Modern Grammar

Christmastime

2008-01-10T16:19:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving in D.C.

2008-01-10T16:17:00.000-08:00

Halloween in Salem

2008-01-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

Nick's B-day

2008-01-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

So I don't think we ever got around to posting these - so here comes a slew of photofantasticity. Enjoy.

It's been awhile!

2007-12-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

So Nick is busy taking a final exam right now, and I finally have a day off - well, I'm officially taking a day off. But he has a new toy - a Palm Treo 755p, that he uses to manage his schedule AND talk on the phone, AND send random picture mails. Our lives are so exciting.

We will post photos later, once finals are done. We have something to look forward to, though - my brother and sister (and boyfriend) are coming to visit! We'll be going to D.C. for a week, and then to New York City, and then back to Boston for New Years.

We have some awesome photos from Thanksgiving in D.C. with my Uncle Michael and Uncle Tony. We'll post those later, too (you will love them).

. . . to be continued . . .

P.S. We finally saw photos of Nick's first niece - Iona Raine. You can see them here: http://caylors.blogspot.com/

Go Terriers!

2007-10-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2007/10/princeton-rev-7.html

BU Law is ranked as #4 in the country by the Princeton Review! Of course, Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions is ranked #5 by U.S. News & Reports! It's good to know that we didn't move all the way out here for nothing.

Come visit!

When Turkeys Attack

2007-10-24T19:36:00.001-07:00

Who knew that wild turkeys could grow to 4 feet tall? Not us!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/10/23/turkeys_take_to_cities_towns/?page=1

Legal Follies

2007-10-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

Legal Follies is a sketch comedy group that has made its home at BU Law. Entirely student-written, produced and directed, our annual show is a tradition that everyone looks forward to.

In addition to a hilarious cast of actors and actresses, Legal Follies boasts an incredibly talented band composed entirely of students.

This is where David E. Kelley, writer for LA Law, Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, and Boston Legal (great show), got his start. He graduated with a law degree from Boston University where he wrote comedy sketches for the annual follies.

Anyway, see if you can find me: http://people.bu.edu/follies/index_files/Page870.htm

P.S. Nick is 26 nowwww!!!! He will put up photos soon :)

Barristers Hall

2007-09-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

Here we are, in the front row are Sarah, Mallorie, me, Anuj, and Sumeet taking a break (but still studying) to go to a panel discussion put on by the Women's Law Association. Note my new haircut. ;)

I Love Frivolous Lawsuits

2007-09-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/poof_god_answers_suit_asserts_lack_of_jurisdiction

God Lawsuit Gets Answers

Sep 20 08:29 PM US/Eastern
By NATE JENKINS
Associated Press Writer

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A legislator who filed a lawsuit against God has gotten something he might not have expected: a response.

One of two court filings from "God" came Wednesday under otherworldly circumstances, according to John Friend, clerk of the Douglas County District Court in Omaha.

"This one miraculously appeared on the counter. It just all of a sudden was here—poof!" Friend said.

State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha sued God last week, seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty for making terroristic threats, inspiring fear and causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."

Chambers, a self-proclaimed agnostic who often criticizes Christians, said his filing was triggered by a federal lawsuit he considers frivolous. He said he's trying to makes the point that anybody can sue anybody.

Not so, says "God." His response argues that the defendant is immune from some earthly laws and the court lacks jurisdiction.

It adds that blaming God for human oppression and suffering misses an important point.

"I created man and woman with free will and next to the promise of immortal life, free will is my greatest gift to you," according to the response, as read by Friend.

There was no contact information on the filing, although St. Michael the Archangel is listed as a witness, Friend said.

A second response from "God" disputing Chambers' allegations lists a phone number for a Corpus Christi law office. A message left for that office was not immediately returned Thursday.

Attempts to reach Chambers by phone and at his Capitol office Thursday were unsuccessful.

___

Associated Press Writer Anna Jo Bratton in Omaha contributed to this report.

Law School Harbor Cruise

2007-09-20T12:19:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we broke the ice on the new school year by cruising on a boat around the harbor - the Boston skyline is gorgeous at night, especially when you consider the reflection on the water! So you put 500+ law school students on a three-story tall boat, add a deejay and awesome weather, and you get a very very fun time. Makes us wish we had a 400-footer of our own to cruise around in every weekend. ;)

Before going on the cruise and dancing to our hearts' content, we chowed down on delicious Macedonian food at our friend Annette's place. The law school experience makes us crave certain foods, especially Indian foods. The guys at Punjab Palace will soon know us all by first names.

Our section in school is full of awesome people, and we have bonded over hours and hours of studying and writing (all the while not really knowing if what you're doing/thinking is what you're supposed to be writing/thinking, etc.). Gotta love that language immersion philosophy.

Anyway, Nick has a work-study job, and no more anatomy lab, so his life is settling down. We don't see each other much, but when we do we have a lot of fun.

Will post more later!!!

Tea Partay

2007-09-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

So I know we haven't posted in awhile, but now that school's started hopefully we'll get back in the groove. Lots of fun things to share!

Here's one of them - it's hilarious. A spoof on New England.

Marzipan!

2007-08-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Last week we got a new kitty from the Animal Rescue League here in Boston. We named her Marzipan because her cream stripes are the color of marzipan, and because we have an affinity for the name that is probably the result of watching toons on http://www.homestarrunner.com. ;) She was a tiny and starved for attention and food when we got her. Since then she has calmed down immensely and now seems to be at home with us and Chamomile now. Nick loves that she purrs all of the time - it reminds him of MacDuff!

Speaking of Nick - he has officially finished his first semester of grad school - today was his last final for the summer! ! ! !! Now we get three weeks of break time before it starts all over again.

Chamomile is getting along well with Marzipan - they play together all of the time, and they love to be in the same room even when they're just sleeping. Chamomile used to follow us around all day - now she has a tiny playmate to keep her entertained when we're in school.

Some people seem to think we should dress up Chamomile and Marzipan for a Christmas photo this year . . . but a part of me would just feel guilty if we did. ;)

The Arnold Arboretum

2007-07-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

The Arnold Arboretum is the oldest public arboretum in North America and a hotspot for horticultural researchers around the world.

The Arboretum is a living museum dedicated to the study and appreciation of woody plants. Upon its 265 acres grow 15,000 trees, shrubs and vines, each of which is scientifically documented and available for teaching or research.

Harvard University curates the collections and maintains the landscape, while the city (which has leased the area to Harvard for 1,000+ years) maintains the paperwork.

Of course, the famed Frederick Law Olmsted (landscape architect who designed the Hello Walk at the University of Idaho, Central Park) worked together with Charles Sprague Sargent, the scientist who collected the plant life. Olmsted laid out the road system and overall planting scheme to make sure that it flowed with the rest of the Emerald Necklace. The Emerald Necklace is a series of park areas in Boston that are all joined by roadways or waterways, so you can go from one area to the next easily.

We biked up to the top of Bussey Hill and Peters Hill, which offers one of Boston's best vistas with Kris and Candace, who recently transplanted to Boston (also for educational purposes). After biking uphill for three hours, we all went out to Mike's Deli, which has the most delicious Reuben any of us had ever encountered. So satisfying (and dairy-free!).

We also had a surprise visitor! Mary Tait was stuck at the airport, so we rescued her and utilized our queen-size air mattress! Then, of course she left us to go spend the week on Cape Cod with her parents. :) It was fun while it lasted!

Nick's White Coat Ceremony

2007-07-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

Last week was Nick's White Coat Ceremony. During the ceremony, the third year students return to pin and put the white coats on the first years. The speakers were great and the food was delicious.

Plus, Nick looks pretty sweet in his White Coat. Very professional.

If you look closely, you'll notice that on Nick's nametag, the "k" is capitalized (NicK). For FREE - it didn't cost a thing for that extra panache.

Without any further adieu, here is a glimpse of the future Dr. Caylor.

4th of July on Cape Ann

2007-07-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th on the ocean and on Cape Ann, thanks to the hospitality of Dennis's parents! We swam in the pool, in the freezing cold hypothermia-inducing ocean, and we were even bit by sand fleas while wading off the beach finding beautiful seashells. The beaches were full of every type of medium to tiny-sized dog, as well as a lot of swimsuit-wearing people and boats anchored in the sand.

We also took in the views on the water, and since we had traveled in two separate groups, when we traded places and swam to the shore or to the boat, we couldn't take our stuff with us! So when we put on dry clothes to warm up - they weren't ours! It was kind of fun to put yourself in someone else's shoes . . . literally.

On the cape, they have fireworks and a giant bonfire with 1800 wood pallets, and a wooden sculpture on the top that burns throughout the evening. In the recent past, the wooden sculpture was of Frosty the Snowman, but so many of the kids started crying when they saw Frosty "melting" that they had to save Frosty's life.

Note to self: don't burn effigies of anything from children's literature. It will traumatize the children.

;)

June is Over

2007-07-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Nick is in class 35 hours per week, he's studying 30 hours per week, and he has about 20 hours of free time per week, if you count breakfast and dinner.

Still, we managed to find time for food and fun at Atwood's Tavern with our L-town Crew: Jessica and Travis. Jessica is a 2L at BU Law - she's unstoppable! If you like mandolins, Atwood's Tavern is the place to be on Thursday nights. We like mandolins.

If you like Sushi, hit up Ginza, a fantastic, delicious, and yes, affordable sushi restaurant in Coolidge Corner. After that, feel free to travel down the D line to Matt Murphy's - a pub with live music every weekend. A few of the 1Ls and our posse met up for expensive drinks and good conversation.

If it's shopping you'd like, head over to Newbury Street, the Prudential, or Copley Place. Allison, my neighbor (she lives in the same apartment building one floor above us), and I hit the streets of Boston looking for suits, with fantastic results. She found one at Ann Taylor, and I found this one at Banana Republic - on sale, of course - in black.

http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/outfit.do?cid=30924&oid=OUT07989

Meanwhile, Nick is busy with his dissection, coming home everyday complaining that the smell of embalming fluid has permeated his clothing, and raving about getting to saw through and remove an entire leg. I asked if he would rather be a Pathologist. He said no, but I don't know if I really believe him. ;)

I wish I could be more excited for him, I really do, but I just don't like the sound of crunching bones.

So sue me.

;)

PT Party at Sissy K's

2007-06-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Fun at Fanueil Hall after a hard week of studying - the 2nd and 3rd year PT students party hard with the first years at Sissy K's with all you can eat appetizers - ooOOOoh. We ate all the celery. ;)

Open House Sailing

2007-06-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Once per month the Boston Sailing Club has an open house where anyone who wants to can come out sailing, take a turn steering the boat, etc. Our guide was Lincoln, a very friendly guy with a lot of experience.

It was a nice break from cutting up cadavers, using bone saws, and smelling like embalming fluid. Also, Nick didn't make one corny pun using anatomy terminology. ;)

Come visit and you can see these views for yourself!

Our schools

2007-06-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

Nick's campus: (it's the bottom part)

My campus: (the part running along the right side of the Charles River)

Nick's campus is definitely the prettier of the two, with lots of park areas and a constant view of the Charlestown Navy Yard complete with gorgeous yachts and waterfowl.

BUT, my school has this:
http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2006/04/06/News/Bu.Pub.Still.A.Popular.Secret.After.Decades.On.Campus-1799257.shtml

That's right, a secret pub/bar in the BU castle exclusively open to Boston University students, alumni, faculty, staff and guests. Tuesday night is Trivia Night!!

In addition, we live directly above Our House, a bar/pub whatnot that apparently is hugely popular during the school year with lines of undergrads going down the block. If we go, we'll probably just hit up the Happy Hour (2 for 1 burgers and appetizers!), or Trivia Night on Mondays. On Sundays they have $1 burgers after 8:30 p.m., and if you're there on Sunday at midnight, there's a free food buffet. We can see why it's so popular among students. ;)

http://boston.citysearch.com/profile/4742924/allston_ma/our_house_west.html

Kayaking on the Charles

2007-06-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

First we have photos from going out to coffee with Clint, an old friend from southern Idaho who's going to grad school at Boston College!

Next we have our four hour adventure on the Charles River in a 2-person kayak! The Charles River is very beautiful, with 17 miles of bike path running alongside it and a wonderful view of the Boston skyline. Apparently it used to be the opposite of beautiful - when heavy rains fell, sewage would be directed into the river. It's said one could light a match above the water and start a fire from its fumes. Now its been cleaned up, but the brown water in the wakes of the boats and the fact that once a paddle is 12 inches in the water it disappears speak to the still present need for improvement. The hypodermic needle, used condom, and numerous empty floating pop bottles that we saw also contribute to that impression. Maybe we're just spoiled coming from the glacier lakes and beautiful rivers in the Northwest (and the immaculately paved bike paths) . . but there is still natural beauty here, it's just been well used.

After rowing to see the skyline, we met up with Nick's classmates on the way back, formed a six-person kayak and floated down the river in the summer sun.

Afterwards we ate at Il Panino in Harvard Square and finished off the night with a movie party at our place. The only downside to the night was that public transportation stops at 12:30 a.m., so at 12:15 a.m., in the middle of Wii Bowling we called it a night. ;)

This is for Carly and Jason

2007-06-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

Nick loves that you post on our blog, and he wishes more people would. ;)

Enjoy!

More slam poetry at: http://www.taylormali.com

Mid-Decoration Status

2007-06-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

So we're not completely organized yet, but here is some of our new ikea furniture.

The new stuff we bought: 1) couch and pillows, 2) area rug, 3) computer hutch, 4) dining table with chairs, 5) laptop stand, 6) bureau for bedroom

But first, my new haircut and acrobatics from Chamomile

Nick's orientation team on the second day of class - there are only 9 boys out of 50 students!

Our Neighborhood

2007-06-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun pics - we are in the process of winding up the unpacking and filing everything away where it's supposed to go. I think that's mostly up to me since Nick started school today! His campus is much prettier than mine, but mine has an exclusive bar/pub! ;)

I also received a delicious vegan chocolate cake in the mail from Miss Emily Fickenwirth which Nick and I loved. Yum! It's always fun getting things in the mail - especially edible things! ;) ;)

Sarah and I in the North End

Nick and Clayton

Love the water!

oh, the humidity and my hair do not get along

group of future BU law students (minus Clayton and Nick) out on the town

the green line outside our apartment

the side entrance to our apartment building

on the way to the T stop

our building from across the street

us at Fanueil Hall

Day 21 - Nor'easters

2007-06-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

We had big plans for today. We were going to get student ID cards, walk along the Freedom Trail and see historic landmarks . . . .

Instead, we got caught out in the rain running errands and looking for furniture. We did manage to find the 2nd Season of Futurama at a consignment store before it started raining so hard that our clothes were soaked through in a matter of 60 seconds. Of course, this formed huge puddles in the street, and, yes, we did get doused in water sprayed by a gracious oncoming car. At head level!

We stopped for shelter in a pet store, where we played with the gigantic Newfoundland, and two little bulldogs, one old and slow, the other young and playful. So we bought some supplies for Chamomile and prepared to start running again. When we got to our apartment we were cold and wet (as opposed to hot and humid), but still determined to at least go grocery shopping.

After purchasing wooden duck-handled umbrellas from the CVS across the street, we rode the T the half-mile to the Shaws Supermarket - it's the East Coast version of Albertson's! The Shaws brand bread is distributed by Albertson's in Boise, ID. :)

We bought delicious kosher meat, kosher pickles (there's a huge kosher section), and tried to keep our bags light so we could keep our circulation on the way back.

On the way back we realized that the umbrellas only covered 30% of our bodies, and since the wind blew the rain in every direction, we were soaked anyway.

Where's hot chocolate when you need it?

This is our hood - well, two blocks away from out apt. building anyway

Day 20 - Fun times ahead

2007-06-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today we took a field trip to ikea with Nomusa and Tom! They are adorable together, and of course, it was wonderful to see Nomusa again!!!!! Just like old times. ;) Except now she's singing backup for a reggae band - she and Tom (he plays bass for the band) and the rest of the band are touring the East Coast this summer.

They live up in Somerville, part of Greater Boston, near Davis Square - a very hipster-like area with plenty of little shops and lots of young people.

We had a blast and loved that ikea offers home delivery within 75 miles. In fact, there's a grocery delivery service that only costs $6.95! That might negate us hauling bags and bags of groceries home on the T!

Everybody offers free delivery here because most people probably don't have cars. There are tons of things that are offered free on Craigslist if anybody can haul them away.

Tom informed us that we'd need to include "wicked" in our vocabulary, and that he did, in fact, call drinking fountains "bubblers." Apparently people call soda/pop tonic, too. Gotta blend in!
We also had plans to meet up with friends at the Baseball Tavern to watch the game between the Red Sox and the Yankees. That brought out the crowds and frustrated our T driver - he was yelling at people to form lines inside the train or he was going to miss his light - they were slowin' him down! Other passengers were giving the driver a hard time and being so jovial about it.

A large number of people were also scalping tickets - Buying, Selling, Needing, Extra - chanting these phrases and offering programs, etc.

We ended up meeting Sarah and Clayton, a couple from Utah, and having a blast discussing our different paths and all that we look forward to. Note the effect of humidity on my hair . . .
We were sitting at a T stop, and Nick patted my hair. I asked him "what?" and he said "your hair just instantly turned frizzy." Yeah . . . .

Day 19 - Unpacking in Boston

2007-06-04T17:36:00.001-07:00

We only had to sleep on the air mattress for one night!! The movers came the morning of our second day, and we spent almost the entire day unpacking and moving in - sweating it up in the humidity with no ice cubes.

The most hilarious thing that has happend, though, is that Nick has lost his voice entirely. He sounds inhuman.

To take a break, we ventured out into Back Bay and the shopping mecca that is Newbury Street. One of many shopping meccas in Boston. This one happens to be in old beautiful brownstones full of designer labels and cafes. It was here, that we finally found Nick and pair of jeans!!! We also walked around other main streets in Beacon Hill, etc.

The best part of today was that the cable guy came - he seemed pretty amused by everything we did - or maybe it was just hearing our accents. He told us that there were different search modes we could use since we had an NTSC built-in - we scanned and ended up finding over 100 channels!!!! Also, there are at least 10 PBS stations here.

The rest of the day consisted of putting things away in the kitchen and sorting the boxes until midnight-thirty . . . while watching the high-definition PBS stations. Awwww yeah.

Day 19 - NYC to Boston

2007-06-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

Distance: 230 miles
Time: 5 hours

We drove into Brighton at 1:30 today, the neighborhood just east of Allston - it's very very cute with short townhouses and family homes, and quaint little shops. At 2:30 (traffic was horrible) we made it to our apartment in Allston, right on the green line, with a CVS pharmacy and a gym right across the street, restaurants and bars half a block away, and every service necessary within a 2-5 block walk, except maybe a large grocery store. There's even a restaurant and a cafe in our building.

The only bad things are that 1) the green line stops evey bock to pick up people, and 2) Commonwealth Avenue in front of our apartment is not very well-maintained - good thing we didn't bring a car! There is a park behind our building, and the sides of our building have ivy climbing all over them. It's nice to live someplace that feels old inside. Nice and strange.

We met almost all of our adjacent neighbors, all of whom were extremely friendly and welcoming, right before we too off for the hardware store to buy a powerful air conditioner. The humidity is fierce and it was already hot to begin with. Once we had that installed, we made a run to the grocery store with the few hours we had left on our rental car. There is one a half-mile inbound, and one mile outbound on Comm Ave - not too bad eh?

The apartment is great - thanks to Nomusa! - with high ceilings, wooden floors, lots of kitchen storage, and an antique shower system.

Nick returned the car and bought us month-long unlimited Charlie Cards for the T and bus systems. Then we inflated the air mattress and called it a night.

Day 18 - NYC

2007-06-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

Going to see the Statue of Liberty is an immense undertaking. To get tickets to see the inside, they must be booked at least six weeks in advance and can only be used during a specific time period. We, of course, didn't get these tickets, but we did see the statue up close. The hours and hours of waiting in lines, being herded by distinctly unfriendly people into and out of the ferry finally paid off. It's strange to think that people in the toursm industry, and a lot of the people working in clothing stores were not friendly at all - more along the lines of rude. ;) Only in NYC.

In fact, yesterday when we went to see shows, we were yelled at by an 80-year-old usher because we were seating ourselves (there was no usher at our aisle). As far as random people off the street, when we were visiting the library, a guy asked if he could get by us or if we were going to call the cops on him because we were white and he wasn't. Oh yeah, and if anybody in the subway station asks you what the greatest nation in the world is . . . . it's a donation. ;)

There is a website http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/ where you can find sooo many hilarious things that were, of course, overheard in New York. That is one beautiful thing about NYC - the other, of course, is being yelled at/heckled by crazy people. ;)

After seeing the statue and the beautiful water and skyline, we went to Ellis Island, saw the receiving room, and saw my grandparents' names on the Wall of Honor. Concluding the day of patriotic sightseeing, we went to see Ground Zero, where construction workers were plugging away at who knows what, and people in expensive suits walked by the desloate brown wasteland where the WTC used to be - quite a contrast.

Our last night in NYC was a lot of fun - we went to Lombardi's for dinner to try NY pizza in Little Italy with Mary Tait and Charles Petersen. Mary was kind enough to share with us a secret of haut chocolate lovers: http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/ and she even gave us a delicious box of truffles in exotic flavors (meant to reflect the makers' world travels). So good!!!

Anywy, we ordered their specialty Clam Pie, and another with mushrooms and pepperoni. Mmm. . . thin crunchy crust pizza. Delish. We finished the night off with a bottle of Prosecco at a nearby bar, and were joined by Clint Froehlich and his friend from Australia, Cressida. It was a great reunion of L-town natives, and we guessed the largest population of Lewiston people in NYC (all in the same place). . . possibly ever. ;) After a trip to another bar, and hours of catching up, we decided to be responsible and head home to rest up for our early morning car trip . . .

Jack Venbrux and Maria van der Sloot Venbrux

Lombardi's - Clint is on the cell phone

Charles, Nick, Marissa, Mary, Clint - L-town homies

Day 17 - NYC

2007-06-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning looking for jeans with a short enough inseam to fit Nick.

We went to the largest Macy's in the world (it says the largest store in the world - 9 stories of shopping in two buildings), to Herald Square, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, etc., all over the place and we found . . . not one pair of jeans! But we did have lunch at Cafe 75 again . . . mmmm.

It was fun to see designer lines up close and personal, even though they were all chained to the racks.

The Drowsy Chaperone, a show that won several awards, was a tongue-in-cheek musical making fun of old musicals and theatergoers. There were some extremely strong performances, and hilarious characters with impeccable comedic timing. We liked the matinee performance so well that we went to TKTS (they sell reduced-price tickets) in Times Square and bought cheap tickets to see Les Miserables that same night. This was a great performance with much much better acting than is seen at the Spokane Opera House. ;)

We also realized why you have to be a good actor to be on Broadway - because the audience is ten feet away from you! The facial expressions and movements of the entire cast can be seen clearly from every seat. None of the theatres are very big - when we were watching Les Miserables, we could see each of the singers spitting as they annunciated hard consonants. Most of it fell right into the orchestra pit, or probably the front row!!! Don't ever sit in the front row! I guess that's what happens when the singers aren't mic-ed. ;)

We headed for home at 11:30 p.m., emotionally and physically drained, walking to the subway bathed in the glow of Times Square advertisements.

B-town

2007-06-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:

Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States[3] and the largest city in New England. Considered the unofficial capital of the New England region,[4] Boston had an estimated city-proper population of 596,638 in 2005. The city lies at the center of America's eleventh-largest metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, which is home to 4.4 million people. Residents of the city are called Bostonians.

The city was founded in 1630 on the Shawmut peninsula by Puritan colonists from England.[5] During the late 1700s, Boston was the location of several major events during the American Revolution, including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. Several early battles of the American Revolution, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston, occurred within the city and surrounding areas. After the revolution, Boston became a major shipping port and manufacturing center.[5] The city was the site of several firsts, including America's first public school, Boston Latin School (1635),[6] and college, Harvard College (1636) in neighboring Cambridge, as well as the first subway system in the U.S.[7]

Through land reclamation and the municipal annexation, Boston has expanded throughout the peninsula and has become one of the most culturally significant cities in the United States. It is recognized as a global city.[8] With many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is a center of higher education[9] and a center for health care. The city's economy is also based on research, finance, and technology — principally biotechnology. Boston is also struggling with gentrification issues, and has one of the highest costs of living in the United States.[10]

Here's where our apartment is located:

Allston is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, located in the western part of the city. It is, for the most part, administered collectively with the adjacent neighborhood of Brighton. The two are often referred to together as "Allston-Brighton." The population of Allston is approximately 50% students, mostly from Boston University, Boston College, and Harvard University.[citation needed]

Housing stock varies but largely consists of brick apartment buildings, especially on Commonwealth Avenue and the streets directly off of it; while areas further down Brighton Avenue are largely dotted with wooden triple-deckers. Lower Allston, across the Massachusetts Turnpike from the rest of Allston, consists of mostly 1890-1920s single-family and multi-family Victorian homes. Allston is generally viewed as a very safe middle class neighborhood with a young population and a large number of bars and cheap eateries.

The Charles River, viewed at night in winter from the Weeks footbridge, with Allston to the right and Cambridge, Massachusetts to the left.

[edit] Demographics

Allston, while primarily a neighborhood shared by students and bohemians of all ages, is also home to Boston natives, Asian, Russian, and numerous other immigrants. In the 1990s, census figures indicated that 52.6% of its population was aged 20-34 (as compared to 33% for the city of Boston as a whole), an indication of the strong student and "twentysomething" presence. That presence has created tension between some long-time residents and the student population, which constantly cycles in and out as students matriculate and graduate from Boston's many colleges and universities. In addition to nightly dancing and live music at area bars, house parties abound on surrounding streets, particularly during the school year. This has long been a sore point among other Allston residents. [1]

[edit] Geography

The ZIP code 02134 is famously identified with Allston, due to a recurring musical piece on the PBS children's series ZOOM -- whose originating station, WGBH, is located in the neighborhood. Residents and mapmakers refer to the eastern part of the former town of Brighton as "Allston," but there is no clear boundary between the two.

The neighborhood of Allston is almost completely cut off from the main body of the city of Boston by the Charles River and the town of Brookline, which borders Allston on the south and east. Allston is bordered by the Charles River and the city of Cambridge to the north, and is split in two by the Massachusetts Turnpike. The area north of the turnpike near the river is often referred to as "Lower Allston" or "North Allston." The western edge of Allston is more roughly defined, but is primarily east of the western most point of Cambridge.

The busiest section of the neighborhood lies immediately south of the turnpike and centers on the stretch of Harvard Avenue between Commonwealth Avenue and Cambridge Street, which houses many shops, bars and restaurants. Recent business promotion initiatives have dubbed this area "Allston Village," though the prevalence of musicians and music venues such as Great Scott and O'Brien's Pub has given rise to the popular nickname "Allston Rock City." The center of the neighborhood, sometimes referred to as the "Beer Mile," is a popular hookup spot for college students.

Day 16 - NYC

2007-05-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

The New York Public Library is massive and full of marble and ornate paintings/carvings. The reading rooms have lofty ceilings, shelves full of books (surprise? ;) ), and plentiful information and research desks for the assistance of patrons. I read a book of poems by 20 poets who were born between 1920 and 1930. I actually read Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" in its entirety for the first time and realized how utterly scandalous is must have been back in 1956.

Behind the library is Bryant Park, full of well-kempt grass and dozens of tables and chairs, set out on the lawn and surrounding patios so people can converse or study in comfort that doesn't involve grass stains.

Next we went to the "NBC Experience," where we took a tour of the Late Nite with Conan O'Brien studio and the SNL studio. It's amazing how tiny the Late Nite studio is! It was originally a radio studio, so it didn't need to be large. However, since it is so very very very small, NBC does a bunch of camera tricks so that it appears much much larger to audiences at home. When Conan is doing his Conalogue at the beginning, he is standing probably two feet away from Max Wineburg, and he has to walk maybe 12-15 feet from his monologue to his desk. There are also only 189 people in the studio audience, but they use microphones that amplify the audience noises by 2 or 3 times!

Another interesting thing about the studio is that the entire ceiling is covered by lights and cameras and microphones hanging down ten feet from the ceiling. I'm surprised that the place doesn't have more electrical fires. ;)

The SNL studio started off as the largest radio studio in the world, and now it's just the largest television studio in the GE Building, where NBC is located. It, too is filled with oodles of electronic monitors, lights, mics, etc., and it too is much smaller than it appears. Apparently they have all of the sets built all around the place where the band plays and the host gives a monologue , in a line, and it looks like a maze from the audience. So when you're an audience member, you actually don't see very many of the skits, except from the monitors that hang from the ceiling. If you're sitting in the front row of the mezzanine level (not the ground level), the sets might extend 5 feet above your head, and you won't be able to see anything at all (except that skit!). But they are the hardest tickets to get in showbiz. They receive 100,000 ticket requests per season, and can only give 2,000 people tickets (300 people per show) - so they use a lottery system.

Oh, also, we found out that in 2009 Conan will be taking over for Jay Leno when he retires. I wonder if that means he gets a bigger set . . . ?

Afterwards we ate at Cafe 75 in Rockefeller Center (delicious), and took off for the Empire State Building. The views were great, probably even better than the Sears tower, simply because New York is such a densely compacted city that one can see each of the Burroughs and easily identify neighborhoods, etc., whereas Chicago is more spread out (but it has such a beautiful skyline!). While waiting in line to see the view, we heard at least 10 different languages (and only understood four of them).

Before heading back we stopped by the Macy's, Madison Square Garden, and Times Square, to see if we could score some cheap tickets. They were cheap, but not cheap enough. But we did see some aspiring break dancers in the Times Square subway - not as good as the ones we've seen on the west coast, but we got to give them props because we couldn't do it.

We had dinner at Ivy's Cafe, a fantastic littler Chinese/Japanese restaurant with delightfully subtle flavors. The restaurant was called upon by the Waldorf-Astoria hotel to serve delegates from the Chinese government while they were in NYC. Delicious.

Did you know that General Tso's Chicken is actually an American dish? Who cares, it's still delicious, right?

It's kind of a nice feeling being in New York - totally surrounded by people on all sides, pushing through crowds and cramming into subways, yet not feeling like your personal space has been invaded. It's a strange kind of anonymity.

It's nice to see lots of people everywhere you go - we could definitely get used to this.

Day 15 - NYC with a new key!

2007-05-28T18:58:00.002-07:00

This morning after calling five locksmiths that advertised themselves as "24 hour emergency" services, we finally found a hardware store that was open and willing to copy our broken key.

From there we trekked around Central Park, or at least part of it, since it's GIGANTIC! Apparently everyone decided to use the Memorial Day holiday to train for marathons and bike races because there were crowds of people running biking, and even roller blading through the park in the humid pre-summer weather. It's a beautiful place during the day - a lush, green oasis in amidst the brownstones and streets.

We also decided to check out the American Museum of Natural History. The entire fourth floor is full of dinosaur skeletons (a large amount of them REAL, not plaster casts), which was the highlight of the trip. It's crazy how huge those creatures were!

Then we ventured out to Times Square (where the GPS wouldn't work because of the interference from the huge electronic billboards), saw part of Broadway, and continued on to Rockefeller Center and then Grand Central Station.

After a full day's walking, we met up with the wonderful Charles Petersen at Washington Square Park, in the Village. One of the awesome things about NYC is that the street/park/subway musicians are quite good, and even though a lot of the subways and subway stations are in much disrepair (read: gross), they are usually air-conditioned. And we did find one or two trains that were in good condition. Nothing like D.C., though! Too bad!

We wandered around the Village, past NYU and one of Charles' favorite restaurants (it was closed!), we decided on Curry Row, where you can take your pick of a dozen Indian restaurants. We chose the Taj Mahal. I think . . . or was it the Raj Mahal next door? ;) Anyway, it was delicious, with good atmosphere. To wrap up the night, we hit up a coffee/beer/wine bar during happy hour, and reveled in each other's company.

When we got back to the apartment, we decided to do some grocery shopping. Do I even need to say how great it is be in an area with a large Jewish population?!?! There is so much Parve food (read: dairy-free) that it's ridiculous! So I bought a few muffins (I can *never* have muffins or cupcakes!), and looked longingly at all of the Pareve cookies. PLUS, the Pioneer Food Market was the first place since we started our trip that had a) Unsweetened soymilk, and b) soy yogurt!

Other exciting news: Nick fixed the air conditioner! Kind of - it was actually the outlet that was the problem. Oh, and we left Chamomile's food in the car when we returned it (apparently Nick thought putting it in the spare tire compartment was space-efficient), so now we have to find a place that sells kitty food! The adventures never cease. ;)

Day 14 - Rochester to NYC

2007-05-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Distance: 350 miles
Time: 5.5 hours

Today we got up extra early to drive to NYC and return our Subaru Outback to its rightful owners.

We passed through various parts of New York, Pennsylvania (we even saw a Moscow, PA), and New Jersey before making it into the city. It was nice to see so much greenery, trees, etc., and we even saw a big fatty black bear run across the road in front of us! I have to say, for once it was nice to see a LIVE animal on the highway. (The amount of roadkill we have seen from Minnesota on is just amazing.)

Anyway, the weather today is beautiful and people are swarming Central Park - just a block or two away from Uncle Michael and Uncle Tony's apartment. The apartment is in probably the best location possible, and it comes equipped with a decorative fireplace, shiny hardwood floors, and beautiful wooden window treatments.

Chamomile is climbing all over the place - the loft bed area is especially enticing to her, but sometimes she gets scared and needs someone to rescue her because she has decided that she is *too* high up. "Chamomile" left us a present - a mug with pictures of kitties executing commands, like Fetch, Beg, Chase, Play Dead, and Sit. Of course, they all look quite sanguine and unperturbed by such expectations.

I'm sure my mom is jealous.

After unloading all of our things from the car into the apartment, Nick went to return the car, only to find that the key that opens the doors to the apartment building had bent itself!!!! And all of the locksmiths we visited were closed (since it's Sunday). Aren't there any locksmiths who celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday and are open on Sunday?!? Guess not. At least not near where we are.

All is not lost, however, there is a Memorial Day Monk Marathon on television: our saving grace. Also, the beers from around the world (or hard ciders from around the world, in my case!). ;)

The outside of the apt. building - it's the one in the middle.

Note the kitty on the stairs

The apartment, as viewed from the loft bed, and taken over by our luggage!

Kitchen to the right, bathroom to the left, bed up the stairs!

Day 13 - Rochester

2007-05-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Today we got up at a reasonable hour, with enough time to do a few loads of laundry using all Washington quarters, joke around to our hearts' content, and do sudoku puzzles. http://www.websudoku.com/

Bray headed off to rehearsal from early afternoon on, so we decided to make the best of it, going to the Rochester Visitor Center, viewing the High Falls in the middle of historic downtown, stopping by the Eastman House http://www.eastmanhouse.org/, where the Kodak founder lived (now a museum featuring photographic works - currently Ansel Adams), the Susan B. Anthony house (where she lived for 40 years and where she was arrested for voting) http://www.susanbanthonyhouse.org/, and the Strong Museum (National Museum of Play! http://www.strongmuseum.org/NTHoF/NTHoF.html) to see a Dancing Butterflies exhibit.

We finished off the night with a trip to Beers of the World, and dinner at Mykonos, a greek diner/cafe for some much needed gyro action.

Bray got home just in time for Saturday Night Live, so we sat around, digesting the day, before calling it a night. After all, we have to be responsible adults now that we're going to graduate school, right?

Note that the sign on this building is advertising luxury loft apartments . . .

Yay for women's suffrage!!!!!!

Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music

Zoom in for a close-up of Bray's headshot

The Eastman House

Day 12 - Cleveland to Rochester

2007-05-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Distance: 350 miles
Time: 6.5 hours

Today we woke up much later than planned . . . stupid car lag! Thank goodness we miraculously set our hotel room clock an hour ahead. It wasn't really noon!

We took off in a flash (fastest packing east of the Mississppi!) and drove to Canada to see Niagara Falls. Amazingly, they let us through customs, giving us very odd looks when we told them where we were from (Idaho) and where we were headed (Massachusetts). Apparently it seems crazy to some people to drive across the country . . . . or maybe it just seems crazy to Canadians? ;)

The falls were beautiful, with mists rising hundreds of feet above our heads, clean turquoise water cascading down into plumes of white cotton candy. They have boat tours that go to the bottom of the falls (you wear blue ponchos), and hikes behind and below the falls (you wear yellow ponchos), gondola rides above the falls, the Skylon Tower with the highest view of the falls, Marineland - an amusement and sea life park, and a whole downtown area full of disneyland-esque marquees and pedestrians. A very tight-knit operation!

Nick vows that if we were invincible he would totally jump in the water and ride over the falls. I mentioned that even if we were invincible and weren't killed by the fall, wouldn't we still feel pain? Which is worse? We don't know.

By evening time we had made it to Rochester, where we broke into Bray's apartment while he was in rehearsal for Showboat with Mercury Opera of Rochester (he's playing a lead - "Gaylord"). His apartment is a big place with plenty of room for Chamomile to run around and play (and for Nick to play Nintendo DS). Unfortunately, Deb and Dan, another couple staying with Bray for the weekend, are allergic to cats! They even at one time tried to have a "hypo-allergenic" Siberian cat (http://www.siberian-cat-breeder.com), but it didn't work out. So we had to relegate Chamomile to Bray's huge bedroom.

She didn't mind.

Meanwhile, we filled each other in on the past couple weeks, munched on goodies from a care package sent to Bray from his mom, and soaked in the air-conditioning. Sweet, sweet air-conditioning.

We have a million more photos of Niagara Falls, but we decided to post the video instead!

This is on the 10-second timer

This is on the 2-second timer!

Day 11 - Cleveland and Cedar Point

2007-05-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Cedar Point Amusement Park - the Rollercoaster Capital of the World! http://www.cedarpoint.com It's got beautiful views - water on all sides of the park, and a marina. We melted while waiting in line to ride the Top Thrill Dragster, the tallest ride in the park. Pale-faced as we are, we did wear ample sunscreen and so escaped unscathed by embarrassing lobster skin. The ride takes you from 0 to 120 mph in 4 secs, and to 420 ft in the air (the best view in the park!). It's apparently the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the UNIVERSE. That's right, there are no taller or faster roller coasters, not even on the MOON.

Afterward, we went to Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, were we saw an art exhibit of fifty guitars outside, and photos of rock 'n' roll costumes through the ages (and John Lennon's report card). Next door was the Great Lakes Science Center, with 400 interactive exhibits (so cool, but we didn't have time to interact with them all), and an Omnimax theater where we saw Superman Returns (Nick's first Omnimax viewing!) - in a dome so it covers almost all of your peripheral vision almost (it seems like it anyway).

To finish off the date we hit up Tommy's restaurant (otherwise known as Stairway to Hummus). http://www.tommyscoventry.com Eating here made us miss the co-op - delicious and cheap! They even had dairy-free desserts!

One of the best things about Cleveland is the cheap cheap parking! We found a parking meter that already had four hours on it. And you know what, four hours of parking downtown cost only $2.00!

The best thing about today in general, though, was that Nick got a phone call from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions telling him that he received a half-tuition merit scholarsihp for the first two years!

YAY!!!!! That totally made up for all of the melting that we did. ;)

Day 10 - South Bend

2007-05-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Distance: 400 miles
Time: 6.5 hours

Nick was disappointed to find that ZIP 104 is now a Christian music station, but relieved to find that U93 was still hip and happenin'. His old house is still in the same place, mostly unchanged, his old school still populated with elementary boys and girls, and the church next door still as beautiful and charming as ever. The University of Notre Dame library, however, was missing the reflecting pool that used to enhance the mural covering its front entrance.

On the way to Cleveland, we stopped at a Travel Plaza on the toll roads for Popeye's (we hadn't eaten there since New Orleans in 2002) where they threw in extra food with our order - a touch of that Midwestern hospitality.

Cleveland seems like an okay place to live - lots of greenery, plenty of shopping, very cheap parking! But, of course, we haven't checked the radio stations yet. Nick said living in Chicago would make him want to subscribe to Satellite radio. ;)

We turned on the television in time to see a special on SNL in the 90's and ended up watching it until who knows when in the morning - we weren't tired because of the time change! One advantage to flying is that you get all of the jet lag out of your system at the same time. Driving a car, it happens little by little!

We have car lag.

Day 9 - Chicago

2007-05-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today's big adventure was going to the Art Institute of Chicago -http://www.artic.edu/aic/- a huge adventure, actually. So huge that we weren't able to see everything in it despite our speed and efficient intentions. Not fair!

We did see works by Ad Reinhardt, Charles Ledray, Claes Oldenburg, Roy Lichtenstein, Gaugin, Cezanne, Monet (8 different versions of haystacks and a few of the 48 total versions of Water Lily Pond), Juan Gris, Paul Klee, lots of Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Dali (amazing how tiny his brushstrokes are), Max Ernst, Joan Miro, Legere, Jean Arp, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, van Gogh, Seurat, Botticelli, Renee Magritte, Georgia O'Keefe, and many many others. If you click on Collection on the website you can see selected works in each category.

There were collections on Japanese, Korean, African and Islamic art, as well as medieval armor, and European and American decorative arts (furniture through the years).

Nick's favorites were American decorative arts and the contemporary art (all kinds). My personal favorite, however, was the display of the Thorne Miniature Rooms. Mini furniture! Where can I buy some?

"The 68 Thorne Miniature Rooms enable one to glimpse elements of European interiors from the late 13th century to the 1930s and American furnishings from the 17th century to the 1930s. Painstakingly constructed on a scale of one inch to one foot, these fascinating models were conceived by Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago and constructed between 1932 and 1940 by master craftsmen according to her specifications."

I bet the miniature food that people would eat in those miniature rooms has to be viewed under a microscope!

Millennium Park was the next stop - a well-maintained and well-populated public park complete with fountains, beautiful sculptures, an outdoor amphitheater designed by Frank Gehry, and a "Touch 'n' Go Chess Party" cart, among other street vendors. The views from the park were great - on one side is the city skyline (and all of the shops and shoppers nearby), and on the other is the clear blue of Lake Michigan.

We finished off the night with a visit to the Second City Mainstage - a sketch/improv comedy troupe - to see a show titled "Between Barack and a Hard Place."

'“Between Barack and a Hard Place” takes a look at a nation divided. Red state versus blue. Smokers versus non-smokers. Art lovers versus philistines. Dozens of potential presidential candidates versus each other. And the terrorists versus…well, everybody. The Second City uses its razor-sharp wit and irreverent satirical viewpoint to ease the tension of being stuck “Between Barack and a Hard Place”.'

Through the years Second City has produced/employed such greats as Bill Murray, John Belushi, Tim Meadows, Chris Farley, Steve Carrell, Stephen Colbert, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Tina Fey, and Gilda Radner. I think they're the biggest supplier of SNL performers (or something like that!).

It was a hilarious night, ending in an improv session after the show and a nice stroll through the Olde Towne of Chicago before bed.

We leave you with but a small clip: http://secondcity.com/video/Chicago_Mainstage/Assassin.wmv

Accents

2007-05-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

One of the hilarious things about traveling across the U.S. is getting to hear more than one regional accent in the course of a single day. I felt as if I were in a parallel universe when we hit Wisconsin, and in Chicago, we heard the requisite "Fahk yoo" from taxi drivers yelling at other cahs (not us). So friendly!

Anyway, that got us thinking about how we sound to people who have other regional accents.

Here are my results from a quiz:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The Inland North
The West
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Here are Nick's results:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

This was hilarious to me, because with Nick's funny vowels we sometimes get into discussions about how words are pronounced - he gets uppity about it so the phrase "you may think you speak "Standard English" was hilarious! ;) It's good to laugh at yourself.

Also, in college when we would go to parties with international students, Nick would often get asked where he was from - Ireland? That always makes me laugh. Nick, not so much.

We'll post more about the goings on later, just thought this was interesting.

Road Trip - Day 8, Chicago

2007-05-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today we were supposed to go to Six Flags Great America. Only it's closed today. It starts being open daily on May 23rd . . . which is definitely not today . . . too bad there are no refunds on tickets! Quick, someone think of a good sob story. ;)

So we took a little longer getting ready for the day, let Chamomile sleep on us for an extra half-hour, watched Telemundo's version of Good Morning Amerikca (Despierta America!), listened to the weather report for Mexico this week and utilized the continental breakfast.

To make the best of it we went to the Shedd Aquarium and saw all sorts of sea turtles, exotic fish, sea mammals, lizards and amphibians. To make ourselves feel even better, we watched a Spongebob Squarepants movie short in 4-D!!! You know, where they blow air on you and shoot water in your face, rumble your chair and generally try to freak you out? All this while wearing 3-D glasses and munching on Swedish Fish Aqua Life gummies. Almost enough to compensate for the loss of Six Flags. Almost.

For lunch we dined on a triple decker sandwich (don't worry, we shared it!) from Perry's Deli (http://www.perrysdeli.com/), another great place well-loved in the city for its cheap eats (and also featured on the Food Network!). www.citysearch.com, how we love thee.

While driving around town we tried to find a fun radio station to listen to - one would assume that in a big city there would be plenty to choose from, right? We flipped through the stations several times and decided that at least 50% of the stations were playing 80s music, a few played 60s/70s music, a few played country, and a few played mariachi music. Oh, and there was one NPR station playing classical music.

Does that sound like variety to you?

Chicago does, however, have a large variety of upscale boutiques and shoe stores! The Magnificent Mile is like a mini and American version of the Champs d'Elysee in Paris. There are even a few subway stops that mimic the surrealistc gothic entrances to the subway in Paris.

Going up to the Sky Deck of the Sears Tower was fun, and surprisingly cheaper than going to the Space Needle observation deck! Beautiful views, even on a foggy day like today, but they trapped us in an elevator and made us watch particularly annoying animated shorts urging us to visit the gift shop. The Space Needle would never do that to us.

When our stomachs started to growl we decided to make a second attempt at Minnies, this time successfully, ordering mini-sandwiches, mini fries, and mini beers. My love of mini-foods and mini things in general forced me to do a little dance, and Nick impressed himself by downing three bottles of beer, four sandwiches, and a half-order of fries, all in one sitting.

Chamomile, of course, slept in the bed all day, meowed at the single mirror in the room, and spread her toys all over the room, like a good kitty.

Road Trip - Day 7 - Madison and Chicago

2007-05-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

From: Minneapolis, MN
To: Chicago, IL via Madison, WI

Time: 7 hours
Distance: 410 miles

To break up the car trip we stopped in Madison, WI, to take a tour of the capitol building and to hear more of that wonderful mid-western accent. With a lake on either side of it, Madison was a beautiful little place, with a quaint suburban feel. The capitol building was gorgeous, full of red granite (the state stone), bronze statues of badgers (the state animal) whose noses one can rub for good luck, and a dome taller than the nation's capitol building. However, it was also the most confusing capitol building we'd ever seen. It is shaped like a cross (as in the Red Cross), so there is no definite front entrance, and it's easy to get disoriented. That's probably why they named each branch by its cardinal direction. Everyone there was very friendly - our tour guide was so friendly (can one be too friendly?) that she reminded us of a satirical cartoon character.

Five chapters of Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell later, we were in Chicago, losing our change to the toll roads. We checked into our hotel and went out to celebrate our 2nd anniversary at the restaurant of my dreams, Minnies (www.minnies.com), one we saw featured on "Tasty Travels" on the Food Network while we were in Minneapolis. Everything they serve mini-sized, and miniature versions of things are always irresistibly adorable (miniature dachshunds, Micro Machines). We ordered mini martinis and waited for our food, only to find out that we would never get it! The sprinklers in the kitchen had gone off, spraying flame-retardant chemicals all over the grills and kitchen in general. So our drinks and a dessert of mini chocolate mint cookies (no chemical-laden preparation necessary) were on the house!

Disappointed, but determined to celebrate, we went to Lou Malnatis (http://www.loumalnatis.com/), a famous pizzeria (now a chain of restaurants in Chicago) that Jace had suggested to us, and one that's listed on citysearch.com as places one has to eat when in Chicago, to try the Chicago deep-dish action. So we can compare it with New York and Boston, of course. ;)

We ordered our personal pizzas, and a few drinks to pass the time (30 mins. to get your pizza there). They were absolutely delicious!!! Not greasy or oily from an overabundance of cheese (they even have a low fat cheese option), and the deep dish wasn't thick and gooey - it served as a containing wall for the delectable sauce, vegetables, and pepperoni. It's meant to be eaten with a fork and knife. So good, and so gourmet as far as deep-dish goes.

I know, I know, I can't have dairy. So sue me!

Happy Anniversary to us!!! Our present to each other was a Nintendo Wii, packed up at my parents' house, waiting to be shipped to our new home in Boston.

Wii want to play. A lot! (Nick joke.)

Day 6 - Minneapolis Part 2

2007-05-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

We got our money's worth out of our hotel today, sleeping in and taking in the views from the 11th floor, but eventually we had to make our way outside - we had tickets to see A Prairie Home Companion live at the State Theatre! Yes, we are NPR nerds, in case you're wondering. ;)

Outside, in the hot humid weather, here in Minneapolis last week they had a theater festival called "Fridge Fest." Guess they weren't counting on a heat wave this summer! ;)

Taking advantage of the nice (too nice?) weather, we hiked 1.5 miles to the Walker Art Center, hoping that it would be air-conditioned and full of Chuck Close portraits, sculptures, Mark Rothko paintings, movie shorts, and an awesome gift shop.

It was.

On the way there we passed a two-story Target, a club where Prince filmed his Purple Rain video, then we read a paper copy of The Onion (a spoof comedy newspaper), saw the first basilica in America, and cute stores and park areas, complete with bike paths.

Later, at the State Theatre, Garrison Keillor started out by making a few jokes about the heat wave, pasty legs, and the smell of mothballs in the Minnesota air as people brought out clothing articles, like shorts, that they'd had in storage for many, many years. He was wearing a bright red tie, too-short suit pants (he's well over 6' tall), and bright red tennis shoes of which I was envious. The band was entertaining and talented, the story-telling was engaging and full of wild gesticulations, something one would never guess from listening to the radio. The musical guests were affable and enjoyable (Cowboy Jack, and Carrie Rodriguez), a local poet read some of his work, and a cute old woman who won a baking contest handed out samples and explained her recipe. So cute - very fun and regional, and our greeting was actually read on-air! Yay us!

Afterward, we returned to the Crystal Court where our hotel was located, passing through the first floor of a huge Macy's to find half of it covered in designer purses! We're not in Idaho anymore!

Chamomile likes this hotel bed the most. She doesn't know we're getting up super early to start the drive to Chicago . . . and we're not going to tell her.

Road Trip - Day 5 Minneapolis

2007-05-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

From: Sioux Falls, SD
To: Minneapolis, MN

Time: 4 hours
Distance: 270 miles

In Minneapolis our hotel is downtown - right in the middle of everything. It's a "business" hotel, which means that they charge for every little tiny thing - internet, phone calls, $7 for a bottle of water - since they figure people don't care since they'll just charge it to the company's expense account. Unfortunately, we don't have an expense account, so we are forced to drink water from the tap and not use the internet. So sad! That $6 bag of M&Ms is so tempting . . .

Since we got into town late, we headed off to the Mall of America, something we knew would be open past 5 p.m. We parked in "Maine" and walked around the four levels of 520 shopping opportunities and amusement park rides - our exercise for the day - and came home with . . . . not a single thing! That's right, we went to the Mall of America, and came home without a single receipt!

We wanted to save our money for Supervalu, which our GPS text-to-speech voice "Daniel," a British fellow, pronounced as "supervaloo." Only it didn't exist anymore. Despite this failure on Daniel's part, we managed to find a Festival Foods down the road, complete with a Scandinavian deli and bakery. There, we found that our Orowheat bread had turned into both Arnold's and Brownberries brands, and that in Minnesota, one cannot buy wine at a grocery store.

To drown our sorrows at this fact, we drove over to the University of Minnesota to see Frank Gehry's design for the Weisman Art Museum and the hospital in which I was born.

To drown even more sorrows, we utilized the very warm weather and visited the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Cowel's Conservatory, home to fantastically large sculptures made of two-way glass, bronze, wood, and plants.

Returning home, we watched the Somali television station in our hotel room - there is a large population of Somali Muslims in Minneapolis -because, hey, how many opportunities does one get to watch Somali TV? Then we whipped out the 12" laptop to watch a movie while Chamomile meowed at us repeatedly to let her into the rooms she sees in the two gigantic mirrors in our hotel room - she also meows repeatedly if we close her box of toys - we figure she misses Lucky, her playmate at my parents' house, and wants to annoy her "twin" in a similar manner.

We're just not entertaining enough for her!

Road Trip - Day 4

2007-05-17T21:37:00.001-07:00

From: Keystone, SD
To: Sioux Falls, SD

Time: 7 hours
Distance: 390 miles

Today started out with a trip to Rapid City, SD for a NEW audiobook! They make the time fly by in the car. We found a great one - "Johnathon Strange & Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke. The voice actor is great and the writing is very polished and fun - it's a gem so far. Plus, it's 30 hours long so it should last us through the rest of the road trip!! A wise investment, eh?

From there we headed out to the Badlands Scenic Route, where we paid $15 to become more sunburned and view landscape that compels one to study geology. It was nice to see it in May, while there was green grass surrounding the rocky formations and animals prancing around. Another opportunity to perfect the art of taking photos from the car. We also decided to break out the tripod, despite the intense winds, using it only on the shortest height since it tipped over any other way!

After the Badlands we went to the Corn Palace, so Nick could partake in the wonder that is a mural made from twelve different types of corn, and our final destination was Sioux Falls, SD - the biggest city in South Dakota! Needless to say, the biggest city in South Dakota has both cell service and internet access. It's not beautiful, but hey, it's convenient.

Road Trip - Day 3

2007-05-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

From: Gardiner, MT
To: Keystone, SD

Time: 7.5 hours
Distance: 541 miles

We didn't even bother charging our cell phones today. Out in the middle of nowhere in Montana and Wyoming there is no cell service - at least not with Sprint - and definitely no internet services. The scenery was beautiful, though, so that compensated for our seclusion.

On our drive through the middle of nowhere we finished every available audiobook, and had to resort to listening to the static of the radio as it searched for nonexistent radio stations. Chamomile had to resort to hiding under my feet while we were driving and next to the gas pedal when we would exit the car to fill-up.

We arrived in Keystone - a tiny tourist town in the middle of gorgeous East South Dakota scenery - early enough to venture out to the Crazy Horse (it was closed!) and Mount Rushmore sites where we did more hiking and driving on the scenic route.

Chamomile kept herself entertained by grabbing toys out of her toybox and bringing them to Nick to play fetch as we fell asleep. She's nocturnal. ;)

Road Trip - Day 2 (Yellowstone)

2007-05-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

Today we made a whirlwind trip through Yellowstone. It wasn't exactly fast - we had forgotten how much driving is actually involved in a trip to Yellowstone - but we knew what we wanted to see since we had both been there before on a family vacation with my parents a few years ago. We entertained ourselves during the downtime/drivetime with some audiobooks and the newfound art of taking photos from the car. Mainly of fatty bison and elk. Gotta love 'em!

We had also forgotten how much walking was involved - while we were climbing up stairs at Mammoth Hot Springs, our first stop, we remembered that my dad had, in fact, lost 10 or so pounds on said family vacation. As a consequence, we forgot to put on ample sunscreen - to those of you who told us to bring heavy coats because Yellowstone was going to be freezing: It wasn't! We got sunburns! ;)

Road Trip - Day 1

2007-05-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

From: Lewiston, ID
To: Gardiner, MT

Time: 9 hours
Distance: 590 miles

Here are some photos - one last shot of Idaho and our rental car! Lana and I in Bozeman, MT, and our cottage in Gardiner, MT, right outside of Yellowstone.

Chamomile slept the whole way and tried to hide whenever she was awake. Once we got to the cottage she instinctively hid under the bed - we thought we'd just let her stay there until she wanted to come out. Then at 11:30 p.m., right when we were falling asleep, we heard noises coming from the mattress, and spring vibrations. Turns out Chamomile had climbed into the boxspring mattress! We had to flip over the top mattress, locate Chamomile and attempt to get her out as she meowed plaintively for help. The rescue attempt was successful, but we proceeded to blockade the under-the-bed area in case she decided to be an adrenaline junkie and take us for another ride.

The highlight of the car ride today was meeting up with Lana and the rest of the Schuerman clan - it'd been 2+ years since we'd seen them!

We miss you, MacDuff

2006-11-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

To everyone who knew and loved MacDuff -

Today we had to let MacDuff, our kitty, go after 13 years of living. He purred all the time and would often headbutt you, randomly place his paw on your nose, and give you kisses. He didn't mind havnig his tummy petted and loved pouncing on shoestrings of any kind. In the morning when he was hungry, we would wake up with him either sitting on us or licking our hair until we gave in and fed him. He loved his chair from ikea and laying in the sun that streamed through the window onto the couch or the bed.

For the past week he was sick, anemic, and would only eat food off of Nick's pinky finger, and even then, not very much. He had devloped a heart murmor, and could only walk for two feet at a time before he had to lay down. He also had a tumor in his abdomen that took up the majority of the room that his intestines were supposed to use, so eating anything was uncomfortable for him. He was too old and too anemic to have surgery to remove the tumor, so we tried to make him as comfortable as possible as he prepared himself to pass away, hiding in the boxes and baskets in our closet. He was buried today in the backyard he grew up in, wrapped in his favorite maroon towel. Even though we knew he was sick, it was hard to lose a buddy like MacDuff, the cutest kitty who ever lived.

Please send positive thoughts our way.

Here are some photos of MacDuff that we took this past month.

2006-04-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.happynews.com

I'm going to start working in the Safeway bakery, and Nick was asked to paint a mural at work and to start doing job coaching with his clients! Yay!

Also, Nick is finally graduating on May 13th! So excited!

Last bit of happy news . . . we're going to have our wedding announcement printed before our 1st year anniversary . . . are you proud?

Photos

2005-11-15T16:16:00.000-08:00

So I realized that we have built up almost a half-year of photos. We haven't made a wedding album, ordered photos from our photographer, or anything like that. I'm saving it for Thanksgiving Break. Anyway, that's not even counting the ones from our photography class taken with a 1966 Cannon FT QL SLR - manual, with spring-loaded shutter speeds! We had it checked out, and the only things that needed to be repaired were the light seals that keep the sunlight out of the lightbox/body, and the shutter speeds. When the camera is set to 1000, it's really shooting at 500. But that just means we can't stop motion very well. ;)

These are "a few" photos that Nick and I have taken in the past two months, learning how to use manual cameras, not being allowed to use a flash, and no Photoshop allowed! We shoot on color-positive slide film, which has been interesting and expensive. hehe But we have a lot of fun.

When we're not taking photos, we're probably talking on the phone, updating our MySpace pages, watching movies, or doing homework (for me - writing creative non-fiction pieces, for Nick - studying Biochemistry)

Oh, and we now have an illegal (orange) kitty who lives with us; we named him Baxter, even though he's not technically ours . . . don't tell anybody . . . ;)

Enjoy the photos!!!!

2005-11-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is from way back - Assignment 1

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Nick's photo

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Nick's photo

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Nick's photo

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Nick's photo

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Nick's photo

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Nick's photo

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Nick's photo

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Nick's photo

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Nick's photos

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cute and mysterious!

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Love ya, Kyle!

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I love this one

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Cutie Patooties

MySpace!

2005-10-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

Here are our MySpace pages:

Marissa - http://www.myspace.com/moderngrammar

Nick - http://www.myspace.com/nickstarrunner

We've vamped 'em up and made them all fun to look at and listen to. Until we get more html-savvy, those pages will probably be cooler than this one. That could all change overnight, though, as it's Nick's favorite pasttime to bring his webpages to perfection.

This page will continue to display our art projects and photographs. hehe Expect more in the future.

Oh, also Nick and I are going to apply for Teach for America. http://www.teachforamerica.org

It's kind of like the Peace Corps, but you teach in rural or inner-city places where they have a shortage of teachers, and you get certified and can even get a master's in education. Plus, you get an educational stipend from Americorp!

Wish us luck!

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Photography class

Our First Hundred Days

2005-09-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
- Mohandas Gandhi

It's official! We have finally sorted through the three large under-the-bed storage containers, our little bookshelf, and our five boxes that sat constantly on the floor of the living room, only to be moved incessantly from one area to another and back again (they were always in the way). Next on the list: picking out our wedding photos, printing out photos to put in the empty frames that have been hanging on our wall for three months. Right now all of our friends and family are beautiful frame models. ;)

Skipped Pilates today, which Nick was happy about (he is a brown belt in karate but whines during Pilates class . . . ) but he wasn't happy about having two tests - Biochemistry and Music History) - after waking up at 4 a.m. to do our paper route (I get to sleep in to do Mary Kay stuff). Thus far, we haven't been late once! Yay us! Ha ha to all of you doubters.

We have managed to do laundry once a month (we have too many clothing items), clean the apartment once a week, and have probably had a total of only five sit-down dinners together with our busy schedules. So sad, but only the start of our life together, as adding on grad school, work, and family can only contribute to the lack of quality time we have. It seems like we had so much quality time before we were married . . . but we spent less time together . . . it's a mystery.

The quality time we *do* have is usually spent talking, riding bikes, or watching a tv show we rented with Hasting's gift certificates we got as wedding presents (good idea!). After going through two seasons of "Dead Like Me" we moved on to "The West Wing" because each DVD has 8 episodes (get the most for your money). ;) We don't have cable, in case you're wondering.

The weather is starting to turn cold, and soon we will no longer be able to ride bikes. Do they make snow tires for bicycles?

"A vow is a purely religious act which cannot be taken in a fit of passion. It can be taken only with a mind purified and composed and with God as witness."
-Mohandas Gandhi

An Anonymous Quote

2005-09-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

"Marriage is made in heaven, but so is thunder and lightning."

2005-09-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

Another assignment - Thank you, Carly and Jason!