Rainy Days...Rainy Days...

When it rains, it pours. That certainly rings true in Boston. I thought I knew rain as it rained in California and Utah. Northeastern rain, well rain in Boston, is crazy. Friday, it rained non-stop all day long. It was not gentle rain, but huge long drops that soaked you even when you used your umbrella. I was lucky enough to have my umbrella damaged that morning by the strong wind that accompanies the rainstrom. Also, when it stopped raining, it was still dark and dreary. I woke up this morning and it seemed the storm had cleared, but I was wrong. That early afternoon, it poured again. We had ponds form outside our back door and part of street was like a river. So what do you do when it rains, you head to the mall...Here are some pictures from the storm...

Here is my car trying to survive the onslaught.
This is our pond that forms outside our backdoor. You have to skirt around it and try not to get dumped on by the water coming out of the white pipe. Oh, is it a fun challenge.
Here is the river formed from our pond...
This is the rain pounding on my windshield.
This is a side view from my car as Rebecca and I were waiting to meet her friend before going shopping. We said we were going for one hour and four hours later we were done, but it included dinner. It is suppose to rain more tomorrow. Lets just say, i cannot wait...then I am reminded that I have not experienced my first snowstorm yet. Bring on the cold weather!

New post/pics coming

Hey everyone, I know it has been a week since, I last posted, but I promise a new one is coming by the end of this weekend. I am trying to take more pictures to put up.

What to write?

I have been living in Boston for over a month now and I am adusting nicely. Actually, I love living out here. Libary school is going good. I was loaned this book to read called Alcatrez versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson. It is a funny read as it is about evil librarians who secretly run the world. Alcatrez is a 13 year old boy who is fighting them and his special power is that he breaks things. It is a funny read.

I am excited that Renee is coming out here in October. We will rule the city or I will just try to make sure she does not get lost when I am not with her. I love how much history this city if full of. Across the street from where I grocery shop is a momument to a revolutionary battle between the English and the Americans. I can only imagine what that spot looked like back in 1775 as tody there is a shopping center and houses that line that street. It was probably filled with trees. But that is what you find around here. There is always something to learn. Though driving can be harry, too many one way streets, I adore this city more than I ever did Los Angeles. Nothing can compare the two. I think it is my love of history that sets them apart. I feel at home, I am meant to be here. I know that without a fact. I look at what my other option oculd have been and I am glad that never was a choice. It never was a choice. This was meant to be.

Thanks for all your love and support. I will try to post more pictures as I need to take more pictures. If anybody has any requests let me know.

Seasons' Change

Fall is coming in Boston. The weather is getting cooler and I am struggling not to freeze to death. Thermals are in my future along with a good pair of wool tights. I am not in California anymore. Though I miss the beaches, I love living in Boston. I love being surrounded by history. Boston just a different feel from Los Angeles and I like it better than L.A. Though, I do miss the beaches. I will be back in December and will probably go for a stroll along the beach with Renee in tow.

F.Y.I. My new profile picture was taken by my very talented sister-in-law, Laurel Lakey. Thanks again for taking these photos.

Happy Birthday Julee!!!

Today, is my aunt Julee's birthday. She is one of the best people I know and I consider her one of my best friends. We always have fun when we hang out together. So happy birthday!!!

Lack of coordination skills

Do you ever have those days were you wish you had never gotten out of bed that morning? That was yesterday for me. It began with my dash down this huge escalator to catch the train to school. I was fine, but juggling two bags (one for my laptop and the other for my books) when all of the sudden one of my feet do not hit the escalator step right. I kind of shot forward and to the side before grabbing the rail and steadying myself. I almost fell head first down the last part of the escalator. Then later that night when I was running on the treamill, I almost fell of the treadmill. My feet were not cooperating. I have had this happen before. So I finally gave up because I was not about to fell of a treadmill after the escalator. However, today my equilibrium seems to be in check.

Are you a movie star?

Yesterday, while I was walking to my car, this older gentlemen approached me. He was in his forties and overweight. I was trying to ignore him by unlocking my car, but he kept saying excuse me. I finally said what and he said to me "are you a movie star?" I was like no. Then he said, well you should be because you are beautiful. I said thinks, hopped in my car, locked the doors, and drove away. It was so cheesy and creepy. Should I take it as a compliment that he thought I was a movie star? I am just kidding. While trying not to be too creeped out, I started laughing as this is just one more crazy thing to occur in my life.

This got me thinking about other things that have happened to me. Like realizing there is a car with Hawaiian plates parked on my street that I did not notice until this past weekend. At least there is one person who came further than me to Boston. Life is just full of surprises. You never know what is going to happen. Believe me. You could totally have the Thanksgiving spirit ruined when a certain relative decides that asking Renee after the prayer is completed and the spirits is strong why she does not return phone calls. We love telling this story to people because they do not believe it. The reactions of everyone was hilarious as everyone went dead silent. We all know why Renee did not call back. My mom stared down my dad and Nathan and Laurel were trying not to laugh. This occurred too the year after what we now term as the "Fruit Pie" incident of Thanksgiving 2006. According to my mom, Julee can make all the cherry pies she wants too at her house. Oh the drama of family holidays. I am hoping to avoid any drama this coming holiday season as I have so much to be thankful for.

Cannolis Galore!!!!

Life is going good in Boston. We had rain this past week and the other seems to slowly be moving towards fall. The other night I went with some girls from my ward to this place in North Boston called Mike's Pastry. Let me begin by explaining that the North end of Boston is the Italian section and Mike's pasty is one of its best bakeries. Let me just say that the Chocolate Mousse Cannoli was to die for. Anyone who comes to visit, we are going there. They have every pasty under the sun, which includes cookies, brownies, and cookies along with their world famous cannolis. Their other cannolis are filled with ricotta or covered with chocolate. Thinking about them makes my mouth water. So good. They are huge and so good. The place was chaotic as apparently everyone in Boston goes there as it is worth it.

Ode to my sister

(Renee and I before the Police Concert)

I have the best sister. She always tells me the truth even when sometimes, I do not want to hear it. I guess that is why I love her so much. She always puts things into prespective for me and puts out new angles that I never considered before. I am thankful for this because it allows me to take better paths in life that lead to a better emotional being. Thanks for everything Renee. I miss you very much. Love ya!!! She was right on this night to tell me that I had on too much bronzer. I need this kind of honesty. It keeps me grounded.

Boston Sports

So yesterday, the city of Boston mourned Tom Brady's season ending injury. Everywhere I went people were like did you see what happened on Sunday? Did you know he is out for the year? What are we going to do? I am a fan of the Patriots and Brady, but it is interesting to see how much this whole city really loves the Patriots and Brady. Now, they have moved into the mode that they will make it through this. It is great. Plus, they are all hoping the Red Sox catch up with the Rays in the playoff race. I thought L.A. was a serious sports city, but they have not got anything on Boston.

Cambridge living!!!

Finally, here are some pictures of where I am living and my roommates. This is the front of the place where I live. We live on the ground floor. The front window there is part of Rebecca's room.
This is the back of the house. The back window is part of my room and so is the back window on the right hand side with the air conditioning unit attached.

This is my roommate Rebecca. She teaches chemistry at Belmont High School and served in the same mission as my dad, Milan, Italy.
This is another back snapshot of my house. I do not know why I included it.

This is my other roommate Robin. She is a second year grad student at UMass, studying dispute resolution. She graduates this year.

This is the view of my street from my window.

This is my bedroom. It is great. I have the biggest closet, which fits all my shoes and purses, just in case dad was wondering.

This is our living room. The door in the back is to my room.

Enjoy the pictures.

Tropical Storm Hanna!!!

So, I am about to experience my first tropical storm. Tomorrow, we are getting extreme rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds. We are expected to get three to six inches of rain and winds up to 40 miles per hour. As of now, this storm is heading towards the Carolinas, before heading up the coast. My school did send out an email saying that all students that are planning on being on campus tomorrow (Saturday) should leave by the early afternoon so they will not get caught in the rain storms and the wind. Our stake's calmbake was cancelled as the beaches are closed, so instead a bunch of us are getting together to watch the BYU football game. Hanna will land here on Sunday morning between 2 and 4 and should be gone by 5:30. By Sunday afternoon the weather should be sunny and the Patriots game will go on as planned.

It should be interesting to experience this storm. You could tell today that the weather was changing as it became hot and muggy after being cool. Apparently, this is the calm before the storm. At least it is not a hurricane though. I will just be hanging around my apartment and doing some reading. Hopefully, I will not be caught in any flash floods. Just Kidding!!!

School begins!!!

Yesterday, I officially started school and became a first year grad student. I was laughing with some classmates that we no longer had to call ourselves Freshmen as we were no longer undergraduates. It is a different feeling as I do not have to worry about general education classes and can focus on my course of study which is library science. My first class I attended focuses on technology in the librarian world, but it is not about the mechanics of computers. We think outside the "box." Does that even make sense? One of our upcoming discussions will be on what is a document? I found this to be a very interesting question, especially when discussing the internet and blogs. We also talked about who decides what objects we perserve and why. Also, my professor asked us if we saw ourselves in our career working with people or working with objects. This is the difference between what path we will pursue in grad school. I have been torn about which path to take, but I have come to realize that I want to deal with objects. I want to make decisions about what objects are deemed acceptable to keep and how to preserve them for our future generations. The Archives concentration is calling me. Actually, tomorrow is my intro to Archives class which I am excited to attend. As part of this class, a 60 hour internship is required. I cannot wait to see where I end up.

My focus has been on school the last few days which has lead to some stress. So today I did not go to campus and just stayed home to finish the last of my unpacking and begin homework, which is a massive amount of reading. I completed most of it. I am trying to begin early so I do not get waylaid with too many different assignments. I have the tendency to stress easily, but I manage it by running and watching t.v. and blogging these days. This weekend I might attend a calmbake with my stake. I have never been to one so it will be interesting to go. I am still going through a period of adjustment but I have meet other students in my program who have moved many miles too. This is my new home now for the next two years. I think when that finally sunk in the other day I panicked, contemplated calling my mother and asking her to come back for a few days, and then realized that I will be okay. This is where I am suppose to be. How many times am I going to say that? Well, that is the truth. I like it out here though it is so different from California. It just takes time to get use to changes like not seeing my parents everyday or seeing Eli as frequently as I did. I am glad for the year I got to spend in California. I learned so much about myself and it allowed me to develop better relationships with people I love and develop new relationships with others.

I am sure I have many more adventures to come. If I do not catch a train before 4, we are all basically squished into like sardines. Lets just say that there are some people out there who need to invest in deodorant. Driving here is crazy. People cross the street when they please, which is what I do, so why I am complaining. Drivers are not afraid to honk at you if you do something they do not like. There are many one way streets and sometimes finding a parking spot is a nightmare, which is why I need to remember to walk to the gym. FYI-you can walk everywhere here if you use Public Transportation. Riding the train to school is much easier than driving. I have found with driving that I do not get lost getting to the place where I need to go, I just cannot seem to find my way back. Lets just say I have a map of Boston with me at all times. It is very helpful and I do not care that is makes me look like a tourist.

Grad School A Go!!!/Other Random Thoughts, I do mean Random...

So Grad School finally starts tomorrow!!! Yeah, after all this time. Today, was my officially advising day which at first was kind of overwhelming. However, I quickly bonded with this one girl Colleen over our mutual love for Gossip Girl. Sadly, I will admit, it has become my guiltly passion. Apparently, if I lived in Graduate housing, which I am thankful I dont, there is a group of girls how watch it together. It is just a stress relief. I felt like I was back in High School discussing the latest episode of Dawson's Creek with my friends. Yes, I was a diehard Dawson's Creek fan likfe seven years ago when I was in high school.

I met, aside from the Gossip Girl fan, a bunch of other interesting people as we all come from various backgrounds, but with a common love of libraries/archives. I talked with this girl named Grecia who spent a year working in Madrid after she graduated. I would love to study/work overseas one day, but I cannot even fathom this until an oppurtunity presents itself. Also, I bonded with a group of people over our mutual hate of the Yankees. This guy, Mike was telling me that Bostonians forgive him for being a MEts fans because he hates the Yankees. He has the best accent, I love accents especially British/ Australian. YOu can tell where my mind is tonight as I am all over the place. I am slowly marching forward as my first class is tomorrow. I am ready to give it my all and soldier forward.

I know this is where I am suppose to be without a doubt in my mind. I had to take this last year to really evaluate where I wanted to go with my life and in the process, learned so much about myself. I learned through a dating experience that I should not give up the traits I want in a husband just to settle for someone who may make me happy. Pinball did not make me happy especially when I had to watch him play on a date. Who does that? Who does that more than once on a date? It was not fun thought my family got a kick out of it. I love my family as we laught about anything. If you want an entertaining story, let me explain why making out in the back of a car at a movie theater in 100 degree weather is not fun. That story will have to comme later this week. It was on this particular night when I realized the guy dating me did not really respect me. It was uncomfortable and I had to drive 8 hours to Utah the next day. That is the question. Well, there were many questions. For the best commentary on this situation, contact Renee Lakey. For how to avoid the guy your daugther is dating, contact Ron Lakey. He is a pro at it. He and my mom just left or were busy when he showed up. Once, they were like sitting right by the door when he came over and he never knew. My dad was good. Really good. We have had many entertaining conversations on it. It was fun, but it was not meant to be. Now, I have moved on to a new ward with new people. However, I do miss my old branch, especially my friends. I loved my branch and I cannot wait to go back and visit. Remember, if anyone wants to come visit back here, I have a couch for them to sleep on.

I hope all is going well for everyone. I will try to put up pictures of my new home as soon as I am done unpacking. The hotel living is officially over. I live with two other girls, Rebecca and Robin. I have known Rebecca for the past three years as she is who I lived with when I first came out to Boston. She graduated from Harvard with a Master's in Chemistry and now teaches Chemistry as Belmont High School, which is a suburb of Boston and where the temple is located. She served her mission in Milan, Italy, the same mission as my daddy. Her mission President was President Henderson, who my dad served with. Talk about six degrees of separation. She is fun to hang out with. Robin is in her second year of Graduate School at UMass, where she is studying Conflict Resolution. She use to do divorce mediation in Utah and tells us the best stories. She is from Rhode Island. Each night, officially beginning last night, we have roommate prayer, which I enjoy. However, we are not reading the Ensign cover-to-cover like some people did at BYU, but we do have a spiritual thought. Our apartment is half of this house. We have three bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen, and living room. I will post pictures. Maybe there will be a countdown to the unveiling. I joined an all women's gym which is nice as I like to jog without old men glaring at me from the next treadmill. That was the one drawback of L.A. Fitness as old men can be disgusting if they stare at you. Just keep it in your pants and away from me. Sorry, mom if that offended you but I did inherit my sense of humore from you. I am glad I did because I love when we all get together and just laught at random crap. That is what makes our family so fun is that we can laught at stuff, but that we are also there for each other always providing the comforting shoulder to cry on when it is needed. There is always someone to call. My list includes my parents, sister, and Aunt Julee.

My Aunt Julee is a truly amazing person. She is not only my aunt, but one of my best friends. I love her zest for life and that she is becoming a great mountain biker. I am glad she found a training partner in Renee. I am working on getting a bike, do not worry. Julee, move back east as people bike everywhere, including to work and to the store. Like people would rather bike here then drive their car. Just some advice that you do not have to follow. She is a good mother to my amazingly talented cousin Aubree. I miss her and Aubree alot. I am glad for the time I spent with them this summer. I miss them.

Well, the randomness finally comes to an end...