Small town girl in a medium sized city

When I came to Boston to interview, the four day trip was a non-stop story of missed connections. Due to an oversight in packing, I spent a whole day shoe shopping (and exploring). This involved a lot of using my phone to google map shops. Eventually, I bought a pair that, five minutes after walking out of the store, killed my feet worse than the heels I'd worn on the plane. I then found myself semi-stranded an hour from the city after taking the wrong train with a dead phone (due to the mapping) and running late to meet friends 5 minutes from where I'd started. Trying not to limp, I rushed past a Payless shoes making note of it to stop back later, and found my friends. Dinner, drinks, and three hours later I headed back to the Payless, got turned around, took a large circular detour (while hiding from my friends I'd just left promising I knew where I was going) and finally arrived at Payless to discover the store had closed five minutes prior. The whole trip was like that. This was just one day. Flying home was a whole other headache.

Fast forward. I accepted Boston University's offer and six months later I'm frantically packing up, finishing photo jobs, and compiling the last data and figures for one of my papers at the lab while hiring new staff, apartment hunting via email/craigslist, savoring my last Plum Street Porters, playing as much soccer as my body will tolerate and getting on a slack/high/longline as often as possible. After my last day at work, I rode with my Dad and his business partners to Colorado Springs. My sister and I spent a day with them at gluten free convention playing spokeswomen, handing out samples, and selling a truckload, literally, of their products. The next few days included lots of time with my niece and nephew, a very good bottle of wine with my sister, and my first professional massage (by the way, Mel, there's a Massage Envy right by my Trader Joe's!).

So, Boston. Other than once again losing my knife to airport security (I NEVER remember to pack it), my travels were rather uneventful. And I have since recouped my loss in duplicate.

My sanity balances on a slackline

Living in Boston may force me to return to vegetarianism, or at least a less carnivorous diet than I'd grown used to in Bozeman. Long day at the lab/studio plus two soccer games? No problem. Medium rare steak, a sliced up red pepper, maybe a bit of raw tomato, and a cold microbrew and all is right in the world. Not that my days here have been exceptionally stressful yet (classes don't start until next week) but I've been craving a good steak. Unfortunately, just ground beef runs at $6/lb and I've actually seen tomatoes listed at >$2 each with a sticker like that was a sale price! Anyone with a hunting tag want to contribute to a poor graduate student? You can ship on dry ice. :)

Other than the expense of meat and tomatoes (potatoes, fortunately aren't too obscene), Boston suits me. Hurricane (or tropical storm as she was later known) Irene was disappointing compared to a real Montana storm. Cambridge is a wonderfully quirky neighborhood. I live in apartment #5, but there is no 1, 3, or 4 and 2 is split into 2L and 2R. Google can't find my apartment. And I actually saw a bike with a frame made of bamboo today.

I've spotted quite a few potential longline parks and tons of places for teaching lines or tricklines, including the middle of Commonwealth Ave, just outside my work. The divider there is basically a long narrow park with a little path, benches, and plenty of useful trees. Also, I am now the proud owner of an ascender and a few steel carabiners, the first bits of my longline 'investment' to arrive.

Hmm. Speaking of porter (yes, I know it was a while back, but it stuck in my head) I've got one chilling in the freezer and I do believe it is dinner time. Then back to photo editing.

Cheers.