learn it. live it. love it.

The past few days have been really busy but a lot of fun. The roommates are finally both here. Meghan got here on Friday afternoon. She is a really cool girl. She's from New York and went to school in Rhode Island. We don't have too terribly much in common but we seemed to hit it off and chat a lot. Friday night we went to a bar not too far from our house with Meghan's best friend. It was nice and chill but really small. We just had a couple drinks and an appetizer and hung out. It was nice to finally go out and do something. Once we got home we decided to explore our basement. I had never been in a basement, and I was terrified. Meghan had peeked down there and said it had a lot of cobwebs. We went down and it was dark and kind of scary. We really just wanted to see where the washer and dryer were. But as we were heading out Meghan's friend spotted something weird on the floor. Meghan shined a light on it and we realized it was a dead squirrel. That was so gross, and we booked it out of the basement. There was some speculation about how it got there, but I didn't care, I just wanted it gone. That was disgusting. Luckily Meghan's dad came the next day and took care of it for us.

My other roommate Devlin came on Sunday morning. She is really bubbly and seems a lot more like me personality-wise. She is from Oregon but went to school in Vermont. After she came we went out for coffee, so we got a chance to get to know each other. Since Meghan and Devlin are in the same program, they had a lot more to talk about with each other. But it was nice and chill, and they are both pretty awesome girls so I figure living with them is going to work out well.

Later that day I made the trek to Everett for the Boston ASA alumnae BBQ. Since the bus I needed to catch only runs once an hour on Sundays I left with plenty time to make it there. Or so I thought. I was fine until I got to Government Center and found out that the Blue line was shut down from there to the airport. So I got on the shuttle which had to go some long convoluted way to get to Maverick and then to the airport. Once I got there I had about 15 minutes to make it to Revere and catch the bus. I was a little concerned but I got there right about when I needed to be there. But then I walked outside and saw the bus I needed going down the street, and I was way too far away from the stop to make a run for it. I was so upset. Until I looked across the street and realized I was at the beach. That made it all better. Even though it was just a little bit warm outside and the sky was kind of cloudy, I took my shoes off, rolled up my jeans, and walked around on the sand. It felt so nice to have sand between my toes and I didn't get a chance to go to the beach at all this summer. I went in the water which was chilly but tolerable. Even though it made me miss Virginia Beach, Revere is such a cute, quaint seaside town. After I played in the water I saw someone with ice cream so I went in search of that. I walked back to the beach and watched the water as I ate it. After that it was about time for another bus to come, so I went to the stop and waited. Finally it came, but it went to the Wonderland stop and the driver got out. When he got back, we went back toward Revere Beach, and I realized that I could have gotten on the bus an hour before but I actually had needed to be at the stop across the street from the one I thought was right. Oh well. I was glad I got to go to the beach anyway and discovered a good spot in case there are any more good beach days this summer.

After I got on the bus it was a little difficult to tell where I was but the driver pointed out the street I wanted to get off on and I found the right stop thanks to the recording inside the bus. After that it was just a matter of finding the house. I didn't want to take out the directions I had written because there were some sketchy individuals around. So I kind of had to wing it. Street signs here are really weird, if there are any at all. They don't have cross signs, so you can never tell what street you are on, just the street intersecting it. I recognized the name of one of the streets I needed to be on. Unfortunately, the street was just a gigantic hill. It really had to be at about a 45 degree angle. After hiking up the hill I saw a street that I thought might be where I had to turn, but there was no sign. I figured I'd just chance it, even though it another hill and I would be so upset if it was the wrong street. As I was walking up though I could smell someone grilling so I figured I had to be close. Once I got to the top of the hill I saw it was the right street, thankfully. I looked to my right, the direction I smelled food, and saw a house on the corner with a ladybug banner on the front, and I knew it was the house. As I turned down the driveway there was a woman standing at the grill who looked up at me strangely. I hadn't even thought about the fact that I was just showing up to this woman's house and she had no idea who I was. But I told her I was there for the BBQ and introduced myself, and I think she recognized my name from Sister Circle. So she took me over to the rest of the sisters and introduced me. She said she was excited because 3 new people had shown up. I sat down with the sisters but there wasn't a whole lot of conversation going on, so I just munched on a piece of watermelon until people started talking. I asked some people a few basic questions like what chapter they were from, and a few people asked me where I went to school and what brought me to Boston. I had kind of expected there to be a lot more people and for it to be hoppin, but it was also nice to just chill and meet sisters. All the women there were about the same age and had been out of school for around 10-15 years. There were a couple of kids there, 2 of them being the host's kids. The conversation picked up after we ate, and we talked about the area and ASA stuff. Overall, it was nice and chill and I'm glad I went. The next event is apple picking, which sounds okay but I won't be heartbroken if I can't make it.

The trip home was much easier. The thing that sucked was waiting for the bus. Everett is kind of a sketchy little town. There were a lot of hard looking people, and I was right across from one of those kind of convenience stores you see in downtown Newport News. But then it also sort of reminded me of a little mountain town, especially because of the hills, except that you can see downtown Boston from there. I thought it would take me much longer to walk from the house to the bus stop, but I practically ran down the hills, so I had to wait about 15 minutes for the bus. I was so happy when it got there. I got on the train at Wonderland and made my way back toward the city, then switched to the shuttle bus. On the bus I overheard a guy mention he went to high school near DC, and since he was right in front of me I asked him if he was from VA. He said no, he just went to school around there. But he was friendly and he, his wife and daughter, another couple and I all chatted during the bus ride. The guy's daughter was so adorable, and she was so excited to go to the aquarium. When I got to Government Center, I was briefly tempted to get dinner at Wagamama, but I resisted and headed home.

Monday morning my roommates started math camp to prepare for the math they will need in their classes. I was afraid I'd be lonely all day, but then I realized I had a million things to do. I had to call Ferguson and find out why I hadn't gotten my last paycheck. I really didn't want to have to go through that, but I really do need the money. Then I went to campus to get my tuition bill fixed, which thankfully was painless. After that I headed to the bookstore to scope out the books I needed. Monday night I went to my friend Alex's house because he is moving so he offered me a lot of his furniture. I still needed a desk and dresser, so I said I'd take a look. Devlin came with me since she also needed stuff. We walked all the way over but I had forgotten to call him and make sure he was home, so I called him on the way but he didn't answer. There was a bunch of old furniture on the side of the road and Devlin looked through some of it, none of which was any good. I was worried we had a wasted trip until finally Alex called as we were about to leave. As soon as I saw the furniture I loved it and wanted it, and he offered me a really great deal, so I called Meghan and asked her to drive over so I could get some of the stuff home. I mostly needed her to take the dresser and Devlin and I were going to wheel the desk home, but the body of the dresser wouldn't fit, so we got everything else in her car. Later, Alex borrowed his friend's SUV so he could bring me the dresser. I was so grateful to him. He is a really sweet guy, and I was hoping to get to know him better. But he is moving home at the end of this week. It's sad, but it's a better situation for him.

Today I had to go to the bank to get the check for last month's rent. That was a lot of money. And going to the bank was a strange experience. The tellers were all behind glass with just a little slot to pass things through. I was at the counter for what felt like forever because she had to transfer money from my savings account to checking, then generate a cashier's check and a money order, then deposit 2 checks. I was so glad to get that taken care of though. It was good that I did because my landlord just randomly showed up a little while ago to pick up the lease and the check. I finally got to meet him and he was nice and willing to take care of the problems with our apartment. One of my keys doesn't work, a lot of our lights are blown out, and most of our outlets are two-prong, so he said he would get those things taken care of. I'm so glad we have a good landlord.

I'm still working on unpacking, but I'm glad my life here is pretty much settled. I'm still lonely and friendless, but soon everyone will be returning to the area and my social life should pick up. Until then it's just nice to hang out and have time to myself.