New Haven and Packing

Yale

So my last day of work was last Friday.  No one ever stays until 5:30 pm on their last day, so I managed to leave around 3:00.  It was kind of awkward saying goodbye to people.  Actually, it was most awkward saying goodbye to the other associates -- it was somewhere along the lines of "peace out, catch you in NYC sometime".  My managers were really nice, asking me about my PhD plans, thanking me for the work I did, saying they were sure I would do well in my endeavors, and offering help and advice if I needed it in the future.  I managed to fit all my cubicle paraphernalia into one tote bag.  I felt naked leaving behind my ID badge.  So I  got back to my apartment and left right away for New Haven so I could see Daniel!   Traffic was worse than normal, since I was actually traveling when other normal people are out on the road, rather than like at 11 pm on a Sunday night, haha.  So I got there and hung out at Yale's student bar, chatting with Daniel while he checked IDs at the door.  And I actually ran into a couple people I knew -- a former colleague from ZS who's starting his PhD at Yale, and secondly, a fellow Princetonian who I spent my freshman summer in Cleveland with, as part of the Summer on the Cuyahoga program.  The Harvard-Yale-Princeton network is very closely intertwined : ) 

Settlers of Cataan -  Cities & Knights

On Saturday we played a good game of Ultimate at a field in New Haven.  Nice big field, no big mud puddles or dead grass.  And a little water fountain on the side of the field  : )  After lunch at UNO's, we played two games of Settler Cities & Knights.  I hadn't explained the rules in awhile, so there were some nitpicky details I had to look up.  But it was fun, a 3-person board is a good way to explain the new version.  We had dinner at Geronimo's, a southwestern tequila bar grill place.  I was afraid of sneaky spiciness, so I just got a burger.

On Sunday, it was rainy and dreary and cold and one of those days where you just want to curl up in front of a fireplace with a book and blanket.  Except it was in the middle of August.   So, anyway, we went to Blockbuster, but it turns out it was closing so they were selling DVDs instead of renting them.   And they were also selling like the cardboard covers from the DVD boxes, for thousands of movies.  We spent like a half hour looking through all of them, trying to find good ones.  We ended up getting 30 of them -- about 10" x 6".  Daniel's gonna make his into coasters, and I think mine just might be little posters on the wall.  So for the movie, we got a blu-ray version of The Hurt Locker, since Daniel can play those movies on his computer and hook it up to his laptop.  And then we went grocery shopping for ingredients to make super-duper homemade lasagna, where 'super-duper' means a million ingredients from scratch.  So we got a lot of random things like bayleaves, fresh basil, carrots, italian sausage, etc.  And then we made the lasagne (both of us had never made lasagne before, so it was crazy fun), and cooked it while watching the Hurt Locker.  A pretty perfect lazy Sunday, no?  Oh, and we had some wine and cheese before cooking : ) And the best part?  Since I didn't have to get back to Philly for work, I was able to stay Sunday night and leave Monday morning.  It's AMAZING how much difference an extra 12 hours can make.  It made our Sunday so much more relaxing and we were able to slow down and have fun and appreciate our dinner and movie.

Boston!

And all this past week, I've been packing up my apartment.  On Monday I had my last hip-hop class at my gym : (  I think I'll sign up for a class at Columbia's gym. Hopefully it's just as good and at the same difficulty level.  On Wednesday, I played softball for ZS, since they always need people (and girls).  We actually won!  It was a great game, since our opponents were the same skill level as us, so we were tied most of the game.  I played 2nd base and fielded a lot of ground hits and got some outs at 1st base : )  And yesterday was some more pick-up frisbee at a field in the ghetto of West Philly.  The field was pretty small and we had 7 on 7, so I got pretty frustrated, since we could barely cut to the disc since people were cluttering up the space.  Plus someone was smoking weed right near the field, and that disgusting smell annoyed me too.  Haha, anyway, just more packing this weekend, and the big move day is Monday!  And then a week of orientation and then a trip to Boston with Daniel for Labor Day (but really for our 4-year anniversary!)

Atlantic City! -- Part 1

Raechel driving!

AC skyline as we drive in on the expressway

Our hotel, the Atlantic City Hilton

So two weekends ago, Raechel, Lindsay and I went to Atlantic City to celebrate Lindsay's 24th birthday, from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.  Raechel drove us, and we left at the crack of dawn on Saturday (well...9 am, but still).  It was a pretty fun ride, with a stop at Wawa to grab some of their grapes, cheese and crackers snacks.  We got to our hotel, the Hilton, right around lunchtime.  It was a really nice hotel, the typical ultra-fancy and ultra-luxurious lobby that all the casinos have.  Our room was pretty spacious, especially the bathroom, which is a big plus when you have 3 girls getting ready at the same time : )  So right away we hit the beach -- it wasn't too hot that weekend, only like 78 or so, so it wasn't the perfect beach day, but it was still relaxing and everything.  I managed not to get sunburned, woohoo! I always use the spray sunscreen, and I finally learned that I actually have to rub it in and around so that it reaches all the spots, or else I get random sunburned patches on my stomach, like what happened in Punta Cana.  We had lunch at one of the beachside bars at our hotel.  The frozen drinks were awesome, but the food was underwhelming -- we ordered hamburgers and sandwiches and stuff, but they came as boxed lunches, so they weren't fresh : (   After we got our fill of the beach, we packed up and walked along the boardwalk for awhile to check it out.  Since our hotel was all the way at the southern tip, we didn't get too far before having to turn back to get ready for dinner, but we explored the Tropicana a bit, and got some rock candy, ice cream, and chocolates.  Mmmm.

The beachside bar where we ate lunch on Saturday

The Atlantic City beach outside the Hilton!

Walking along the boardwalk

The restaurant we ate at Saturday night

The delicious birthday dessert

So we got back to the hotel around 5, thinking we had enough time to get ready before our dinner reservations at 6:30.  But with 3 girls getting ready with only 1 shower, 1 hairdryer (circa 1985), and 2 mirrors, there was no way that was happening. We all had brought like 3 different dresses, 3 different pairs of shoes, and tons of makeup and stuff so it was a dilemma trying to pick out the perfect outfit.  So we get all dressed up, because we went to the bars and clubs right after dinner.  However, we didn't realize the restaurant was sooo far down the boardwalk, like on the far northern tip, so I walked like 1.5 miles (each way!) in 3 inch heels on the boardwalk. By the end of the night I thought my feet were going to be permanently stuck in that position.  So we had dinner at this place called Megan's Good Grub & Pub, which was actually somewhat fancy, except Raechel and I didn't really like any of the entrees, so we both got burgers.  We were eating at the tables outside, and at one point this homeless man came up to our table and was being very aggressive and confrontational. So we called over one of the waiters, and he handled the homeless guy for us : )  It was also pretty chilly that night, so we were all kind of freezing during dinner.  This place had the tiniest french fries I have ever seen, they were so small it was hard to pick them up with your fingers.  At the end of dinner, Raechel "surprised" Lindsay with a birthday dessert -- a warm brownie with vanilla icecream.  Sooo good. 

Sweethearts

You know when there's a marriage announcement or something about a couple, and they say "they were high school sweethearts" or "college sweethearts"?  Why can't other couples be "sweethearts"?  I guess these high-school and college couples are somehow cuter and more aww-worthy just because they met earlier?  What exactly is it about meeting in high school or college that makes us more in love with these types of couples?  That's my thought of the day.

iPods

So one of my pet peeves is people who can't walk a couple blocks or drive 10 minutes or anything without having their iPod buds in their ears.   Like, is real life honestly that boring that you can't stand to just listen to the sounds around you?  It seems so pointless to me to spend time to get out your iPod, put the buds in, pick a song, and stuff, when you're just going to work or school or something.  Just give it a rest and sit there and actually interact with the world around you.  Would it kill you if you didn't have music blasting in your ears for your 20 minute commute or whatever?  The reason this annoys me is because when I'm walking in downtown Philly to work, there's always kiosks or flower stands or something that impede the flow of pedestrians on the sidewalk.  So we kind of have to scrunch together, have the fast people past the slow ones and stuff.  But when I'm trying to pass the people with their iPods on, they (obviously) can't hear you coming up from behind them, so when you're just walking besides them, kind of close b/c you're trying to avoid the kiosk or whatever, they give you this weird look, like "where in the world did you come from?".  And sometimes I just want to be like "I was here all along, maybe you would have noticed if you didn't have some weird need to block out all the normal sounds around you."  So yes, people, take the iPod out of your ears and enjoy the sounds of everyday life, interact with your surroundings and be aware of stuff going on.

Taco Night!

So on Friday night, Noah hosted taco night at his place.  It was a really simple idea, and it turned out to be really, really fun.  The idea originally spawned because he makes great homemade guacamole, and he wanted people to actually enjoy it with a meal rather than randomly during a midnight snack.  So there were like 7 of us in his parents' kitchen (Noah, MaryBeth, me, Erin, Sarah, Jeff and Ian), and we all brought ingredients, and for half hour or so we were chopping onions, cooking meat, making guac, baking cakes, and blending daquiris.

It just felt awesome all contributing and participating, and in the end, we made a delicious meal that we all enjoyed together (pictures to come....).  Cooking really is a great way to bond, one of those rare activities where you can actually have a conversation while doing something (unlike watching TV, movies or playing sports or something).  Anyway, Taco Night was definitely a success, and I can't wait to do something like it again!

Oops

So I was trying to make this blog private, so it made me list the e-mail addresses of people I wanted to "allow", so I just listed people who had told me they read it or had commented, in case they wanted to keep reading it.  Little did I know that they would actually send out e-mails to all of you.  I'm sorry for clogging your inboxes! 

Bug!

On Saturday I found the first bug in my apartment.  And this wasn't some sissy little ladybug or ant or anything like that.  This was an insect almost too big to be called an insect.  Like, 2 inches, pushing 3 inches.  I FREAKED out.  I grabbed a sneaker, but even that got me a little too close for comfort when I tried to kill it.  I was debating putting on my highest pair of high heels to put a little more distance between me and the bug.   But my attempt was ultimately unsuccessful.  It ran away into one of my closets, and my state of blissful ignorance is gone.  Having a bug here and knowing about it is worse than having one and not knowing about it.  Uggh, gross.