"T" Time

Today was the day. After my furniture was delivered, I skipped out of the apartment and walked directly to the T. My destination was Haymarket Square where I was to browse my little heart out at a year round open air market. This, however, did not come to pass.

No, no-I didn't get lost. Shame on you for thinking that! I even took the right connection to my destination. But not knowing exactly where the market was proved to be my challenge. I assumed that it would be obvious, considering the T stop was named Haymarket. I was wrong. As it turns out, no one seemed to know where it was-even though I was very close to its location. Tomorrow I will try again.

Instead, I went to The Frog Pond and watched the ice skaters. It was an absolutely perfect day-crisp and cool. Perfect for exploring. I walked around the streets and looked in shops and in bookstores. I was looking for a book called NFT (Not for Tourists) and found it. I also bought "Broke in Boston". I walked back to the pond and sat on a bench and read through the books, deciding where I'd go next. It was getting late and I was cold, so I made my way back to the T. Originally I wanted to go to that Thai place for lunch, but my furniture delivery prevented that. Instead, I decided to go for dinner. I figured out which train to take and even ended up exactly where I thought I would-Coolidge Corner.

I walked up a section I hadn't explored before and stopped for a Bubble Tea-which is apparently very popular around here. I have to say this. It was weird. Perhaps I didn't get it at a good place, but even so, having bigger than normal tapioca pearls in your mouth while drinking tea is just not right. And these pearls didn't taste good-they tasted old. I will try it again, however, when I explore Chinatown.

I made my way back to Finale again-this time to get what I wanted. A Lemon Tart. This time, I ate it all. (That other cake is still in my fridge) I saved it for after dinner though.

The Thai place was good. I wanted to try it prior to buying my new books, but it was also featured in NFT as being very tasty, so I was extra excited. Here is what I got:

Thai iced tea-the white is coconut milk. It sounds weird, but it's really quite good. This was my soup. It's flavored with lime juice and cilantro and had shrimp and shrooms. VERY good!
And finally-the entree. Crispy Duck with some kind of fantastic sauce and white rice. Really-that sauce was out of this world.
I finished dinner and walked back down the road toward my apartment. I was feeling great-I walked a ton, had lots of energy, and overall just loving my day and my freedom. When I was approached by a woman who ended up telling me I needed to lose weight.

Um..ok, freak. #1. Tell me something I don't know and #2. Who says that to a person on the street minding their own business? She wasn't a crazy person either, but a regular girl like me, only skinny and, well, Asian. But-c'mon! I simply smiled and kept walking. I wasn't too upset about it oddly enough. Probably because I have lost a little bit of weight and I feel very healthy. With the exception of my Crispy (Fried) Duck, I've been eating very well. (Oh, and the tart) and I've been walking home from my dinners.

Tomorrow I will conquer the market.

Stay tuned: Sunday I am going to brunch with 6 people I don't know. Friends won't just fall out of the sky people! :)

Almost Coolidge

Day 6 as a Boston resident was not bad at all. First, let me finally show you my view. This is downtown Boston-just a couple of miles away...It's really much prettier in person. And at night, it's almost magical. Ok, that's pushing it, but it's really very cool to me that I can view it every night.

After Wednesday's parking nightmare, I was very nervous about finding a space in the morning. I got up at 7am to move the car and was able to find one on the corner of my apartment building. It was a left side street job, and though I went up on the curb a bit, I managed to get it down and even, and no one saw. Later, I had to go out to get my car inspected and when I came back, I parked again, successfully! It's at the point now where I really contemplate whether or not I want to drive anywhere. I did have to go out again, and when I got back, I had this spot:

How sexy is that? Look at how close to the curb I am!!! I didn't even bump it that time! And yes, I plan on keeping my car there until Monday morning when I go to work. (It's right outside my building.) So, when I wanted to go out, I decided to walk.

Coolidge Corner is only about a 1/2 a mile away from me-and it's got a bunch of shops and eateries to stroll through. I stopped here for Tacos for dinner first. I heard that this place was really good, and cheap:

While it was cheap, it wasn't great. I didn't gag when eating it, and I would go again if I were broke, but I was disappointed. Nonetheless, I am happy that I tried it. Tomorrow, I am going to lunch at a Thai place in the same area. They have a prix fix menu for lunch, and I can't wait to try their curry and coconut milk. I might have to wait until another day to try lunch there however, b/c my furniture is due to arrive around noon today!

After dinner, I walked up to this place to buy myself dessert:

They didn't have what I wanted-a citrusy or raspberry individual cheesecake. Instead, I got this:
It's a caramel delight cake-with caramel mousse, chocolate cake, chocolate ganache and vanilla cream. It looks pretty, but I didn't like it. You know why? It's too chocolaty. (And there are nuts int the cake) I should have gone for a tart instead. The good news is that I didn't spoil my walk by eating too much cake. I only had 2 bites.

Today's plan is to finish unpacking once and for all, arrange my new furniture when it gets here. Last night Greg and I talked about tons of cool things that I would like to do-one of them is an outdoor farmers market. I think that after lunch I will hop on the T once and for all (after getting some inside tips from good ol' Gregy) and check it out. Now that I've found my camera, I'll be sure to include pictures whenever I can.

One week as a Bostonian under my belt. I love my apartment, and I love the feeling of independence I get when I walk through the streets. Overall, I think this was a great decision-even if some of you say I am your very own modern day Mary Tyler Moore. Specifically during the first season. (Where I assume she makes tons of silly mistakes) Luckily, I've been told that she gets much cooler each season.

Does anyone have a red hat I can throw into the air? ;)

Ho Ho Ho!

I'm beginning to get a complex...every time I talk to Mo, he calls me a HO! ;) Speaking of Mo-take a look at The Wren's Nest website. It's a lovely store with unique gifts for everyone! I for one know that at least one person on my list will be getting a gift from The Wren's Nest.

Please take a few minutes to click the button above and to browse through Mo's wonderful merchandise. Not only will you be buying high quality unique gifts for your friends or loved ones, you'll be helping Mo add some more Ho's to his month. :)

Click it-you know you wanna...

Randomivity

*I don't have my old computer with me in Boston, so I don't have any of the headers for my Toosdae's or my Randomivity posts. :(

*A single girl in a city like Boston should be happy to be "sleeping with" a single man. Except when it's a neighbor who's bedroom is on the opposite wall as yours is, and he's loud, sings off-key at 1:30 am and has friends over for canasta at 3:30 am.

*I don't know where canasta came from. He's not really playing it. Although, I can't understand a word he says, so it's actually possible.

*Paying off 10 years of bills takes up a lot of the day.

*Sofa and chaise lounge (and rug) are being delivered tomorrow! It's not the one I posted, actually...I changed my mind on it b/c it was expensive. Instead, I bought cheaper and got more. A better decision, I think.

*I've always had a love affair with grilled cheese, and anytime I can have melty, cheesy stuff on bread it makes me happy.

*Tax free shopping rocks my world. And hopefully will rock my family/friends worlds when the see what I bought them. :)

*It's not a good idea to answer the phone when you're about to miss your exit while driving in a new city, in the dark, and while in a tunnel.

*It's funny though to laugh about a car dealership disappearing.

*Being pointed at and laughed at makes me cry. I don't like crying. Especially at midnight and especially when it involves me not being able to park.

*If my car isn't towed in the morning (I had to park 2 blocks up and a few streets over=Thursday tow day) I am going to explore the city. To end the day, I will go watch the Christmas tree being lit on Boston Common.

*If I don't post for a few days, call the police. It means that I am miserably lost on the "T" and have no idea how to get back to my 'puter. :)

Toosdae ?'s on Wednesday

Thank you to everyone who wished me well yesterday. If you haven't read the post below, my closing went very well, and I am no longer a homeowner! Yay! It's quite a relief, and I am happy it is over. I missed you all and am hoping to resume regular blogging now...here are this weeks questions.

1. What year did you graduate from high school? Were you happy or sad to be leaving?

2. When have you felt the most out of place? If you can't think of a specific time, tell me when you feel uncomfortable in your life today.

3. When you were little you probably had certain ideas about what it meant to be an adult-most of which were probably wrong. Name one thing that turned out to be different than you thought it would.

1. I graduated in 1994 and I couldn't have been happier. I really didn't like high school all that much, except for Softball and drama club. I hated the people in the school and being such a small town, you pretty much had no choice who you were friends with. College was MUCH better for me!

2. I felt most out of place at lunchtime in high school. All of the people I hung out with had first lunch and I had second-so I either had to sit alone or skip lunch and find something else to do. It was miserable.

3. For sure it was marriage. Growing up I thought that I would get married and have a great husband and have lots of kids and we'd live happily ever after. Obviously my husband sucked and I don't have kids, and it ended in divorce.

Donezo

I am happy to say that I am no longer a homeowner! I know that most people stive to have a house and that renting isn't the best thing in the world. However, being able to build life equity is more important to me than building home equity. Even though I haven't yet written the checks to pay off my debt, knowing that I am about it is such an extraordinary feeling. I mean, culinary school AND college will be paid off by next week. That's something that takes people almost their whole lives to pay off.

The closing went well-though up to the very end the pain in the ass buyer tried getting more things out of me. They complained about the gutters, which we agreed I wouldn't do and also tried to say that the ladder to the attic was damaged by my roofer. Well, honey-the roofer never touched the stairs, and the only person who has is YOUR inspector. I told the lawyer that I would not pay for anything more, and he ended up just taking it out of his commission.

He said, "They are rather difficult." So, it wasn't just me that thought so...

Though I wasn't rude to them, I did not give them my winning smile when I walked into the room. In fact, I signed the papers and asked if that was all, so I could leave. They tried making small talk, but I really wasn't into it, so I answered them as best I could without ripping their heads off, and high tailed it to the bank.

On the way home I stopped at a furniture store as I need a sofa and loveseat. (Remember, I gave my other one away b/c it smelled like cat pee pee?). I found one that I love...it's called Hydra Blue, a pale blue which will look fantastic in my apartment with high ceilings and wood floors.

Now, I just have to finish unpacking. Toosdae ?'s will be posted tomorrow...I didn't have time this morning-so be sure to come back!

Monday Streets

Score: Maggie-0, Boston-1

Did you know that they clean each street here on a different day? Well, they do. For instance, the street right out front of my apartment is on Monday's from 8am-Noon, while the other streets I've been parking on (which are farther away) are cleaned on Thursdays.

Guess where I parked last night when I got home? On the Monday street.

Needless to say, I'm feeling a little defeated right now. I'm not really upset about it at all-I just feel rather stupid. And broke. If I were a Visa check card commercial, it would sound like this:

Taxi cab to Brighton to pick up car.....$8 on Visa Check Card
Getting your car released from the cranky Boston tow lady....$110 on Visa Check Card
Parking Ticket for parking on a Monday Street.....$40 on Visa Check Card
Feeling like a stupid head in a new city.....Priceless

:) The good news is that it only took 1/2 hour from start to finish for me to get my car-including the ride over to the place it was located. So, there's that.

In other news, my next door neighbor is defiantly of the Asian persuasion. He coughs like this: ching chong, ching chong...just kidding, Kat. (Oh puhlease people, stop being so PC, and laugh a little.) But right now he's having a passionate fight with someone and I can't even eavesdrop because he's speaking another language. He's becoming quite the annoyance-and boy is he ANGRY right now! I totally wish I could understand him!

Off to hang some shelves...my exploring has been curbed due to the lack of funds, a la operation tow Maggie's car. Exploring will resume Wednesday, after my bank account is full from the sale of my house!

*Closing is set to go at noon tomorrow!

Weekend #1

By day 10, you really don't care what you throw away. That's a fact. Also a fact? Never take 10 days to move.

It's pretty much one of the suckiest ideas I've ever had. Sure, I didn't have to rent a truck, but I had to drive from CT to Boston about a bazillion times. Thankfully, the only thing left in my house in CT is a chair and a side table. I spent hours yesterday cleaning the house and throwing away massage amounts of shit. I never want to move again.

Life in Boston so far has been pretty cool. I'm settling into my apartment well-actually, I love it. I realize now that the first apartment I fell in love with wasn't as great as I thought it was. This is the place for me. I'm really happy I took this apartment.

I've realized that even though I live in a cool city, I am not a cool city girl. Perhaps this will change, but really-I've never been as cool as I wanted to be. Here are some examples of why I'm not a cool city girl yet:

1. After my first parallel parking success I walked down my street with a huge grin on my face. I'm pretty sure no one in this city has ever done that. Especially on a Saturday night.

2. I went to a bagel & a coffee down the street yesterday morning. While waiting for it to be ready, I went to prepare my coffee. On the way to the milk & sugar I banged into a display that stuck out from the counter. I sort of tripped-but i don't think anyone saw me.

3. On the way out of the coffee shop I walked past a man who was sitting cross legged on the sidewalk writing something in a notebook. Across from him, he had a bike propped up against the parking meter. As I walked by him my coat pocket caught the handlebars on his bike. If I hadn't caught it, the bike would have crashed to the ground, and probably landed on him. Needless to say, I high tailed it back to my car (I was on the way to CT) and drove outta there.

So, as you can see, I've got some work to do!

Other things of note:

A. My next door neighbor coughs all through the night and doesn't feel the need to get up for water or medicine. I so need to find a way to muffle that wall. And also-I think he's either Chinese or Jamaican. I haven't seen him, just heard him.

B. I met one boy who lives on my floor. He's very nice, but I haven't seen him since.

C. The elevator is apparently the place to meet people-a very hot foreign boy held the elevator for me yesterday. He lives on the 4th floor.

D. The girls in the building don't seem to be as friendly.

E. I've managed to lose 15 pounds over these last couple of weeks.

F. "F" is for "eff" because I'm completely in the dark about my closing on Tuesday. No word about the buyers inspection of the roof, and no word from my realtor about what time I need to be there or anything. I tell ya, this house selling thing is going to drag out til the end!

I have this week off! I'm planning on doing a lot of unpacking and organizing, exploring (today might be Coolidge Corner) and Christmas shopping! :)