No more green leaves!

Fall has arrived! That snow a few days back tried to trick us all, but thankfully, autumn is nowhere near ending. Overnight, the leaves on the trees seemed to have all changed colors, reminding me why I love New England. I've never lived anywhere else in my life, but how can you not love this time of year?

I got up this morning and went to have breakfast with Corey at his apartment in Beacon Hill, where I made pancakes all by myself for a second time. I know I'm no Julia Child, but I'll take my culinary victories where I can. I'm going to have a kitchen when I go to Dublin, so I've got to start somewhere otherwise I'll wither away due to lack of food, or gain 30 pounds from eating all things packaged.

After breakfast, we walked to Starbucks for some much needed caffeine and then we walked through the Public Garden where the sunshine and turning leaves were gorgeous! I sincerely regret not having my camera on me. Otherwise, I'd include pictures of the swarm of toddlers around the "Make Way for Ducklings" bronze duck statues. So cute! I'd like to challenge anyone who is feeling grumpy to go see the kids and ducks and not be cheered up, even a little.

Being the good boyfriend that he is, Corey walked me to the T so I could head back to my dorm and do the annoying Sunday chores of laundry, cleaning and immersing myself in homework. Blech. So instead of spending the day outside, I'll be hanging out with dryer sheets, liquid detergent and Socrates.

Three cheers for higher education.

The journalism diet

I procrastinate. There's no way to sugar coat it. The problem I'm facing at this moment is that I have a story due tomorrow and no one will call me back.

I'm sitting in a corner of the student union, too afraid to go get lunch. Because of course, the second I get in line for a sandwich, my phone will ring and the source will give me brilliant quotes, only for me to frantically run back to my table to grab a pen, accidently stealing said sandwich in the process. Or, I could bring my notebook with me to the sandwich line, but then if someone calls, I will do the awkward tango of holding my phone between my shoulder and ear (which with a cell phone is nearly impossible) and cradling my notebook in one hand, writing with the other. That precise moment would be when my name would be called to pick up my lunch. Would I grab the sandwich by my teeth? I don't even want to think about it.

So here I sit. Hungry. So I've decided to blog to keep my hands busy and away from the container of grapes the girl sitting next to me is enjoying. But if she gets up from the table, so help me, I will steal one.

Anyways, here's a little story. So I'm going to be Lady Gaga for Halloween, which requires some major costuming. I love dressing up, so I don't mind spending a little cash to give my impersonation a little something extra. Like a long blonde wig.

I will never wear this wig again. I'll probably look borderline revolting with blonde hair. Nevertheless, I trekked to the Garment District by MIT on Monday and picked out a perfect Lady Gaga wig. The wigs were all behind the counter, so I told the girl working which one I wanted.

"Oh, you're being Lady Gaga, aren't you? Good choice!" she said. Why thank you, I thought. I like you.

So she gives me the wig in a bag. I see it's blonde, but you're not really allowed to open the packages in the store, so I buy it and leave. Thirty minutes later, I arrived back at my dorm room, beyond excited to have a dress rehearsal and get all dolled up.

I take out the wig. It's a mullet. A business in the front, party in the back, platinum blonde mullet.

The Garment District, specifically poor Ron, received a phone call with the tone of someone who just spent their afternoon on the T only to have a bad haircut to show for it. I was eventually able to get him to reverse the rule that all sales are final, and got his name just in case there were any issues. I think I get this from my mother.

So I'll head back Friday and buy the correct wig, but I'm blaming my stressful week on that bad piece of synthetic hair I have sitting in my room.

Mullets are no way to start a Monday.

Snow

That's right. It's currently snowing in Boston. October 18 and it's snowing. And the flakes are the size of large cotton balls, they're huge! Now I'm a New England girl so I do love me some snow, but come on! Having snow before the leaves have even changed colors is just flat out annoying. It just seems so unnatural, looking out my window to see snow blowing by trees full of green leaves.

I feel for the girls playing a soccer game on the field (and their devoted parents in the stands) who are subjecting themselves to this weather. I don't think I've ever played soccer in the snow. Sometimes I miss the sport, but today is certainly not one of those days.

At least this weather has nice timing. My parents and brother came up to visit yesterday, and despite being a bit chilly, the weather was more than cooperative.

They showed up bearing gifts of apple cinnamon Nutri Grain bars, Tazo tea, some winter gloves and two batches of my mother's delicious congo bars. The last time she baked me some treats, I left them in the common room and they were gone within 24 hours. I should have known that desserts in a room of eight girls would not last long. This time, I had her make a couple of batches to ensure that everyone in the suite gains at least a few pounds this weekend.

I'm certainly not stepping on a scale anytime soon. When my family came up, they took Corey, Eileen and I out to Joe's American Bar and Grill on the waterfront where we stuffed ourselves with warm bread. Oh, and dinner. Then we trekked over to Hanover Street in the North End for dessert from Mike's Pastry. I felt for my mother, who for the first time as far as I can recall chose fashion over function, wearing black flats with pointed toes and metal studs. Not only were the tops of her feet exposed to the cold night air, but she had no fewer than 12 bandages on each foot. I'll say her sacrifice was worth the gains as she looked pretty fierce.

It was nice spending some time with my family, especially taking them on the T at 10:30 at night where they witnessed a packed train of college kids all heading out for the night. My brother got quite a kick out of a chatty girl in a tank top (sans jacket) who stored her camera, cell phone and bottle caps in her bra. Yes, Patrick, welcome to college. And my parents heard the full account of a girl's failed attempts at maintaining a relationship. It was early, too. The really entertaining don't come out until after midnight.

While I may have to resort to wearing elastic waistband pants for the next few weeks until I work off the 23 pounds I most likely gained this weekend, it was certainly a treat.

A new PSA is in order

Click here and substitute the word "drugs" with "college". 

So the script should read:

"This is college.

This is your brain on college.

Any questions?"

I've never done drugs, but this perfectly represents what is happening inside my skull at the moment, so I can only guess that they're one in the same. 

Except that your parents pay for your college. 

The day Eileen and I were tourists

In terms of the weather, this past Friday was crappy. It was that drizzly rain that makes it awkward to carry an umbrella, but still makes your hair frizz. Despite what you may think about our abilities to make smart decisions, Eileen and I decided that Friday would be perfect for spending the day walking around Boston. Certainly the rain wasn't ideal, but Eileen had three (!!) exams this week so for the sake of her sanity, we had to get off campus and away from the books.

While I initially made fun of her for making me stand in front of the statue of Samuel Adams, acting like tourists and taking tons of pictures ended up being really fun. 

We walked to the North End to get some treats from Mike's Pastry. I usually get the chocolate covered strawberries because I'm a creature of habit and they are beyond delectable, but Eileen talked me into trying a double chocolate cannoli, and I am forever indebted to her for doing so. It was my first cannoli experience if you exclude the sad excuses for desserts in the dining hall, which thankfully are not even close to representing the delicious taste of the real thing. 

I think the picture speaks for itself.

We went to the waterfront, where it was so windy! Of course, Eileen and her blue umbrella dealt with it like professionals. 

The cloud cover provided for such a bright background for the pictures, so I'm quite proud of some of the shots I was able to get.

It was such a fun afternoon, one we need to have more often. Next time, though, I'm going to need some sunshine.

Newsprint

Part of my news writing and reporting class having a pretty extensive knowledge of current events. While I was up to date on issues prior to the class, I've taken to reading the entire Boston Globe every day in order to really stay on top of the news. 

It may not come as a shock to hear this from a journalism student, but I'm enjoying spending my lunches buried behind a newspaper. There's something cozy about drinking tea and holding the paper in my hands that obviously can't be attained through reading the news on the Internet. Since I often read about stories in the Globe the day after I've read them online, I understand the drawbacks to relying on print. Regardless, I love reading the paper.

But my favorite part? I eagerly read each article, always with the daily crossword puzzle in the back of my mind. Some days are better than others, but I've been progressing quite well. Today, I only had 15 blank letters and I didn't even cheat! (This isn't Candyland.) 

I'm probably too excited about this. I'm also more than probably sleep deprived, so I think passing judgement upon me is unfair. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I didn't get around to starting yesterday's puzzle yet. I think I'll climb under the covers, do my crossword, watch the Food Network and continue to be an 80-year-old woman.

Dublin, here I come!

That's right, I have been accepted into the Dublin Internship Program for the Spring 2010 semester! I can barely contain my excitement. It has been about a month since I submitted the application, so I was beginning to suspect the worst. I'm so relieved! 

So I'll be studying at Dublin City University from January to April and I'll also have an internship, but classes and the actual job have yet to be determined. Ah! I'm just so elated to have finally received the confirmation email! 

As much as I didn't want to write my 5-page philosophy paper before, is nothing compared to how much I want to put it off and spend the rest of the day researching Ireland. But, alas, it's due tomorrow, so I must end this short post.

Slán go fóill! 

Friends trump sleep every time

So way back in first grade when I had a bob and feathered bangs, I met Laura. My first memory of her was how I envied her ability to swing on the monkey bars during recess on school picture day because she was wearing pants. I had a whole blue dress with white tights and patent leather kicks ensemble going on and spent the recess sitting pretty. Anyways, that's when I met her. In Mrs. Dombrowski's first grade class. 

As birthday parties usually went at the age of six, the whole class would be invited. I'm going to take a stab that this is how we became friends, but it could have been from Girl Scouts, too. Regardless, having play dates with Laura led me to meet her twin sister, Christine. It's safe to say that since first grade, some 14 years later, we're going strong. I consider these girls to be the sisters I never had. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but he's just not nearly as talented in the hair and makeup departments as I need him to be.

Here are the lovely ladies, there's Laura on the left, Christine on the right. And, certainly you knew this already, but that's a microphone, not a bottle of soap. Duh.

So, this past weekend, the girls turned 20 and I made the trip down from Boston, stopping at home for a night, before heading down to URI to celebrate with them. Laura has an adorable house that overlooks the water and has a classic, picturesque view of a lighthouse. Plus, it's rocking some pretty extensive beach decor. It couldn't be more Narragansett if it tried. 

I'm going to take a stab and say that the three of us hanging out before a few of their friends came over was the most fun. The extent to which we classify as goofballs is far too embarrassing to share with the general public. Case in point, we spent a few hours trying to learn Beyoncé's Single Ladies dance, and documented the attempts. 

Here we are all choosing a different pose and getting all Sasha Fierce on them. 

Christine also tried to teach me the Thriller dance, to no avail. I basically just did this move throughout the entire song. Hey, it works, trust me. 

So while I failed to sleep enough this weekend, going home was definitely worth the heavy eyelids. Good friends are hard to come by, so if it means drinking a little extra caffeine this week to catch up, I'm all for it.