Everyone Loves a Boston Girl

We survived the Lucky Star! I’m back in one piece, though there were a few close calls. It actually wasn’t bad at all…give or take a few minor issues. The other passengers were fairly normal for the most part…with the exception of the man who sat across the aisle from us. Obviously. He was a middle-age Chinese man who sang then entire 5 hours we were on the bus. I’m not even joking. Except it wasn’t so much singing as it was humming/religious chanting. It was as though we were on some sort of spiritual bus ride. Driving past graveyards with his background music was especially creepy. He was also drinking beer out of a paper bag. ‘Nough said.

Also, the bus drivers on Lucky Star will NOT talk to you/make announcements/etc. so don’t expect them to. They may, however, leave the bus’s luggage compartment open and start cruising down the highway until a brave passenger runs to to the front of the bus to tell him. He will then pull over on the side of the highway, close the compartment, and continue the journey. Making no attempts at speaking. You should also be prepared to stop at a China Buffet (or one of those buffets thingies that has everything from sushi to lo mein to jello w/ whipped topping) mid-way through the trip. Get excited because after this stop, the entire bus will smell like Chinese food for the rest of the trip. Fab. All in all, not half bad for $30 round-trip.


We had a fabulous time at Friday night’s Arlene’s Grocery show. It was definitely the best I’ve seen My So-Called Friend yet and a lot of fun all around. Yay for them! Kid:Nap:Kin also put on an amazing show and I was happy to finally see them. So talented.

One thing is for sure; I never want to see a gin and tonic from Arlene’s Grocery ever again. Honestly, I swear I was not that drunk. I was definitely not drunk enough to be more sick from alcohol than ever before. Seeing that the three of us who solely drank gin and tonics were extremely ill the next morning, I’m pretty sure something was not right with our drinks. Can gin go bad? Because I’m pretty sure our’s did. It was Tanqueray, too…not nasty well gin. Anyway, that was fun.

Nina and I went to see Legally Blonde the Musical on Sat. evening. Don’t laugh. It was actually a really good Broadway show. If you like the movie, and be honest…who doesn’t like the movie? you can’t help but enjoy the show. They did a really amazing job with the casting and the music was also really well-done. Sure it was no Les Miserables, but since both of us have seen that 9023 times already, we decided we wanted to try something new. So yeah, it was a lot of fun and I recommend it to anyone looking for a light-hearted, girly evening (though I do know plenty of men who thoroughly enjoy Legally Blonde…admit it!).

The bus ride home was pretty much identical to the one there but with less traffic and minus the singing Chinese man. What a musical weekend we had.

I’m off to NYC for the weekend- my second favorite city! I’ll be checking out the My So-Called Friend show tonight and then basically enjoying the beautiful weather in the city that never sleeps.

I’m hoping and praying that the Lucky Star bus is absolutely nothing like Fung Wah. I’ve never been on any of these and I’m reluctant, to say the least. Let’s hope I make it there and back alive.

So I was walking through Coolidge Corner at around 5:30 today when I saw the line for the new Qdoba wrapped around the building. Wow, people sure are excited about this new Mexican chain restaurant, I thought. And I went home. Chelsee called me a few minutes later as she was driving by and we discussed why people would wait in such a line and is the food really that good? Aren’t there already several locations around Boston? What’s the big deal, yo? Then Nina beeped in. I switched over and she said “Susie! Qdoba…free food until 8 p.m.!” I got up from my desk, met Chelsee, walked back to Harvard St. and got in line with Nina. An hour later and we all had free meals. Sweet.

Yes, I was initially very resistant to another Mexican restaurant in Coolidge Corner, but come on, they were giving away free food. Is it ever OK to turn down free food? I’m pretty sure it’s not. The line was crazy long, but it was nice out and I was among good company. When we finally got to the front, we could choose whatever entree we wanted off the menu and get a large drink as well. All of the Qdoba employees were extremely friendly: managers walking around asking how long we had been waiting, line cooks smiling and actually looking happy to be serving free food all evening long. They worked reallllly quickly too. Go them.

The food was sub-par. Not bad at all, just not overly exciting to my tastes. But I give them a lot of credit for being so generous and friendly for their grand opening and I’m sure it will get them many return customers. They totally need to work on their nachos though; they got nothin’ on the Cactus Club. Or Sunset. Or Coolidge Corner Clubhouse.

Home sweet home. I actually had a rather amazing time on my family vacation and accomplished everything I set out to accomplish (I’m re-energized, content, and thoroughly tanned…yay). I stayed the perfect amount of time. Translation: one more day and I may have had to lay the smack down on a few relatives. You can only take so much.

Things I learned while on vacation:

-Once you reach a certain age, your parents actually encourage you to smuggle bottles of beer and buckets of mojitos into the pool area, where alcohol is “not allowed.” Pshh like we’re going to sit by the pool all day while on vacation and sip water. The 17-year-old lifeguards weren’t too pleased by us, but someday they’ll understand. Plus, mom and dad told us to do it.

-At first you feel a bit cheesy playing board games with family members, but soon realize that this is one of the most hilarious forms of entertainment ever. I discovered that my cousin and I make the absolutely ideal Catchphrase team, practically reading each other’s minds. I also learned that I would make an excellent charades player as that is how I give most of my Catchprase clues. Come on, how else do you demonstrate “chicken wing?” Also, my uncle is not good at understanding rules to games. And Balderdash is maybe the most fun game ever for nerdy English people.

-Speaking of being nerdy, I am still capable of reading 3 books in 5 days and I loved every second of it. To sum my vacation up in 6 words: Sun, Pool, Read, Eat, Drink, Talk. What a life.

-While I am known for my over-packing abilities, this vacation I really out-did myself. I estimate that I utilized about 5-8% of the clothing I brought with me. I guess I didn’t realize I would be spending most of the week in a bathing suit and shorts and not going anywhere that required a decent outfit. Seriously though, who wears underwear on vacation?

-Contrary to previously held belief, I am still capable of getting a sunburn. I’ve also learned that my parents aren’t really concerned with my sun safety. Not only did they not bring any sunblock on vacation at the lake, while I was sitting on the couch moaning in pain from my burnt skin, my mom looked at me and said “Wow! You look great!” Yeah Mom, skin cancer looks real great, thanks.

-It’s an amazingly fantastic feeling to have your phone on vibrate and thrown in your purse, which is stashed in an unknown location much of th week. Seriously, I made about 3 phone calls and sent 4 text messages while away. I charged my phone Friday morning and it still has 2 battery bars Wed. night. Love it.

So, vacation was a success but I’m happy to be back in society. If you don’t know Chautauqua, it’s basically in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do and the people are scarce and pretty much weird. In order to re-stimulate myself and re-join society I am going to NYC for the weekend. Doesn’t get any better than that.

Note to self: Next time flying, remember ahead of time to take off bracelet before arriving to airport so you don’t hold up the entire line and the extremely gorgeous security guy doesn’t have to take you aside and spend 10 minutes helping you remove it.

Tomorrow I depart on my family reunion vacation to Lake Chautauqua. I have mixed feelings but am overall excited; mainly because I get to see my sister, meet her boyfriend, and hang out with a few of my relatives whom I really miss. Not excited to spend 9 hours in the car with my parents (I love them dearly but…thank God I’m flying home early), and to get involved in all the relative drama. Also, the last few years I’ve gone to the lake, it’s been with the ex-boy, so it will be a little strange without him. I’m pretty excited, though.

While it probably wouldn’t be my first (second or third) place to vacation, there’s something about the lake that feels wonderful. I definitely want to spend some time at the Institute; I think just being there makes me feel like “somebody.” According to their website: The Chautauqua Institution…serves as a community, a center, and a resource where the human spirit is renewed, minds stimulated, faith restored and the arts valued. Really true. And really difficult to find a place like that these days. When I’m there, I feel like I’ve stepped into another world. Someday I’d like to take part in their writing program. Unfortunately we will be missing Jane Goodall by a day (totally don’t get why she does what she does, or how she stands to be around primates all day/night, ew…but completely respect her.) And we’re missing “An Evening with Clay Aiken” by a week. Damnnn.

I think I’m most excited to not have my computer/Internet access. Sometimes I just feel like a workaholic with it and it will be amazing to not even have the option. I brought tons of magazines and books, including Chuck Klosterman’s new one (yayyy) and I plan on sitting by the water reading and getting lots of sun. But of course, weather.com is predicting a week of rain at the moment. The first year we ever vacationed on the lake, it rained 7 days straight and our vacation was dubbed “the mistake on the lake” Let’s hope it’s not another repeat.

I will be back mid-week hopefully re-energized, content, and thoroughly tanned.