ja_koniga

I took this photo the first couple of days that we moved to Massachusetts and I'm still having a hard time believing that I live here. This afternoon I amazed myself when I didn't stumble my way through the subway and pointed one of SML's classmates to their train transfer. They say you have to live here for something like seven years to become a real Bostonian and I think I'm well on my way.  But if being a Bostonian requires that your pronounce car as, "Cah", I'll stick to being a Utahn.

SML and I went to Six Flags New England last weekend because riding on a roller coaster was all I could think about after Mub told me she was going to the Warner Brother's Park in Germany. This was my first time visiting a Six Flags and I was unprepared for the amount of upside-down loops and corkscrews on their roller coasters.  SML was also unprepared because after the fourth roller coaster SML was unable to walk and we had to go home, something about wanting to keep Six Flags on the list of places he hasn't thrown up at.

This picture of the Boston Skyline was taken just as we were leaving for Provincetown on Sunday afternoon.  I was looking forward to being able to take a picture of the skyline , but I'm still not clear where to go to get the best shot.  There are so many faces to this city that you cannot pick one view and not feel like you're leaving something out.

Unless you live in Allston, it's just best not to take photos at all.  The other day I walked by an abandoned mattress on the sidewalk that said, "DO NOT REMOVE:  BEDBUGS"  Well, maybe I should have taken a picture of that.

Why did I just think of that game 'Cooties'?

You may have noticed that these new pictures I'm posting are clickable.  They'll take you to my Flickr account I set up since I've become afraid of being robbed on a daily basis.  I lost many photos when my iMac didn't make it across the country and since I cannot bear losing anymore, online storage seems the best way to go.  So if you're a Flickr user, let's be friends!

I took this picture of the Charles River a couple of weeks ago when SML and I decided we could walk home from Cambridge.  Before I came here everyone would say things like, "Everything is so close!" and "Just take the subway!"  Turns out taking the subway isn't nearly as convenient as it sounds.  

 It also might be dangerous taking the subway because there are some people I can't stop staring at, like Asian Person No. 1 who had at least four or five, FIVE INCH hairs sticking out of a mole on his cheek.  I leaned toward SML when I saw this and asked him to take a picture because there is no way anyone was going to believe this.  SML refused, but if he had I would be on the phone with the Guinness Book of World Records.

I cannot remember exactly when I took this picture, it must have been one of the days we were wondering downtown completely lost and probably starving.  I'm only exaggerating a little.

The Prudential Center in Boston is one of my favorites places because it has an indoor mall, a Cheesecake Factory, and an Apple store nearby. Just last night, when God was punishing us with hours of rainfall, we had all three of those places to seek refuge.  Unfortunately we thought we could make it to the nearest T stop and while we did make it, we arrived looking like we had taken a detour into the Charles River.  

We've been here for about a week now, and it's the first time I've lived next to a large body of water.  The air feels different because of the humidity, but my allergies seem remarkably under control and I find myself only using my inhaler once a day now.  

My less affecting allergies could also be the result of having nothing in my apartment for Charlotte's dander to cling to, not even carpet because we have hardwood floors.  Have you slept on hardwood floor?  It feels like what I imagine lying in an inexpensive coffin would, without padding or pillows, the kind of coffin I could afford after living in this city.

We purchased an air mattress before we left Salt Lake City, predicting that it was very possible we'd never see our furniture again.  Unfortunately the air mattress deflates itself every night around 3:00 a.m., causing SML to exclaim, "This is just SO luxurious."

SML and I were in the Boston Public Gardens when I took this picture, just before we went into the Boston Common Public Library yesterday morning.  Because I'm from Salt Lake, I thought I could work in the Library.   Instead of working, I spent thirty minutes in that library looking for a place to plug in my laptop.  After finding a secluded corner with a power outlet, I discovered the Internet was filtered.  FILTERED.

The first library of the United States filters information.  Awesome.

I should note that you can get "unfiltered" internet if you have a library card.  I'm very much accustomed to XMission in Salt Lake City, where the Internet was free with no restrictions.  

Also have I mentioned that you cannot buy beer in the grocery stores here?  I WILL NOT GET OVER THAT.

Kitty Kitty Bang Bang was AMAZING on the flight to Boston.  I've never traveled with an animal before, so I don't know how that generally goes, but Charlotte stayed quiet for the entire flight.  Once we got into our apartment she quickly made a home in this Verizon DSL Modem box, hopefully forgetting that I ever took her through a metal detector at the Salt Lake City International Airport.

SML's assistant manager and a volunteer named Liza threw him a going away party last Friday night. The party was up Emigration Canyon, where Liza and her husband live, in what I can only describe as the most perfect, beautifully decorated home.  I was prepared for a mansion of sorts, but I was totally unprepared to witness such paradise in the mountains of Utah.

The most shocking part of the whole night was when it became cold enough to need a jacket, which was definitely a nice change from the weather we've been having in Utah.  I even shivered at times but only wanted to shout out through my chattering teeth, "I AM LOVING THIS." 

We were finally able to take the E-Collar off of Charlotte, something that was incredibly hard for me to keep on her for ten days.  I took this picture just before the surgery after she had claimed the entire chair.  She jumps up onto this chair when I'm sitting at the computer and wedges herself in-between myself and the back of the chair.  When I lean forward to give her more room, she sticks her paw down my coin slot, something I'm sure she learned from SML.