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WordsWithoutASound
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Name:
Country: United States
Metro: Boston
Birthday: 1/26/1983
Gender: Female
Interests: food. eating. stalking you on xanga.
Expertise: showing bostonians what real californians are like
Message: message me
Member Since:
1/28/2005
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| This year has been...interesting. When people call and ask what I'm up to I think they expect me to say things like "mending my parachute" or "packing for a safari." Unfortunately for them, the recent answers have been "making dinner" or "folding laundry." Yes, kids, life in Connecticut is very different. Not necessarily bad different...just...different.
I decided to make a bunch of different lists/posts to wrap up the year to make up for my lack of Xanga posts. And to make up for the fact that we're not sending out Christmas cards like I had originally hoped.
Upcoming posts:
1) Things I like about Connecticut
2) Favorite pictures from 2009
3) Places we traveled in 2009
4) Best/favorite recipes cooked this year
Yay! Okay, let's start with the first one:
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT CONNECTICUT:
1. There are lots of places to shop. Back in Boston there were 2 Targets and I would refuse to go there on the weekends because they would be packed. Now I can go to Target whenever and there's plenty of parking! Besides that there are a lot of shopping centers and the outlet is decent, too.
2. We're close to Boston and NYC. It takes us approximately 1.5 hours to drive to Boston and 2.3 hours to drive to New York City. Alternatively we can drive to New Haven, CT and then take a train into the city and then we don't have to worry about parking. This has made for some interesting day trips! We're also closer to New Jersey and its inhabitants (specifically the cute hamster-loving mamacitas!)
3. Connecticut has a lot of farms and has a farmer's market almost every day during the summer. You have to drive to different locations, but they're very proud of their farms and do their best to promote them. I'm a big fan of supporting local farmers.
4. We're close to Wayne's family, so if they ever need us we can help out pretty easily.
5. We have easy access to some of our guilty pleasures- chain restaurants. Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Chili's, Popeye's, Five Guys. Is it bad that I know where all of those are without the GPS?
6. Pizza is phenomenal here! I grew up with Little Caesar's (which, for the record, I still love) but CT takes its pizza very seriously. Granted, your average run-of-the-mill pizza place isn't great, but places like Harry's and Frank Pepe's are super yummy.
7. The people we work with are surprisingly diverse. A lot of the nursing assistants are from Jamaica, a lot of the nurses grew up in CT but are from different backgrounds, Wayne's co-workers are from Guatemala, India...it's just an interesting melting pot that I wouldn't have expected.
8. Stew Leonard's! When I first went I compared it to Wegman's so it wasn't as great as I thought, but now each time I go I like it a little bit more. Especially when free samples are involved. They have a wine shop, too, which is always fun.
9. We both live less than 20 minutes away from work- and we only take local roads! We never have to deal with traffic on 84 (which is awesome because from what I can tell 84 is a mess).
10. You guessed it- Wayne. We've spent a lot more time with each other now that life has slowed down a little and it's been really fun. I'm glad I moved here with him.
I'm sure there will be other things, but for now that's my top ten. Doesn't CT sound awesome? You should visit. =)
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| I told Wayne that even though we had to leave Boston and move to Hartford, I was glad that I got to move with him. That sounds dumb, but I'm really grateful to have him around. Exploring new places (or adjusting to new places) is a thousand times better when it's with your best bud.
He is quite entertaining. For example:
Today we went to A Dong (enter stifled giggling now), our Asian grocery store, and just as we were about to check out we saw a case of duck eggs.
(Duck egg on left, chicken egg on right, photo stolen from http://onehungrychef.blogspot.com/2009/08/breakfast-of-champignons.html)
Me: "Look! They're so big!"
Wayne: "Wait, that's weird. Aren't chickens bigger than ducks?"
-thinks for a second-
Wayne: "Turducken...oh, nevermind. Ducks are bigger."
He's logical. I like that.
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| We finally spent a weekend in Hartford (cuz I agreed to work on Sunday for a coworker) and started off the weekend with an adventure. Not the good kind.
Friday night:
7:30pm- I'm miraculously done with all my paperwork and have given report. If you know me this is no small feat. I'm usually out by 8 if I'm lucky. I call Wayne and ask him to pick me up (we only have one car now).
7:45pm- After finding a disposable spoon at Au Bon Pain, I settle down in a corner of the main lobby to eat my yogurt.
7:50pm- I hear a commotion and realize that someone just fell down the stairs. I grab my stuff and run up to see if they need any help.
7:55pm- After standing around and doing next to nothing (someone had already called the ER paramedic to get a stretcher and stuff) I realize that I'm only holding my lunch bag, not my purse.
7:56pm- I run down to the place where I was sitting and find nothing. I ask people who are nearby, go to Au Bon Pain to see if I left it there, check the stairway, check the area again, and still nothing.
7:58pm- Wayne comes and I tell him what happens. I tell a security guard my situation and then run over to the ER to see if someone picked it up with the patient's belongings by accident.
8:00pm- Took me awhile to figure out how to get IN to the ER, but when I did they didn't find anything.
8:05pm- Wayne takes me home and we start canceling credit cards, figuring out if we can change the locks, put The Club on the car.
8:30pm- Credit cards canceled, phone service suspended. Wayne texts my phone with his contact info just in case someone responds.
10:30pm- I'm exhausted from working and from worrying, so we go to bed. I say a quick prayer that somehow things will be found.
We were glad I was safe, but worried because my purse had my keys, ID, phone, and wallet. I felt awful- usually I'm so responsible! This actually is the second time I've run to an emergency and left my purse, but the first time I was sitting with Wayne so I knew he'd get it. Is it lame that I'm also sad because I had bought Tropical Punch Now'n'Laters and they were in my stolen purse? I know it's lame. But they're so good. Anyway...
Saturday morning:
6:00am- Wayne and I are camping out in the living room to deter any breaking and entering, and he get a phone call from a woman who had spent a good portion of the night in the ED with her mother. She said she had my purse with my keys and phone and she'd meet us in the morning to give it to us. YAY!
10:45am- The woman calls and says she'll meet us in the main lobby. She was a lot later than she said she'd be so we were nervous that we were being set up, but she came in and handed me my phone, my keys, and some of the contents of my wallet. She said it looked like someone tried to break into her car last night (she has a Honda Odyssey) and then left all the stuff under her car. I'm so glad she was honest and brought everything back.
I'm so bummed that something like that would happen...especially in my workplace! I don't know what someone would do with my driver's license (really aren't that many Asian people in Hartford, so it'd be hard to pass it off as a fake ID) but I hope nothing else comes of this. *sigh*
To get my mind off the whole thing we went hiking up to this tower where you can see, like, all of Hartford. One of the views:
Thank you, Joy and autostitch!
And a flexible tree:
And we got to celebrate Wayne's birthday on Monday at the ever-so-famous-and-elusive Red Lobster:
  
Oh Cheddar Bay Biscuits. You got the best of me. Wayne said he doesn't want to eat any shrimp for awhile.
So anyway, that's our first full weekend in Hartford. Crime and crustaceans.
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| I love weddings. I'm pretty sure that's obvious because I pretty much love all girly things (weddings, babies, puppies, flowers). I love the ceremony and vows, but I especially love seeing a couple's personality expressed through the little details. And I love traveling to places where people met, grew up, etc. It's an adventure! With friends, food, and dancing!
Summer weddings of 2009:
Joe and Jess (Ithaca, NY)
June 27
Ithaca IS Gorges! J&J did a great job planning a "destination" wedding, and everything was really beautiful. My favorite part (besides the settings- Sage Chapel on Cornell's campus for the ceremony and Lamoreaux Landing for the reception) were the homemade details. Instead of cake they made a stand for tarts, and in lieu of favors they made a donation to ACCESS, a program for school-age children in Chinatown which they both know and love. Above are some of my favorite pictures from the day: Joe and Jess getting pelted with birdseed, one of five jumping pictures (not because they didn't turn out but because SOMEONE wanted to be the highest jumper), the beautiful setting, a picture of J&S by J&S, the tart stand, Wayne and me by the gorges, Cheungs and Chuangs, and the awkward-looking tart tasting. Yay J&J!
Jenn and Rafael (St. Louis, MO)
August 14
J&R's wedding was on a Friday afternoon, so I flew into St. Louis early that morning, had lunch with my cousins, and then drove off to the Botanical Gardens. The entire time I was in St. Louis I had never been to the Botanical Gardens, and now I'm super sad that I missed out! Thankfully the ceremony was indoors (it was hot!) and it was in a beautiful little pavilion right next to the water lily pond. Jenn is the only girl I know who has the finesse to wear a hat instead of a veil. So stylish! Their wedding incorporated a lot of different symbolic gestures at the wedding (like having Rafael give Jenn a flower each year of their marriage) and the wedding party included a lot of their family (Jenn's mom was her matron of honor.) The reception was at an art gallery (perfect for two artsy people) and the band they chose was great! I had to leave a little early since I had an early flight the next day, but I'm so glad I went.
Brian and Katie (Anaheim, CA)
August 15
The next day I found myself in California for B&K's wedding. Unfortunately my camera died right after the ceremony! It was sort of surreal being in the same church almost exactly a year later- except this time I was a guest, not the bride. =) B&K really emphasized the gospel a lot in the ceremony and the reception, but they did it in a very inviting way. When they were honoring their parents during the ceremony they had a voiceover of either Brian or Katie reading a letter to their parents, which I thought was really sweet. They had a photo booth with props at the reception (so much fun!) and it was great seeing old friends.
On a separate note, I felt more far away from California friends after visiting this wedding. I don't know if I was just tired or what, but it felt like there was less to say...or it's been so long since I've hung out with people that I don't feel like I know them anymore. It's almost been a decade since I lived in California. I'm thankful that when I'm with family I always feel at home, but I'm not sure how I feel about everything else. Maybe it's just a phase.
Livia and Jeff (Boston, MA)
August 22
Hands down, the nerdiest wedding I've attended thus far. And nerdy ON PURPOSE. I loved how they incorporated their inside joke (flying pigs) into the program, the centerpieces (the ridiculously adorable centerpieces that had a crank that made the pig fly when you turned it), and the favors. I love the Hyatt Harborside (my favorite Boston hotel location-wise) and I liked how the ceremony's music selections reflected their individual tastes. In order to get them to kiss you had to write a haiku that made fun of Jeff or complimented Livia. Man, the combination of the two (neuroscience PhD candidate and astrophysicist PhD) is gonna make for some smart, mischievous kids! The last picture is the "Thriller" crew. It's exactly what it sounds like.
Still lots more weddings to come- unfortunately we won't be able to attend all the weddings we're invited to, but we'll still make a valiant effort. Too bad there are so few direct flights from Hartford. Thanks for letting us share in your joy!
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