Friday, June 30, 2006

Historical Giggles

This comic gives me the giggles every time. From Married to the Sea, of course.

Have a great July 4th weekend, everyone! I'll be at the Lake House for most of the weekend, so I may or may not post. If not, I'll be back on Wednesday with pictures! :)

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Rock 'N Roll

So I went to my co-worker's show last night @ the Middle East. Incidentally, I know I start many of my posts with "so". When I was a DJ in college, I invariably came back after a commercial with "all right". Can't avoid the segue word/phrase, I guess.

Anyways, this was a pretty big show for his band, Silent Service. They won some contest through CMJ and Zig Zag Live, which scored them the opening spot. This was the biggest show they'd ever played. It was cool for me to see them here because I remember them at the Abbey and PA's Lounge back in the day (last spring).

I love going to their rock shows - partly for the music, partly for the beer & partly because it's my excuse to wear Converses, hipster T-shirts, studded belts, tweed newsboy caps, anything "rock 'n roll" that I wouldn't normally wear.

They opened for Porsches on the Autobahn and Aberdeen City. Being kind of hip, I had heard of these bands before, but had never seen them play. The first 10 minutes of Porsches were, um, interesting. There were three guys in 80s suits & aviator shades, jumping around, rapping in German accents. Uh, what?! However, coworker Dave clued me in. They're from the U.S., so it's more of a comedy act than a super-serious, "we're clearly making good music" thing. After that, I loved it. Laughed my ass off.

Aberdeen City headlined & I can see why. They're a quality group, kind of Radiohead-esque. I drank too many Bud Lights (in plastic bottles) & sent myself home at midnight. Good times on a Wednesday night.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Just Over 3 Weeks!

I had my coffee. It helped. However, now we're at the tail end of the day & I don't have time to post. So I'll leave you with this picture of my lovely PEI & this thought: "I've only got 3 (more or less) weeks to go until PEI! Yippee!"

Coffee Compulsion

This is how I feel right now - very much. I won't be able to communicate coherently until I make a DD's run.

On a related note, I was watching
Will & Grace last night and Jack was trying to quit caffeine. At one point, he ran out of the room, screeching "I've got a monkey on my back and his name is Juan Valdez!"

(Comic appears courtesy of Toothpaste for Dinner, naturally.)

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

New Shoes, New Shoes

That's a song I just made up, "New shoes, new shoes, there's nothing better than new shoes . . . " (those are all the lyrics I have right now, so bear with me). I'm excited because I bought two pairs of shoes last night.

I have to confess a secret & it's a doozie. I actually like Payless Shoes. I know, it's a horrifying thing for a somewhat hip young woman to admit - that I don't spend all of my pay on expensive shoes. I definitely see the point of buying well-made shoes to last a long time. My Land's End hiking boots ain't goin' nowhere!

However, when you're buying trendy shoes, you don't care so much if they'll be with you for ten years. Hence, the Payless addiction. I also buy shoes from Target sometimes (gasp!) Anyways, I had a little picture party last night with all of the new shoes I've gotten in the last 6 or 7 months. Here they are, in chronological order. Enjoy!

Driving loafers from Target

Wellington boots from Target (I love Wellies!)

Fake Converses from Payless (for the '80s party in Portland)

Madras plaid flip-flops from Old Navy


Silk flip-flops from J. Crew (picture lifted from the
website b/c mine are in NH at the moment)

White slides from Payless (new last night, bought for the Cape Breton wedding)

Camel heels from Payless (also new last night, bought b/c I realized the only heels I have to wear with brown skirts/pants were bought at a rummage sale for $0.25)

Monday, June 26, 2006

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Sometimes, I get a little too caught up in things. Let me preface this story by pointing out that I am terrified of the dark & ghost stories. I've always had a good imagination & therefore the dark was my biggest fear, because I could imagine anything into a dark corner. I once read a guidebook (a guidebook!) of Edinburgh that told a number of ghost stories. I passed the rest of the night with the light on, covers tucked under my chin, staring wildly around the room (despite the fact that my dorm in Edinburgh was built in the 1970s & therefore an unlikely candidate for ghosts - unlike much of the rest of the city).

So, last night, I was flipping through the channels & happened upon a movie that seemed to involve ghosts, the Scottish coast, Demi Moore & a lighthouse. Due to the afore-mentioned fear of ghosts & the dark (& no particular affection for Demi), I wisely decided to move on. However, my curiosity had been piqued. I love the sea, lighthouses & Scotland. This movie seemed to have all of these things in abundance. I checked back in around 11:45 to see how it ended. Scary, but not terrifying. Consequently, when TNT
offered an "encore presentation" of the movie at midnight, I resigned myself to a sleepless night & tuned in.

The movie, called 'Half Light', wasn't that bad. Not Oscar material, but as I said, I'm a sucker for lighthouses,
woolly sweaters, ocean scenes & people speaking with Scottish accents. Besides, the actor playing Demi's love interest (who is the ghost of a lighthouse keeper) wasn't too hard on the eyes, or ears:

The movie ended at 2 a.m. and I, of course, stayed awake with the light on until 3:45. Around 4, I screwed up my courage & turned the light off in an attempt to ignore the ghosts in my head & get some sleep. It took about 30 minutes for my fatigue to conquer my fear, but I finally got to sleep. Now, in the full, fluorescent light of my office, my fears seem a wee bit silly. Plus, my head is dreamily full of ocean scenes & Scottish lighthouse keepers. I suppose it was the right decision to watch the movie, then.

UPDATE: Turns out I caught the U.S. television premiere of the movie, which debuted straight to DVD in the U.S. in January '06. I can see why it wasn't a theater release in the U.S., but it's worth the DVD rental, I think. Also, check out this website for movie stills & lovely photos of the locations in Wales where it was shot. Beautiful, even though it turned out not to be Scotland after all. (The photos in this post courtesy of 'Half Light Locations' website linked above.)

Friday, June 23, 2006

Holy Nausea, Batman!

So last night, I was getting ready to head out for dinner. My stomach was feeling a little queasy, but I just chalked it up to being empty & a little unsettled from my rushing around trying to get ready. I walked to the train station, bought my tokens, sat on a bench for a bit, then got on the train.

Suddenly, I was hit with a wave of nausea (and yes, I had to look up how to spell that). It was the "
full monty": dizziness, cold sweat, white face. I must have looked really frightening.

I tried to ignore it, but was forced to bail at Harvard. I headed up the Outbound ramp, thinking I could just head back to my apartment & rest up for another try. No such luck. I could barely stand. I had to head upstairs to the Pit to get some fresh air. I even ran into the Au Bon Pain bathroom just in case. Luckily, that was not in the cards.

I called J. to cancel on dinner, feeling wretched. He was very understanding. In retrospect, even if I had made it to dinner, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the fine LTK menu with a wonky stomach. I ended up walking home from Harvard because I didn't think I could stomach the train again. It was a loong walk, but I was feeling fine by the time I got home. Weird.

In happier news, I booked my flight home from Canada today! It's official now. I've taken the time off, my parents are driving me up, and I've got my flight booked for the way home. I can't wait to get to PEI (via the wedding in Cape Breton). The picture above is the sunset view from our cottage. :)

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Not Your Grandmother's Legal Seafoods

I'm going out to dinner with my friend J. tonight. I'm excited about this since I haven't seen him since April (even though he lives 20 minutes away in the Fenway). I'm also excited since I haven't been out to dinner with anyone besides my family in awhile. I know - I lead a sad, old lady's life. ;)

I am further excited because we're going to the Legal's Test Kitchen in the Seaport. I haven't been down that way since my sister's 1997 wedding reception on Boston harbor. Plus, the test kitchen menu made my mouth water. It's dazzling - check it out. I'll be back with a restaurant review tomorrow!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Rice Cereal Series

Thing 1 having his lunch at the Lake House on Saturday. I know I'm his aunt & therefore incredibly biased - but come on. This kid is a charmer. :)







For more pictures of his first Father's Day weekend, click here.

Friday, June 16, 2006

17 Again

Last night, I got jealous of my teenage self & decided to have some fun. I decided this, of course, after my brain was so full of GRE math that it was threatening to explode. And since you all know I just cleaned my apartment the other night, this was not a viable option.

I called up my friend D., who lives around the corner. I went to meet him in my high school track sweatshirt & college running shorts (I swear I wasn't trying to dress like a teenager, though). We went to the liquor store & bought a six-pack (the only time I didn't feel 17). We then walked down the bike path & drank beers.
We ended up in Arlington at the public soccer fields where we sat & talked until almost midnight.

It was nice - just to wander along, illicitly drink Mexican beer, and not have anywhere special to be or anything pressing to do. See, even old fogies of 24 can take a walk back in time!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Smells Like Summer

I've spent the last three nights home alone. Sounds sad & pathetic, but it's not! As you all know (because I've been whinging a lot), I've been very busy tutoring lately. So being able to just come directly home from work, cook dinner, listen to music, read a book, or watch TV has made me so happy.

Plus, it's been lovely outside. I think bright, sunshine-y summer days are fantastic. But you know what I think is even more fantastic? Soft, warm summer nights. I live in a neighborhood that is very quiet & peaceful, but also close to things like bars, liquor stores, etc. When I want something to munch on, I walk down the street to the local convenience shop.

As I stroll down the dark, leafy street, I take a deep breath of summer night. Something about that scent sends me headlong into a nostalgic reverie of past summers:

Growing up in Hometown, my friend Tracey & I used to steal cigarettes and smoke them illicitly on long walks around the block (while the neighborhood kids followed us on their bikes). Later, I used to spend summer nights partying with friends, which was usually followed by hitting up Bickford's for some late-night eggs & coffee and/or heading up to the farm in Arlington to watch either the stars or sunrise.

I never spent a full summer in College Town. However, my friends & I spent many end-of-summer (September) and beginning-of-summer (May) nights drinking beers on a beach at the foot of the lake.

Naturally, I've spent many summer nights roaming around the Lake House. R. & I used to go for long, aimless walks to the end of the road when we wanted to smoke butts & didn't want my folks to find out.

And, of course, summer nights on PEI. These were my all-time favorite summer nights: driving around Beach Point & the Harbour with B. & T., starting bonfires, parties & trouble down at the lighthouse, sneaking out to meet the boys, sleeping out under the stars when we were too drunk to set up the tent . . . Those were some good times.

The only bad thing about nostalgia is it makes you wonder why you don't have that kind of fun anymore. ;)

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Tidy & Coherent, Was It?

I think that's what I was shooting for today - a neat, tidy post that was short and to the point. Nothing cluttered or layered or messy. Right.

We all knew that was a pipe dream. I did have a nice, relaxing evening last night & cleared up a few things, but I'm still far from coherent & tidy. So I'm just going to spew out a list of the major things roaming around inside my head - good & bad. Maybe you guys can handle editing the clutter. Lord knows I can't.


  1. My ex-boyfriend is getting married. Yup, the one who wanted to marry me as recently as August '05. After we broke up in November, he got back together with his old girlfriend and they are getting married on the day before my birthday, October 7th. Yeah - piss on that.
  2. Remember that guy I was recently dating? High School Ex? The one I wasn't sure I wanted to commit myself to? We talked a bit about that last night. He feels exactly the same way. I am now officially single again.
  3. My company gave me & a few other co-workers $150 gift cards for working hard & meeting goals this season. Rock on! I've already spent it all at J. Crew: a gorgeous white summer jacket, blue Bermuda shorts w/ embroidered stars, and "tie silk" flip-flops (the Cadillac of flip-flops, baby).
  4. I'm going to a wedding on Cape Breton at the end of July, a day or two before my family vacation on Prince Edward Island. It's the wedding of an old friend (11 years!) from PEI who is one of the funniest, goofiest guys I know. It will be all kinds of crazy Canadian fun. However, my ex/summer love/first love T. will be there with his current girlfriend. Blech. Plus, I don't know how I'm going to get there, as I think the old Jeep-a-roo (119,750 miles on the odometer) is going to mutiny at the prospect of a 1,579 mile round trip from Boston -> Cape Breton -> PEI -> Boston.
And those are only 4 of the things on my mind! You can see where I'm feeling a little cluttered. It doesn't help that my apartment is an unholy mess - in dire need of a good scrubbing & sweeping, multiple loads of laundry, and a general tidying. Perhaps I'll tackle that tonight & see if it settles my mind . . . Anyone want to help? ;)

Monday, June 12, 2006

Messy Mind

That's how I feel today - messy minded. I was so eager to post today because a number of exciting things were on my mind last week. However, I'm having trouble sorting things out and picking one (or two) to blog about. I want to compose a screenplay when you're all expecting a sitcom episode. I want to write an epic novel and you expect a short story.

My thoughts are swishing and swirling and exploding all over the place today. I have what feels like 50 things on my mind. 1 dress, 1 kayak, 1 ex, 1 jacket,
1 car trip, 2 rock shows, 2 plane flights, 2 ferry rides, 3 babies, 3 father's day gifts, 4 weddings, 7 days, 12 weeks . . . I guess it's closer to 40 things, but still. I feel like Kate did a few weeks ago - I need a pensieve.

I'm going to take tonight to sift through the muck and winnow out the good stuff. Hopefully, I'll be back tomorrow with a tidy, coherent, purposeful post. We can hope, right?

Monday, June 05, 2006

Weekend Stories

So, I had a pretty good weekend. It went by waaay too fast, but what weekend doesn't? I spent Friday night hanging out with R., Ochs & Reed at the Plough. I hadn't been there in a long time, so it was good to come back. Plus, you have to love a bar that's called the "Plough & Stars" and has an actual plough, wrapped in star-shaped lights, hanging above the bar.

After some pints, we met up with our friend J. (who confessed to being a regular reader of my blog - I love you, J!) and wandered down to People's. For those of you who don't know me that well, the People's Republik is pretty much my Cambridge home-away-from-home. My friends & I have been frequenting the bar for years. A night out there is basically as comfortable as hanging out in my living room (with the added bonuses of good beers on tap, dartboards, and cute boys).

On Saturday morning, I drove up to the Lake House. I made a stop at the L.L. Bean Outlet to find out more about kayaks. I've fallen in love with the Loon 111, in dark red (picture above). I hope to buy my own soon. I spent Saturday hanging around my parents' gift shop and chatting with my mother about everything under the sun. Dinner was at the lake house, followed by Fever Pitch. I saw it last year when it came out, but I knew the fam (mostly made up of big Sox fans) would love it, so we watched it again. (I chose to stay at the Lake House on Saturday night, and thus missed my friend D's CD release party. I'm hoping that if I use this opportunity to plug his band, St. Helena, he might forgive me?)

On Sunday, I drove home & met the High School Ex for a date at the Museum of Science. I have not been there in years and I'd forgotten how much fun it is! I think I spent 90% of the time (we were there for 5 hours!), exclaiming "That's so cooool!" We started off with the Butterfly Garden, then wandered around the various exhibits. We moved on to the Lightning show, then more exhibits. We finished up with an Omni show, Dolphins, and a planetarium show, Far, Far Away. I can't wait to bring Thing 1 to the Museum. I bought him a stuffed penguin while we were there, and some freeze-dried astronaut ice cream for myself. That is some good moisture-free dairy product, let me tell you.

I finished off my weekend lying on the couch and watching "The Revolution" on the History Channel and "Adult Swim" on Cartoon Network. That's my idea of a kick-ass weekend, folks. :)