Another One Bites the Dust

Sending very warm congratulations to my pal Becky on her recent good news. I love her and John dearly, especially since John is the dark-haired version of Stephen.

Don't believe me? These two started a bromance when Becky came to visit that was sparked by a shared love for "Battlestar Galactica" and a passion for video games (go figure.)

So congrats again Becky. Wishing you and John a lifetime of happiness! I can't wait to celebrate with you!

Summertime, are you there?

Oh Boston, what are you doing to me? You know how hard winter was for me, with your 50- or 60-something inches of snow and never ending cold. So why, then, are you robbing me of summer? You know, the summer which is far too short anyway?

You were so promising in April, with some sunshine and then again in May, but now you're just cruel. You've been raining almost every day for the past few weeks, and I can't begin to describe what you're doing to my psyche. It's not just me either - everyone I talk to is suffering. How can you do that to us?

So please, PLEASE, let the sun come out. Give our ever-so-brief summer a chance to happen before you fade into fall. I promise we'll all take advantage of every beautiful day.

Your Vagina Deserves a Beer

This little blog of mine got a shout-out today. Or yesterday. But I saw it today, so that means today, right? Like if a tree fell in the woods and no one was there to hear it, would it still make a sound?

I digress.

Becky gave me a shout out of blogs she looks forward to reading every day. It's probably because we're BFF's*, but that's not the point. The point is that Becky has friends. Powerful friends. Don't believe me? Look at this comment from Jenny, one of MY favorite bloggers.

So the moral of this story is that I love getting shout outs. Giving me a shout out guarantees that I'll buy your vagina a beer when you come visit.

the end.

*Becky went to grad school in Boston, but we met in Texas at a PRSA event. I was moving to Boston, and that connection made us instant BFFs. Who says networking isn't a good thing?

I Wish I Had My Camera This Weekend

It was the perfect weekend for us and I didn't bring my camera. So, in lieu of me being forgetful, I downloaded pictures of the places we were to show you my weekend.

Ashley's roof deck - last year's party. Only the outfit changed since then. Scenery hasn't changed a bit.

Next day, picnic in Boston Commons. Only it rained on us - twice. We were soaked, but it was awesome.Singing Beach, Manchester-by-the-Sea. Perfect. There is nothing better after getting soaked in the rain one day to get baked by the sun the next.

After a day at the beach, Capt. Dusty's Ice Cream. Nothing better than a giant scoop of Rocky Road Ice Cream.

*Thanks to all those who posted these photos on Google Images for me to download and show a picture montage of my perfect weekend in Boston.

Big D v Beantown

Since I've been a little homesick lately I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of Big D, aka Dallas, to Beantown.

Skyline

First, I thought I'd start out easy by comparing the skylines. While Boston has the waterfront along downtown, and the cool distinction of the "Back Bay" area where the city was built on the water, the unique architecture of downtown Dallas and its skyscrapers, along with the ever-changing lights of Reunion Tower make Dallas a winner in the skyline category.

Boston

Transportation

Dallas has miles and miles and miles of open road and highways, with clearly marked exits and street signs. The downside to Dallas is that you drive FOREVER to get across town, and it's no big deal when your commute is 100 miles round trip each day, plus there is almost no public transportation available. Boston, on the other hand, is very small, and has great public transportation - yay T. You can drive around pretty easily IF AND ONLY IF you have a GPS system. Boston is notorious for streets changing names suddenly and WTF is a rotary? And this is just the outskirts I've driven to. Don't even get me started on navigating my way through Beacon Hill and the downtown area. Boston edges out in this category just because of the T.

People

Dallasites win hands-down in this category. While Bostonians aren't nearly as mean as I heard they were, their lack of warmth can't go unmentioned. And while Dallasites are no Midwesterners and sometimes forget that we're southern, for the most part they are warm, welcome and inviting.

And the girls up here are an entirely different breed than Texas women. In Dallas, we care what we look like ALL THE TIME. We are high maintenance and we make no excuses for it. The downside to that is that we carry that maintenance into simple things like going to the grocery store.

In Boston, women up here don't make any excuses for not making an effort. It's all about comfort. I actually had an intern scoff because I don't own a pair of sweat pants! And a lot of women (NOT all - I actually work with a bunch of women who "try") up here don't even make an attempt at looking decent. How do you attract a man when it looks like you don't give a flip about yourself? And apparently this is the norm.

I will say this: being up here and having the luxury to keep my southern traits of making an effort but losing the fuss of it all is actually nice. I like that it's not a tragedy if I go to the grocery store in my snow boots and a t-shirt without any make-up on. I like that I can dress for comfort when I want to. And I REALLY like that people up here don't care what you drive, where you live and how much money you make. New Englanders are practical; there are very few BMWs up here, and if they are around, it's the SUVs because those are practical. Nope, Hondas and Toyotas are the big things up here, and luxury is a Lexus. And most of the people I know who are buying "new" cars, get them used.

Sports

This is a tie. Bostonians love their sports teams up here, and there are plenty to go around. You've got the Patriots, the Red Sox, the Celtics and the Bruins, not to mention tons of decent college teams to watch whenever you want. But I am really disappointed with Bostonians on their lack of enthusiasm for hockey. Boston has one of the original hockey teams EVER, and people up here don't get excited for the Bruins. In Dallas, everyone goes NUTS for the Stars; we LOVE hockey down there. And Dallasites are crazy for the Mav and the Cowboys too. The only team that's not exciting is the Rangers, but people still LOVE going to the Ballpark.

Food

This one is a tie as well. While I can't get enough Tex-Mex and I miss Rosa's and Chuy's and Cuba Libra's mojitos, Boston is notorious for its great seafood, and variety. Since coming to Boston, I've indulged in Tibetan and Argentinian cuisines, and of course I eat some of the freshest seafood as often as possible. Lobster rolls up famous up here, as is the clam chowder. Every restaurant I've been to has been amazing and my pants are actually fitting a little better now that I don't have queso as one of my dietary staples. But still, I haven't found an authentic Mexican restaurant and the Tex-Mex restaurants up here are a joke. I'm actually getting so desperate that even fajitas are starting to sound appetizing.

Overall, I'm coming to appreciate Boston and its many offerings. Let's not forget that this city is rich with history, and I've got the beach to look forward to every weekend in a couple months. Not to mention that we've got Sam Adam's beer up here, and many bars don't even have the Texas staples on tap (Coors Light, Bud Lt. and Miller Lt.) which is fine by me.

The one thing Boston will never have on Dallas is my friends. They are definitely the best part of Dallas (and Austin and Houston and even Albuquerque!) and no one in Boston will ever compare to that!

Life As I Know It

Is about to change. The news I've been waiting for came, andwhat I've known will never be the same again. I got a job offer in Boston and will be moving there in 7 weeks. That's right... 7 weeks.

I'm so excited and at the same time so incredibly nervous! My life is changing so quickly and I'm struggling with how to handle it. In the next 7 weeks I'll be graduating with a Master's degree, leaving a job that I dearlyl ove, taking the boyfriend home to meet my family and then moving to Boston. Yikes! Plus I have to sell off everything I own so that I only take the bare minimum across the country.

On the plus side, the boy and I will finally get to be together, I have a great job opportunity waiting for me, I have an actual winter to experience, and I get to take a cross country road trip! How exciting is that?

Anyway, I'm so thankful for these opportunities coming my way, and I'll post more as everything gets closer.

The Boston Trip- Part 2

I just got back from my trip to visit Boston in Boston. Overall the trip was VERY successful! I didn't have time to do anything I had originally planned for because I was interviewing the entire time. I had 5 interviews while I was there and really LOVED two of the agencies. My very first interview there was with RacePoint Group and they were amazing! I felt like I was sitting with my friends talking about our day at work; that's a good sign of a great interview. As a company, they are so far ahead of the game, that I know this would be a place that would take me to the next level in my career. And they have fun. The culture is very similar to where I'm at now. Anyway, I followed up with them when I returned to Dallas and they apparently really liked me too. Hopefully this is a good sign and things will happen soon.

My other successful interview was with Lois Paul & Partners. Their culture is very relaxed as well, and they are doing great things in the technology industry. They are looking to hire right away and I'm at a disadvantage because I can't move to Boston before early January. My family would be devastated if I bypassed my annual trip home at Christmas to move across the country. So I'm in a holding pattern right now.

In my free time, Boston took me out to meet more of his friends that I didn't get to meet the first time I was there, but I've heard about. We all went out to this nice pub in Cambridge to watch the Sox game and drink beer. I love the beer on the East Coast because we don't get that in Texas (much the same way they don't get our varietals down here.) I got to indulge in my favorite Sea Dogs Blueberry Ale and got to try the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. I think that Shiner Bock should start brewing fruit beers like that as well! I alone could help support their sales!

My friend Shannon was also visiting Boston at the same time, so we met her and her friends in the North End for dinner at this amazing Italian restaurant. The events leading up to it were awful and frustrating and I won't go into details except to say it was raining, the trains weren't running properly and we were 90 minutes late for our reservations. However, when we got there, we bought some bottles of wine and the rest of the evening was great.

Boston and I spent Sunday afternoon driving through New Hampshire to look at the fall colors and he took me to the ocean at sunset. Apparently the beach is now "our thing" and there are no complaints from this girl! It was very romantic, very chilly and very perfect. It's funny to think I spent my entire life never having seen the ocean, and it becoming this question of "when will she finally see the ocean?" and in the short 7 months that we've been together, Boston's taken me twice! It's sweet that he knows what I consider important and then indulges me.

Naturally I cried when we had to say goodbye, and cried the entire flight home. It drives me crazy to be so far away from him, and I pray every day that things work out so that my plans can become definite and I can get up there to start our life together. He's talking about it more too, so I know he's getting excited. It's very exciting for the both of us.

I will keep you posted on the hunt and the upcoming move to the East. Next up is my trip to Michigan to meet Boston's friends. I can't wait for that trip!