Happy October!

I can't believe it's already October! But I'm oh so happy it is. This is my favorite month. I love the leaves and the cool weather. I love seeing pumpkins and gourds for sale at markets. I love the feeling of a new season and I love the yummy foods that come into season. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, apples (Honey Crisp especially), apple cider donuts, and tangerines. It all tastes like Fall and it is my kind of comfort food. I added some pumpkin pie spice to my oatmeal this morning, just in celebration of this new month!

Today, Boston is cloudy and rain will be imminent all day. Yesterday was wet and chilly. The next few days will be the same but I like it. After a heatwave this past weekend, this really feels like Fall!

As you can imagine, AJ and I have been really busy lately. Every weekend there has been something keeping us busy. After we got back from our quick trip to Connecticut, AJ's family came for the weekend. This past weekend, my mom, godmother, cousin, and sister came to visit for the night and it was great! It's always fun having family around and they do so much for us when they're here. Plus, school and work take up just about all my time but I'm really enjoying my classes! I'll post more specifically on school later.

A few other fun things to note, it is now mine and AJ's wedding month! It is extremely crazy how quickly time has gone by since we started planning. It's so soon! And we're very excited and everything is coming together just perfectly.

Also, today is AJ's first day at his new job here in Boston! His start day had to be delayed due to the extremely slow processed of becoming licensed in another state but—the day is here! I just some him off this morning. I am so proud of him and can't believe how much he's done and how far he's come since the day I met him. He's amazing and I hope he really enjoys this job. I can't wait to hear from him and hear all about his day, but I have to leave at 5:30 for class tonight so I might just miss him!

Last month, I completely neglected this blog and—even though this month might be busier than last—I don't want to let that happen this month. My favorite month. I love blogging and I don't want to let this slip away and get lost in school and work. I'm going to work hard and try hard to keep this going and keep it interesting!

Posts on books, food, and school will be coming!

School So Far

Like I mentioned a few days ago, my first day of grad school went really well and it was really exciting! Since then, I've come to start to grasp how much work this semester, and probably the rest of my semesters as a grad student, will include. Not to mention...I got the TA job! I'm so, so very excited about that. I really want to have the opportunity to teach at the college level after grad school and I feel this is a great way to get experience, not to mention I'll be assisting a British Lit class in which we are reading some of my favorite authors and novels.

Plus, I've only had one out of my two classes so far and the work from one class alone feels like a big amount! I already talked about my homework for this week, and I just received the first story I'll have to critique for workshop on Wednesday. Now I've added a bit more work with the TA position—I am currently making my way through Book I and II of Sir Thomas More's Utopia, which is an essential read for a British Lit class, but I don't have it with me and I have to read it on my computer so it can be a little straining on the eyes. Regardless, as long as I'm reading or writing, I'm usually happy!

On My First Day as a Graduate Student

And what an eventful day it was! It started the same as any other with an early morning trip to the gym and plans to sprawl out on the grass of the Boston Common to get some sun. But, no, that did not happen. Instead, as I killed time on my computer waiting for it to get just a bit warmer, I received an email from a literature professor, following up with my application to be a Teacher's Assistant. I scheduled a time to meet with him, then regretted scheduling the interview for four o'clock, giving me five hours to think and worry about it.

But luckily, we did some stuff to take my mind off it. Around 11, AJ and I went to Brattle Book Shop. I picked up a short fiction anthology, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, and The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides, for $3 each!

From there, we walked over to Boloco at their Commons location where it was free burrito day! Neither of us have tried Boloco before, but every time I walk by I'm tempted to try everything! Their shakes, salads, bowls, and burritos all sound delicious and—with it being free and all—we decided it was the perfect time to try it out! The line was kind of long but we were there before noon and the line only got longer after that. AJ got a chicken teriyaki burrito and I got the chicken tikka masala burrito. They were both delicious and (we each got a small burrito) the perfect size. We will definitely go back to Boloco—it's free burrito day at their School St. location in two weeks. 

After that, all I had left to do was get ready for my interview and class. I changed into the most grown up outfit that was conducive to the sweltering heat. My shirt had birds on it but the skirt was J. Crew so I figured it worked. I went to the meeting, was there a little early, and talked to the professor about the job. It sounded great and he gave me a little assignment to do—grade a student paper—to see how I work and he invited me to sit in on the first day of class, which I did this morning. I felt surprisingly old, even though I was an undergrad just a few months ago! But I did feel pretty lucky to be taking a British Lit class for free! I haven't been offered the job yet, but fingers crossed!

After the interview, I ran home quickly, changed into jeans, ate a quick omelette for dinner before over packing my schoolbag with books, paper, a laptop, and lots of pencils and hurried back out to school. My class was on the 11th floor of a building on Boylston. I was in awe when I walked into the classroom, one whole wall was made of windows, giving me the best view the Common, the State House, Beacon Hill, and beyond. I was very distracted during class. 

Some of us were early and some other students filtered in just after 6 so we spent the first ten minutes or so doing a free write on the prompt, the best time of day. We didn't have to read it or share and it was a great way to start the class. I'm usually terrified of in-class free writes but this one came pretty easily for me! There are 12 of us in class, all of different ages and stages of life. Some people have been writing for a long time and are very experienced in workshops and some others are relatively new to fiction writing. 

The professor, Daphne, was wonderful and smart and made everyone feel comfortable. After the free write, we went around the room a few times to introduce ourselves, talk about our writing background, and who were our favorite authors to read. We went over the syllabus, which told us all how much work we will have, and made a schedule to workshop our fiction. We then read a great short story and had a discussion on it for quite sometime. The class is supposed to last from 6 to 9:45. Last night, we left class around 8:20 and I was in bed by 9:30 and I kept thinking to myself 'I would still be in class if this weren't the first day.'

We were assigned two short stories, one by Chekhov and one by Grace Paley, to read and prepare for discussion, two student stories to read and write critiques on, and we each have to write a 3-5 page story or story fragment which takes place all in one scene. I'm glad we have smaller writing assignments on top of the short stories we will write for workshop so that it doesn't feel like we only have to write twice a semester. My first short story is due for workshop on September 17th!

I'm looking forward to next week's fiction workshop and this coming Tuesday I will have my first day of my other class called Teaching College Composition. 

Boston Has Been Good To Us

 We've been here for a full week now and have enjoyed our time to the fullest. There's a lot to do every day and we're taking advantage of it! Here are a few perks from our time in Boston so far:

I had my orientation this past Thursday and had some down time between events so I wandered over to Brattle Book Shop, one of my favorite places in Boston and a book lover's heaven on earth. While browsing the outdoor shelves, I came across the above book which you may recognize from past posts about my love for Elena Ferrante (are you sick of it yet?). I don't know how that copy ended up there—it's not available in the US until September 2nd. I checked the copy, flipping through pages and looking for any signs that it might be an advanced proof and as far as I could tell, it's the real the deal! At the end of the day I came home, told AJ about it and where it was, and the next day it was sitting on the kitchen table with a new mug as well. I'm still reading Russian Winter (I'm over halfway through and loving it!) but as soon as I'm done, I will jump right into Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. 

This is AJ in his element. He's a big Manchester United fan and it just so happens that the same year we move here, a bar on Beacon Street becomes the official bar for Manchester United watching in Boston. AJ was excited to have a fun place to watch the games and even though we're not bar people, I thought it would be an experience. However, because the games are played in England, the time difference means that many games are first thing in the morning. So, at 7 am yesterday morning we rolled out of bed and made our way down Beacon Street for a 7:45 game at the bar, Crossroads.

We had breakfast sandwiches, potatoes, and coffee while watching the game among other rowdy fans. The man who organized the game watching at Crossroads introduced himself to us and said he liked having a community of fans together for games. It wasn't too crowded and it was very laid back, probably because it was so early, and we had a great time! I'm sure we'll be back for more games. 

Last night we went to Mass in the North End at St. Leonard's church. This weekend, the North End is celebrating the feast of St. Anthony so we knew there would be a lot going on down there. After Mass, we headed down Prince Street to Thacher Street where the original Regina Pizzeria location had set up an outdoor patio for diners to eat al fresco and watch the people milling about the food stands that had been set up in the streets. Of course, there was a line but I really wanted to eat there and we decided it was worth the wait. While in line, the procession of St. Anthony made it's way down the crowded street. There were trumpets and drums and people pinning money to the ribbons around St. Anthony's likeness. 

Our wait in the line was probably 30 minutes long, seating was limited, but the line moved faster than I thought it would. We ordered a crostini appetizer that was delicious and split a small pizza that had chicken, mozzarella, and peppers. Regina's Pizzeria is well-known in Massachusetts and has been in business since 1926! Their crust recipe is 80 years old and is probably the best pizza crust—it's crispy but not too thin—and the mozzarella is the best I've ever tasted! We both agreed the pizza was perfect and we'll be going back for more soon!

We could've stopped eating after the pizza, but the streets were filled with tempting smells from all the food stands set up around us. The most tempting smell was fried calamari. AJ bought a plate of that while I opted to buy myself a dessert of fried dough bites, covered with melted butter, honey, cinnamon, and powdered sugar. They were delicious, but not as good as my mom's pizza fritta. We walked among the heard of people and listened to the music that a local band was performing—they sang old school Italian songs as well as current pop songs so it was a fun mix! 

The smell from the cigar stand added to the feel of the night. Pizza and pasta and fried seafood were available at most food stands and there were plenty of cannolis being eaten from Mike's Pastry's stand—not to mention the huge line that was at Mike's real location on Hanover. 

Our last stop was at a drink stand where already drunk vendors were selling mixed frozen drinks in keepsake mason jars. I got a banana daiquiri and AJ got the piña colada. The prices were steep, $12 each, but you got to keep the jar and get a free refill. We listened to a bit more music and I sang along as the band played Che La Luna before calling it a night and walking back home to Beacon Hill. 

It was a fun night and personified the fun times I had hoped for while living here, and it's still only our first week! And what a great weeks it's been. Soon I'll be starting school and AJ will start working his new job and real life will set in but I have a feeling that, while living in Boston, doing something we've hoped to do since we started dating, it will never really feel like real life. 

Life Lately

We've been in Boston for just a few days now and we've already managed to squeeze in quite a few fun activities and a lot of necessary ones! Here's a rundown of what we've been up to!

On Monday we

stopped by Marshall's to pick up some bathroom essentials and hair clippers for AJ
split a Tom Brady sandwich from DeLuca's on the Charles River Esplanade
grocery shopped at CVS
lifted weights at the gym among far too many meatheads
ate pasta, salad, and chocolate chip froyo from Richardson's for dinner while catching up on Dateline

On Tuesday we

went back to the gym (earlier to avoid the crowd)
tried to blowout my hair and failed miserably
grocery shopped at Trader Joe's and accidentally bought cashew butter (what?)
(I) got school mandated blood work done to prove I am immune to the chicken pox. AJ got to wait for me and listen to me whine all morning
took the T and bus to South Boston—new for me—so AJ could go to his new workplace for a drug screening. He peed in a cup, I waited for him at the beach
ate deliciously marinated chicken and undercooked sweet potatoes for dinner

Today I want to soak up the sun by sitting on the roof with a good book. There are only so many days left to tan before the cold sets in up here in New England! Also, I have to go back to Trader Joe's to return the cashew butter and buy olive oil. And more sweet potatoes. I could eat those for every meal.

On Thursday I have my grad school orientation! The nerves set in back in June but I'm looking forward to getting started and seeing what this is all about.

Hired!

This is the man who just got a job offer as a PTA! And on his very first try! Remember when I said that he went off on an adventure Friday? Well, now I can tell you that he was driving up to South Boston for a job interview. He had been contacted by Kindred Healthcare after he began the application process and they asked him to go up for an interview asap. So he did and it, obviously, went very well!

Come September, he will be working at Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation Harborlights in South Boston, right near the beach! AJ and I have talked about living in Boston since very early on in our relationship, and it's crazy to think that our plans and hopes for that dream are coming true!

I'll be going to the grad school I had always hoped to attend and he will be working the job he loves in a facility that is perfect for his career plans. We feel so extremely blessed and are so humbled by the fact that what we have worked toward is being realized.

I am so proud of all his hard work and persistence. He deserves the world and I am so glad that he is getting it!