mt. mooselauke

i had a nice 4th of july weekend.
it began with sam adam's summer variety pack.
four of us went to see the fireworks over the charles river in downtown boston.
it was very crowded and there was no wind so all the smoke blocked some of the fireworks.
still, it was pretty.

on saturday i didn't do much. just hung around the house.
on sunday, jessica and i drove to new hampshire to the white mountains.
we hiked mt. mooselauke. it was a 7.5-mile trail that looped to the top of the 4,802 foot mountain. It was kinda intense. the way up was basically like climbing stairs for 2.5 straight hours, but instead of stairs they were rocks. the way down was a bit easier.

it was definitely worth the pain - so beautiful!

from me to you

it seems my updates are coming farther a part. i don't know if anyone is still reading, but hello if you are.

what have i been doing...hmm...mostly learning-loving-working-living.

my roommates and i decided to stay another year in our apartment. that means this will be the first dorm/house/apartment i'll live in for more than a year since i graduated high school. i decided to purchase some used furniture from an ex-coworker. she's moving to kansas so she was getting rid of everything. i got some end tables, a bookshelf, and a much-needed dresser. i'm picking up the dresser this evening (which involves a rented truck and the help of three friends). i will post a photo when i get my room all settled. this is kind of a big deal b/c it means i'm finally getting rid of some of my plastic furniture from college. yes, i am on my way to adulthood.

hot, hot, hot

it has been a hot weekend in the city.
mid 90s.

on friday night, we went to see tif's band.
they're death metal and she is the lead singer.
it is an interesting crowd and really funny to see her on stage.










yesterday we went to nessa's art studio for open studios.
it was really cool to see all the different art studios, especially the ones people live in.
i want one.









oh, last weekend jess and i walked through this huge cemetery near my house.
it was pretty.

The WIndy City

I had a great, busy, tiring trip to Chicago last weekend. I got there on Thursday and flew back on Tuesday. I was working Chicago Green Fest and the Equal Exchange table was swamped! Here are some photos from the trip. 1) The Equal Exchange booth - before the event started. 2) Green Fest! It was huge. 3) Cubs game. 4) Lindsay and me on an architecture boat tour on the Chicago River. 5) Millennium Park on a sunny, chilly day. 6) Molly and me after a long day of working the booth 7) Stephanie and me after a Thai dinner. 8) Our cute hotel.

It was really nice being back in the Midwest for a weekend. I forgot how beautiful Lake Michigan is!

23

Thanks for the birthday cards and greetings! I had a pretty lowkey, but nice, 23^rd birthday. Let’s see… on Saturday, I went out for dinner and drinks with my roommates. Then I met up with a few other friends and we went out to a bar in Cambridge that was doing an ‘80s dance night. We were all tired by midnight and went home. Yes, I am old.

On my actual birthday (Monday), I arrived home from work and was immediately blind-folded and put into Matt’s car. We (Matt, Tiffiney, Vanessa and me) were in the car for about 30 minutes. When the car stopped, they made me keep my eyes closed until we were right at our destination’s door. Finally, I was instructed to open my eyes. WE WERE AT TACO BELL! The “restaurant” is one of my guilty pleasures and I haven’t eaten it since I moved to Boston (mostly b/c they aren’t as prevalent). It was a really funny surprise and I enjoyed my Crunchwrap Supreme and hard shell taco immensely. When we got back to the house, we ate a cake that Vanessa made and they gave me presents. I love my roommates!!!!

Ch-ch-check it out

I watch a lot of films. Usually several a week. So, here's a Top 5 of some recent ones I've seen on DVD. Feel free to comment with your own recommendations!

5. An Inconvenient Truth: I know I'm late on this one, but I finally saw Al Gore's piece on climate change. I hope everyone sees it, because our planet is rapidly changing and it's going to have severe effects - even in the next 50 years - but there are actions we can take to help combat the problem. Climate change is not theory; it is fact.

4. Gone Baby Gone: I watched this for a second time and still enjoyed it greatly. It takes place in Boston and is about a child who goes missing. The ending poses a moral question about how children are raised. Plus, the Boston accents are fun.

3. The Business of Being Born: A very interesting documentary about the birthing industry and the decline of midwifery in the United States. The film raises questions about if today's birthing practices are really what's best for mothers (and babies). Warning: there are some intense birth scenes.

2. Paris, je T'aime: This is a collection of 20 five-minute shorts, each by a different director and starring different actors. It takes place in Paris and I found it to be quite enjoyable.

1. Vitus: A German film about a child prodigy at the piano. It's very heartwarming - I felt warm and fuzzy for hours afterwards.

Salem, Salem, Salem

Yesterday, Jessica and I took the commuter train to Salem, Massachusetts. It's only 16 miles away from Boston and about a 30 minute train ride. She has a second cousin that lives there, so he picked us up at the train station, took us out for lunch, and then showed us around Salem and Marblehead (adjacent town).

Salem is very cute, really old and kinda weird. The town's economy seems to be built on tourism related to the witch trials of 1692. Everywhere you go, there are witch-related museums and shops, and New Age or Wiccan boutiques. It must be crazy at Halloween time.

The above photo is of the oldest burial site in Salem.

We went to the Salem Witch Museum which wasn't so much a museum; it was mostly just a room with mannequins that told the story of the witch trials. But I've always been interested in the witch trials (I even studied women and perceived "madness" in college), so it was strange to be at the site where 16 women were hanged for their supposed witchery.

We saw a couple sites where movies and t.v. shows were filmed - like a cemetery and house in "Hocus Pocus" and a few spots from "Bewitched" (the t.v. show).

It's all very pretty - right on the coast. I could imagine the Salem houses and town hall as they were in the 18th century. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of them, but I'm sure we'll be back again.

We took a drive around these narrow, winding roads in Marblehead, which is also right on the coast. It reminded me of the crowded areas on Gull Lake, where it's just big house crammed next to big house. Except these were really old big houses. We definitely saw multi-million dollar homes, a lot of "old money" type of places that have been owned by the same families for decades, even centuries.

It was a nice Sunday afternoon out of the city.