ready steady go!

Well, I'm finally in Boston. Actually, I've been here for 4 days. I've been kind of holed up in my apartment with almost no contact with the outside world. And let me tell you that was soooo much fun. Anyway, the last few days went a little something like this...

Packing:
Sucked. I hate packing. I have always hated packing. Oh and I pretty much finished, umm, right as I was leaving.

Loading the car:
Was a fiasco. As usual, my mother complained, but I told her I needed an SUV. But we got quite a bit in there.

The drive up:
Was not as bad as I expected. We finally left around 5:30am (after saying we would leave at 4). My mother decided she wasn't going to take 95 up, which was probably a smart choice but made for the most boring drive imaginable. It wasn't bad through Virginia and Maryland because at least there was stuff to look at. Once we got to Pennsylvania though it was just trees and hills. We stopped at Cracker Barrel and had breakfast somewhere near Harrisburg, PA. The food was pretty awful. Well, maybe people in PA have different tastes. But how they managed to mess up scrambled eggs and french toast I will never know. We were in PA for about 5 or 6 hours. I was so happy to cross into New York, even though the scenery was still the same. When we got to Connecticut it was about time to stop for lunch. We saw a sign for a Subway so we got off the interstate in some quaint little town and drove around on narrow little streets, only to find a tiny little Subway that we couldn't figure out how to get to. So we just got back on the interstate and looked for a bigger town. We had lunch at Friendly's in some other quaint town. Right after lunch we passed through Hartford, so there was at least something outside to look at, but after that it was just more trees. That drive just confirmed for me how happy I was that I didn't get into UConn. Finally around 5:30 we reached Boston. So the drive only took 12 hours with 2 hourlong stops. Not bad. Thankfully, finding my apartment was pretty easy.

Seeing my apartment:
I had only seen pictures since I didn't get a chance to come look at it on my last trip. The outside was, as I had heard before, kind of crusty looking. Once I finally got inside after fussing with the keys a little bit, I was surprised but pleased. I expected the inside to be really fresh and newer looking. There are a lot of scratches and cracks, but overall it looked pretty nice. I think it will look much better once everything is set up. My bedroom is perfectly sized. I was worried about it because I didn't see pictures of it, but it is spacious and has 3 windows so it gets tons of light. There are really only 2 major problems with my apartment. All of the outlets are 2 prong, so I can't use any of my surge protectors. Which has really complicated my TV/internet setup because now everything is stretched across my living room and I can't have everything plugged in at once. And that's no good. Luckily my roommate is bringing converters when she moves in on Friday. The other problem is that I am terrified of my stove. Yes, terrified. I've never had a gas stove before and even though my mother said you just turn it on like a normal stove, I'm beginning to think it's more complicated than that. Every time I turn it on I hear random clicking and hissing, and it takes a while for it to actually light. So I'm trying to limit my use of the stove until someone explains it to me. Thankfully I bought a lot of food that doesn't require cooking. And I hate cooking.

And the rest:
I'm still working on unpacking. It's kind of difficult because I don't have all my furniture yet. So far I've only gotten my bed and a bookshelf. And by the way, I put both together by myself. Not that it wasn't challenging, or that I didn't screw both of them up. But I did it, and neither has collapsed yet so I guess I'm okay. But my stuff is pretty much strewn all over the house. I full intend on having all my stuff in my bedroom by the time my roommates arrive, although we'll see how that goes.

I ventured outside today for the first time since I've been here (other than shopping the first morning.) I just walked to campus, near the reservoir, and then to CVS to get a few things for the apartment. It was good to get a little exercise and fresh air, and the weather was really nice. It was warm, not humid, and there was a nice breeze. I think I'm going to like the weather here. And yes, feel free to bring that up when I'm complaining that I don't like the cold.

So far I've been okay and not missing my friends too much. I'm really ready to make friends here. The ASA alumnae chapter is having a cookout on Sunday so I think I'll go to that. And I can't wait for my roommates to show up so I'll have people to talk to.

But I think I'll be happy here. Something about it just seems right. That, and going back home would be the ultimate failure.