"Well we're movin' on up, to the [west] side..."
It was a shame I didn't get to sit down and write last week, but as far as excuses go, moving is probably among the best excuses for why you didn't finish all those things you wanted to get done. This is more of a "how I've spent the past 2 weeks" post than something with a real narrative and message, but it's writing and that's what really counts, right?
I came back to the US on the 26th, spent the weekend in New Jersey for my cousin's wedding, headed back to Boston on July 1, and hit the ground running on apartment hunting on July 2nd. This was almost as frenetic as my experience last year when I got my job offer on June 25th, took the train to Boston on the 1st, and clocked in my first day of work while sublet hunting out of my Doubletree hotel room on the 2nd.
After the crazy rush of finding that perfect place after a week of tireless searching (a week that also encompassed the July 4th festivities and happened to be my first full week back in Boston) I had forgotten just how stressful moving is, even if to a place under a mile away. I spent July 9-22 crawling out of my skin in my old place, just wishing to be up and out of my shoebox (though birthday festivities helped take my mind off of some of that!) I didn't have a bona fide freakout about the move, but I did experience heat exhaustion and got the second of the two migraines I've ever had in my life at KF's party the Friday before the move.
Luckily, the day I moved, on the 22nd, the heat wave had broken and I had a crew of 8 terrific friends with 2 cars who helped me get the job done under 3 hours (barring the bed and some furniture, which a company moved the next day). This is saying something because I had a lot of stuff, the heaviest items being books and pantry things. The day ended with an impromptu trip to Ipswich's Crane Beach and dinner at Shake Shack, which I haven't had since I lived in NYC two summers ago and which was quite gluten-free-friendly, to my celiac delight. No more excuses for not riding the T to Chestnut Hill for that custardy goodness...
Though as fate would have it, I wouldn't get too much time to settle in, as a very down-low trip to New York was in the works to see my a cappella and comparative literature friend LL. My friendship with her is certainly one of my most cherished, and while the last thing I wanted to do was go to a 21st birthday party in New York City when my apartment was a total mess and all I wanted to do was sleep, it was worth it. She's always worth it. She kindly put my up in her SoHo sublet and we spent most of Saturday biking around the city, through Central Park, along the Hudson, to Chelsea Market and Laduree. We got a ton of shopping done and I hit basically every place I like in New York except for the puppy store by Sprinkles Cupcakes on Lexington. I also got to try the whole juice bar craze and visit two places for detox juices (helpful after a heavy dinner at Momofuku's Ssam bar and blow-your-voice-out karaoke at Sing Sing until 3AM).
It was particularly nice to go to New York this time and dedicate the trip exclusively to one or two people. I think my next trip I'll adopt a similar strategy, intending to see just one or two people instead of doing what I normally attempt to do: trying to schedule something with every friend from childhood, high school, and college in a two-day period, which, in turn makes the interactions feel more stressful than enjoyable.
But now I'm back in Boston and buckling down on work. I feel more focused than I've been in a while: possibly because my new apartment space is much more conducive to getting things done, possibly because I finally got my butt out of bed for a 7AM boxing class for the first time in a few months, but most likely because I had this fixed, end-of-the-month deadline for a report.
But now I get a moment to breathe and revel in my new space, at last. Today, my mom comes up to Boston for a few days and she has a terrific eye, so I'll be enlisting her help for furnishing my new place as we celebrate her birthday. On Friday, I'm having my housewarming. At long last, I have a space into which I can really welcome my friends, whether it's for watching 'Suits' on Tuesday nights or hosting a full-fledged party on a weekend. I can't wait to get my party food cooking--carpe culina!
I came back to the US on the 26th, spent the weekend in New Jersey for my cousin's wedding, headed back to Boston on July 1, and hit the ground running on apartment hunting on July 2nd. This was almost as frenetic as my experience last year when I got my job offer on June 25th, took the train to Boston on the 1st, and clocked in my first day of work while sublet hunting out of my Doubletree hotel room on the 2nd.
After the crazy rush of finding that perfect place after a week of tireless searching (a week that also encompassed the July 4th festivities and happened to be my first full week back in Boston) I had forgotten just how stressful moving is, even if to a place under a mile away. I spent July 9-22 crawling out of my skin in my old place, just wishing to be up and out of my shoebox (though birthday festivities helped take my mind off of some of that!) I didn't have a bona fide freakout about the move, but I did experience heat exhaustion and got the second of the two migraines I've ever had in my life at KF's party the Friday before the move.
Luckily, the day I moved, on the 22nd, the heat wave had broken and I had a crew of 8 terrific friends with 2 cars who helped me get the job done under 3 hours (barring the bed and some furniture, which a company moved the next day). This is saying something because I had a lot of stuff, the heaviest items being books and pantry things. The day ended with an impromptu trip to Ipswich's Crane Beach and dinner at Shake Shack, which I haven't had since I lived in NYC two summers ago and which was quite gluten-free-friendly, to my celiac delight. No more excuses for not riding the T to Chestnut Hill for that custardy goodness...
Though as fate would have it, I wouldn't get too much time to settle in, as a very down-low trip to New York was in the works to see my a cappella and comparative literature friend LL. My friendship with her is certainly one of my most cherished, and while the last thing I wanted to do was go to a 21st birthday party in New York City when my apartment was a total mess and all I wanted to do was sleep, it was worth it. She's always worth it. She kindly put my up in her SoHo sublet and we spent most of Saturday biking around the city, through Central Park, along the Hudson, to Chelsea Market and Laduree. We got a ton of shopping done and I hit basically every place I like in New York except for the puppy store by Sprinkles Cupcakes on Lexington. I also got to try the whole juice bar craze and visit two places for detox juices (helpful after a heavy dinner at Momofuku's Ssam bar and blow-your-voice-out karaoke at Sing Sing until 3AM).
It was particularly nice to go to New York this time and dedicate the trip exclusively to one or two people. I think my next trip I'll adopt a similar strategy, intending to see just one or two people instead of doing what I normally attempt to do: trying to schedule something with every friend from childhood, high school, and college in a two-day period, which, in turn makes the interactions feel more stressful than enjoyable.
But now I'm back in Boston and buckling down on work. I feel more focused than I've been in a while: possibly because my new apartment space is much more conducive to getting things done, possibly because I finally got my butt out of bed for a 7AM boxing class for the first time in a few months, but most likely because I had this fixed, end-of-the-month deadline for a report.
But now I get a moment to breathe and revel in my new space, at last. Today, my mom comes up to Boston for a few days and she has a terrific eye, so I'll be enlisting her help for furnishing my new place as we celebrate her birthday. On Friday, I'm having my housewarming. At long last, I have a space into which I can really welcome my friends, whether it's for watching 'Suits' on Tuesday nights or hosting a full-fledged party on a weekend. I can't wait to get my party food cooking--carpe culina!