it came with artichoke hearts and some other vegetables that I don't recall - it was delicious. bobo started with a French Manhattan, had the salade du marché, and then the steak au poivre. we both had wine with dinner, but we ended up being too full for dessert.
we then met up with bryan and proceeded to drink sherry and wine before we finally figured out what christopher's friends were up to, and as a result headed back to his place. we managed to get in a fight on the way home, as is often custom when we leave bryan's, but after drinking more at dwight we were just fine. seeing people like kaitlyn, pam, and mark there was a pleasant surprise.
sunday i worked, and in the afternoon went to a bastille day festival in harvard. it ended up being lame, complete with very unfrench brazilian dancers, but walking around harvard square is always nice. bryan, peter, kristen, and john accompanied us. that evening i ended up being tired as shit and passed out by 11.
we spent monday morning in beacon hill (i ditched work and class) and sat at a cafe for a bit. after grabbing pizza at upper crust, we went to eat it in the public garden. some shopping ensued - i got nice pants from zara - and then we headed back. stopping at trader joe's, we picked up stuff for dinner, then made dinner for kristen and gopi back at dwight. later we drank a bit and made s'mores before heading back here to sleep.
today i worked at BC, but Chris picked me up for lunch at Fin's. i really do love their lunch specials - such a good deal! i got the Unagi Bento and he the maki lunch. then it was a quick stop at pier 1 and then back to his place to pack before he went back to CT. i ended up working out, buying a bike helmet, and stopping at shaw's. that's about the extent of my day/weekend!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
още само четвъртек
well thank Satan it's Thursday, I've had about enough of this week. i had anticipated doing my homework for class tonight, but of course i was stupid and forgot it at home, so work is particularly tedious today. the highlight of my morning has been campus mail from Bryan directed to the "front little desk" of my department.
last night i had my first lesson with Adam chez Adam and Bob. it was an enlightening experience despite my inability to perform one of the musical numbers i had viewed throughout the evening, resulting in my sub-par grade of 80 on my exam. i am also happy to report that a 4:1:1 ration of gin, vermouth, and olive brine, makes quite a good martini.
unfortunately the very end of my evening was spoiled by an unpleasant phone conversation. i think it must have been the moons last night that resulted in lovers' quarrels as such. i am over it, however, and very much excited to see christopher tomorrow.
as for the rest of today, i'll pick up my check, go to the gym, go to class, and then tonight is a rommie reunion with Allie and Sistah Gurl (read: Alex and Jeff). we'll most likely end up at Estate. i certainly hope I'm not escorted out again, lol. hopefully i'll just pass out at jeff's so i don't have to take a cab home by myself.
oh, i've also become a fan of new musician, Jay Brannan. he just recently has become available on Itunes and is a cute gay boy who sings about wanting to be a housewife and other fun things.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
добър ден на всички!
yesterday was an ok day. it was christopher and my 1 year anniversary and i had to spend it alone with his being in CT. he's coming in friday through tuesday, so really i shouldn't complain, but i couldn't help but feel a bit sad not being able to see him. i ended up getting a haircut after work - only the best for me at SuperCuts - and then joined BSC for the 2-week trial membership. i still have to talk to Peter to see whether or not joining for real with his friends & family discount is my best option. then again, looking at my finances again last night, i can't afford it unless i get some more graduation checks in the mail.
BSC is literally around the corner from me, and the air-conditioning alone is enough for me to justify not going to the plex anymore. i'm going to miss looking at the orange/anorexic girls spending 6 hours on the ellipticals, but i must move on with my life. i also like the tvs - i watched a fat, unpopular girl try to become prom queen on MADE while i ran on the treadmill. it was truly inspiring.
today doesn't have much in store for me. i'm discussing the fulbright with MT at noon, then probably BSC after work. then i'll probably sit and waste away in the heat of my apartment. i want to learn how to make a good martini, so i could have fun with some taste tests (and getdrunk alone), but unfortunately finances prevent me from picking up a decent bottle of gin (i.e. not something that comes in a plastic bottle a la the gin we have right now)
oh well...
Monday, July 7, 2008
non volens diem carpere
and so begins another lame-ass week in the Slavic Department...
the 4th of July ended up being very nice. that morning Bryan, Mel, and I met at government center to go to Haymarket, but naturally it was closed due to the holiday. we had though that the farmers would still have come and sold their produce considering they still would have had it and would've wanted to make money, but we were wrong. we instead got breakfast at Starbucks, ate free samples (like pork tenderloin) from the random vendors there for the holiday, and after meeting up with our friend Anthony, Mel and I walked all the way back to the apartment, stopping at Shaw's along the way.
by the time we got home it was perhaps 1, so we had lunch and started drinking. we were soon joined by Christina and her bag 'o booze - i am now a big fan of Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat as a result of this magical bag. we headed over to 1800 for a bbq drinks in tow, and after stuffing our faces (and after I stopped at a party where people were apparently doing acid), we headed back to the apartment.
by this time i had gotten in a mood not even st. john's could help me overcome. i don't know what it is with me drinking and getting upset lately, but i ended up for the rest of the night refusing to pick up my phone when christopher called. dick of me, i know. i felt somewhat better after another couple drinks, and so the three of us (anthony had left to meet his fam) headed to the fireworks.
we met up with peter, bryan, adam, and bob on the mass. ave. bridge, and i ended up being quite satisfied by the Boston fireworks display. i even found myself somewhat emotional when the pops played Nessum Dorma alongside the display. on account of the stampede leaving the bridge and the sardine-can-packed Ts, we walked all the way back, stopping at Joshua Tree to devour spinach and artichoke dip.
the rest of the weekend was tiring and uneventful, mostly on account of my having to work 9-4 and 10-4 saturday and sunday. unfortunately i really do need the money. i went and drank at kristen's saturday night, then last night was spent writing my fulbright proposal and doing some latin.
i suppose i'll try not to fall asleep now...i'm definitely going to fail my latin quiz tonight. oh well.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
senectus
so i suppose this means i'm an old man now. having just gotten home from class, i'm drinking tea, staying in despite my not having work in the morning, and i am looking up recipes for a good nightcap.
it really is becoming more and more apparent that going out with heterosexuals is no fun, despite how fun the people actually might be in an everyday situation. i have friends out on boylston right now, but after the 30 minute T-ride i would only be faced with long lines, hooker-esque figures calling themselves "ladies", and their male counterparts in an assortment of ralph lauren polos and oxford shirts complete with a backwards boston redsox cap. despite the fact that you may be attractive, i'd much rather see you in a porno and not have to actually interact with you.
i'm continued to hate and dread my latin course, but my grades are improving on those wretched quizzes and the "big picture" of latin is becoming clearer and clearer. class tonight dragged on, nonetheless, and i'd much rather have been out drunk somewhere. what i'd really like to do is split a bottle (or three) of wine with christopher and just...well...*sigh*
hopefully this "holiday" weekend is enjoyable enough. breakfast with bryan and mel in the morning, then haymarket for some produce. perhaps real grocery shopping later on. then who knows - probably drinking something red, white, and blue and stuffing hot dogs or burgers down my throat. then fireworks and passing out before work at 9 on saturday. fuck me.
it really is becoming more and more apparent that going out with heterosexuals is no fun, despite how fun the people actually might be in an everyday situation. i have friends out on boylston right now, but after the 30 minute T-ride i would only be faced with long lines, hooker-esque figures calling themselves "ladies", and their male counterparts in an assortment of ralph lauren polos and oxford shirts complete with a backwards boston redsox cap. despite the fact that you may be attractive, i'd much rather see you in a porno and not have to actually interact with you.
i'm continued to hate and dread my latin course, but my grades are improving on those wretched quizzes and the "big picture" of latin is becoming clearer and clearer. class tonight dragged on, nonetheless, and i'd much rather have been out drunk somewhere. what i'd really like to do is split a bottle (or three) of wine with christopher and just...well...*sigh*
hopefully this "holiday" weekend is enjoyable enough. breakfast with bryan and mel in the morning, then haymarket for some produce. perhaps real grocery shopping later on. then who knows - probably drinking something red, white, and blue and stuffing hot dogs or burgers down my throat. then fireworks and passing out before work at 9 on saturday. fuck me.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
главата ми боооооооли
I suppose it has been long enough since I updated, though there isn't much to be discussed.
Apparently I've been mildly depressed as of late, as evidenced by my blackout sob-fests that have occurred over the last two weekends. I'll attribute them to financial woes, the miserable weather (at least in an apartment sans a/c), Christopher's absence, general loneliness, and the ever-present uncertainty of my future endeavors. I got myself overly worked-up yesterday morning over nonsense and found myself wanting to cry on the T on the way home.
Thanks to Bryan, however, I became friends with St. John and his Wort. I marched over to Trader Joe's after getting home and made the $7.99 purchase along with a body detox kit, then went over to Peet's to sit and people watch and work on my Fulbright personal statement. Within 20 minutes of taking the miracle herb, I was feeling quite chipper - whether or not this was of my own doing, or the herb, I don't really care. Moral of the story is that I was feeling much better.
With respect to the Fulbright, I am again pressing forward for the 2009-2010 grant despite previously having decided against it. I sent some e-mails back and forth with MT, and she was incredibly encouraging, saying how what I had written to her was already a personal statement and project proposal in the making. To quote her, "Andorra or bust!" Were I to receive and accept the grant, I would end up splitting my MA down the middle and finishing in 2011 instead of 2010. Seeing as I'm sure I'd come up with something for my thesis while abroad, I think it would help if anything. Yay Andorra.
After Peet's I went home to study some Latin (still the bane of my existence), made some dinner, and then went to meet Jillian at White Mountain for some Mint Patty frozen yogurt. I really need to start leaving the apartment more frequently - I get nothing accomplished there, and regardless of whether or not there are people to hang around with, it's great to get out.
Today is another humdrum day in the department. I have my interview for the Summer OIP assistantship at 2:00pm, so hopefully that goes well. At least it's something I legit am interested in, so hopefully that shines through. Ok I need some caffeine. Tata!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
'tis a wonderful thing to kick back at the end of a long day of work and class with some cheese, crackers, and a cold Blue Moon with an orange wedge. the day wasn't TOO long considering i had a nice lunch of nachos and frozen margaritas with christina, lol, but 4 hours of work and 3 hours of class were just about all i could handle.
the highlight of my day was a rather unexpected e-mail from professor connolly (in charge of the Linguistics graduate program) telling me that the dept. somehow got ahold of some money and would give me a $4,000 stipend plus 9 free credits (half a year's tuition) in the form of some sort of assistantship. this is obviously wonderful news, considering i a) had never asked my department for money and b) i still haven't secured the means by which to pay for my Master's. it, is, however, a bit complicated if i end up getting the assistantship with media and technology services, however unlikely that may be.
the deal is that the MTS assistantship pays 18 credits (a full year's tuition) and gives an $8000 stipend, double what SELL can give me. while i would love to stay in my department and organize the library or work as a research assistant, the fact is that i need to take whatever gives me the most money, obviously the MTS position. so if i do get the media job, i'm going to need to have a chat with connolly and perhaps try to work out a deal where i could reduce my assistantship to 5 hours (the MTS one is 15 hours and you can only have 20 hours of assistantships as a full-time grad student) and get whatever money that translates to in the form of a stipend.
if i only get the SELL one, i still have two interviews with the Office of International Partnerships and programs, though both of those are pay-by-the-hour positions for 10 hours/week. i'll still need a loan, but at least i'll be getting as much money as possible under the circumstances. i now need to make sure that someone can, indeed, hold more than one position regardless of the hours involved...bleh
the highlight of my day was a rather unexpected e-mail from professor connolly (in charge of the Linguistics graduate program) telling me that the dept. somehow got ahold of some money and would give me a $4,000 stipend plus 9 free credits (half a year's tuition) in the form of some sort of assistantship. this is obviously wonderful news, considering i a) had never asked my department for money and b) i still haven't secured the means by which to pay for my Master's. it, is, however, a bit complicated if i end up getting the assistantship with media and technology services, however unlikely that may be.
the deal is that the MTS assistantship pays 18 credits (a full year's tuition) and gives an $8000 stipend, double what SELL can give me. while i would love to stay in my department and organize the library or work as a research assistant, the fact is that i need to take whatever gives me the most money, obviously the MTS position. so if i do get the media job, i'm going to need to have a chat with connolly and perhaps try to work out a deal where i could reduce my assistantship to 5 hours (the MTS one is 15 hours and you can only have 20 hours of assistantships as a full-time grad student) and get whatever money that translates to in the form of a stipend.
if i only get the SELL one, i still have two interviews with the Office of International Partnerships and programs, though both of those are pay-by-the-hour positions for 10 hours/week. i'll still need a loan, but at least i'll be getting as much money as possible under the circumstances. i now need to make sure that someone can, indeed, hold more than one position regardless of the hours involved...bleh
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
well it is too fucking hot to think right now, and has been for 3 days. i don't understand how it can be legit chilly one day and then change to 97 in less than 24 hours. not having air conditioning is really wonderful this summer. i would love to buy an air conditioner, but naturally i can barely make ends meet and can afford neither an air conditioner nor the subsequently higher electric bill.
that is all.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
'mornin
gaaah things can be so frustrating...
i once again have no idea what i'm doing with my life, not that i ever did. my academic interests over the past few months have shifted primarily to Romance languages, namely Iberian, i.e. Castillian, Catalan, and Portuguese. I get on kicks and go about e-mailing Professors of Portuguese at Brown, the Mass. Association of Portuguese Speakers in Allston, etc. etc.
yesterday I decided it might be a good idea to split my M.A. apart, and spend a year inbetween on a Fulbright grant. this is obviously quite a production, with a hardcore application process with a slew of recommendations and other such things. my thoughts were to go to Andorra on an English-teaching scholarship, and to on the side research the linguistic reality of the tiny country - with Catalan as its official language, but ample speakers of French, Spanish, and Portuguese throughout. now i'm reconsidering for a variety of reasons....
instead i may try to find a hardcore summer program somewhere that would enhance my knowledge as well as help me figure out what to write my dissertation on, etc. but what would i want to do? i know of Portuguese language programs in Portugal, as well as at Middlebury (the latter being more hardcore, but the former obvi IN the country of the target language) Then there's the possibility of finding TEFL certification in Barcelona or Andorra, or attempting to do some kind of Catalan language course in Barcelona. Last but not least, there's good old Eastern Europe, which I feel bad for somewhat abandoning. I found this great new summer program in Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo all about state-building and minority issues through SIT. ahhhhhhhhh!
I really should be studying Latin right now if I hope to get an A in that course...my grades so far have been in a steady decline, lol. 96 > 90 > 88. hopefully today's will start a rising trend
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
brief update
so i managed to get drunk enough off of four beers last night to embark upon an extensive eating binge involving bread, lox, cheese, oreos, peanut butter, and granola bars, lol. i'm pretending it didn't happen and am continuing to work out and eat well. i'm definitely already seeing results, which is great.
anyway, today was somewhat productive. i worked 9-1, then had an interview for the MTS position at 1:30. i think it went well, but the last time i thought an interview went well i didn't get it. so...yea, about two weeks and i'll find out. worked out afterwards, then just hung around the apartment - hookah'd, did a load of laundry, and some other stuff.
now its off to dinner with mel and some LAGgers!
anyway, today was somewhat productive. i worked 9-1, then had an interview for the MTS position at 1:30. i think it went well, but the last time i thought an interview went well i didn't get it. so...yea, about two weeks and i'll find out. worked out afterwards, then just hung around the apartment - hookah'd, did a load of laundry, and some other stuff.
now its off to dinner with mel and some LAGgers!
Friday, May 30, 2008
bom dia!
'tis a lovely morning, friends...
the weather is beautiful, my first paycheck is deposited, I don't have work, and most importantly...
NO MICE IN THE TRAPS!!!!
after a week of mouse-hunting and slaughtering, it appears the saga may in fact have come to a close. over the past two days the maintenance guys have come to caulk up the holes both in my kitchen and in my room, even affixing a metal plate underneath the massive space underneath my radiator. it seems as though we really do have a great landlord. the last mouse was found dead yesterday morning after I had been woken up by squeaking and looked to see a mouse nibbling on a Yubari Melon Kitkat through the bag on my floor. i hope to ne'er see one again. we're buying mint at haymarket today since its apparently a repellant....just incase, lol.
speaking of haymarket, i love it. once Mel wakes up and has breakfast, we'll probably head out. today I plan on getting dill and cucumbers to make a Bulgarian cold cucumber soup as well as some freshly caught salmon to make my own Gravad lox a la Barefoot Contessa. by the time i leave this apartment I hope to have greatly advanced my culinary expertise. i'm sure we'll get a menagerie of other veggies as well, perhaps some eggplant and zucchini.
my Latin class has been a continual pain in the ass, and now aside from the difficulty of it, I have to pay $1148 - the cost of the one-credit course. i e-mailed student services asking if they had a payment plan for poor people like me, lol. apparently my parents have no interest in paying for it....gross. i also need to fill out a FAFSA, because if I don't get an assistantship I am royally fucked. i wish i had rich (and not dead) grandparents.
as for my other academic interests, i've returned to a fondness for portuguese. i feel as though with so many portuguese speakers here in Boston it would be a shame to not take advantage of the opportunity for field work. i'm actually considering volunteering with the Brazilian community, but don't worry, its primarily for my own language advancement, not to help them, lol. i've also decided to start saving for Spring Break in Rio next March. christopher apparently doesn't get a spring break, so my very new and tentative plan is to meet up with Cara ( who will be living in Peru). hopefully my Portuguese will be hot by then.
tenho que fazer cocô, então, até logo!
the weather is beautiful, my first paycheck is deposited, I don't have work, and most importantly...
NO MICE IN THE TRAPS!!!!
after a week of mouse-hunting and slaughtering, it appears the saga may in fact have come to a close. over the past two days the maintenance guys have come to caulk up the holes both in my kitchen and in my room, even affixing a metal plate underneath the massive space underneath my radiator. it seems as though we really do have a great landlord. the last mouse was found dead yesterday morning after I had been woken up by squeaking and looked to see a mouse nibbling on a Yubari Melon Kitkat through the bag on my floor. i hope to ne'er see one again. we're buying mint at haymarket today since its apparently a repellant....just incase, lol.
speaking of haymarket, i love it. once Mel wakes up and has breakfast, we'll probably head out. today I plan on getting dill and cucumbers to make a Bulgarian cold cucumber soup as well as some freshly caught salmon to make my own Gravad lox a la Barefoot Contessa. by the time i leave this apartment I hope to have greatly advanced my culinary expertise. i'm sure we'll get a menagerie of other veggies as well, perhaps some eggplant and zucchini.
my Latin class has been a continual pain in the ass, and now aside from the difficulty of it, I have to pay $1148 - the cost of the one-credit course. i e-mailed student services asking if they had a payment plan for poor people like me, lol. apparently my parents have no interest in paying for it....gross. i also need to fill out a FAFSA, because if I don't get an assistantship I am royally fucked. i wish i had rich (and not dead) grandparents.
as for my other academic interests, i've returned to a fondness for portuguese. i feel as though with so many portuguese speakers here in Boston it would be a shame to not take advantage of the opportunity for field work. i'm actually considering volunteering with the Brazilian community, but don't worry, its primarily for my own language advancement, not to help them, lol. i've also decided to start saving for Spring Break in Rio next March. christopher apparently doesn't get a spring break, so my very new and tentative plan is to meet up with Cara ( who will be living in Peru). hopefully my Portuguese will be hot by then.
tenho que fazer cocô, então, até logo!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
another week...
the above image sums up a lot of what has been going on lately, lol. we have had QUITE the mouse sage. several nights ago we saw this mouse, and the next day proceeded to buy traps. well, the first night it managed to eat the food from both traps, but escaped. the second night i awoke to a loud SNAP, but then a clanging of sorts. in the morning i saw that the mouth had set off the trap, but somehow escaped and left a small trail of blood. well the third night we weren't fucking around - we baited two traps with peanut butter as well as a third sticky trap. what you see above was the result of that. muahaha. but it didn't end there - of course now there's a second mouse. we baited everything again, and late last night i heard squeaking, so sure enough there was a mouse stuck in the morning. however, we stupidly decided to just let it die there, and in that perhaps half-an-hour period it managed to escape. now we have some sticky-ass mouse running around. we are definitely speaking with the landlord today to fix this problem asap.
other than that apartment living has been wonderful. last weekend we went to haymarket, the big farmer's market downtown, and picked up a ton of fresh veggies (and a lb of fresh squid) for dirt cheap. its a great day excursion since i don't work on fridays, and it will give us a nice assortment of cheap/fresh groceries.
spent memorial day with mel, bryan, peter, jeremy, and adam in the Fens at Bryan and Peter's little garden. it was a gorgeous day, and i had never been to the Fens before. i never realized what a gay cruising area it was - there are these tall, lush reeds along the river, and people go and hook up in there and make paths. the sketchy people, along with condoms and wrappers on the ground attested to that, lol. afterwards we had wine and grapes on their front stoop followed by dinner in the south end.
work is just about over today. i need to fill out the mail forms and head out. tata!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
and so it begins...
well here i am sitting at my desk in the Slavic department. i have a bachelor's degree, a new apartment, and am pursuing a Master's in linguistics. pretty sweet deal.
graduation weekend was among the most stressful times ever at bc. it was a mess of emotions, from bitterness to happiness to total sadness. since i'm still in boston and i'm still still here for grad school, its not really any sort of goodbye, but at the same time, my bc bubble is totally burst. no longer can i just go next door and hang out with lou. i can't sit in the common room and have alex and jeff there ready to booze and walk the runway. chris doesn't live just in the next building over. this is going to take some getting used to.
my parents came in friday, but seeing as i had so much going on, and my commencement ball on saturday, i didn't even see them until sunday morning at the baccalaureate mass. that ended up being total shit in that because of a mistake in song order made my my director, my solo verse during the senior blessing was cut. normally, that might not be so bad, but when it is the last time you get to sing with a group that has really defined your time at bc, it makes you extremely upset and angry. whatever.
i managed to cool down and have a nice dinner in the north end with the family. that night i hung out with christopher and co., but seeing as we had to be up at 5 for the sunrise, we didn't stay out too late. the sunrise was a mess. i was already fighting back tears on the way, so when i got there to see my friends already sobbing, i just let go. that continued on and off for the next half hour or so. i had a nice breakfast with jack, joe, chris, and lou, and then at 8:30 it was already time to meet on linden lane for the commencement march.
the ceremony was long as shit, but David McCullogh, the author of 'John Adams' and '1776' gave a very engaging speech. by the time the individual diploma ceremony was over, it was around 230. i was crabby as shit all afternoon, but we moved some of my shit to the apartment and packed up pretty much the rest of my room. dinner at the capital grill was delicious, and it really was nice to have 10 members of my family there all just to see me graduate. i made out pretty well in graduation $$$, and once dinner was done with, i headed back to gabelli for my final night in the dorms.
got up at 8 to start moving everything yesterday morning, and it was QUITE the exhaustive morning/afternoon. by evening time, however, and after lunch with lauren and her mom who had helped us, we were all settled in. bryan came over and brought us champagne, and later on robbie came by for leftovers from capital grille and bertucci's. all in all it was a great, though tiring day.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
It's Senior week...
So I'm done with undergrad, save the actual commencement ceremony. I'm still ready to get the fuck out of here, despite the "fun" I'll be having this week....
After working all weekend, I had my last psalm at Trinity, which was moderately saddening. I attempted to cram for my final on Monday at 9, but based on how I think I did, the cramming didn't do jack shit. After spending over two hours on it, I just said fuck it and handed it in. It's the only course I have any concern over not getting some form of an A in, so whatever. Following the exam I had a six hour shift, and after that a fucking three hour summer graduate class. While I like the class (Latin), I find it ridiculous to have it start so early.
Yesterday I blew over $200 between renting my commencement ball tux, getting my 'Dance of the Decades' costume (I'm being an Asian bride from WWII Japan; Christopher is my soldier), and then paying for drinks on the bar crawl. The crawl was underwhelming; the bartenders were sometimes assholes; the places were uncomfortably packed; the "deals" were bullshit. Christopher and I grabbed the last T and were back by 12:45.
Apparently we missed Colin stumble back, vomit all over the place, and then find his way into bed. Jeff and Alex were lucky enough to witness/take care of that. He woke up all angry this morning since he had overlept his internship, but um whatever, you don't know how to wake up when your alarm goes off. Then he couldn't find his phone battery (left on bathroom floor while vomiting).
I was up early today on account of "training" for my summer job in the Slavic department. It's going to be mad-easy. I can just do my homework and sit online/read, with the occasional phone call to answer, etc. From 12-3 I have rehearsal for the baccalaureate mass, and then I think I need a nap...
After working all weekend, I had my last psalm at Trinity, which was moderately saddening. I attempted to cram for my final on Monday at 9, but based on how I think I did, the cramming didn't do jack shit. After spending over two hours on it, I just said fuck it and handed it in. It's the only course I have any concern over not getting some form of an A in, so whatever. Following the exam I had a six hour shift, and after that a fucking three hour summer graduate class. While I like the class (Latin), I find it ridiculous to have it start so early.
Yesterday I blew over $200 between renting my commencement ball tux, getting my 'Dance of the Decades' costume (I'm being an Asian bride from WWII Japan; Christopher is my soldier), and then paying for drinks on the bar crawl. The crawl was underwhelming; the bartenders were sometimes assholes; the places were uncomfortably packed; the "deals" were bullshit. Christopher and I grabbed the last T and were back by 12:45.
Apparently we missed Colin stumble back, vomit all over the place, and then find his way into bed. Jeff and Alex were lucky enough to witness/take care of that. He woke up all angry this morning since he had overlept his internship, but um whatever, you don't know how to wake up when your alarm goes off. Then he couldn't find his phone battery (left on bathroom floor while vomiting).
I was up early today on account of "training" for my summer job in the Slavic department. It's going to be mad-easy. I can just do my homework and sit online/read, with the occasional phone call to answer, etc. From 12-3 I have rehearsal for the baccalaureate mass, and then I think I need a nap...
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Muggy day...
Well...it seems things are looking a little bit better. Mel and I just found out that the people in our apartment are moving out the 18th, so that means we have the 19th (graduation day) and 20th (until noon) to move all of our stuff before we are kicked off campus. I cannot fucking wait to just sit in that apartment and stare out the window.
Tomorrow morning I'm meeting with my department secretary to discuss a summer job opportunity I discovered randomly last night. I'd be doing research and administrative stuff for the director, though I'm not sure if its for the undergraduate or graduate director yet. Either way, I know them both. It looks promising considering I've been in the department for 4 years, and it pays $11/hr 15 hrs/week, which coupled with my Moogy's earnings would allow me to get by.
In other news, its Chris and my 10 month anniversary. We're both still swamped with final papers and exams, so there won't be any real celebration, but that's fine. It's crazy to think I've spent this entire school year with him. How uncharacteristic of me, lol!
Today I get to study for my Typology exam I have on Monday, and start writing my Russian Short Story paper due Saturday morning. What a joyous day! It's gross and muggy out, and seeing as I'm poor, I don't think I'll be going out tonight. Oh well...I still have my 64 oz beer from the Harpoon Brewery Tour ;-)
Tomorrow morning I'm meeting with my department secretary to discuss a summer job opportunity I discovered randomly last night. I'd be doing research and administrative stuff for the director, though I'm not sure if its for the undergraduate or graduate director yet. Either way, I know them both. It looks promising considering I've been in the department for 4 years, and it pays $11/hr 15 hrs/week, which coupled with my Moogy's earnings would allow me to get by.
In other news, its Chris and my 10 month anniversary. We're both still swamped with final papers and exams, so there won't be any real celebration, but that's fine. It's crazy to think I've spent this entire school year with him. How uncharacteristic of me, lol!
Today I get to study for my Typology exam I have on Monday, and start writing my Russian Short Story paper due Saturday morning. What a joyous day! It's gross and muggy out, and seeing as I'm poor, I don't think I'll be going out tonight. Oh well...I still have my 64 oz beer from the Harpoon Brewery Tour ;-)
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Bleh
Well I just finished with my 1st exam...two papers and 1 more exam to go before I'm officially done with my undergraduate career. The two papers are going to be total crap; they're for Anthropology and 'The Russian Short Story', two classes I could give a flying fuck about. I can't wait to actually be able to devote my full time to a subject I actually care about, Linguistics.
The job search for both summer and school year continues...Its been over a week since the cancellation of my interview at the plex to work the Patio Grill during the summer. He said he wanted to reschedule, but I've left him two voicemails as well as e-mails with no response. WTF. Moogy's is not going to keep me afloat with respect to rent, food, transportation, and classes, so...I need another job. I'd rather not burn through my graduation money. I may be forced to apply as a waiter at CitySide, a bar and grill close to campus. super.
As for the school year, I've only been rejected by the career center. I'm still waiting to hear about interviews from two positions at the Office of International Programs, and I'm still applying to Media and Technology Services. The MTS job pays tuition as well as a stipent, so that's what I'm shooting for. I just need to get my recommendations done...
Other than that I'm just tired as fuck, can't shake this cold, and am sick of living in this shithole dorm. Two weeks from today and I'll be basking in the sunlight coming through my apartment window. Thank fucking god.
The job search for both summer and school year continues...Its been over a week since the cancellation of my interview at the plex to work the Patio Grill during the summer. He said he wanted to reschedule, but I've left him two voicemails as well as e-mails with no response. WTF. Moogy's is not going to keep me afloat with respect to rent, food, transportation, and classes, so...I need another job. I'd rather not burn through my graduation money. I may be forced to apply as a waiter at CitySide, a bar and grill close to campus. super.
As for the school year, I've only been rejected by the career center. I'm still waiting to hear about interviews from two positions at the Office of International Programs, and I'm still applying to Media and Technology Services. The MTS job pays tuition as well as a stipent, so that's what I'm shooting for. I just need to get my recommendations done...
Other than that I'm just tired as fuck, can't shake this cold, and am sick of living in this shithole dorm. Two weeks from today and I'll be basking in the sunlight coming through my apartment window. Thank fucking god.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Greetings
Hi friends,
So undergraduate classes are officially over, and once I'm done with a round of exams next week, I'm officially a graduate student and semi-legitimate human being. Stay tuned for updates!
~jeff
So undergraduate classes are officially over, and once I'm done with a round of exams next week, I'm officially a graduate student and semi-legitimate human being. Stay tuned for updates!
~jeff
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