Beach in the City

It's strange, but I live only 7 miles from a beach. When I lived in CT on the shoreline, I was a lot farther than that! It's odd to me that now I live in a major city and can drive to a public beach (with FREE parking) in about 10 minutes. So, that's what I did today. I went to the beach.

It's not a bad beach, actually. It was clean and it had a bath house and a snack bar, and overall wasn't too crowded. I didn't go in the water though-but other people didn't seem to mind it which leads me to believe that it's ok. Below you can see the view from the "boardwalk"-the Prudential Center.

As with any outing to the beach, I of course got a little burnt. I only stayed a few hours but since I can't reach my back, I didn't have any sunscreen on it, and...well, ouch. My face did get a little bit red too. The picture doesn't show how red it actually is, but rest assured, it's pink! I think that b/c I am without funds and without plans tomorrow, I might go back if the burn isn't bad. I have an umbrella and a chair, so I'll take that and some lunch and sit and read for a bit. If the burn still hurts though-I've got nothin'...and I'll be bored shitless.

So, cool! I live near a beach AND get to live in a cool city! What'd you do today??

Ham & Cheese On...Ice?

I'm all for innovation and experimentation-especially when it comes to the food and drink. I've had cucumber martini's before and though they sounded a little bit strange, they looked hella cool and tasted even better. But there's gotta be a line, a stopping point...a time when we say, "Really?!?" and then walk away.

And I'm pretty sure the Ham Martini should be that drink.

So here it goes: A HAM martini? Really?!?

How does one even THINK about creating this drink? I for one, have never been eating a ham dinner only to stop short to say, "I'd really like to be drinking this instead of doing all of this chewing."

I do have to give the creator credit though, for using the word "fortnight" in the recipe.

Mean Girl

For some reason, I was invited to be a part of the cool group that year.  It meant a few things:

 

1.  I would be allowed to talk to Jeannie.

2.  I would be allowed to wear my acid washed jean mini skirt on Friday's with the rest of the cool girls.

3.  I would be invited to the random parties the cool kids had at their houses.

 

Jeannie was a mean girl with expensive clothes (Guess Jeans and Coca Cola Rugby Shirts.)  Her mother owned a beauty salon so Jeannie had a perm.  (It was cool back then, trust me.)  Instead of dotting the "I" in her name, she made a little circle.  She owned a horse.

 

She was the ring leader and the girl who got to choose who was in-and who was out.  I never really liked her.

 

At recess we had to do whatever she wanted to do-even if that meant standing on the sidelines watching everyone play.  If we laughed at a joke that someone who wasn't cool told, we'd get the silent treatment and if we word pants on skirt day, we were shunned for at least a week.  I don't know why we thought she was so awesome and looking back, I don't think she knew why either.

 

On the last day of 6th grade I was fed up.  With the promise of new friends on the horizon (we merged with 3 other towns for 7th-12th grade) my courage was high.  I wore a skirt to school (it wasn't even Friday) and told my best friend what the plan was.  She was moving away, so she really didn't care.  When the bell rang, I strutted up to Jeannie and told her everything.  She took my verbal beating with a straight face and when I was done, she smirked and said, "Have a nice summer (insert some mean word that I can't remember)" and walked away.  I don't think we ever spoke another word to each other.

 

In high school I had a lot of friends but wasn't technically popular.  I was an overachiever and had my hand in lots of different groups and it allowed me to meet an array of people.  Jeannie, however, only had a few.  Her decline began somewhere around 8th grade when she started smoking and skipping school.  By 10th grade she was a pothead and our senior year she over-dosed on cocaine.  She lived, but she disappeared after that.

 

Though I don't think a friendship would have lasted between us, I do sometimes wonder what she would have turned out like had we continued hanging out.  I was rigidly against drinking and doing drugs and was pretty much looked at as a "goody-goody".  Had Jeannie been a nicer person when we were little, I wonder if other members of our group would have reached out to intervene when they saw her spiraling down the drug path.  I wonder if she would have graduated high school with us, or if she would have had a better life today.

 

I see her every now and then-she lives down the street from my parents-right next door to where she used to live when we were growing up.  She has a son with one of the local bad boys in town (or at least he was when we were little) and from what I gather, hasn't really changed all that much.  The drugs might be gone, but she's still mean.

 

I bet she doesn't have any friends today either.

Mean Girl

For some reason, I was invited to be a part of the cool group that year.  It meant a few things:

 

1.  I would be allowed to talk to Jeannie.

2.  I would be allowed to wear my acid washed jean mini skirt on Friday's with the rest of the cool girls.

3.  I would be invited to the random parties the cool kids had at their houses.

 

Jeannie was a mean girl with expensive clothes (Guess Jeans and Coca Cola Rugby Shirts.)  Her mother owned a beauty salon so Jeannie had a perm.  (It was cool back then, trust me.)  Instead of dotting the "I" in her name, she made a little circle.  She owned a horse.

 

She was the ring leader and the girl who got to choose who was in-and who was out.  I never really liked her.

 

At recess we had to do whatever she wanted to do-even if that meant standing on the sidelines watching everyone play.  If we laughed at a joke that someone who wasn't cool told, we'd get the silent treatment and if we word pants on skirt day, we were shunned for at least a week.  I don't know why we thought she was so awesome and looking back, I don't think she knew why either.

 

On the last day of 6th grade I was fed up.  With the promise of new friends on the horizon (we merged with 3 other towns for 7th-12th grade) my courage was high.  I wore a skirt to school (it wasn't even Friday) and told my best friend what the plan was.  She was moving away, so she really didn't care.  When the bell rang, I strutted up to Jeannie and told her everything.  She took my verbal beating with a straight face and when I was done, she smirked and said, "Have a nice summer (insert some mean word that I can't remember)" and walked away.  I don't think we ever spoke another word to each other.

 

In high school I had a lot of friends but wasn't technically popular.  I was an overachiever and had my hand in lots of different groups and it allowed me to meet an array of people.  Jeannie, however, only had a few.  Her decline began somewhere around 8th grade when she started smoking and skipping school.  By 10th grade she was a pothead and our senior year she over-dosed on cocaine.  She lived, but she disappeared after that.

 

Though I don't think a friendship would have lasted between us, I do sometimes wonder what she would have turned out like had we continued hanging out.  I was rigidly against drinking and doing drugs and was pretty much looked at as a "goody-goody".  Had Jeannie been a nicer person when we were little, I wonder if other members of our group would have reached out to intervene when they saw her spiraling down the drug path.  I wonder if she would have graduated high school with us, or if she would have had a better life today.

 

I see her every now and then-she lives down the street from my parents-right next door to where she used to live when we were growing up.  She has a son with one of the local bad boys in town (or at least he was when we were little) and from what I gather, hasn't really changed all that much.  The drugs might be gone, but she's still mean.

 

I bet she doesn't have any friends today either.

New Beginnings-Again

Living in the city, as you can imagine, is expensive, and while you could argue that I should live outside in the suburbs to save money, I would tell you that it's worth it to live here. I want the entire experience of city living and that includes, well, living in the city. In any case, I'm broke.

When I moved here in November I got a job north of Boston. It's a good job with nice people and great hours. My boss is a dream. It's also 42 miles round trip. AND I have to pay a toll each way. These were things I was willing to do though, because I liked the new place and the commute isn't bad.

Then gas started being $4/gallon. Now, it costs me about $50 a week just to get to work and it's severely eating into my paycheck.

I am happy to report that yesterday I accepted a position with a consulting firm that is only 1.5 miles away from my house. It's a 35 hour per week position and it's a bump up in pay too. In one week I will drive less than I drive in one day now. That's amazing to me, and it translates into a potential savings of $6000 per year.

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. I'm hoping that with the extra cashola I'll be able to save some money to travel and invest. Admittedly I am not that great with money, but I'm taking this as a new start and plan on being more responsible and less carefree.

New beginnings...gotta love 'em.

Randomivity

I bought a domain name through blogger for my catering site and it's not working. In fact, the site is "taken" by someone else-me. However, blogger has the suckiest support system EVER and so I fear that now it's lost. I'm not gonna lie-I'm pissed. Not only is it $10 but the .com name is exactly what it needed to be.

I love getting free stuff, but have noticed that I get too excited and commit to taking something because I'm afraid I'm going to lose it. Then, I'm not happy with it. Last time, a bed. This time, a coffee table. I loved both-but neither fit in my apartment. Next time, I'll measure first. Luckily I got rid of both pieces on the same day I acquired them.

It's funny when you get a random voicemail from your niece-why? Because she remembered that I make the best omelets AND that I can flip them. :)

I love the term: "Creep Ball".

The excuse, "I had a concussion" only works for so long...

The same goes for, "I don't like the smell of chocolate."

I bought 2 big bunches of fresh cilantro at Haymarket when Linda was here-but I forgot to freeze them in cube and now it's all lost. Which is sad, b/c I so love cilantro.

How does one cut oneself without knowing it? I seem to always come up with injuries but never know where they come from.

This is going to sound weird. But here goes-I have a chair in my living room with black swirls all over it. Love it. As I was typing this post I looked down to stretch and through my yawn it looked like one of the swirls was something hanging between my legs. It was startling.

I know. I'm weird. It's ok.

I don't have stuff to make well rounded dinners in my fridge but I do have the stuff to make brownies from scratch. Is that weird?

Toosdae ?'s

1. What do you order when you order Chinese food? Do you save some for the next day?

2. It's been said that, "The best things in life are free." Do you think this is true? Why or why not?

3. If you could be 8 years old again for an entire day, knowing what you know now, how would you spend it?

1. There are a few things I alternate through-Chicken w/ Garlic Sauce (no green peppers), Sesame Chicken (no sesame seeds) and a combo of boneless spare ribs, an egg roll and crab rangoon. (That last one is comfort food time.)

2. Yes, I do. You can't buy the sound a child makes when they are giggling uncontrollably, an early morning nuzzle, the smell of the earth thawing during springtime or New England autumns.

3. I would make sure it was Thanksgiving day because when I was little all of my aunts and uncles were there no matter what. My papa was still alive and those holidays before my aunts and uncles were married were some of my favorite times.

Manic Monday: Over

Phew! I had a B.U.S.Y. weekend! And though I had a great time, I am glad it is OVER. Why? Because I am POOPED! As you all know, Linda came to visit me on Friday for a sleepover. I didn't take a close up picture of her, but here is Linda coming off of the T in front of my apartment.

See? Can't you tell it's her? :) Well, it is. She had quite the surprise on the way up to Boston when she boarded the train in CT-check it out HERE. Once she took the five cent tour of my apartment we made our way UP the hill to eat. A lot. We ordered a pitcher of sangria and went to town! I didn't think that the sangria affected me, but when the waiter asked us if we valet parked I thought he said, "Did your belly bark?" Luckily I had lots of food in my belly and the sangria didn't work it's magic more than that. It was a lovely dinner, and I love how easy it is to talk to Linda. I'm glad we were able to make this visit happen. Later, I convinced Linda to walk up to the corner of murals for some ice cream-which was yummy! Needless to say, we were pooped.

The next day Linda who's a history freak buff and I walked the city in pursuit of lots of dead people...we stopped by the Granary to see where a few historical figures are buried and to look at the old stones. We also piggy backed off of a guided tour. I found one thing he said to be amusing. He said that when Paul Revere rode the streets he wouldn't have yelled, "The Brittish are coming, the Brittish are coming!" like we always say-why? Because, well...we were ALL Brittish! Also, we were in a war-we wouldn't be screaming that we knew our enemy was on the way! Good point, huh?

Take a look at the photos below to find out where we went next.

Linda Loo's Boston Visit

Linda, THANK YOU for coming to visit me in Boston! I had a fantastic time and I can't wait until you come back. Duck Tours for sure!

Speaking of Duck Tours...my parents came up on Sunday morning to visit. The plan was that we were going to an open market in the South End and then to brunch. Well, the open market really sucked butt. It was horrible and it only took us about 1/2 hr to get through. So we moved brunch up and ended up taking a duck tour! I have never gone (in fact, I'd never gone to any of the places I went this weekend.) and it was fun. I got some really good pictures and a sunburn. And, I'm happy to say that I slept really well last night. Here are some of the pics I took yesterday.

Duck Tour Pictures

So, as you can see, I had a very full weekend and can understand why I am glad that it is over. I loved seeing Linda and spending the day with my parents wasn't horrible AND I got to do and see things I hadn't done before. But boy...am I glad to have a rest. (Except that tomorrow starts another homestand!)

That's all for today folks-go over to see Linda for her version of our visit and be certain to go say hi to Mo because it's Manic Monday!