The other day when my “aunt” (AKA my mom’s long-time best friend) took me out to brunch she was telling me about the two books she had just finished reading. She told me they were really good and I should check them out. They were books that I had been wanting to read anyway and I said because of her recommendation, I would be sure to. She said “make sure you don’t buy them; I can send them to you.” And I told her it would be silly to send them because she doesn’t live very far from me and I could just get them next time I see her.
Last night I came home from Shakespeare on the Common and saw a box from Amazon outside my apartment door. I racked my brain trying to figure out what I ordered. I was sure I hadn’t ordered anything, unless I accidentally ordered two copies of Harry Potter last week. I opened the box slightly nervous for what could be inside. It was the two books my aunt had told me about. Brand new. I had told her I had an aversion to used books (ew, germs) though I clearly didn’t mean books that a close friend or family member had read a time or two.
My aunt has always been there to encourage my interests in life. My sister was a dancer and my uncle was a doctor for the Boston Ballet, so my aunt and uncle were always bringing us to shows and letting us meet the dancers. I was more into athletics and they often supplied my family with their Red Sox season’s tickets. And when I wanted to be a figure skater, they brought me to the ice skating competitions that my uncle worked at.
It’s not enough that my aunt takes me out for a nice, expensive brunch. Or that she goes away and pays me ridiculous amounts of money to sleep in her beautiful house with her adorable dogs and drive her car around the city. She’s always doing something to make me feel loved. She makes me realize that you don’t have to be actual family to really be “family.” I love all my relatives dearly, but nobody would be there for me in a heartbeat like my aunt would be. And nobody really understands me or cares as deeply about me as she does. Sometimes I have a difficult time talking to her because she can seem a bit aloof, but then she does little things like this and I know how much she loves me.
Finding love in Boston can be tough. But you can take the hassle out of dating by using a free dating site to help you in your quest.
Tonight I went to Shakespeare on the Common and I definitely recommend it to all. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is not at all one of my favorites by William, but the company did a really good job of it and I had fun watching. They made it quite funny and entertaining. Totally could have done without all the dancing and singing and general weirdness, but whatever. It was almost like they said “Hey, Cirque du Soleil is kind of in style right now…let’s go with that,” which was odd, but whatever. It was friends, free Shakespeare, picnics, and mini-bottles of wine (thank you, Heather!)
I just think it’s pretty cool that the Common can be jam-pack filled with people who want to watch a Shakespeare play. Makes me kind of happy. It was also fabulous to see some of my favorite people from UNH whom I don’t see nearly enough. My UNHers combined with my friend’s teacher friends made for some hardcore English nerdiness. I don’t think I’ve ever been around so many people who were either done or in the process of reading Harry Potter (I’m done, thank you very much). Anyway, you should go see the show. But get there early if you want any chance of seeing the stage.
Saturday is Shakespeare Day on the Common. Not really sure what that means, but it kind of scares me.
It’s hard to find a good doctor these days. Or any doctor for that matter. I’m not a big fan of mine, who I’ve only been to once. My long-time doctor left so I was forced to see this new woman and I just didn’t click well with her. So when I called in early June for an appointment and they told me I’d have to wait until December to see her, I exclaimed, “that’s OK, find me someone else!” Unfortunately, no doctors had openings until December. So they had to stick me with a nurse practitioner; and even that was a 1.5 month wait. I just don’t get how I can go to one of the best facilities in the country with 450 physicians and not a single one of them has openings until December.
Thank God I’m not dying here or anything. Knock on wood, I visit the doctor once a year for my annual check-up and that’s it. I don’t get sick, really. Never had the flu, never had strep, never had chicken pox, even (don’t worry, I got the vaccine). But what if something happens? Something a nurse practitioner can’t fix. (I’m aware nurse practitioners are excellent and sometimes even more attentive than doctors. However, the last time one took my blood pressure, I was almost rushed to the ER by my doctor because the NP had made a crucial error in reading it). I feel pretty unsafe knowing there’s a 6 month waiting period before I can see a qualified doctor. Maybe I should have gone to med school because apparently we are having a doctor shortage.
Oh, and though this has nothing to do with why I don’t like my doctor, I showed my friend a picture of her and her response was “Susan!! Why would you go to that woman for a doctor???” In my defense, I did not see her picture before I went for my appointment, she was the only one available, and lots of not-so-hot looking people are super smart and probably very capable doctors. With that said:
As seen on Craigslist:
Fun job giving out Dove Chocolate candy on any or all Thursdays,Fridays,Saturdays,and Sundays until Aug. 5th. Women between 18 and 40 years old, a size 8 or less.
So, are they going to check your clothing labels to make sure you are a size 8 or less? And which part of you? What if you wear a size 10 pants but are smaller up top? And what if you wear a size 12 top, but have small hips? What if you wear your clothes way too tightly and should be wearing a size 10, but somehow manage to squeeze yourself into a size 6? Is that acceptable? And what if you eat so much Dove chocolate during the promotion that while you started the job at a size 6, you are a size 12 by the end of it? This ad just leaves way too many questions unanswered and it’s quite ironic they only want skinny people to be handing out chocolate.
All I know is, if I were handing out the chocolates, I’d be doing the whole “you have one, and I’ll have one…you have one, and I’ll have one” thing. And then I might get fired.
New favorite brunch spot: The Metropolitan Club
Amazinggg. I am a brunch lover, mainly because I love breakfast food, but am never in the mood for it at breakfast time. So obvious solution…brunch! We all know how obsessed I am with brunch at Brookline’s The Fireplace (they just won the A-list’s most romantic restaurant, go them!), but The Met Club on Rt. 9 totally rivals it (in terms of brunch…The Fireplace’s dinner is incredible and their mojitos to-die-for). Honestly, their eggs benedict with crab cakes was seriously perfect. The crabcake alone was one of the best I’ve ever had at a restaurant (Legals=yummy, too). But there were about a million things on the menu I wanted to try. Even the coffee was fabulous.
I love my aunt for many reasons, but one of that is that she basically only goes to the best restaurants in the city/Brookline and takes me everywhere. I grew up lunching with her at The Ritz and The Four Seasons, and having dinner at the Capital Grille. And the restaurant employees always seem to know her wherever we go. Did I mention she’s not even my real aunt? She’s my mom’s best friend and my closest “relative” within 8 hours. She is soo good to me and I am incredibly lucky that I now live right down the road from her. In addition, she is all for drinking in the afternoon, which means ordering expensive bottles of wine and after dinner drinks while out to brunch. Life is goood.
