Stereotypes

Before moving to Boston, I didn't know much about the city and it's people... but I can confirm that Boston definitely lives up to it's stereotypes.

1. Crazy Sports fans.

Growing up with an Angels-obsessed brother, I was forced to hate the Red Sox if I wanted his love and respect. Too far? maybe, but just barely. He hates them - deeply. I had encountered Red Sox fans when the Angels played them and they were always the most obnoxious.

Did the stereotype live up? Yep.

I went to a game at Fenway Park; the fans were loud, the fans were drunk, and the fans cheered obnoxiously even when their team lost. And you know what? I kind of loved it. 

             Boston fans are crazy, but it's a craziness that is kind of fun to be a part of. Don't tell Brad. 

We want to go to a Bruins game (hockey), hopefully we have time to catch one.

please disregard the fact that I am tone-deaf. 

2. Extremely intelligent.

Harvard? MIT? yep. enough said. But, there's more. Everywhere you turn in this city there is another College. Emerson, Suffolk, Northeastern, Boston University, Boston College, UMass Boston, Leslie, Tufts.... the list goes on. It is insane.

3. Funny accents.

Being from California, I obbbbbvviouuslly don't have an accent. I speak how everyone should. Ok, I'm being facetious. My cousins from other states say Californians do have an accent. So I'll concede [even though I still think we speak the best :)]. Not everyone here has that true Boston accent, but when you hear it there is no mistaking it!

A Boston accent takes out the "r" in the middle of the word. "park the car" turns into "pAk the cAr."
But, I heard it said that Bostonians say "you need to die with the same amount of r's."
So when you take the "r" out of the middle of the word, you have to add an "r" to a word that ends in a vowel so "idea" turns into "idear" and "area" turns into "arear."

Given that I studied communication disorders in college, this has been an especially fun one.

4. Hyper-liberal

Although a few people in my office are fellow Romney supporters, they definitely drink the Blue kool-aid out here. The other day I passed a candle light vigil in government center for energy silence.

Despite the fact that I still have a thing for the Red kool-aid, I try not to stick out like an elephant either. Since moving here, I gave up on plastic grocery bags,

         - sidenote: you all should use reusable grocery bags, I've always kind of hated the plastic ones because they're such a waste. And I was the kid that fished them out of the water at the beach. You can hold about 3x more in the reusable kind, and they don't break, and you can carry them over your shoulder. It will change your life. Promise. 

I recycle more (something I've always done but hated that I would have actually had to pay money to get a recycling bin in my Utah apt, how lame is that?!), and I've even been spotted at a Farmer's market.

Don't worry I still shave my legs. Even though I've seen a few girls here who don't.

Although I've found these funny stereotypes to often be true, I had an experience today while sitting at the Prudential Center, eating Pinkberry, and people watching, that made me remember we shouldn't be so quick to judge negatively but should always try to give people a positive benefit of the doubt.

Happy weekend!

Home

I am currently laying in bed in my one room apartment in Boston - yes, one room, we're talking a cozy few hundred square feet that makes for our bedroom, kitchen, dining room, family room all in one - while Mike is off at a rally in Ohio and is about to ride in a private jet all weekend with some famous politicians (not Mitt, but some very cool people). 

I figured with the election happening on Tuesday (what???) I should write about what I've been up to when the outcome of this little adventure is still unknown.

Living in Boston has been incredible, for so many reasons. New England's charm has wriggled itself into a very big portion of my heart and I love calling this city home.

For instance, Mike and I were walking around Faneuil Hall last night and I looked down to find this.

Boston is full of hidden gems like this.

Living in a city has definitely called for some adjustments, but adjusting has been fun.

We decided not to have a car while living in Boston so we've been in 2-heel drive (catch that dad joke? sorry, I had to) and relying on the T for the past few months.

It's funny to think that when I was at home, walking to the end of my street seemed like punishment yet now I'll walk 2 and a half miles just for Pinkberry.

We've rented a lot of cars since we've been here. This one is my favorite. Mike hardly fit inside.

The closest full size grocery store is 2 1/2 miles away, 7 T (subway) stops. There are small, overpriced markets around, so I usually just end up doing my grocery shopping at CVS  - they have one on every corner.

Speaking of chain stores on every corner -- DUNKIN DONUTS. You would not believe the amount of Dunkin Donuts in this city. It's amazing how skinny this city stays despite all the donuts. I'm not the biggest fan of their donuts, but their Pumpkin Hot Chocolate is out of this world.

Boston's biggest charm is it's history. Amidst sky scrapers you can find the Old Statehouse where the Declaration of Independence was originally read or the oldest U.S. publishing house where The Scarlet Letter was published (now turned into a Chipotle). Although, this history means old brick and cobble stone roads, which means I trip. all. the. time. I've split 3 pairs of shoes since being here.

The fall here is so beautiful but when Boston is 40 degrees it's the coldest I've ever been in my life. The humidity just bites you. Missing the winter is the only bright spot about leaving Boston.

Here are just a few aspects of our life in the city. We've loved every minute.

Vacation Envy

So I got married! ....I guess I'll post about the wedding and all of that a little later.

The past month has been crazy. I got married, went to Hawaii, moved out to Boston, and have a job like a grown up. (Seriously, I go to bed at 11 and wake up at 7 - its crazy).

Hawaii in the summertime is magical. I had forgotten how great it was til I got to go this summer. Ever since I got back, I have been checking expedia on a tri-weekly basis dreaming some super cheap, super rad vacation package to Maui would appear. It hasn't. But in case I forgot just how great Hawaii is, all of my instagram friends have been reminding me all August long. It has seriously been torturous how many people have been there in the past 2 weeks.

Needless to say, I have been having a little vacation envy. But then, I got to thinking... I just moved to a city that millions of people vacation to every year, so it's kind of like every day is a vacation. I mean, really, how often do you get to go here:

to one of the oldest and most historic baseball fields in the country?


or how about this view:

the water is what I see when I walk out my front door and the city view is from my roof top. Pinch me!


or you know, we (Mike) could just travel up the coast to get fresh lobster for lunch:

sidenote: I've been watching a ridiculous amount of Dawson's Creek to pass the time while Mike is working and had many a freak outs on this trip imagining Dawson and Joey hitting this watertown. Embarrassing? yeah.

Or we could satisfy our Mexican food cravings at a place around the corner from this place:

I guess what I am trying to say is, I'm loving it out here. Every day is a little adventure with a new place to explore.

And, just in case I still have a little vacation envy, I am leaving for Florida tomorrow :)

Patience is my least favorite virtue

I've been a very patient girl these past three and a half months. On Easter (april 7th), my fiancé moved to Boston while I stayed out west. While I shed my fair share of tears in the beginning, I stayed positive and grateful for this awesome opportunity. I only got to see him 3 times since he moved and the amount of time I spent with him could easily be counted in just hours - but it was ok because he was going to arrive at Long Beach on July 18th at 8:18 to marry me and all would be PERFECT. Well, when it's less than 48hrs until your wedding and your fiancé is stuck in an airport across the country where it's hailing golf balls and lightning is striking and his plane is indefinitely delayed because the plane he was supposed to take was rerouted to Maine and youve been counting down the days to this very day for months, you start to bawl your eyes out in Target. And you know that looking like a fool is completely justified. Well ladies and gents, after a few hours of delays, Mike is on a plane thanks to a Jet Blue miracle, and I will be at Long Beach airport at 10:56 pm. You know, the possibility of not having a groom at your wedding (ok, I'm being dramatic, but just let this one slide) really puts this whole wedding business into perspective. I'm not having a wedding, I am marrying Mike -forever. At the end of the day, that is all I want. I just want Mike. I just want to be with him forever. Lucky for me, I get to see him in 5 hrs 37 mins and I get to marry him in 43 hrs 38 mins. Then he's never leaving my side again, except after our honeymoon when he goes back Boston 4 days before me and his business trip 3 weeks later, but that's just child's play after our long distance engagement!

Catch up [not ketchup - that stuff is gross]

So I have to admit, when I got on my computer to blog, I kind of forgot how to do it. Given that this is such an exciting time, I really want to document it - hence, my recurrence back on the blog - so I have a little catching up to do.

I guess it's just a little noteworthy to mention that both me and my fiance are college grads!

Mike couldn't make it back from Boston for my graduation but I stayed up in Utah for his. So for posterity's sake, I put my robe back on and we pranced about (that may be a generous verb choice - we were both super embarrassed to be standing on the corner of Bulldog Ave. so we smiled as pretty as we could for 15 seconds and were out of there) our college campuses and took some pictures together.

On about just as exciting of a note, I got an iPad for graduation. I thought that I would have no use for that thing since I already have a computer, but I am obsessed. My poor little computer has gotten the complete shaft, which is probably why I haven't blogged.









I moved away from Utah for good. Let's be honest, Utah is so easy (and fun) to poke fun of, it just gives us a lot of good material, but I will be the first to admit that I absolutely love that state. I loved my time there and am so sad it has ended. You'd better believe I will be brainwashing my children into going to BYU. It was the best time of my life.

Although, this new view I have is pretty awesome. So is unemployment.

My life currently consists of wedding planning, lunch dates with the mama, the gym, TV shows, skype dates.. and that's pretty much it. Life is awesome.

I've also had lots more fun things on the schedule this summer like bridal showers and a trip to New York and Boston, I'll catch up on those soon.

For now, I am going to soak in my last hour as a 21 year old. Night, friends!

Paper chains.

Mike moved to Boston on Easter so we will be living on different coasts until we get married. With all of my new found spare time that was previously taken up by a fiance, I made a paper chain to countdown the days until we get married.

This countdown helps me play a trick on myself: we only have 9 more full days together before we get married! In all reality, we really don't get married for another 84 days but it's a sneaky little way to make me feel like we will be getting married soon even though we'll be apart basically our entire engagement. 

Another thing that makes being apart easier is that Mike is doing awesome things. Example A:

That's Mike right under Mitt's arm (where my bobby pin is pointing) at Mitt's speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday. This picture was on the front page of Politico Wednesday morning. 

You can watch the speech here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgGAGreAhzQ&feature=player_embedded

Although I miss him terribly, I don't want to be unhappy for the next three months so I've just been keeping busy and staying positive. But, friends, Mike is at the Boston Logan Airport about to board a plane headed straight for Utah-- all smiles around these parts! 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I know I will :) 

Cost-Benefit Analysis.

I am hesitant to write this blog post because I don't want to reveal my tricks. However, since I have already graduated (wait. what?), I figure I should do the noble thing and share my secrets to BYU parking.

Disclaimer: These tips have been tested through trial and error. Strategies were eliminated when a Parking Ticket was received.

I am not sure how many parking tickets I have received over the past 4 years but it is probably in the ball park of 18. If you receive 6 tickets in one year, you get a letter telling you that you are a ticket away from being banned for parking or driving on BYU's campus FOR LIFE. A little dramatic? I'd say so. You think they'd enjoy the extra money we give them. I've never received one of these letters but I've made it pretty close.

Each day, before I go to class, I run through a cost-benefit analysis: weighing the possibility of a parking ticket v. the perks of not having to walk up the awful hills our school sits on. Driving to school wins every time.
          *If you know that I live a 5 minute walk away from campus, don't judge.

Unless you start classes at 7 am, stalk students on the way back to their cars, or Gemini is in your house that  day, you probably aren't going to get a spot in a Y lot. So here are some tips to still park on campus while avoiding a ticket:

• The Taylor Building (Across 9th East from the Law School, kitty-corner from the Creamery) is full of A(faculty) and G(graduate students) spots with some Y(student) spots. The Y spots are usually taken but there are always A or G spots. This is my major's building and I have "illegally" parked here for 2 years and NEVER (really, never. not once!) received a ticket. 
• Beware: it is far from the main campus. So far that not even the parking police bother to patrol it.
• If you are looking to chance a closer A lot, try the lower parking lot across the street from J-dawgs. I have received a ticket here a few times but it is much more rare than other lots.
• One of my favorite tricks is milking the 30 minute spots. They check them regularly so try not to spend more than 30 minutes on campus but if you're just running in to drop something off, use them!
• The Wilk parking lot, Visitor lot/Law School lot, Widstoe lot, my favorite: the Crabtree Lot
• I have also heard stories of people parking at the RB 15 minute stalls for hours without receiving a ticket. I never tested this one.
• Another favorite trick: If you have a class that starts at 3:30, park in a Widstoe or Visitor/Law School 30 minute spot because they become free game at 4:00.
• Learn when each lot opens up for free parking. This way, you can always safely drive to campus.
• Most of you should know this, but just in case you don't, I will tell you: during Spring and Summer, undergraduate students can park in G lots as well. 
• As a rule of thumb, stay away from the JKB. The parking police office is in the JKB so they patrol it quite often. Sometimes you can get away with this for an hour, but, more often than not, you will receive a parking ticket for parking there. 
• If you see the Parking Police patrolling the parking lot, run to your car - as fast as you can. Trust me, out running them has been done. And there is no sweeter victory.

Last but not least, if you do get a parking ticket, pay it online within the first 7 days and the price drops from $20 to $10. 

Don't sweat it, practically every other college campus has parking fees. Just look at your parking tickets as your parking fee and enjoy that thrill that comes from out-smarting the Parking Police. 

Man, I'll miss this place.