our stuff is IN! i decided to bus toward the Charles River path to get a much-needed run in during the morning on Friday, but really I should have just waited until our stuff arrived because moving it all in was more of a workout than the run!! after waiting 4.5 hours into the 5 hour window of delivery (and entertaining our 2 neighborhood companions who were thinking of helping, and warding off any drivers trying to park in our paid-permit-reserved spots), we heard the big truck parking in front of our apartment. Whitney helped a TON get everything up the 2 flights of stairs, and we had both containers unloaded in 1 hour and 15 minutes!!!! The only thing that broke was one small drinking glass. GREAT JOB BECKS!!! and mom for super packing. We'll show before and after pics once we are all setup.
last night we made our first meal at home, even without counter space, and today is more unpacking, taking breaks to enjoy the beautiful weather outside, and getting Tim ready for his first day on the job in Boston. i even have some pre-homework to do (huh?) so we'll let you know how our non-vacation life starts up this week!
Shout out to any of you at REACH Camp this weekend, we miss you and hope all is going well!!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
almost famous
There have been two kind of cool non-important things going on in our three days of being here so far. The first is that when you turn all the lights off in our apartment, our bedroom ceiling comes to life with a galaxy of stars somehow hidden underneath the plain white paint. They are teeny tiny so it looks totally like you are laying under the stars for a split instant.
The second is that around the corner from BU is apparently the shooting scene of a new movie starring Mel Gibson and Robert De Niro! Almost half of my new classmates have already spotted them walking or driving around, and there are policemen everywhere for security. Tim camped out on a street today trying to get a glimpse, but no luck so far. Here is the catering van (yay Cristen, who is doing this in Seattle!).
Here is one spotlight. I think most of today's scenes must have been inside. We'll let you know when we are famous!!
We ended the day by entertaining our first Boston visitors!! Will and Anna Pruett are on their honeymoon (shhh) and had some time to dine with us at some cool new digs, Solas (Irish Pub) and BarLola (Tapas Bar). Both we highly recommend. Although both Will and Tim thought at first we were suggesting a Topless Bar, and they adamantly disapproved. Thank goodness.
Delivery day is tomorrow so we're excited to move some more stuff in and make this place our own. Peace.
The second is that around the corner from BU is apparently the shooting scene of a new movie starring Mel Gibson and Robert De Niro! Almost half of my new classmates have already spotted them walking or driving around, and there are policemen everywhere for security. Tim camped out on a street today trying to get a glimpse, but no luck so far. Here is the catering van (yay Cristen, who is doing this in Seattle!).
Here is one spotlight. I think most of today's scenes must have been inside. We'll let you know when we are famous!!
We ended the day by entertaining our first Boston visitors!! Will and Anna Pruett are on their honeymoon (shhh) and had some time to dine with us at some cool new digs, Solas (Irish Pub) and BarLola (Tapas Bar). Both we highly recommend. Although both Will and Tim thought at first we were suggesting a Topless Bar, and they adamantly disapproved. Thank goodness.
Delivery day is tomorrow so we're excited to move some more stuff in and make this place our own. Peace.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
48 hours
hi all. today was a bit more tiring but also exciting with about 9 hours of straight orientation activities, followed by an excursion to what Tim calls the "Hat Shell" which is actually the Hatch Shell, an outdoor stage. Orientation was a lot of lectures and sitting and being shuffled from building to building in a massive herd, but the info was interesting and it was super sunny outside so the shuffle was always refreshing. We were welcomed and told how awesome we are and welcomed some more, then had an extraordinary lunch on the 14th floor of the medical school building overlooking the entire city (our apartment is so close you almost can't see it from that high unless you are right against the window and looking straight down!!). The library is up there somewhere; I hope it has windows. Then we were reminded of what public health actually is, what it consists of, and how to explain it to people. so don't worry if you aren't really sure what I am doing over here cause it's not something many people totally have a grasp on. sometimes it's easier just to tell people I'll be in medical school, but more on that later.
Then we walked to a bar/lounge called Lear and Tim met me there after his meeting with his current store manager. He is really looking forward to taking over the store on Newbury and making some improvements. he'll actually have to break it to his employees that they can't have free drinks anytime they want, even on days they aren't working...duh. we enjoyed talking with some new companions, meeting a guy from Lakewood (wow!), and then shopping Trader Joe's before meeting Whitney and his friends at the classical concert at the Shell on the River. FUN!
We enjoyed wine, cheese, chocolate, and Respighi, Smetena, Rimsky-Korsakov, Strauss and Ravel. They ended (Steph) with a "Distortion Beethoven" (that famous 5th symphony, I believe, turned into a techno movie version or something, I can't remember).
anyway, once again to report that we like it here so far!! more orientation tomorrow and then meeting anna and will for dinner (on their honeymoon!). peace to all!
Then we walked to a bar/lounge called Lear and Tim met me there after his meeting with his current store manager. He is really looking forward to taking over the store on Newbury and making some improvements. he'll actually have to break it to his employees that they can't have free drinks anytime they want, even on days they aren't working...duh. we enjoyed talking with some new companions, meeting a guy from Lakewood (wow!), and then shopping Trader Joe's before meeting Whitney and his friends at the classical concert at the Shell on the River. FUN!
We enjoyed wine, cheese, chocolate, and Respighi, Smetena, Rimsky-Korsakov, Strauss and Ravel. They ended (Steph) with a "Distortion Beethoven" (that famous 5th symphony, I believe, turned into a techno movie version or something, I can't remember).
anyway, once again to report that we like it here so far!! more orientation tomorrow and then meeting anna and will for dinner (on their honeymoon!). peace to all!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
24 hours
we made it. we have officially been here for 24 hours. we feel like a couple of all-stars. (which we also got for Will and Anna's wedding).
verdict: boston rocks.
we got up yesterday before 4:30 am and walked into our new apartment at about 9:40pm. what a day! our friend Whitney Holmer (native northwesterner) picked us up and then kept us company for awhile by taking us to get some food and then inviting us to his apartment, which is rad. we sat on his rooftop under the stars and surrounded by Boston skyline laughing and talking about church, the city, our lives, and good music (go sufjan!). so we didn't have much time to feel lonely. it was a great welcome. he bikes by our apartment every day on his way to work at the BU medical center, and we expect to have some good times with him before he heads back to Portland to do his residency. tomorrow he's taking us to one of his favorite jazz clubs. dang!
we awoke this morning to fresh, cool air and sunlight pouring through our bedroom window (which OPENS!!). sure, it felt like 5:30 am, but we had a job to do: mission dysinfection. our apartment wasn't as clean as i'd hoped when we arrived so we walked to the nearest markets - Don Quixote market, where Tim got to practice some of his Spanish, and then to Foodies which had almost everything else we needed, still for a very steep price. (we later found out there's a better place not too far with much better selection and affordable prices). armed with arm and hammer and a few other 'natural' cleaning ingredients, we went to work scrubbing nooks and crannies, walls and carpets, tiles and toilets. i let Tim do the dirty work:) small apartments take much less time to clean than 3 story houses!! and it finally feels more like our own place. we're ready for furniture to arrive on Friday!
After the cleanfest and finally a shower, we ventured out to a quick-cash place that sells monthly subway passes. then we found our way to a department social bbq in a boony-like part of Boston, which was nice to see, where i met some reeeeaalllly cool classmates. my department head actually lived in Seattle for 11 years, so she was stoked to talk with us about Dahlia's Lounge, Lola, Northwest diversity and character. she thinks I should do my practicum next year back in Seattle to make way for an easier job transition after i graduate. that sounds pretty good to me! we'll see what happens. most of the other SB (Social and Behavioral Sciences) concentrators are girls, one in particular from CO, another from Mumbai, another from Mexico, and a guy from Nicaragua. Another from Philly (she did City Year through Americorps, Amy, almost like Mission Year!), another Atlanta, and only one other West Coasterner from Berkeley. i can't wait to meet more tomorrow at orientation.
a final happy discovery is a website called hulu.com that has free movies and tv shows to watch online. so we've been getting ready for bed by watching season 4 episodes of the office. we dragged our bed into the living room to watch on surround sound:)
this Friday is the last movie shown outside at sunset near the Charles River, and we can get almost free entry to tons of museums that we can't wait to explore. i think we're going to like it here! so far, so great. we'll share our explorations as they come! we miss you all though!
ps an urgent request to PLEASE pray for Nathanael, who is having some intense abdominal pain today. something is extra wrong in his intestines and he needs immediate relief. Bring it, Lord!!!
verdict: boston rocks.we got up yesterday before 4:30 am and walked into our new apartment at about 9:40pm. what a day! our friend Whitney Holmer (native northwesterner) picked us up and then kept us company for awhile by taking us to get some food and then inviting us to his apartment, which is rad. we sat on his rooftop under the stars and surrounded by Boston skyline laughing and talking about church, the city, our lives, and good music (go sufjan!). so we didn't have much time to feel lonely. it was a great welcome. he bikes by our apartment every day on his way to work at the BU medical center, and we expect to have some good times with him before he heads back to Portland to do his residency. tomorrow he's taking us to one of his favorite jazz clubs. dang!
we awoke this morning to fresh, cool air and sunlight pouring through our bedroom window (which OPENS!!). sure, it felt like 5:30 am, but we had a job to do: mission dysinfection. our apartment wasn't as clean as i'd hoped when we arrived so we walked to the nearest markets - Don Quixote market, where Tim got to practice some of his Spanish, and then to Foodies which had almost everything else we needed, still for a very steep price. (we later found out there's a better place not too far with much better selection and affordable prices). armed with arm and hammer and a few other 'natural' cleaning ingredients, we went to work scrubbing nooks and crannies, walls and carpets, tiles and toilets. i let Tim do the dirty work:) small apartments take much less time to clean than 3 story houses!! and it finally feels more like our own place. we're ready for furniture to arrive on Friday!
After the cleanfest and finally a shower, we ventured out to a quick-cash place that sells monthly subway passes. then we found our way to a department social bbq in a boony-like part of Boston, which was nice to see, where i met some reeeeaalllly cool classmates. my department head actually lived in Seattle for 11 years, so she was stoked to talk with us about Dahlia's Lounge, Lola, Northwest diversity and character. she thinks I should do my practicum next year back in Seattle to make way for an easier job transition after i graduate. that sounds pretty good to me! we'll see what happens. most of the other SB (Social and Behavioral Sciences) concentrators are girls, one in particular from CO, another from Mumbai, another from Mexico, and a guy from Nicaragua. Another from Philly (she did City Year through Americorps, Amy, almost like Mission Year!), another Atlanta, and only one other West Coasterner from Berkeley. i can't wait to meet more tomorrow at orientation.
a final happy discovery is a website called hulu.com that has free movies and tv shows to watch online. so we've been getting ready for bed by watching season 4 episodes of the office. we dragged our bed into the living room to watch on surround sound:)
this Friday is the last movie shown outside at sunset near the Charles River, and we can get almost free entry to tons of museums that we can't wait to explore. i think we're going to like it here! so far, so great. we'll share our explorations as they come! we miss you all though!
ps an urgent request to PLEASE pray for Nathanael, who is having some intense abdominal pain today. something is extra wrong in his intestines and he needs immediate relief. Bring it, Lord!!!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Final Week in the Northwest
My crazy sister and mom came to help us pack to move last week. They did an amazing job, and also helped us become more familiar with our new mac:) THAT was a little scary.
We visited Point Defiance gardens,
Enjoyed a nice dinner at Anthony's on Ruston and a beautiful sunset and moonrise walk,
and finished with a hike on Mount Rainier at Paradise.
Thanks, guys!And credit to my brother Paul who also helped for a few hours as he shared our last night in our house, and also kept me company at the stellar Radiohead concert Wednesday night that, as Tim says, melted our faces off. FUN!
More from BOSTON!
More from BOSTON!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Olympic Butt-Kicking
I may have discovered a new sport called Butt-Kicking, brought on only by the onset of the Olympic games. The difference is you compete at home rather than in Beijing. It happens when the Olympics kick your butt, as so: I have already been working hard emptying our house (with my family's help), and seeing millions of people who need to be seen before we leave (this is hard work), but of course I have to watch the Olympics to relax at the end of the day. Yet Monopoly NBC doesn't start the good stuff until like 10:30pm ('live' even though the results are already posted everywhere?), so I end up going to bed mostly after midnight. Does anyone else have this love-hate relationship with the Games? You can compete with me, but I have to warn you, I might win the gold.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
the countdown is on
for most of you wondering if (or why) we are still in Tacoma, we have officially begun the Boston countdown: departure date 2008 is August 25. 14 days to go! we are mostly very very excited. maybe it's because the olympics are happening, and we're equipped with a nifty new macbook and free itouch, neither of which we really know how to use yet! anyway so far so good. here is a breakdown of the next 5 days:
day 14 (Tuesday): moving containers arrive (pray everything fits!!)
day 13 (Wed): mom and Becka arrive to help us keep our sanity
day 12: Tim's last day at LP Starbucks
day 11: our good-bye PARTY (Come!!!) 5-midnight
day 10: containers ship to Boston and Adios Garage Sale of the Century
it's weird that most of our house is all packed up (that's what happens when you don't work anymore) - we'll be living soon on a blowup mattress and out of a suitcase. or a box? we have plenty of those lying around.
i'll have to give a 10 day breakdown after Saturday. it actually gets WAY more exciting than this! i know you can hardly wait to hear....
day 14 (Tuesday): moving containers arrive (pray everything fits!!)
day 13 (Wed): mom and Becka arrive to help us keep our sanity
day 12: Tim's last day at LP Starbucks
day 11: our good-bye PARTY (Come!!!) 5-midnight
day 10: containers ship to Boston and Adios Garage Sale of the Century
it's weird that most of our house is all packed up (that's what happens when you don't work anymore) - we'll be living soon on a blowup mattress and out of a suitcase. or a box? we have plenty of those lying around.
i'll have to give a 10 day breakdown after Saturday. it actually gets WAY more exciting than this! i know you can hardly wait to hear....
Friday, August 8, 2008
inconvenient infestation
.."if I were a mouse, I'd find a way to squeeze into your mousy home..."
these are Tim's words to a song expressing his affection for me, in a strange way....and NOW we have really found a mouse who really believes it! He must have heard the song from afar and decided to invade our privacy and peace. Breaking and entering is ILLEGAL!! He started eating our plums, then the food off the traps (but wasn't caught), and yesterday moved on to MY CLOTHES in the closet. He ate holes in 2 dress pants and ate the entire strap off my favorite summer dress!!!!! What the.....he's IN for it. He got stuck on our new glue traps the other night only for an instant, because we found the fruit gone and footprints and fur on the trap but no mouse. Since then we haven't seen a sign of him around...no escaped traps, no turds all over, and no more eaten anything....but he could be dead in the walls, or just sleeping away in his nice cotton clothes nest. I HATE YOU MR. MOUSE!!!! Maybe this is preparing us for Boston. I hear they are bigger there. dear Lord, have mercy.
these are Tim's words to a song expressing his affection for me, in a strange way....and NOW we have really found a mouse who really believes it! He must have heard the song from afar and decided to invade our privacy and peace. Breaking and entering is ILLEGAL!! He started eating our plums, then the food off the traps (but wasn't caught), and yesterday moved on to MY CLOTHES in the closet. He ate holes in 2 dress pants and ate the entire strap off my favorite summer dress!!!!! What the.....he's IN for it. He got stuck on our new glue traps the other night only for an instant, because we found the fruit gone and footprints and fur on the trap but no mouse. Since then we haven't seen a sign of him around...no escaped traps, no turds all over, and no more eaten anything....but he could be dead in the walls, or just sleeping away in his nice cotton clothes nest. I HATE YOU MR. MOUSE!!!! Maybe this is preparing us for Boston. I hear they are bigger there. dear Lord, have mercy.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Ocean Shores
This weekend we celebrated the Isaacson family by retreating to a home in Ocean Shores. We spent the weekend playing with Isabella, playing cards and Settlers, cooking, reading, walking the beach, put-putting, bonfiring at the beach, worshipping, relaxing and just being together.
Look at her cute growing cheeks and flirtatious smile!!!
From the beach
Auntie Abby
The Fam
Good times! It will be hard to be far away for awhile. We love you guys!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Marble Madness
Happy Birthday JESSE!!!!! You are growing bigger and stronger every day! It's good to have you as a new brother and know you are taking great care of my sister, who, unless I haven't heard differently, is an official certified nurse!! Congratulations on passing your exam. It's a happy day all around.
Now I'm off to a beach weekend with my 'in-laws' (family!) which will be really fun and kind of a last get together (sad). But let's keep that happy feeling for today and rejoice in life. Back to celebrating yours, Marbs!
Peace and joy this year. with love, Tim and Abby
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