Decade

2009 is coming to a close and I recently heard that somewhere in the NY Times Magazine, it's claimed that this past decade has been a terrible one. Thinking back over the years it's been a tough one but it's been endured. I remember in school thinking about the people who lived through other tough years and wondered how they did it...or, how lucky am I not to have lived then? I may not always realize the gravity of our situations as we live in the moment, but hindsight is 20/20. In the past ten years I've had a lot of good times: being in the marching band at SMS, getting my driver's license and becoming more independent, fun concerts and school activities with friends, great vacations with my family, going off to college and really gaining independence, traveling with my horn and making new friends, becoming closer with my grandparents, graduating college, getting some really special time with Mom, meeting Michael, redirecting my career goals, becoming financially independent, moving across the country to a new city, spending my first Christmas away from home.

These past ten years I've gotten to know myself and I'm pretty happy. I've learned what awareness is and the hard work that goes along with it. In another ten years I'll know even more about myself...until then, I'll do my best to live presently.

Tourists

I can't decide how I feel about living in a city with tourists.  On one hand, it's neat to be living in a city that people from all corners come to visit.  On the other hand, I wonder how authentic of an experience I'm getting living here.  Today was pretty rainy and after rehearsal, we headed up to the North End.  The North End is a very old neighborhood of Boston and full of Italians.  Walking around narrow little streets is like being in Europe.  However, there are tourists everywhere.  We ate lunch at a little sandwich place that's only open for lunch.  I am not a sandwich person, but Michael assured me that I'd like it.  I had roasted Portobello sandwich with spinach, roasted bell pepper, fresh mozzarella, basil, and basil mayonnaise.  Yum!  We sat at the window, watched the rain, and watched all the tourists look in at us.  None of them stopped in to have an amazing lunch.  I don't know where Michael found out about this place, but I need more hidden gems for the locals...since I am one now.

Adjusting

Adjusting to a new city such as Boston, has been trickier than I thought.  I thought living with someone would be the hard part, but no.  Moving to a brand new place that has a different culture than I already know, starting a new job, and having no friends is what's tough.  I can feel inspired (sometimes) to be outgoing and social, but since I've been here I feel lost.  It's totally bizarre that I did my best to prepare myself (in as many ways as I could think and research) for the turmoils of living with a boyfriend---something I'd never ever done before.  Turns out, that's all gravy compared to everything else.  What to do, what to do...

Moving again..

Oh my gosh.  So after packing up my apartment in KC and moving to Boston, I moved again.  We moved into a bigger place up a floor and I'm finally unpacking everything I brought with me.  When I packed up my place in KC, I downsized a lot.  Now that I'm unpacking my things here, I'm having to downsize by repacking some items and making new donation piles.  This has been a slow, tiring, and frustrating process.  I remind myself to admire what I've accomplished, and that once it's all done, I will be happy, comfortable, and able to focus on more stimulating things!

I got to go back to Kansas City Wednesday evening and felt really happy to visit.  Thursday my new company had a trunk show at Halls and I got to work it and the big bonus was seeing all of my friends.  Friday, my friend Angie got married and months and months ago she asked if I would coordinate her vendors the day of her wedding.  I set up the ceremony and reception sites and compared to things I have to do for my job, this was a breeze of a juggling act!  I really enjoyed doing it for her and for Gary, and then was able to enjoy the dinner.  I was lucky enough to stay with a different friend each night which was prime opportunity for catching up.  The trip was go, go, go!, a lot of fun, but very tiring.  I'm glad to be back with my 2M's: Michael and Molly.

Notice: I have moved.

I did it! I made the move to Boston and I start my new job tomorrow. I've been getting some rest squeezed in here and there, but mostly it's: go, go, go!

Our driver from Kansas City to Boston was full of adventure, starting at the very beginning! Our rental mini van freaked me out by it's lack of cargo room. The third row of seats folded flat into the floor, but not the second. Michael took them out and strapped them to the roof and we squeezed in all of my belongings. I guess it's good to know that I was able to downsize so much, but even still, I felt kind of embarrassed to have so much stuff! Once we got close to our cruising speed, we started to hear this loud buzzing hum. All it was, was the wind hitting the chairs on the roof and I knew I'd be able to block out a sound like that, but Michael wasn't so sure about his ability to do the same. It did it the whole way.

We drove to Cincinnati to visit our fun friends, Ben and Liz. They matched us up years ago and it was a treat to visit them at their new home and have a break. We ate lots of great food, caught up quite a bit, and went canoeing! I hadn't been canoeing since my float trip days with my church and I had such a great time. We left them on Friday morning and drove from 9am to midnight and then unloaded the car for an hour or so that night. We were totally exhausted.

Yesterday morning, Michael and I went for a long walk. We started by heading north on Mass Ave, past Commonwealth, to the Charles River. We walked east along the Charles River, headed southwest through Beacon Hill, the Boston Commons, west down Commonwealth, and finally south on Mass Ave to home. The walk along the river was beautifully picturesque. There are groups of people who practice yoga on little docks that stretch out onto the water (I must find out when I can attend one!). We passed two elderly gentlemen who were walking together and one held a small radio that was playing music from their hey day. In contrast, later that day we saw two guys riding with a boom box strapped to one of their bikes, blasting some thing.

Yesterday evening, Molly got her first pedicure. She has her hind claws and I found claw covers so she won't risk snagging the fabric on Michael's furniture. Holding her down was Michael's job and I had to clip her nails and then attach the nails with glue. It reminded me of the days when I tried to wear artificial nails, and even for kitties, the glue still reeks. Molly faugh and faugh, but Michael and I sang to her and now she's back to normal but with bright pink toenails.

Settling in is pretty much what I expected: tricky and exhausting. I am not looking forward to doing another move October 3, but we'll be in a bigger place and I'll get to unpack all of my stuff. I start my new job tomorrow and I feel like it's the first day of school all over again.

Last day of August...Last Monday in KC

I'm moving. I am starting a new job in Boston and am excited, anxious, and a little nervous. I will be working for a Boston-based women's clothing line, Sara Campbell. My position is officially titled, "Customer Service Rep., Sales and Merchandise Buying Assistant." From what I understand this title is a big umbrella with a lot of different responsibilities. I like that there will be variety of things for me to take care of. I start my new job a week from tomorrow and am hoping by next Tuesday rolls around, I will have had some quality rest.

My junior year at Eastman I had my first apartment and since then I've been accumulating and accumulating. This moved has provided a perfect opportunity to "purge!" I have sold all of my furnishings on Craigslist and pretty easily at that. Last Wednesday a couple picked up my bed and since then I've been on the floor or occasionally on my wee sofa. Sofa's gone now and all I have is my desk, two table lamps. The corner of my living room that is the home base for packed boxes isn't as huge a pile as I had though. Over the past three weeks, I have had anxiety fits that I won't be able to fit my last belongings in the van, but I think I'll be okay. Either way, Michael assures me over and over that they will get to Boston some way or another.

Molly Cat is doing pretty well. She follows me around a little more than average, and she's also taken to a specific box that I've turned on it's side for her to have as a little den. She may prefer to ride to Boston in that than her carrier!

I knew my friends from work were really special, but I didn't ever realize that they might feel the same about me. Two going away parties were given outside of work and were so much fun. My Helga gave one at her amazing apartment up the street from mine. I LOVE her place. It's the perfect balance of modern and comfort. So much is clean and white and then she has special accents like her Bertoia chairs. I think she has 13 white side chairs, two diamond and a bird chair upholstered in dark blue (with ottomans). Also, she has at least two Saarinen side tables. If it hadn't been for Michael and his brother's uber successful furniture store, I would not have a clue what these pieces were and how special they are.

Saturday I was treated to my first pedicure in I don't know how long! I met Jennifer and Angie at a really nice West Plaza place and Jennifer handed out coffee cups and surprise: champange! To be pampered: how nice! Later that night there was another party at Jim's and it was fun to see so many fun people there with great food and drinks. I hope that I get to see the pictures that everyone else took someday. Wow is all I can say. I felt really, really special.

I plan to finish up the packing today with breaks for lunch and dinner with friends. Michael arrives tomorrow to help finalize anything I've overlooked and then we hit the road for a new adventure.

Rain

Since I arrived here in the Berkshires last Saturday, the rain has become increasingly frequent. The basement's flooded a every time, some of the driveway washed away, the back yard has been flooded in some areas, some portions of roads are flooded or have been washed away, there is loose gravel, etc. etc.

I went into Boston yesterday and had lunch with a friend; fun change of scenery. Also wanted to see Emily, but she was busy with family things. It's nice that the more I visit the city the more familiar and comfortable I've become with it. When I went the first few times I felt somewhat intimidated and hermit-ish but now I'm feeling better.

Had dinner with some new friends last night and the night before I made quite a feast of bbq chicken and roasted parmesan veggies. Thanks to Giada!

Supposedly the rain should hold off for the rest of the day (though it's incredibly humid and damp) and I think I'll walk the couple miles to West Stockbridge to find some stationary to do some writing.

My Great Vacation

I am on day three of my "Great Vacation." Spending time out here in the Berkshires is quiet, relaxing, beautiful: tranquil. It wouldn't be great at all if I wasn't spending the time with Michael. He is in the middle of his first Tanglewood season with the Boston Symphony and he just got tenure so things couldn't be going any better.

The weather's been off and on. It's rained at least one time every day that I've been here. Today we opted to take the Volvo out for lunch. Clear skies, no wind, lovely. We made it to Stockbridge (so touristy, blah) and ate, and then Michael started getting nervous about the weather so we high tailed it back to the car. Trying to decide if we should explore the Berkshire Botanical Gardens, a decision was made for us as it started to rain! Oh boy! Was I able to stay calm as Michael got really worked up over the rain on his 45 year old vintage car. Being stuck behind very slow drivers added to the tension and the stress. When we finally made it back to the house, we raced to dry off the car as throughly as possible. I don't know how long we were at it for, but it entailed Michael under the car drying, and me using my hair dryer to get the water out from between the body and chrome trim. It's a beautiful car and quite enjoyable, but being that it currently has little to no rust, keeping it out of non-perfect weather is of utmost importance. I've never experience such quick and drastic changes in weather as I have in the past three days.

I wonder what adventures tomorrow will bring!

I cannot commit

I just cannot commit to blogging. When I decided to do this a while back, I thought it was something I could stick with; guess not.

Last weekend I traveled to Boston to see my man. Oh boy was it so good to see him! Though he had been here for a about five days earlier, it was great to get out of KC and back East. It had been hotter and more humid here than I care to remember and in Boston, it was a cool and breezy in the high 70s, low 80s. NICE! We explored some outer communities, had lunch at Symphony Sushi, and walked and walked around the city. We had a fantastic meal at Pico's on Tremont and then I was determined to trek it to the other side of the city for a piece of original Boston Cream Pie at the Parker House Hotel.

On Sunday we drove out to the Berkshires and got settled into Michael's summer house in Richmond. Wow! I had seen it in March when we first checked it out, but in the fullness of summer, it's so much better than I remembered. The house is on a few acres and is isolated between sunny meadows and green forests. I hate to say that it's perfect (because nothing ever is) but it's perfect. So quiet, lots of different birds singing, and totally serene. There's even a massive claw foot tub to soak in, and the windows in the bathroom run low enough that you can see out into the back.

On Monday before I left, we explored the Tanglewood grounds. I had no idea they are as expansive as they are! There are so many paths and trails to take around the area with maps posted every so often showing, "You Are Here" so you can find your way around. Rolling hills, open spaces, and areas of forest and wild flowers. Why did I have to leave? To come home to take care of Molly Cat and work my job. I miss having summers free.

Out of hibernation

Spring is a Tease.  After weeks and weeks of feeling like Spring had finally arrived, it'd retreat and winter would wave, "hello."  I finally feel Spring now because I feel like I can venture outside of my four walls and have adventures.  This is the first weekend in many, many weeks that I've had all to myself.  I believe since February, I've either had guests visiting, or I've been out visiting.  It has been nice to relax and have my own time.  Friday night some of us celebrated Lisa's birthday at JJ's and it was so much fun, though I was the youngest and the only non-divorcee.

Yesterday I found myself exploring my neighborhood.  I went by Halls Crown Center for the first time in eons and I couldn't believe how great the store looked.  Really, really, really good and terrific merchandise too!  I'm really glad that store is getting a much needed, and overdue facelift.  Though I didn't find shoes to wear to the wedding here in a few weeks, I did find so many other things that I did like.  After that I wondered the floors of River Market Antiques.  I don't think I've ever gone alone; it's always been Michael's and my place to scavenge.  I did find a table for my massive, shedding, and sunburnt fern.  It's just perfect and now the plant is further away from direct sunlight and should get even bigger and greener!  Going to the gym was great, taking my time in the shower, and then meeting Meredith at Aixois in Crestwood.

We ended up closing the place!  I don't know how many times that's happened for me, but everything was fun.  I even tried escargots without blinking an eye and they were great!  The staff and owners seemed to take to us so we even had a glass of a port with a chocolate, on the house.  I swear, sitting and eating at the bar of a nice restaurant is a good way to go.  Every time I do it, I usually get something extra as well as meeting someone new.  Thanks to my friend Sloan who introduced me to that style of dining.  It's great.

Together in Boston, Alone in Kansas City

After an incredibly busy and stressful week at work, I took off for Boston Friday evening and arrived just after midnight.  After what's coming up on four years, I still get some butterflies when I see Michael for the first time.

Saturday we ventured out a little bit to a Boston neighborhood, Jamaica Plain, or JP.  It didn't do much to thrill me.  I felt like the houses and store fronts were smushed together and then shoved all the way to the street curb with a narrow sidewalk as a divider.  Not my ideal neighborhood, not to mention every single house was four plain walls, no yard to speak of, and covered with monotonous vinyl siding.  On a positive note, we had a pleasant lunch at City Feed and parked in front of the Mother Ship JP Licks.  It was too cold and windy that we weren't in the mood for non fat (non calorie?) delicious ice cream.

I did get to see more of Brookline and Michael even spotted a house he thought was neat and then we ended up (of course!) at Trader Joe's.  My favorite thing that I spotted was a massive display of matzos and overhead it said, "Don't Pass Over This Deal!"  Hahahahaha!  We hung out for the rest of the evening, had a nice dinner, a little wine, and watched Slumdog.

On Sunday we got up and had to head out to Cambridge to hit the antique market because Michael found a pair of Eames chairs for the dining table.  They were perfect!  Since neither one of Michael's cars are, "practical" in the practical sense of the word (both are two-seater sports cars) one chair went in the back, and the other went upside down on my lap with the window open for one of the legs to stick out!

It was a beautiful day and we spent hours walking outside and looking for deals.  I finally hit the jackpot at second hand shop.  I found three great dresses: one Prada sport, one Miu Miu, and the other was a no name, but it was a sweet trench dress with fun yellow trimmings.  Bad thing: not what I was looking for to wear to a wedding and no extra money for great deals, no matter how great they are. :-(  Being poor is not easy.  We did find things to wear to the wedding and we both got great deals, so we did do well.

I had such a hard time adjusting to Michael living in Boston and visiting Boston and over my past few visits, I've found my rhythm.  I feel like I've found some sort of niche which makes every time I leave so much harder, and harder on both of us.  Totally sucks.  Thank goodness for a great small book, "The Four Agreements" which is a great guide to help me figure out what's best for me.  I wonder how much longer I'll be alone in Kansas City?

Dogs

So I'm housesitting/making-sure-my-friend's-16 year-old-stays-out-of-trouble for the next few days and they have a cat and two dogs.  A-Jax, is a great looking, very sturdy, black American lab, and is top dog.  While Boots, looks like some breed of herding dog with golden-black, burnt colored, fur.  Clearly Boots was abused in his previous life before my friend's family took him in from the wild.  It took one evening for him to warm up to me, but he did and now we're friends (and my favorite).

Yesterday and this morning, I've been woken up and begin to hear their whines.  They want out to run the large lot that the house sits on.  They get so excited when they see me and start hopping up and down and let out a few barks.  They scurry out the door and then run, and run, and run around the property.  They do come back to the back door and sit to see if I'm there and then they take off running again.  Yesterday I interpreted that as wanting in, but they'd only run in the house for a second and then beg to be let out again.  So today, I'm more savvy to their routine.  They now are waiting at the back door for longer periods; most likely because their hungry.  They can't eat till the boy is up and moving because he feeds them.

It's fun having the animals.  I just wish that it hadn't snowed and it was nice weather so I could have them go on a walk with me.

Saturday morning

March has been a month of visiting friends.  Leslie came the second weekend at the last minute and it was very enjoyable.  Unexpected for me, she brought me Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Snaps!  They are my favorite and it was such a surprise!  We got some good food and tea and kept ourselves so busy that I got a stomach ache.  The weather was beautiful that weekend that we walked down to the River Market Saturday morning and really indulged in the produce.  We packed lunches and then headed for the Nelson to eat outside on the lawn and then went through the Asian exhibits.  We stopped by the library and then hung out in cosmetics at Halls for a little bit.  The weekend was fun and I felt lucky that she could come in on a Friday evening and then leave Monday morning while I was on my way to work.  We got all the time we wanted!

Last weekend Emily came to visit!  We also had some good food (and drinks!).  We were all over Kansas City on Saturday.  We went shopping on the Plaza (a totally gorgeous, gorgeous day) so she could see our massive GapBody, hit Standard Style, J.Crew, and Anthropologie.  We had lunch at Mixx (I took Leslie for dinner there her first night) and then headed out to meet up with Gina at Nordstrom where she was working a Bobbi Brown event.  We looked for gowns for Michael's brother's wedding and I found nothing!  But then, we got some jewelry making supplies together and Emily broke out her tools and we made some fun necklaces while watching the newly released, "Twilight."

On the subject of the Twilight series, I was very resistant to picking up those books at all since it's the rage!  I was encouraged to read the first book and I hesitantly did, but I totally got into it and I just finished the fourth book at the beginning of this week.  What great stories!  The movie, oh boy...good in some ways, unsatisfying in more.  I'm glad that I read the book first or I think I would have been discourage to after seeing the flick.

Yesterday evening I came to stay at a friend's home to keep an eye on it and her son.  So far, so good.  The bonus are the two dogs and friendly cat.  Well, there are more bonuses than that: being in a house out of downtown, on a massive lot with a green yard and lots of trees.  I just hope this weather becomes more pleasant so I can take the dogs out for walks.  The only drawback to this place is that I'm having a hard time finding anything!  Light switches are very hard to find here for the correct lights.  Oh my gosh, sounds easy right, but it's not.  This morning I couldn't find any tea or coffee, but I could easily find the kettle and the coffee pot.  Oy!

It's been a while

It's been a while since I've posted.  When I first got the idea to blog, I thought I would be writing often...guess not so much!  Keeping a private, personal journal and keeping a blog--it's a tug of war as to where to write and what to write.  Eh? *shrugs*

So I was in Boston two weeks ago and had a marvelous time!  I got in very late Friday night after work and on Saturday morning, Michael and I headed off for The Berkshires.  The Boston Symphony has an eight week summer season at Tanglewood and he gets a nice housing allowance to rent a place.  We went to check out the house he found in Richmond, MA, just a stone's throw from the New York state line.  The house couldn't have been closer to perfection.  It's about 150 years old, was a "safe house" for the mining operation (it shut down during The (first) Depression) and was recently renovated.  Saying again: the house is perfect!

About ten to fifteen minutes down the road is Great Barrington, home to McTiegue and McClelland, my favorite jewelry line that we carry at Halls.  When Michael and I walked in, Walter greeted me with a big, "hello", coming out from behind the counter to give me a hug and to be introduced to Michael.  After we had our greetings, he turned and said, "Erin, Michael; meet Jill and Yo Yo."  We turned to shake hands and there was Yo Yo Ma and his wife.  What are the chances of running into them in this tiny, out-of-the-way town in Massachusetts?  We visited for a bit and then we looked and looked.  Or maybe I just looked and looked.  We quickly ran past the time we had allotted and then had to race the two hours back to Boston so Michael could play his concert!

Sunday morning we got up, got a Zip Car (what an awesome service) and went to look about a chair.  Michael found a vintage rosewood Eames lounge and we drove the five to ten minutes to take a look.  We decided on it and towed it back home, then had brunch at Toro (my favorite!).  It had started snowing during the night and walking to the Back Bay wasn't too fun in loafers.  We stayed in the rest of the day cleaning up the chair and it ended up incredibly beautiful.  Our time together came to a close too quickly.  A massive snow storm was on it's way to Boston and I was hoping to get snowed in, but I made it out. :-(

Oh my gosh it's so hard being apart!

"Auntie Erin"

I'm not married and I'm an only child but I love being called, "Auntie."  My dear friends Gina and Jared have the most wonderful little boy, Addison and they call me "Auntie Erin."  I love, love, love it!  And I love, love, love Addison.  He turned six weeks old on Friday.  It's been a journey to see mommy's entire pregnancy, the labor, Addison as a newborn, and now at six weeks.  It's absolutely incredible.  He is a great little person with a personality that shows itself more and more each time I see him.

I feel so much pride and joy for my friends and their son.  What a compliment (and a brief moment of selfish pride) when I was holding Addison and Gina commented, "So natural."  I feel no rush for babies of my own.  Mom wrote this in my journal on my first birthday:

"11-18-1984

Happy 1st Birthday Erin.  Read all about your day in you baby book.

Dear Erin, I can't believe you are one year old.  Where has the time gone?  I re-lived every moment today of this day a year ago.  You will never know this feeling, an indescribable one, until you, yourself, become a mother.  Don't rush the experience, but don't miss it.  I love you very much.  Mother"

Sick

The last night I was in Miami I started feeling pretty bad.  My glands in my throat felt enlarged and very sensitive and I started to develop a sore throat.  Thursday morning when I got up I felt much, much worse.  I slept the whole flight back to Boston, the rest of the day and then all of Friday.  I came back to Kansas City on Sunday feeling somewhat better, but not fully recovered.  Monday at work I felt worse, but Tuesday I felt great!  Not perfectly normal, but very, very good.  I went home, did my laundry, a little cleaning and then BAM!  Wednesday morning I woke up feeling 100% worse AGAIN!  Thursday morning I felt worse than I did the previous day.  I went to the doctor, explained what had been happening, that as time went on, I was gaining more bad symptoms and she was a little confused why it was my eight day not feeling well and I was feeling worse.  She put me on a "Z Pack" of antibiotics, and still, I wasn't feeling any better.  Now here it is, my tenth day and I'm feeling better.

Holy cow!  How long does something like this need to last?  It's been so frustrating, and I'm so proud of myself for not missing a day of work.  I did leave an hour early Thursday, but I haven't missed one day.  The only time I've ever had perfect attendance was in kindergarten.  I'm aiming for perfect attendance again, but there's no summer break to relieve me from my goal.

Trip Recap

My trip to Boston was nice.  Boy oh boy do Michael and I love eating at Toro in the South End.  He gets to go way more often than me (obviously) but both meals I've had there are nearly unbelievable.  It's not complicated or weird, simply very, very good food.  There's always just enough and I find myself announcing how I could just keep eating (what ever's on my plate) forever.  Just thinking about it tonight is making me melt.

Our trip to Miami was very nice.  We had a direct flight from Boston though the people on the plane were a little strange.  I tried to snooze.  We had Peruvian food which was tasty, then drove on to our hotel: the Trump International Beach Resort.  Let me tell you, it was very, very nice, but by the middle to end of our trip, we came to realize that we would have preferred something a little more laid back and more low key.  We've always known that's our preference, but it's good to try something different.

Our first night we spent wondering South Beach.  Being in Miami/South Beach was like nowhere I'd ever been.  I really felt like I was in a totally different country.  We hardly heard anyone speaking English for one.  Most were speaking Spanish or French.  The Art Deco architecture was great to see and the people all around us were flexing their spending power.  I lost track of all of the Bentleys, Rolls Royce, and Maseratis we saw cruising (to name a few).  Thank goodness I had my fantastic, "Dressy New Look" Prada or else I would have been outcasted.  I was surprised by the overwhelming domination of Prada-carrying ladies at our hotel.

We met Michael's great aunt in Palm Beach and had a lovely lunch and better visit.  I really enjoyed her company, her stories, her strong opinions, and her eagerness to listen to what we had to say.  I wish I could see her more often.  We spent the evening wondering around the shops at Bal Harbour.  The stores were great, but I really hit it off with a lady who works at the Marc Jacobs store.  Michael was lucky enough to find a souvenir there too!

On Wednesday we layed out on the beach for hours.  Every day we were there the weather was a perfect 80 degrees, sunny, and just enough humidity to feel refreshing.  I spent time combing around near the waves, looking for perfect shells.  I could have layed around the beach and played in the waves for days and days.  Strange that I was born and raised in a completely land locked state.

Later in the evening I started feeling crummy and it only got worse.  When we got back to Boston on Thursday I slept and slept.  On Friday I slept and slept and slept.  I came down with a terrible sore throat and my head hurt and felt too sensitive at the same time.  I was just glad that I got sick on time that I had allocated away from work, and that I was conveniently around someone who would take such good care of me.  When I started to feel better, we spent time either playing rummy or watching movies.

Michael and I had a great time together.  I felt that I had been away for so much longer than eight days, but it was only eight.  I still have my sore throat but felt much better today than I did yesterday.

Back in Boston

I'm back in Boston and tomorrow I'm off to Miami to do some serious relaxing.

Last week, Michael was able to come to Kansas City to spend some time with me, though I had to work.  Work's been great; exhausting, but really, really great.  Now that the climax of retail season is over, I'm hoping that when I return in just over a week (yay for a vacation), I'll have some time to do some more organizing, and making things more, "my own."

I'm not sure what it is about every time I visit Boston, but I never feel like I have a niche that I can settle into and get comfortable.  Perhaps if Molly was here, I had some of my things, and my own space to keep them, that might make a difference.  I never belonged to Rochester except for an education, but I made it, "my own."  I wonder what I'm really missing.  It's strange to feel like I'm, "waiting-for-the-next-thing-to-happen."  For instance, sitting around and wondering what I should do with myself, or what Michael and I will be off to do next.  Evidently, I've unconsciously owned the role of guest/visitor.  That's really not what I want to be.  So now I ask, how do I change?  Barack, will you please lend me some advice?