That yesterday I drove from Boston to Philly all by myself and I didn't make one wrong turn or have any complications whatsoever! Not to pat myself on the back too much, but I think I'm pretty good behind the wheel! :) Although this morning I noticed that my shoulders are really sore - I think it's from gripping the steering wheel like a madwoman for six hours straight. And speaking of wheels, the car transport people are here picking up our cars right now. Yay!
We also learned yesterday that the movers will be delivering our stuff to Denver on Monday, so we will only have two nights of camping out in the apartment. Also, we decided to celebrate Easter by going to the Pour House in Denver on Sunday night to watch the Red Sox opener! :)
Today we are just hanging out and enjoying a day off before we take off tomorrow... !!!!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
100 Things I Will Miss About Boston...
Last day of work... last night in Boston. Not going to lie - I'm feeling a little sad. I LOVE Boston and I am going to MISS the hell out of this city. While driving to work this morning, I started thinking about all the things I will miss about Boston...
1. that accent
2. spring flowers in the Garden
3. Red Sox baseball caps
4. Boylston Street
5. reading the New Yorker on the bumless side of the Common
6. the boutiques on Charles Street
7. mounted police in the Common
8. cemeteries
9. Mayor Menino and his mumbling
10. Boston pride
11. Swan Boats and how they reminded me of being little
12. the Pour House
13. the Red Line
14. Frog Pond
15. Police/Fire/EMS guys
16. September 11th at Fenway Park
17. Marathon Monday
18. Stop n Shop
19. Ken Oringer
20. Tom Brady/Wes Welker/Vince Wilfork
21. Halfway Cafe
22. Dylan Dryer
23. Fenway franks
24. Eastern Standard pre-Red Sox game
25. Charlestown bars (Warren Tavern, Tavern on the Water)
26. Raspberry cookies from Mike's Pastry
27. feeling proud of myself for mastering Boston driving
28. Fourth Street Bridge
29. South Boston Parade
30. my roomie
31. late-nite Dunkin' Donuts
32. old school Southie people
33. the Jimmy Fund
34. Cape Cod jewelry
35. Lord & Taylor's dress sales
36. b. Good
37. Prezza
38. calling liquor stores "packies"
39. the first warm day of the year
40. NECN
41. the Improper Bostonian
42. the front page of the Boston Herald
43. the breakdancers in Faneuil Hall
44. South Station
45. spin class on Wednesday nights
46. the Seaport District
47. the Boston Harbor Hotel
48. walking from the North End to South Station along the waterfront
49. 371 Dorchester Street
50. Love Letters on boston.com (luckily I can still read this online!)
51. Cambridge hipsters
52. bike messengers
53. Kingston Station
54. meeting Ray for after-work drinks
55. knowing the "back roads" home from work
56. 20 Concord Square
57. Finagle-a-Bagel
58. Phillips Candy House
59. calling Dorchester "the Dot"
60. J. Pace chicken salad sandwiches
61. cobblestone streets
62. Roger Berkowitz & Legal Seafoods ads
63. good clam chowder
64. the Inside Track & Names and Faces
65. Poland Springs water
66. being on the field at Fenway Park a few times a year
67. the Banana Republic on Newbury Street
68. Macy's in Downtown Crossing
69. Parish Cafe's patio
70. "bean" references
71. Harpoon IPA
72. Sam Summer
73. living in Southie but always having a parking spot on the street
74. 617 area code
75. the Playwright in Southie
76. Scampo at the Liberty Hotel
77. Abe & Louies for brunch
78. the leprechaun stickers that have been on my apartment windows since last St. Patty's Day
79. Franklin Cafe
80. "Beat LA" Celtics t-shirts
81. Beacon Hill Pub
82. Yawkey Way before a Red Sox game
83. the Red Sox store
84. "Booze cruises down the greater Newbs."
85. being afraid to go into Louis Boston
86. Silvertone
87. City Sports t-shirts
88. easily identifying people from the North Shore while out at bars
89. the man at the halfway house a few doors down who keeps his cat on a leash
90. Sal's pizza
91. making fun of Brookline
92. Fourth of July fireworks on the Esplanade
93. the Charles River
94. Make Way for Ducklings statue
95. Wachusett blueberry beer
96. Haymarket farmers market
97. the Christmas trees at the Pru and the Common
98. Tellos in Downtown Crossing (only window shopping!)
99. fish n chips
100. my family and friends!
1. that accent
2. spring flowers in the Garden
3. Red Sox baseball caps
4. Boylston Street
5. reading the New Yorker on the bumless side of the Common
6. the boutiques on Charles Street
7. mounted police in the Common
8. cemeteries
9. Mayor Menino and his mumbling
10. Boston pride
11. Swan Boats and how they reminded me of being little
12. the Pour House
13. the Red Line
14. Frog Pond
15. Police/Fire/EMS guys
16. September 11th at Fenway Park
17. Marathon Monday
18. Stop n Shop
19. Ken Oringer
20. Tom Brady/Wes Welker/Vince Wilfork
21. Halfway Cafe
22. Dylan Dryer
23. Fenway franks
24. Eastern Standard pre-Red Sox game
25. Charlestown bars (Warren Tavern, Tavern on the Water)
26. Raspberry cookies from Mike's Pastry
27. feeling proud of myself for mastering Boston driving
28. Fourth Street Bridge
29. South Boston Parade
30. my roomie
31. late-nite Dunkin' Donuts
32. old school Southie people
33. the Jimmy Fund
34. Cape Cod jewelry
35. Lord & Taylor's dress sales
36. b. Good
37. Prezza
38. calling liquor stores "packies"
39. the first warm day of the year
40. NECN
41. the Improper Bostonian
42. the front page of the Boston Herald
43. the breakdancers in Faneuil Hall
44. South Station
45. spin class on Wednesday nights
46. the Seaport District
47. the Boston Harbor Hotel
48. walking from the North End to South Station along the waterfront
49. 371 Dorchester Street
50. Love Letters on boston.com (luckily I can still read this online!)
51. Cambridge hipsters
52. bike messengers
53. Kingston Station
54. meeting Ray for after-work drinks
55. knowing the "back roads" home from work
56. 20 Concord Square
57. Finagle-a-Bagel
58. Phillips Candy House
59. calling Dorchester "the Dot"
60. J. Pace chicken salad sandwiches
61. cobblestone streets
62. Roger Berkowitz & Legal Seafoods ads
63. good clam chowder
64. the Inside Track & Names and Faces
65. Poland Springs water
66. being on the field at Fenway Park a few times a year
67. the Banana Republic on Newbury Street
68. Macy's in Downtown Crossing
69. Parish Cafe's patio
70. "bean" references
71. Harpoon IPA
72. Sam Summer
73. living in Southie but always having a parking spot on the street
74. 617 area code
75. the Playwright in Southie
76. Scampo at the Liberty Hotel
77. Abe & Louies for brunch
78. the leprechaun stickers that have been on my apartment windows since last St. Patty's Day
79. Franklin Cafe
80. "Beat LA" Celtics t-shirts
81. Beacon Hill Pub
82. Yawkey Way before a Red Sox game
83. the Red Sox store
84. "Booze cruises down the greater Newbs."
85. being afraid to go into Louis Boston
86. Silvertone
87. City Sports t-shirts
88. easily identifying people from the North Shore while out at bars
89. the man at the halfway house a few doors down who keeps his cat on a leash
90. Sal's pizza
91. making fun of Brookline
92. Fourth of July fireworks on the Esplanade
93. the Charles River
94. Make Way for Ducklings statue
95. Wachusett blueberry beer
96. Haymarket farmers market
97. the Christmas trees at the Pru and the Common
98. Tellos in Downtown Crossing (only window shopping!)
99. fish n chips
100. my family and friends!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Five Days Til Denver
It's hard for me to believe but Tom and I will be living in Denver in just five short days. I am so excited, definitely stressed and feeling a little nostalgic.
Tom and I rented a U-Haul van two weekends ago to bring all my stuff down to his apartment in Philly, then movers came on Friday to pack up our stuff and transport it to Denver. Everything should be there between March 31st and April 9th - I'm hoping it arrives on the early side because I've been living in an empty room and out of a suitcase for 15 days (who's counting?) , but since the movers get paid per day I think we'll be sleeping on an aero bed for at least a few nights.
The past two weekends have included a lot of goodbyes, which aren't easy and I'm not particularly good at. Last Saturday we got together with Tom's buddies at, of course, the Pour House and it was a great night that reinforced to me that Tom has a very solid group of friends. Since my friends in California are scattered all over the place and comprised of different people from college and work, it's nice to hang out in a cohesive group of Tom's college buddies who have a long history together and know how to have a good time. Plus, the guys all have great girlfriends, wives and lady-friends who I really enjoy. I am going to miss thePour House, Dugal, Manzi and the whole bunch, but I know that we will be back in the Bean sooner rather than later and it will be just like we never left.
This past Saturday we spent time with Tom's family, which was a great time, as usual. We started off with a visit to his gram, who lives in Medfield and reminds me so much of my gram that I got a little choked up over it when we left her house. She is such a sweet, tough and funny lady - she had us all laughing with stories about her neighbors' antics, which even included a little bed-hopping amongst the residents in her assisted living community! That evening we went to dinner with Tom's parents, his sister and their very good family friends, and it was filled with lots of food, wine and excellent company. Tom's family has really embraced me and made me feel like one of their own. I'm going to miss them and can't wait for them to come visit us.
Tomorrow night I'm visiting with my cousin and his new baby to talk about the baby's upcoming christening because I'm going to be the godmother! Is it terrifying to anyone else besides myself that I am acquiring a title with the word "mother" in it? :) Truthfully, I am so honored that he asked me to do this for him and I plan on being the best godmommy that I can be!
My last day of work is Wednesday, which will mean more goodbyes. I'm staying strong, though, and sticking with "See ya soon!"
Tom and I rented a U-Haul van two weekends ago to bring all my stuff down to his apartment in Philly, then movers came on Friday to pack up our stuff and transport it to Denver. Everything should be there between March 31st and April 9th - I'm hoping it arrives on the early side because I've been living in an empty room and out of a suitcase for 15 days (who's counting?) , but since the movers get paid per day I think we'll be sleeping on an aero bed for at least a few nights.
The past two weekends have included a lot of goodbyes, which aren't easy and I'm not particularly good at. Last Saturday we got together with Tom's buddies at, of course, the Pour House and it was a great night that reinforced to me that Tom has a very solid group of friends. Since my friends in California are scattered all over the place and comprised of different people from college and work, it's nice to hang out in a cohesive group of Tom's college buddies who have a long history together and know how to have a good time. Plus, the guys all have great girlfriends, wives and lady-friends who I really enjoy. I am going to miss thePour House, Dugal, Manzi and the whole bunch, but I know that we will be back in the Bean sooner rather than later and it will be just like we never left.
This past Saturday we spent time with Tom's family, which was a great time, as usual. We started off with a visit to his gram, who lives in Medfield and reminds me so much of my gram that I got a little choked up over it when we left her house. She is such a sweet, tough and funny lady - she had us all laughing with stories about her neighbors' antics, which even included a little bed-hopping amongst the residents in her assisted living community! That evening we went to dinner with Tom's parents, his sister and their very good family friends, and it was filled with lots of food, wine and excellent company. Tom's family has really embraced me and made me feel like one of their own. I'm going to miss them and can't wait for them to come visit us.
Tomorrow night I'm visiting with my cousin and his new baby to talk about the baby's upcoming christening because I'm going to be the godmother! Is it terrifying to anyone else besides myself that I am acquiring a title with the word "mother" in it? :) Truthfully, I am so honored that he asked me to do this for him and I plan on being the best godmommy that I can be!
My last day of work is Wednesday, which will mean more goodbyes. I'm staying strong, though, and sticking with "See ya soon!"
Friday, March 19, 2010
Reason #27 Why I Am Not Sad About Leaving Andrew Square
Last night when I returned home from work I was greeted by a heap of men's clothing piled atop my doorstep. Heap included multiple pairs of tightey-whiteys and boxer shorts.
???
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Thrill of the Hunt
Ooooook, I'm going to back-track a little bit with this post...
Tom and I survived our apartment-search trip to Denver! We saw, I think, 17 places over a two-day period and we managed to keep our heads from spinning completely off our necks by taking copious notes, photos and Flip-cam videos. Before we left, I put together a nifty Excel sheet with all of the info for each appointment, which helped to keep us organized and on track as well. We saw everything from an absolutely gorgeous four-bedroom town home with a giant roof deck in the absolute ghetto (legit junk yard next door) to a teeny-tiny loft that's location right across the street from Coors Field made its teeny-tininess almost excusable. We were pleasantly surprised with what we saw, and I was relieved that no one was blowing off our appointments, which was something that I was definitely losing sleep over prior to our visit. (We are flying in all the way from Boston to look at these places - everyone BETTER respect our time!!!)
The blessing and the curse of our visit was that we found two awesome places on Friday - and they were so great that we sort of lost interest in looking at places on Saturday. On Friday, we hooked up with amazing Realtor Rachel, who showed us multiple properties, including the two that we really liked. She was easy to work with, she listened to what we liked/didn't like and she was knowledgeable about Denver in general. Plus, it didn't feel like she was trying to screw us or shove us into a rental just to make a buck. Friday was a good day.
On Saturday, though, we met the antithesis of Realtor Rachel. His name was John Patterson and he was our nightmare. John is about 55-years-old and he specializes in rentals only. Of course, he had a big explanation for why he is a 55-year-old rental realtor - he likes to talk (yes, he said this), he likes to keep his eye on the "trends" in real estate (it's a renter's market!), he got really burned out helping to develop the private residences atop Denver's Four Seasons a few years ago (riiiiiiight), and, as a life-long Denver resident he just likes to help people find places to live in the city he loves so much! At first I felt bad for John - he was shortish with a grey puffy hair-do and he wore tight, belted jeans and cowboy boots. He drove a 1992 BMW 5-series. Like his car, he was about 15 years past his prime. But the sympathy I felt for John quickly faded away when he took us prisoner in his car and proceeded to completely disregard anything and everything we told him.
John: "Are we getting too far outside downtown for you?"
Tom and Melissa: "YES!"
John: "Ok, well before I turn around, I just want to show you..."
There is nothing worse than sitting in the backseat of an aging BMW and listening to a little man drone on about... actually, I don't know what he talked about because I was very carsick and had to tune him out. Tom did an excellent job of pretending to have a conversation with John and of feigning interest in the horrible pieces of property he showed us. When we were finally freed from Mr. John Patterson's greedy clutches, Tom and I ran to the nearest street corner to call Realtor Rachel and tell her to start moving forward with the two properties we had seen the previous day.
Anyway, we ended up signing a lease on a great place near Riverfront Park in LoDo. It's three bedrooms, which means visitors are welcome, has a great kitchen, plenty of open space, a patio for a grill and easy access to bike trails and green space. I can't wait to get out there and start decorating!! The place is ours as of April 1, but we are still working with the relocation company to get an ETA on our stuff in Denver.
Finding a place was one giant hurdle we jumped over and put us that much closer to being in Denver. Only two weeks to go!!
Tom and I survived our apartment-search trip to Denver! We saw, I think, 17 places over a two-day period and we managed to keep our heads from spinning completely off our necks by taking copious notes, photos and Flip-cam videos. Before we left, I put together a nifty Excel sheet with all of the info for each appointment, which helped to keep us organized and on track as well. We saw everything from an absolutely gorgeous four-bedroom town home with a giant roof deck in the absolute ghetto (legit junk yard next door) to a teeny-tiny loft that's location right across the street from Coors Field made its teeny-tininess almost excusable. We were pleasantly surprised with what we saw, and I was relieved that no one was blowing off our appointments, which was something that I was definitely losing sleep over prior to our visit. (We are flying in all the way from Boston to look at these places - everyone BETTER respect our time!!!)
The blessing and the curse of our visit was that we found two awesome places on Friday - and they were so great that we sort of lost interest in looking at places on Saturday. On Friday, we hooked up with amazing Realtor Rachel, who showed us multiple properties, including the two that we really liked. She was easy to work with, she listened to what we liked/didn't like and she was knowledgeable about Denver in general. Plus, it didn't feel like she was trying to screw us or shove us into a rental just to make a buck. Friday was a good day.
On Saturday, though, we met the antithesis of Realtor Rachel. His name was John Patterson and he was our nightmare. John is about 55-years-old and he specializes in rentals only. Of course, he had a big explanation for why he is a 55-year-old rental realtor - he likes to talk (yes, he said this), he likes to keep his eye on the "trends" in real estate (it's a renter's market!), he got really burned out helping to develop the private residences atop Denver's Four Seasons a few years ago (riiiiiiight), and, as a life-long Denver resident he just likes to help people find places to live in the city he loves so much! At first I felt bad for John - he was shortish with a grey puffy hair-do and he wore tight, belted jeans and cowboy boots. He drove a 1992 BMW 5-series. Like his car, he was about 15 years past his prime. But the sympathy I felt for John quickly faded away when he took us prisoner in his car and proceeded to completely disregard anything and everything we told him.
John: "Are we getting too far outside downtown for you?"
Tom and Melissa: "YES!"
John: "Ok, well before I turn around, I just want to show you..."
There is nothing worse than sitting in the backseat of an aging BMW and listening to a little man drone on about... actually, I don't know what he talked about because I was very carsick and had to tune him out. Tom did an excellent job of pretending to have a conversation with John and of feigning interest in the horrible pieces of property he showed us. When we were finally freed from Mr. John Patterson's greedy clutches, Tom and I ran to the nearest street corner to call Realtor Rachel and tell her to start moving forward with the two properties we had seen the previous day.
Anyway, we ended up signing a lease on a great place near Riverfront Park in LoDo. It's three bedrooms, which means visitors are welcome, has a great kitchen, plenty of open space, a patio for a grill and easy access to bike trails and green space. I can't wait to get out there and start decorating!! The place is ours as of April 1, but we are still working with the relocation company to get an ETA on our stuff in Denver.
Finding a place was one giant hurdle we jumped over and put us that much closer to being in Denver. Only two weeks to go!!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Do Flu Shots Wear Off?
I've been very neglectful of this space, but you don't need a blog post to tell you that.
The past two weeks have been so busy - and eventful! I promise a full recap here as soon as I stave off the horrible cold I came down with this weekend. My mind is not working at full capacity and it hurts to look at this computer screen. :(
Enough of my whining... I promise to be back with something more positive soon!
The past two weeks have been so busy - and eventful! I promise a full recap here as soon as I stave off the horrible cold I came down with this weekend. My mind is not working at full capacity and it hurts to look at this computer screen. :(
Enough of my whining... I promise to be back with something more positive soon!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Relocation Package!
It looks like the magic "relocation package" that we've been waiting for since January will come through any day now. Fingers crossed!!
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