yesterday i bought a bike!
for fifty bucks, on craigslist, i found a used mountain bike (miyata i think is the brand). alex thinks it might be stolen property because we bought it from a guy with a van who met us in town to do the exchange. it felt a bit like a drug deal, and he was looking rather suspect as i was counting out the money - but hey, it's mine!
so we toodled around town yesterday. actually, there was a green fest on near the charles, and you'll never guess who was playing? james blunt! (only for the brits amusement do i tell this, wasn't it only last summer he was following you through eastern europe??). sadly (she says IRONICALLY), we could not get near the stage with our bikes in hand, so we sat on the river with some friends we'd run into.
i think we must've biked about 15-20 miles yesterday. my left knee is sore and i'm walking slightly bow-legged, but i'll get used to it. i think i could even get into biking properly. we'll see how this little bike does for me over the summer - maybe i'll go pro by the fall. though i have a feeling that may turn out like my running. (all talk, no action makes meagan a fat girl)
it's great having a bike though - i feel like i have so much more freedom. i can get across to harvard in probably 15 minutes. public transportation in boston is pretty crappy (the oldest subway system in america, and it's obvious) so it's nice to feel like i have free reign on the city now. i just have to get the building manager to give me a key to the shed in the back so i have somewhere to park it. because, although the area i live in is quite trendy and up-and-coming, we border a very shady borough of boston and i'm sure it could get stolen if i push my luck and leave it out overnight.
anyhow, i am off to the park to sit in the sun and enjoy this fine weather we're having. hope it's sunny where you are!
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
tighter by the minute ...
that's my pants.
you cannot go to a conference without being wined and dined and coffee'd and breakfast'd and snack'd to death. i bought a lovely new pair of ann taylor pants last week for this conference and already they are too tight. urgh.
and with EUSA you don't eat lightly. you have a starter and a main course, usually cheese for dessert and plenty of red wine. tonight is our annual NAFSA party. we sponsor this party every year and invite all of our current partners and those we want to get as partners as well. it's a very expensive party. this year i think it cost five times as much as my wedding did - for the same amount of people. there is a big internal debate this year as to whether this is worth it and i think a pretty heavy duty cost-benefit analysis will be carried out. but for now, i'm just going to enjoy it and eat as many oysters and as much foi gras as i can.
the weather has finally turned and today is a beautiful day in montreal. it's been grey and cloudy until today. i hear it's supposed to get into the 90s in boston this weekend. i can't wait for some warm weather! enough winter!
i've nipped back to the hotel after lunch and before a session and i think i'm going to hit the treadmill if i have time. i have to wait for my food to go down, but then i want to get it off my hips as fast as i can.
hope all are well.
you cannot go to a conference without being wined and dined and coffee'd and breakfast'd and snack'd to death. i bought a lovely new pair of ann taylor pants last week for this conference and already they are too tight. urgh.
and with EUSA you don't eat lightly. you have a starter and a main course, usually cheese for dessert and plenty of red wine. tonight is our annual NAFSA party. we sponsor this party every year and invite all of our current partners and those we want to get as partners as well. it's a very expensive party. this year i think it cost five times as much as my wedding did - for the same amount of people. there is a big internal debate this year as to whether this is worth it and i think a pretty heavy duty cost-benefit analysis will be carried out. but for now, i'm just going to enjoy it and eat as many oysters and as much foi gras as i can.
the weather has finally turned and today is a beautiful day in montreal. it's been grey and cloudy until today. i hear it's supposed to get into the 90s in boston this weekend. i can't wait for some warm weather! enough winter!
i've nipped back to the hotel after lunch and before a session and i think i'm going to hit the treadmill if i have time. i have to wait for my food to go down, but then i want to get it off my hips as fast as i can.
hope all are well.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
saturday in the south end
i'm living in the 'south end' of boston - and today began the SoWa (south of Washington) art and film festival. so alex and i got up early and went to see some short films. i am definitely going to do this more often! (get up early on a saturday, that is!) we saw some really interesting shorts and a documentary called 'hamburger america' - you can see the trailer for the doc on their website http://www.hamburgeramerica.com/ (click on the 'view trailer') it was really interesting and funny - about the best hamburgers in america. but really, more about the people behind them. they had steamed cheeseburger, hamburger sandwiches, peanutbutter burger, jalepeno cheese burger, butter (and i mean butter! watch the trailer!) burgers, deep fried burgers and 7 inch longhorn burgers. and the cool thing is - two of them were in connecticut which is close enough for a day trip for us to go and try them! hilarious! god bless america!
there are craft fairs and art stalls and an open studio art walk all through the neighborhoods here http://www.sowaartwalk.com/ - and thankfully, it's not raining, so it's a gorgeous day to be out and about. alex has gone off to work and i am going to get a haircut and try to do some last minute shopping for my trip to montreal, so i need to make a move. and alex lets me do my laundry at the guest house where he works (free!) so i'll be over there for most of the night folding clothes! it would be about 7 bucks a load otherwise. and i have 3-4 loads!
happy saturday (and happy birthday uncle brian!)
there are craft fairs and art stalls and an open studio art walk all through the neighborhoods here http://www.sowaartwalk.com/ - and thankfully, it's not raining, so it's a gorgeous day to be out and about. alex has gone off to work and i am going to get a haircut and try to do some last minute shopping for my trip to montreal, so i need to make a move. and alex lets me do my laundry at the guest house where he works (free!) so i'll be over there for most of the night folding clothes! it would be about 7 bucks a load otherwise. and i have 3-4 loads!
happy saturday (and happy birthday uncle brian!)
Friday, May 19, 2006
and so the travel begins ...
or continues, i should say.
on sunday i am off to montreal. our bosses have asked us to save the company money and drive - so i will be spending 7 hours in a car with 3 of my colleagues. i think it will be fun - though very likely much more fun on the way up to montreal than the drive back on friday after having spent 24/7 with them the entire week. still, i like them and we're all friends, so it shouldn't be too bad.
travelling so much makes me much more of a homebody when i am home. i couldn't help it that i was sick all of last weekend (recovering from the crazy night in vegas, methinks) ... but even after the sniffles had gone, i still find myself home in the evenings just enjoying my down time. i haven't really been exploring boston as much as i thought i would. my attempt to buy a bike on craigslist failed when i realised that i wouldn't really be home to enjoy it much over the next month - so it wasn't really worth it.
i went to a lunchtime workshop yesterday called 'a whack on the side of the head' (based on a book of the same by roger von oech) given by a very left-of-center therapist who works with women in transition. i thought it was going to be a networking opportunity with all sorts of successful women (i envisioned 30-40 women, in a lecture-style room) but instead was surprised to find only 4 other women besides myself - all very serious about the transition in their lives and where they were going/wanted to go. so quite an intimate discussion about change, fear and what holds us back. interesting, if a little kooky.
i also had a doctor's appointment yesterday for a physical - haven't had one of those in YEARS since i don't think they believe in them over in england. (more like don't have the resources on the NHS to provide regular check-ups. sadly the NHS doesn't seem to have room for preventative medicine, only reactive).
and i also had a meeting with a financial advisor. so should i decide to move back to the states - there may be hope for me yet! we talked about long term and short term goals and what i'd need to do to achieve them. if anyone has ANY advice or any good books to read on personal finance - i'd be open to suggestions! i'm hopeless when it comes to understanding the US system. actually what i really need is an accountant who understands US and UK workings - so if anyone knows anyone, please pass details to me!!
so as you can see, yesterday was all about ME.
anyway, enough, must finish up my friday at work and get on!
happy weekend to everyone!
on sunday i am off to montreal. our bosses have asked us to save the company money and drive - so i will be spending 7 hours in a car with 3 of my colleagues. i think it will be fun - though very likely much more fun on the way up to montreal than the drive back on friday after having spent 24/7 with them the entire week. still, i like them and we're all friends, so it shouldn't be too bad.
travelling so much makes me much more of a homebody when i am home. i couldn't help it that i was sick all of last weekend (recovering from the crazy night in vegas, methinks) ... but even after the sniffles had gone, i still find myself home in the evenings just enjoying my down time. i haven't really been exploring boston as much as i thought i would. my attempt to buy a bike on craigslist failed when i realised that i wouldn't really be home to enjoy it much over the next month - so it wasn't really worth it.
i went to a lunchtime workshop yesterday called 'a whack on the side of the head' (based on a book of the same by roger von oech) given by a very left-of-center therapist who works with women in transition. i thought it was going to be a networking opportunity with all sorts of successful women (i envisioned 30-40 women, in a lecture-style room) but instead was surprised to find only 4 other women besides myself - all very serious about the transition in their lives and where they were going/wanted to go. so quite an intimate discussion about change, fear and what holds us back. interesting, if a little kooky.
i also had a doctor's appointment yesterday for a physical - haven't had one of those in YEARS since i don't think they believe in them over in england. (more like don't have the resources on the NHS to provide regular check-ups. sadly the NHS doesn't seem to have room for preventative medicine, only reactive).
and i also had a meeting with a financial advisor. so should i decide to move back to the states - there may be hope for me yet! we talked about long term and short term goals and what i'd need to do to achieve them. if anyone has ANY advice or any good books to read on personal finance - i'd be open to suggestions! i'm hopeless when it comes to understanding the US system. actually what i really need is an accountant who understands US and UK workings - so if anyone knows anyone, please pass details to me!!
so as you can see, yesterday was all about ME.
anyway, enough, must finish up my friday at work and get on!
happy weekend to everyone!
Sunday, May 14, 2006
happy mother's day!
today is mother's day in america.
happy mother's day mom!
so i thought i'd just type out an ode to my mother. in lieu of lilacs that i didn't get around to ordering! (sorry mom!)
i think one of the most important things my mother gave me is the confidence that i have today.
as a child, i can remember her constantly telling me how beautiful i was, how special i was, how much she loved me. you don't forget those things. and i'm sure those carried me through the days when i felt ugly, or lonely or sad.
i'm not sure how she knew to do that. perhaps when you come from a family of eleven, words are the things you CAN pass on when all other resources are scarce.
i also love that my mom taught me how to organize and how to delegate. so when you are around my mom, THINGS HAPPEN. (albeit sometimes slower than my dad would like, but they happen!) and people have FUN. it's fun to be around my mom. and people don't forget that either.
(although, i'm a little worried about these new couches they just bought, what if they are TOO comfortable? then we may have lost her!)
but mainly, what i've learned from my mom is how to just 'be.' how to live in the present, create the present, and enjoy the present. because that's what she does. i don't do that half as well as she does, but i'm trying!
i always seem to credit the miracles. but maybe it's my mom who's the miracle.
OK. enough cornball.
happy mother's day to all the mothers out there!
happy mother's day mom!
so i thought i'd just type out an ode to my mother. in lieu of lilacs that i didn't get around to ordering! (sorry mom!)
i think one of the most important things my mother gave me is the confidence that i have today.
as a child, i can remember her constantly telling me how beautiful i was, how special i was, how much she loved me. you don't forget those things. and i'm sure those carried me through the days when i felt ugly, or lonely or sad.
i'm not sure how she knew to do that. perhaps when you come from a family of eleven, words are the things you CAN pass on when all other resources are scarce.
i also love that my mom taught me how to organize and how to delegate. so when you are around my mom, THINGS HAPPEN. (albeit sometimes slower than my dad would like, but they happen!) and people have FUN. it's fun to be around my mom. and people don't forget that either.
(although, i'm a little worried about these new couches they just bought, what if they are TOO comfortable? then we may have lost her!)
but mainly, what i've learned from my mom is how to just 'be.' how to live in the present, create the present, and enjoy the present. because that's what she does. i don't do that half as well as she does, but i'm trying!
i always seem to credit the miracles. but maybe it's my mom who's the miracle.
OK. enough cornball.
happy mother's day to all the mothers out there!
Friday, May 12, 2006
another day in vegas ...
sitting in the airport, completely wiped out after a two day stint in sin city. not wiped of cash, mind you, i'm not the gambling type. but ready for a long sleep ahead. i have a window seat so i'm hoping my bladder doesn't wake me during the six hour flight. that's highly unlikely since i've had two bottles of water and a pot of hot tea at dinner.
last night catherine and i managed to get ourselves invited to a very nice dinner, paid for entirely by one of the sponsors of the conference. then we blagged our way to the skyloft on the 29th floor of the MGM (invite only) where we had a drink at another private party above the city. THEN we got taken to studio 54 for some dancing and to the dueling piano bar in new york new york. i found myself screaming 'back in black' and 'hotel california' at the top of my lungs at 3:30am last night. no wonder i'm exhausted. so are my windpipes.
for some reason, and i have no idea what sparked the thought, i found myself thinking last night that the kids growing up in darfur (if they got to grow up at all) certainly wouldn't be singing along to billy joel or sheryl crow like this loud bunch of americans. they wouldn't be slapping twenty dollar bills on the piano so that the players would change the words from 'sweet home alabama' to 'sweet home nebraska' or 'sweet home michigan' for a hundred. i don't know why i thought darfur - it certainly hasn't been at the forefront of my existence (as perhaps it should?) - but anyway, that was the thought i had in between coronas.
later i met a stripper who only JUST moved to vegas three weeks ago from texas where she'd been a dance instructor and gymnastics teacher. she was so excited to be in vegas. she told me a story of how she'd done a dance for this guy who then turned out to be a father of one of the kids in her gymnastics classes. oops. i guess that's the life of a stripper.
i'm vegas'd out for awhile. i don't think i'll return here for a very long time. which is fine by me.
thankfully i have this priority pass which has given me access to the lounge in the airport, far away from the jingling of coins and bells and whistles of the slot machines. right now, i just can't wait to get back to my own bed and a cup of hot tea.
i have absolutely nothing planned for this weekend and i can't wait!
last night catherine and i managed to get ourselves invited to a very nice dinner, paid for entirely by one of the sponsors of the conference. then we blagged our way to the skyloft on the 29th floor of the MGM (invite only) where we had a drink at another private party above the city. THEN we got taken to studio 54 for some dancing and to the dueling piano bar in new york new york. i found myself screaming 'back in black' and 'hotel california' at the top of my lungs at 3:30am last night. no wonder i'm exhausted. so are my windpipes.
for some reason, and i have no idea what sparked the thought, i found myself thinking last night that the kids growing up in darfur (if they got to grow up at all) certainly wouldn't be singing along to billy joel or sheryl crow like this loud bunch of americans. they wouldn't be slapping twenty dollar bills on the piano so that the players would change the words from 'sweet home alabama' to 'sweet home nebraska' or 'sweet home michigan' for a hundred. i don't know why i thought darfur - it certainly hasn't been at the forefront of my existence (as perhaps it should?) - but anyway, that was the thought i had in between coronas.
later i met a stripper who only JUST moved to vegas three weeks ago from texas where she'd been a dance instructor and gymnastics teacher. she was so excited to be in vegas. she told me a story of how she'd done a dance for this guy who then turned out to be a father of one of the kids in her gymnastics classes. oops. i guess that's the life of a stripper.
i'm vegas'd out for awhile. i don't think i'll return here for a very long time. which is fine by me.
thankfully i have this priority pass which has given me access to the lounge in the airport, far away from the jingling of coins and bells and whistles of the slot machines. right now, i just can't wait to get back to my own bed and a cup of hot tea.
i have absolutely nothing planned for this weekend and i can't wait!
Saturday, May 06, 2006
slow going on the blog front!
apologies to my readers for not having blogged in awhile.
it's been pretty crazy, with travels to and fro.
i'm now in santa cruz - upstairs in my sister's old room, now converted to the guest room/computer room. you wouldn't believe how CLEAN our house is. (if you know this house, you know what i mean). my mom got the house cleaned professionally for her birthday and has decided to keep it up once a week. it's crazy! i'm searching around for dust but there is NONE. very unlike the market street i know, but very cool! it's nice to come home to a place i know. i was thinking how funny it was last night that i could get up in the middle of the night, go to the bathroom, get a glass of water, and get back imto bed - all without lights. just because i know the layout so well. it's nice to be home.
rachel click is getting married today - that's why i'm back in town. i'm sure it's going to be lovely. i've got the day in SC before the wedding - it's an evening wedding. i'm trying to drag my sister out of bed to go for a run with me, but that is proving impossible. sadly, we are not really a family of runners. i am really a fake, trying to fake myself into believing i am a runner. some days it works. other days (like today) i'm likely to eat breakfast, have a cup of coffee and start my day forgetting about the exercise. ah well.
hope all of you are well and enjoying the fine weather.
happy day!
it's been pretty crazy, with travels to and fro.
i'm now in santa cruz - upstairs in my sister's old room, now converted to the guest room/computer room. you wouldn't believe how CLEAN our house is. (if you know this house, you know what i mean). my mom got the house cleaned professionally for her birthday and has decided to keep it up once a week. it's crazy! i'm searching around for dust but there is NONE. very unlike the market street i know, but very cool! it's nice to come home to a place i know. i was thinking how funny it was last night that i could get up in the middle of the night, go to the bathroom, get a glass of water, and get back imto bed - all without lights. just because i know the layout so well. it's nice to be home.
rachel click is getting married today - that's why i'm back in town. i'm sure it's going to be lovely. i've got the day in SC before the wedding - it's an evening wedding. i'm trying to drag my sister out of bed to go for a run with me, but that is proving impossible. sadly, we are not really a family of runners. i am really a fake, trying to fake myself into believing i am a runner. some days it works. other days (like today) i'm likely to eat breakfast, have a cup of coffee and start my day forgetting about the exercise. ah well.
hope all of you are well and enjoying the fine weather.
happy day!
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