Seriously... where did it go? I can't believe today is the last day of September. In one way I feel like the month just started, in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago that I was on vacation during the last week of August. I think time is flying because I am so busy. I realized yesterday that I am busy every weekend from now through the second weekend of December, and lets face it, who isn't busy every second in December? Especially if they are in grad school with papers and projects due in December, not to mention finals? So I am pretty sure the next full weekend I have to myself will be in January. I would like to say I will be skiing in January, but it doesn't snow around here until February at the earliest. Time is just flying by. It's like I am on a train that is hurtling towards a brick wall at 90 miles an hour and I can't stop it and I can't get off. I don't know what the brick wall is, or what comes after the brick wall, but I'm going to find out in record time.
Hopefully the 90* days end in October. I would really like to put my summer clothes away!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Boston Slang
I was pointed in the direction of this page on one of the websites I frequent. I found some of it amusing, some it is clearly written by someone who has never step foot in this area. Per usual, my comments are in red.
Some words used in the Boston area but not in many other American English dialects (or with different meanings) are:
barrel or rubbish barrel — 'wastebasket' my grandfather used to call it the ash barrel. Messy.
bubbler or water bubbler — 'drinking fountain' The bubbla! I forget who, but someone at college had zero idea what I was talking about when I said that. Maybe it was Sean. Anyway, it was really funny.
carriage — 'shopping cart'
cleansers — 'cleaners (mostly on signage)' I've never seen this one. Anywhere
clicker — 'television remote control' I've definitely (who hoo! Just learned a mnemonic device to spell that correctly without spell check!) heard clicker, but in my house we called it a flickie. My parents still do. I switched to remote when I went to college so people would know what I was talking about, but I'm beginning to come back to my roots and say flickie. Andrew has started saying it now too, but I think he is making fun of me.
coffee regular — 'coffee with milk (or cream) and usually two spoonsful of sugar' mmmm... coffee regular. Though it always comes with cream. I used to get regular when I was younger and could eat sugar and drink cream without adverse effects. It was yummy.
dooryard - the front yard or driveway area Never heard of that one.
donut: chocolate frosted — 'a raised donut with chocolate frosting' duh. What else would it be
donut: chocolate glazed — 'a chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting' see above
double decker — 'a two-story, two-family home with one unit built on top of the other'
down cellar — 'in the basement' Down cellar. Classic. Another great one is "down the cape". Andrew left a message for Sean this summer saying we were going down the cape and they should come down too and when Sean called back, he had issue with the phrase "down the cape". Andrew didn't have any clue what was wrong with that phrase. Because you don't go down to the cape, you go down the cape. And maybe you hop on the ferry and spend the day on the Vinyid.
elastic — 'rubber band' But it's an elastic...
frappe — 'milkshake made with ice cream'[1]
fudgicle — as opposed to 'fudgesicle' with an s
grinder — 'submarine sandwich' This one is just not true. I never heard a sub called anything else until I went to college in New Hampshire and they call it grinders and heroes. I still sometimes get confused with that. It's a freaking sub people!
into town — 'into Boston' (contrast to New Yorkers' use of "the City") New Yorkers suck. "the City". Who do you think you are? You go into town. "where are you going tonight" "I am going to some baahs in town, maybe ovaah to the Hong Kong". Into the City my ass.
The Hub — 'another name for Boston, as in the Hub of the Universe' Only people who write newspaper headlines or have never been to Boston use that word.
Jimmies - 'chocolate sprinkles' I love jimmies from Friendly's
johnny — a medical gown worn by patients for examinations
packie — 'liquor store', short for "package store" Crap! We ran outta beah for the Pats game! I gotta run to tha packie!
puffer — hand-held asthma inhaler Not asthmatic, don't know that one.
rotary — 'traffic circle or roundabout' rotaries suck.
spa — 'convenience store' (originally, it meant a store with a soda fountain) hmmm... nope, never heard of that one.
spuckey — 'submarine sandwich,' still commonly heard in East Boston I try to avoid Eastie at all costs, never heard that one. But I'll buy it.
time — 'a party', e.g., "My buddy's having a time over at his place." This one is just wrong. A "time" is a political party (as in a party for a political figure, not the "party"). As in a fundraiser, or a gathering on election night. Not just any party. My parents frequently go to times on election night.
tonic — 'carbonated soda,' older speakers.
townies — A native of Charlestown, Massachusetts. A Tufts or Harvard student might refer to locals as such, much to the dismay of the locals. In Rhode Island, a "townie" is a resident of East Providence, Rhode Island. A townie is anyone who is obsessed with their town. There were a lot of them in Quincy. I never jumped on that bandwagon. Though I do enjoy Quincy.
triple decker — 'a three-story, three-family home with one unit built on top of the other'
wicked — 'very'; alternatively, 'wicked' may also indicate approval or become a universal descriptor, e.g., "That chowdah was wicked good." Connected with this is also the word "pissah." So, the phrase before can also be said: "That chowdah was wicked pissah."
Some words used in the Boston area but not in many other American English dialects (or with different meanings) are:
barrel or rubbish barrel — 'wastebasket' my grandfather used to call it the ash barrel. Messy.
bubbler or water bubbler — 'drinking fountain' The bubbla! I forget who, but someone at college had zero idea what I was talking about when I said that. Maybe it was Sean. Anyway, it was really funny.
carriage — 'shopping cart'
cleansers — 'cleaners (mostly on signage)' I've never seen this one. Anywhere
clicker — 'television remote control' I've definitely (who hoo! Just learned a mnemonic device to spell that correctly without spell check!) heard clicker, but in my house we called it a flickie. My parents still do. I switched to remote when I went to college so people would know what I was talking about, but I'm beginning to come back to my roots and say flickie. Andrew has started saying it now too, but I think he is making fun of me.
coffee regular — 'coffee with milk (or cream) and usually two spoonsful of sugar' mmmm... coffee regular. Though it always comes with cream. I used to get regular when I was younger and could eat sugar and drink cream without adverse effects. It was yummy.
dooryard - the front yard or driveway area Never heard of that one.
donut: chocolate frosted — 'a raised donut with chocolate frosting' duh. What else would it be
donut: chocolate glazed — 'a chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting' see above
double decker — 'a two-story, two-family home with one unit built on top of the other'
down cellar — 'in the basement' Down cellar. Classic. Another great one is "down the cape". Andrew left a message for Sean this summer saying we were going down the cape and they should come down too and when Sean called back, he had issue with the phrase "down the cape". Andrew didn't have any clue what was wrong with that phrase. Because you don't go down to the cape, you go down the cape. And maybe you hop on the ferry and spend the day on the Vinyid.
elastic — 'rubber band' But it's an elastic...
frappe — 'milkshake made with ice cream'[1]
fudgicle — as opposed to 'fudgesicle' with an s
grinder — 'submarine sandwich' This one is just not true. I never heard a sub called anything else until I went to college in New Hampshire and they call it grinders and heroes. I still sometimes get confused with that. It's a freaking sub people!
into town — 'into Boston' (contrast to New Yorkers' use of "the City") New Yorkers suck. "the City". Who do you think you are? You go into town. "where are you going tonight" "I am going to some baahs in town, maybe ovaah to the Hong Kong". Into the City my ass.
The Hub — 'another name for Boston, as in the Hub of the Universe' Only people who write newspaper headlines or have never been to Boston use that word.
Jimmies - 'chocolate sprinkles' I love jimmies from Friendly's
johnny — a medical gown worn by patients for examinations
packie — 'liquor store', short for "package store" Crap! We ran outta beah for the Pats game! I gotta run to tha packie!
puffer — hand-held asthma inhaler Not asthmatic, don't know that one.
rotary — 'traffic circle or roundabout' rotaries suck.
spa — 'convenience store' (originally, it meant a store with a soda fountain) hmmm... nope, never heard of that one.
spuckey — 'submarine sandwich,' still commonly heard in East Boston I try to avoid Eastie at all costs, never heard that one. But I'll buy it.
time — 'a party', e.g., "My buddy's having a time over at his place." This one is just wrong. A "time" is a political party (as in a party for a political figure, not the "party"). As in a fundraiser, or a gathering on election night. Not just any party. My parents frequently go to times on election night.
tonic — 'carbonated soda,' older speakers.
townies — A native of Charlestown, Massachusetts. A Tufts or Harvard student might refer to locals as such, much to the dismay of the locals. In Rhode Island, a "townie" is a resident of East Providence, Rhode Island. A townie is anyone who is obsessed with their town. There were a lot of them in Quincy. I never jumped on that bandwagon. Though I do enjoy Quincy.
triple decker — 'a three-story, three-family home with one unit built on top of the other'
wicked — 'very'; alternatively, 'wicked' may also indicate approval or become a universal descriptor, e.g., "That chowdah was wicked good." Connected with this is also the word "pissah." So, the phrase before can also be said: "That chowdah was wicked pissah."
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Where have I been?
I really am sorry I haven’t updated in what seems like forever. I don’t know where September went, I feel like I blinked and all of the sudden it was over.
I ran into an old classmate of mine from NDA, and she mentioned how crazy it was that it has been 9 years. In a split second the following thoughts ran through my head: “9 years? What’s been 9 years? We graduated 8 years ago, I saw her last year, what is she talking about? Oh my god, 9 years? They have been dead 9 years? Are you kidding me? I missed it? How did I miss that? How does that day go by without me even noticing? Does that make me a bad person?”. Had I been working on 09/22 I would have remembered, because I can’t look at that date without knowing. Just like you can’t look at 9/11, your birthday, Christmas, etc without knowing what that day is. For the past 9 years September 22 has been a sad day. I can’t figure out if that’s a good thing, that I don’t focus on the past, or if that’s a bad thing, that I let the anniversary of friends’ deaths pass by. I always remember the anniversary of Kate’s death because she died on my 18th birthday. Next year I have to make an effort to remember. And I can’t believe it’s been 9 years. God, I was a child when that all happened. It’s amazing how resilient we were, as a class. How do 120 emotional 17 and 18 year old girls move on? How do they deal with two separate car accidents that signaled the beginning and end of the senior year of high school? How do you bounce back from 4 classmates dying like that? I have no idea, and I experienced it. I still don’t know how we did it, and all came out of the ordeal still relatively grounded. Maybe our youth actually helped us. Maybe a lack of life experience under out belts helped us deal with the loss. Who knows… I certainly don’t.
Switching topics, last Saturday I went to my first BC game of the year. They played Army and of course Army lost. But Matt and Laney came down to see the game, they had tickets that were originally given to Matt’s parents. They had really great seats, in the second row. Andrew and I sat with them during the second half. I liked seeing the game from those seats, maybe I would pay attention to the game more often if I always sat in the second row. I sit in like the 25th row or something crazy like that. And after the game, Andrew and I went back up to Manchester and the 4 of us went to North Garden for some scorpion bowls, and watched karaoke. I’m not sure if there is anything better than scorpion bowls and karaoke at North Garden! Andrew is in the middle of a “I want to live in New Hampshire” kick. I told him if he can find a job that will pay enough for me to stay home, then I am more than willing to move. Seeing as salaries are lower in Manch than in Boston, I’m pretty sure the For Sale sign won’t be going up in my front yard any time soon.
Speaking of staying home, someone recently asked me why I am in grad school if I plan on having children. I’m not really even sure what that means. Both of my parents have graduate degrees and they have children… my brother has a graduate degree, AND he holds a CFA designation and he will be a father come January. I have friends who have graduate degrees and children. I wasn’t aware that it was one or the other. I thought about it later and I think the person was asking why I am going to school if I could possibly stop working for awhile when I have kids. I think this is what they mean, I really can’t figure out any other logical meaning to the questions. Unfortunately, having kids doesn’t necessarily mean staying home in this day and age. Although we both want me to be able to stay home when the day comes, we both are prepared for the very likely scenario where I will be working. The bills must be paid, and sometimes the creditors have to come first. Our best case scenario is me staying home full time. Our most likely scenario is me working full time. I would like to strive for me working part time. But… I don’t know what the future holds for me, and I fail to see how having an MBA will interrupt me having children. Whether or not I stay home remains up in the air, whether or not I have children remains up in the air, however the MBA is a certainty. At least it is right now, I haven’t failed out of the program yet!
This is a long post, and kind of rambling, and I didn’t even cover all the topics I meant to cover. Consider this post to be two posts to make up for the dry spell my blog has had recently.
I ran into an old classmate of mine from NDA, and she mentioned how crazy it was that it has been 9 years. In a split second the following thoughts ran through my head: “9 years? What’s been 9 years? We graduated 8 years ago, I saw her last year, what is she talking about? Oh my god, 9 years? They have been dead 9 years? Are you kidding me? I missed it? How did I miss that? How does that day go by without me even noticing? Does that make me a bad person?”. Had I been working on 09/22 I would have remembered, because I can’t look at that date without knowing. Just like you can’t look at 9/11, your birthday, Christmas, etc without knowing what that day is. For the past 9 years September 22 has been a sad day. I can’t figure out if that’s a good thing, that I don’t focus on the past, or if that’s a bad thing, that I let the anniversary of friends’ deaths pass by. I always remember the anniversary of Kate’s death because she died on my 18th birthday. Next year I have to make an effort to remember. And I can’t believe it’s been 9 years. God, I was a child when that all happened. It’s amazing how resilient we were, as a class. How do 120 emotional 17 and 18 year old girls move on? How do they deal with two separate car accidents that signaled the beginning and end of the senior year of high school? How do you bounce back from 4 classmates dying like that? I have no idea, and I experienced it. I still don’t know how we did it, and all came out of the ordeal still relatively grounded. Maybe our youth actually helped us. Maybe a lack of life experience under out belts helped us deal with the loss. Who knows… I certainly don’t.
Switching topics, last Saturday I went to my first BC game of the year. They played Army and of course Army lost. But Matt and Laney came down to see the game, they had tickets that were originally given to Matt’s parents. They had really great seats, in the second row. Andrew and I sat with them during the second half. I liked seeing the game from those seats, maybe I would pay attention to the game more often if I always sat in the second row. I sit in like the 25th row or something crazy like that. And after the game, Andrew and I went back up to Manchester and the 4 of us went to North Garden for some scorpion bowls, and watched karaoke. I’m not sure if there is anything better than scorpion bowls and karaoke at North Garden! Andrew is in the middle of a “I want to live in New Hampshire” kick. I told him if he can find a job that will pay enough for me to stay home, then I am more than willing to move. Seeing as salaries are lower in Manch than in Boston, I’m pretty sure the For Sale sign won’t be going up in my front yard any time soon.
Speaking of staying home, someone recently asked me why I am in grad school if I plan on having children. I’m not really even sure what that means. Both of my parents have graduate degrees and they have children… my brother has a graduate degree, AND he holds a CFA designation and he will be a father come January. I have friends who have graduate degrees and children. I wasn’t aware that it was one or the other. I thought about it later and I think the person was asking why I am going to school if I could possibly stop working for awhile when I have kids. I think this is what they mean, I really can’t figure out any other logical meaning to the questions. Unfortunately, having kids doesn’t necessarily mean staying home in this day and age. Although we both want me to be able to stay home when the day comes, we both are prepared for the very likely scenario where I will be working. The bills must be paid, and sometimes the creditors have to come first. Our best case scenario is me staying home full time. Our most likely scenario is me working full time. I would like to strive for me working part time. But… I don’t know what the future holds for me, and I fail to see how having an MBA will interrupt me having children. Whether or not I stay home remains up in the air, whether or not I have children remains up in the air, however the MBA is a certainty. At least it is right now, I haven’t failed out of the program yet!
This is a long post, and kind of rambling, and I didn’t even cover all the topics I meant to cover. Consider this post to be two posts to make up for the dry spell my blog has had recently.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
10 Fashion Rules
by Meghan.
I am sick of seeing terrible, ill fitting, and ugly clothes on people. Please heed the following fashion rules.
1. Unless you are Mischa Barton, do not wear skinny jeans. If you are a normal girl (read - not Mischa Barton) and have HIPS, you will look ridiculous in skinny jeans. Also, if you are over the age of 25, don't even try. Oh, and if you ARE Mischa Barton - eat a sandwhich girl! An extra 5 pounds will only make you look better.
2. Uggs. They are perfectly acceptable in the northern states (ie the cold states). However, they are never to be TUCKED INTO JEANS. First of all, unless you are wearing skinny jeans, they make your jeans bag and look frumpy - please refer to rule #1 if you are unsure about skinny jeans. So northern girls - Uggs are okay! Under jeans, that is. And never with anything BUT jeans. Never with a skirt. Never. Southern girls - sorry. This is one article of footwear you are not allowed to even own. It will never get cold enough where you live to warrant Uggs. A random 30 degree day with a dusting of snow is nothing. Wear sneakers that day, or even Wellies. (side note - Wellies are okay anywhere, but only if it is raining or snowing)
3. Shorts or Sweatpants with writing across the bum. Not cool. In high school, when you have the bum to fit into these pants, it's trashy to announce to the world that you are JUICY. After high school, you need to give up the dream. Hate on the skinny high school bitches all you want, but they have nicer bodies than you do.
4. Guys - Do. Not. Ever. Wear. Sandals. Ever. Never ever. The occasional flip flop (occasional!) is acceptable, and Addidas sandals are okay (again, on occasion). But sandals are not to be worn if you were born with a penis. And if you have ugly feet (and I can think of a few of you offhand) keep the flipflops or Addidas sandals limited to the beach. Wear docksiders (or "boat shoes") anywhere else.
5. No matter how trendy they are, if you are over the age of 5, you look like an ass in a ruffled skirt. I'm just sayin'. They even made the models look like asses. Thank god that trend has run its course, but remember this rule the next time they come back into high fashion.
6. If I can see your bum when you sit down, buy higher waisted pants, or buy a belt. I'm not talking about the pants that go past your bellybutton, but maybe a nice mid-rise. I shouldn't have to see your behind.
7. If you are pregnant, take advantage of looking very cute. Pregnant women have very cute clothes. Women who are 9 months pregnant should not wear mumus or bikinis. The mumus don't make you look cute, and the bikini, quite frankly, freaks out everyone around you.
8. Take out your LBD once in awhile, and make sure it still fits. If it is too small, time to buy a new one. If you wear a LBD that makes you look like a hooker, people will think you are a hooker. Get it?
9. Guys - brown pants = brown socks. Black pants = black socks. Grey pants = grey socks. There are a FEW exceptions, but that is the easiest rule to live by. This way, you can't mess up. So go stock up on those colored socks. They sell them in packs of three at any retail establishment that sells socks. Never wear white socks unless you are also wearing sneakers (note - sneakers are only worn with jeans)
10. White after Labor Day is perfectly acceptable. In moderation.
I am sick of seeing terrible, ill fitting, and ugly clothes on people. Please heed the following fashion rules.
1. Unless you are Mischa Barton, do not wear skinny jeans. If you are a normal girl (read - not Mischa Barton) and have HIPS, you will look ridiculous in skinny jeans. Also, if you are over the age of 25, don't even try. Oh, and if you ARE Mischa Barton - eat a sandwhich girl! An extra 5 pounds will only make you look better.
2. Uggs. They are perfectly acceptable in the northern states (ie the cold states). However, they are never to be TUCKED INTO JEANS. First of all, unless you are wearing skinny jeans, they make your jeans bag and look frumpy - please refer to rule #1 if you are unsure about skinny jeans. So northern girls - Uggs are okay! Under jeans, that is. And never with anything BUT jeans. Never with a skirt. Never. Southern girls - sorry. This is one article of footwear you are not allowed to even own. It will never get cold enough where you live to warrant Uggs. A random 30 degree day with a dusting of snow is nothing. Wear sneakers that day, or even Wellies. (side note - Wellies are okay anywhere, but only if it is raining or snowing)
3. Shorts or Sweatpants with writing across the bum. Not cool. In high school, when you have the bum to fit into these pants, it's trashy to announce to the world that you are JUICY. After high school, you need to give up the dream. Hate on the skinny high school bitches all you want, but they have nicer bodies than you do.
4. Guys - Do. Not. Ever. Wear. Sandals. Ever. Never ever. The occasional flip flop (occasional!) is acceptable, and Addidas sandals are okay (again, on occasion). But sandals are not to be worn if you were born with a penis. And if you have ugly feet (and I can think of a few of you offhand) keep the flipflops or Addidas sandals limited to the beach. Wear docksiders (or "boat shoes") anywhere else.
5. No matter how trendy they are, if you are over the age of 5, you look like an ass in a ruffled skirt. I'm just sayin'. They even made the models look like asses. Thank god that trend has run its course, but remember this rule the next time they come back into high fashion.
6. If I can see your bum when you sit down, buy higher waisted pants, or buy a belt. I'm not talking about the pants that go past your bellybutton, but maybe a nice mid-rise. I shouldn't have to see your behind.
7. If you are pregnant, take advantage of looking very cute. Pregnant women have very cute clothes. Women who are 9 months pregnant should not wear mumus or bikinis. The mumus don't make you look cute, and the bikini, quite frankly, freaks out everyone around you.
8. Take out your LBD once in awhile, and make sure it still fits. If it is too small, time to buy a new one. If you wear a LBD that makes you look like a hooker, people will think you are a hooker. Get it?
9. Guys - brown pants = brown socks. Black pants = black socks. Grey pants = grey socks. There are a FEW exceptions, but that is the easiest rule to live by. This way, you can't mess up. So go stock up on those colored socks. They sell them in packs of three at any retail establishment that sells socks. Never wear white socks unless you are also wearing sneakers (note - sneakers are only worn with jeans)
10. White after Labor Day is perfectly acceptable. In moderation.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Where were you when the world stopped turning?
Does watching clips of the attacks still make you cry? It makes me cry. It might always make me cry. Oddly enough, I don't think I cried that day. I don't think it hit me for a couple of days what actually happened. My memories of that day are still so vivid, I don't think I will ever forget them. I can still remember how blue the sky was that day. I was walking down to the Institute with Chris and he was jabbering the whole time about terrorism and planes and everything else that was going on, and I just kept looking at the sky. It was so so blue - it was a perfect New Hampshire day. And yet it would be forever marred by ugliness. I remember watching the towers fall and wondering how they could possibly fall so neatly, almost like it was folding in on itself. I didn't know they were designed to do so. I remember watching a body fly across the screen - and then having the camera almost violently swing away. That, thankfully, was never replayed again. Which is good, I'm not all about seeing people fall to their death. I wonder if the camera man who accidently captured that moment was sick afterwards. I was almost sick. I remember seeing clips of people sobbing in the streets. I remember trying to think if I knew anyone who worked there. There's a lot I remember, and hopefully never forget.
I pledge allegiance to this flag
If that bothers you well that's too bad
But if you have pride, and your proud to do
Hey, we could use some more like me and you
Where the stars and stripes
And the eagle fly
~ Aaron Tippen
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
California, here we come...
I spent my Labor Day Weekend in SoCal. On Thursday Andrew and I looked at each other and said "hmmm.... let's go to California". So we hopped on the next cross country flight and rubbed elbows with the rich and famous.
The mountains back east aren't as big as that cliff right on the beach! I've never seen cliffs like that.
Or, the more believable story is we had the whole trip planned months ago and went out with our college friends to surprise Ian for his birthday. I never thought we would actually pull off the surprise, but either Ian is really good at having a completely dumbfounded look on his face or we pulled off the surprise. Actually, both of those instances could be true, now that I think about it. So we had a fabulous weekend in sunny San Diego. It was great to get away from the 100 degree humid hot weather we've had in NE. Wait... Right, it was 100 degrees, hot, and humid in SD as well. Eh, I'm fine with that. That's why god invented beaches.
And speaking of beaches. The East Coast may be superior to the West Coast in every way, except for the beaches.
The mountains back east aren't as big as that cliff right on the beach! I've never seen cliffs like that.
The waves were incredible. On Sunday they were twice as big as I was! Granted I am not that tall, but the Sunday waves were at least 10 feet tall. The above picture was taken on Friday.
All in all, it was a really fun weekend. Seeing the Brown family was fantastic, as they are left coast dwellers and the rest of us are right coast dwellers, we don't see them very much (tear!) and we've never been out to see them and it was the first time for some people to meet Aaron. I would say our surprise birthday trip was a great success.
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