Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Friday Morning

at 9:15 (assuming we make the 8am boat), I will be gazing at this lighthouse over the starboard bow. I can scarcely contain my excitement, you guys. I think I'm driving my co-workers a little crazy.

While I'm gone, feel free to roam around my archives. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Hope you all have a good week. I'll be back on August 5th, with loads of pictures & hopefully some good stories. Take care of the place while I'm gone, ok? :)

Monday, July 23, 2007

Seriously, Peeing Myself . . .

. . . with excitement. My 10-day vacation starts at 5:30 pm on Thursday! Last year, I started counting down a little sooner, but I'm no less excited this year. How could I avoid being so, with a view like that? :)

I'm actually meant to be packing tonight. And yet . . . I watched the Sox game (great comeback for Jon Lester!), chatted with my mum on the phone, and wrote this post instead.

However, the clothes are clean & ready to be packed and I've written a list of what I'm bringing. What's missing is the labor to actually move the clothes from my drawers & closet (oh, ok, and from my clean laundry bag) into my suitcase.

Oh well, it will all get done before Thursday. In the meantime, I'm going to keep daydreaming about warm days at the beach & a cool breeze off the water. :)

Sunday, July 22, 2007

7 Random Things about Me

Londongirl tagged me for this awhile ago & I somehow missed it! It's been harder than I thought to come up with 7 random things, mostly because I did this list this year. But I'll give it a shot. :)
  1. I love stars & the number 3. When my college friend Natalie told me she thought 3 stars were a good luck charm, I knew we'd be good friends.
  2. I picked a crab apple from one of the trees at the museum on Saturday. I really want to eat it, but I'm afraid it will give me a tummy ache!
  3. The three TV shows I'm currently wild about: Scrubs, Man vs. Wild, and Ice Road Truckers.
  4. I wish it was still possible to run away to sea.
  5. Two of my favorite books are about women who find their happily ever after in their late 20's & manage to do so while still being entirely themselves. ;)
  6. I'm leaving for my annual vacation to Prince Edward Island in 3 days (see ticker at the bottom of the page) & I'm nearly peeing myself with excitement.
  7. (I stole this one from the previous list b/c it's so funny!) I once accidentally dyed my stomach blue by wearing a hand-dyed blue tank top on a hot day on PEI. I then went to a party with my friends (wearing a bathing suit) & at the end of the night, all of their white shirts had blue stains from my drunken hugs.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Detective Work

OK - because this is fun to do (even though I know I'm not unique), here is a list of some of the search terms that brought people to good ol' Hodoeporicon here. I've also noted why I think the search engine led them here. It's time to do some detecting, dear Watson. ;)
  1. pictures of goofy looking mounted police - I believe this would take them to this post. Gotta love Mounties who let you keep your beer!
  2. my nephew september wedding can i wear a black cocktail dress - Well, "nephew" is easy. Do a search for "Thing 1" & you'll see how many posts there are about him. I was in a wedding in October, and went out for a North End dinner in a black cocktail dress in November!
  3. "cardboard box costume" car - I was a UPS package for Halloween. :)
  4. blueberry season pei - from blueberry picking on PEI last summer. This is wicked easy.
  5. how to exorcise a ghost - Another cake walk.
  6. boston yach club - Hmmm. Here's my best guess: jaunt to Castle Island.
  7. let no one sleep opera - Another easy one.
  8. "tuba""josh bernstein" - OK, the Josh Bernstein part is clear. But tuba? You guys, I'm stumped.
  9. i noticed him enjoying pretzels at various times - Uh, what? I did mention pretzels in this post, but that's the closest I can get.
  10. duddingston village scotland - Not too hard: this is the village where my Scottish buddies live. I posted a pic here.
  11. scottish men - I'm sure there are plenty of references to these. ;) This is probably the specific post, though.
  12. grammy terrapass - As you know, my gram died in May. I blogged about Terra Pass in April.
  13. kilts - Definitely this post!
  14. whitey bulger - I have no freaking idea.
  15. http://hodoeporicon.blogspot.com - Why not just type this into the browser?
  16. "irish bartender" burren - I toyed with leaving my number for the Irish bartender at the Burren last year, but decided against it. ;)
  17. EASTOVER - My visit to the Berkshires to meet Nick's parents in February.
  18. i bought a pair of shoes at the liquor store lyrics - Again, completely stumped. I like shoes & I bought a bunch last summer, but beyond that, I got nothing.
Have a good weekend, everyone!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Faith (or the Lack Thereof)

(Image courtesy of Behind Blue Eyes)

(Preface - If I heard a friend saying what I'm about to say, I'd probably bonk her upside the head & tell her to get over it. Accordingly, please be kind in the comments.) ;)

A decade ago, there was no doubt in my mind that I would one day find my soulmate & get married. I didn't know who he was, where he was from, or when I would meet him, but my fifteen-year old self believed that I would meet him.

Now - after falling in love twice & seeing both relationships come to naught, I've lost that faith. I am not sure that I will meet the right person. The certainty of a decade ago is gone.

I know what you might say: I'm only 25 & I'm overreacting. I understand that - I do.
I still have hope, I want to be clear on that. I am still hopeful, but I can't be sure. I wish I didn't feel this way.

I'm left without faith. I miss it.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Hooray!

My sweet, sweet internets are back. :)

Hope you're all well tonight. I went for a 2-mile run after work, had some yummy organic potstickers for supper, and am now enjoying my Sam Adams Pale Ale.

(Almost enough good juju to wipe out the stench of the Sox's 9-3 loss to the Royals. THE ROYALS, PEOPLE! The 40-53, .430 winning percentage, 16-games-behind-in-the-AL-Central Royals. Sigh.)

Out of Service

Sorry, guys. My home internet is not working at the moment, so no new posts. I've emailed my landlord, though, and hopefully will be up & running again soon!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Friday Fotos

Here is what my Friday was like at work:
Ice cream cone cupcakes! One of my co-workers made them & they were delish. I had one for breakfast & one around 10:30. Oh, and one around 2:30. OK, ok, and one at 5:30. Don't judge me.

This is the (paper) medal I received for bravely slaying the centipede in the ladies' room. My co-worker in our DC office emailed it to me when she heard of my heroics. At the request of her & a couple of others, I then printed it out, cut it out, and made a paper-clip chain for it. Good stuff.

I'm going to miss my kooky co-workers when I leave.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

"Look, Ma, I got All-Stahs!"

First of all, why did they tell us it started at 8pm when the action, the real baseball, didn't start until 9? I mean - I was glad to see them honor Willie Mays, but the rest of the dog & pony show just didn't do it for me.

Second, I really hate Fox's commentary. During the 2004 ALCS, my roommates & I finally gave up, muted the TV, and listened to WEEI instead. I can now report that Fox hasn't improved in three years.

Third, I know the All-Star game is a big deal & that all professional sports are plastered with ads these days, but why do they have to inundate us with so many of them? We're at the top of the 6th & I've counted Taco Bell, Burger King, AT&T (naturally), The Simpsons movie, Master Card, and a few others.

But to end on a positive note - I checked the full list of this year's All-Stars & my fantasy team is well represented! I was pleased to discover that I've got eight All-Stars on my team:
  1. Hideki Okajima
  2. Alex Rodriguez
  3. Derek Jeter
  4. Vladimir Guerrero
  5. Justin Morneau
  6. Brian Fuentes
  7. Orlando Hudson
  8. Roy Oswalt

Monday, July 09, 2007

Recent Green Changes

In my continued efforts to be more aware of my impact on the environment (and in hopes that lakes like ours will always look this pristine), I've implemented a few more "green changes." Check out my April resolutions here.
  1. To reduce the number of styrofoam Dunkin Donuts cups I use, I've been making coffee at home & bringing it to work in a travel mug. Not only does this eliminate waste, it's also saving me money. At the height of my DD's addiction (6 mediums w/ cream per week), I was spending around $38 per month on coffee. Now, a 12oz. bag of coffee and 4 quarts of half & half get me through the month and ring up to a meager $17.
  2. I've been keeping just one light burning in my apartment when I'm home at night. My place is a 430 sq. feet studio - I don't really need two lights burning to light it sufficiently!
  3. I've been trying to buy organic when it works with my budget. Tonight's dinner was pesto tortellini from Amy's Kitchen. :) Plus, this company uses cardboard containers (instead of the plastic you usually see with microwave meals), so I could recycle the container after use!

Thursday, July 05, 2007

"Red Sox put on belated fireworks display"

That was a headline from MLB.com just now & I thought it was apt. We're in the bottom of the 2nd right now & we're already ahead of the D-rays, 9-0.

Yeah - you heard me right. 6 runs scored in the first inning off a Coco Crisp grand slam and 3 so far in the 2nd. Looks like the boys paid attention to the fireworks on the Esplanade last night & the bats are back in town! ;)

UPDATE: I'm promise - I'm not really live-blogging. But I had to check in to say this: it's now the bottom of the 3rd & we're winning 13-2. I feel bad for the Devil Rays.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Sorry to keep doing this, but holy moly. We're now at the bottom of the 6th & the score is 15-3. I don't think I see many Tampa Bay fans left in the crowd. ;)

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"

Hope all of you (who are American, that is) had a great 4th of July today! I had the day off from my full-time job, but cruised up the coast to work at my second job. Hey - I couldn't say no to getting paid for both jobs while only working one!

Spent the day enjoying the sunshine, talking to families about our historic homes, and showing little kids how to play with period toys. The blip of the day was getting stuck in some serious traffic on the way home, which doubled my commute.

However, I wrapped the evening up by eating a nice supper, checking MLB.com to find out that the Sox had won (7-5 over the D-rays, increasing our lead over the Yanks to 12 games) & splitting my TV-viewing time between the Boston fireworks/Pops concert & the History Channel's The Revolution.

Add to that the plan for fireworks at the lake house with the family on Saturday, and I'm having a pretty good 4th. :)

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Don't Forget!

to vote for Hideki Okajima in the final voting for the All-Star game! Voting ends on Thursday at 6pm & it would be great to get this stellar rookie into the game along with his teammates Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Jonathon Papelbon. So - don't forget to vote! :)

Monday, July 02, 2007

History Redux

So, the other day, I mentioned something about leaving the Boston area & Eileen asked where I was going. I realized that while I mentioned writing my personal statement, meeting with the department for my interview & hearing about my initial acceptance, I haven't posted lately about my upcoming entrance into grad school. So, without further ado . . .

I'm starting grad school in the fall! Pretty exciting & nerve wracking stuff. Taking a page from Kate's book, I'd rather not get into the specifics. However, it will suffice to say that I'll be starting a master's program in history in just a couple of months.

Conventional wisdom (and U.S. News & World Report) says that there are a number of "wrong reasons" to attend grad school. The ones that come to mind are:
  1. to make lots of money
  2. to avoid getting a real job
  3. to impress people
However, these reasons are not really motivating factors for me. I know that unless I am able to rise to the highest level in my field, I'll never make more than $60K. Plus, I'll be paying off thousands in student loans - sweet!

I've worked a real, 9-5, cubicle-dwelling job for more than two years now, so I didn't avoid that. I suppose I don't hate the idea that some people will be impressed with my degree, but I also recognize that many people won't be. ;)

No, the two main reasons for my return to academia are these:
  1. to study history at the graduate level. This is the most pure reason I can think of. I have missed the study of history & am excited about returning to it, at a more advanced level.
  2. to get a job that I love. Over the past three years since I earned my bachelor's, I've found many jobs that I think would have been great for me, but which required a master's.
Wish me luck. :)