Accessibility

I love that adventure begins on our stoop. Better yet, it happens with little to no effort on our part. Take this weekend, for example. The North End celebrated the annual St. Anthony's Feast with food, parades, food, games, food, music, and, yes, more food. It was a delicious cacophony of Italian shouts and sizzling rice balls, ecstatic children and honking cabs as we shuffled with the mob that engulfed the neighborhood. All of this was just a short T ride away.

My entire life, I lived a twenty minute drive from New Bedford's infamous Portuguese Feast. I still have yet to witness this feast in my life. I have to say, it has never been more apparent that what held me back was the drive (the stabbings and gangs may have played a part also, but that's another story). The logistics, although obviously not insurmountable, were too much of a hassle. Who will drive? Actually, who will drive the soon to be intoxicated feasters? No one wants to deal with that. Suddenly, we've eliminated the logistic issues and are ready to tackle any feast that comes our way. Chalk one up for accessibility, Boston!

Cable's Become a 4-Letter Word

Cable is a wonderful thing. I've always been able to breeze into my house, click on the television, and, as if by magic, entertainment poured out of the box. In Rochester, cable. In the Simmons' dorms, cable. In the Rochester apartment, cable. In London, well no cable but I didn't care because I was in London. The only problem was, all these years, I didn't recognize how magical the cable was... that is until now.

Now, thoughts of long-winded phone calls with agitated customer service reps stomp through my head. What once brought us all joy, now brings headaches backed by $59.99 installation fees and $5 modem-rental charges. Oh cable, why have you foresaken me?!

We dream of the day we watch Bobby Flay without a flicker, Jon Stewart without a blip, and the cast of Jersey Shore without a blackout (although, that will happen with or without our cable woes). Perhaps I will gain some perspective Sunday while I wait for a technician between the hours of 11 and xfinity. Perhaps not.

Sponsored by the Letter M

M is for moving. M is also for muscle, motivation, and mates (both of the friend/family and 'room-' variety), all of which are needed for said moving. And moving we did! Thirteen days ago, Jill, Adam and I (read: our families, certain members in particular) stuffed a Budget truck beyond capacity and shipped up to Boston. After hours of heaving and tugging, lifting and sliding we filled our bellies with pizza and beer and settled into our new home.

I welcome you to enjoy our time to come in the city. I will do my best to keep you informed of the high and low points of life in Boston with two friends from kindergarten. Bring on the year ahead and the many Ms it entails! (Please note: let those Ms not include mice, mumps, or mothballs. I'm not sure mumps are even a possibility nowadays, but a new renter can never be too cautious.)

 New roommates, [can't-get-much-older] old friends.