Mogwai Swimming in Snow

I know you aren't supposed to laugh at your kids, but this is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Mogwai is a dwarf, and she can't quite handle the levels of snow we have gotten!



This one shows it better, but it contains her peeing. If you can't handle a dog peeing, don't watch, but it is just really funny (and kind of Blair-Witch-y with the camera work, sorry!).

Snow Day!! Yay!!

I skipped work today, logistic issues. But it turned out it was a wise decision, because the office closed anyhow, so now I don't lose any time. All the schools were closed, state offices closed, and a snow emergency was declared. Don't know if the buses are running at this point.

So now here is a three part photo series, called, Don't Park Your Car on the Even Side of the Street During a Snow Emergency in Somerville, Bitches.

Cause Somerville, they don't mess around!

Watching out my window today has been quite entertaining. First the cop came, blaring lights and sirens:



Then quick like a bunny, the tow truck comes:



Buh bye:



Fun times. Good thing I bought a parking space yesterday. I walked to Target in this madness, down a very busy street, and saw at least 10 - 15 people coming out of stores, looking confused, saying out loud, "Where is my car?" And warning other people to move their cars.

Have you ever seen a frozen newspaper before?



Here is a quick video of the snow, don't know how well you can see it. It is coming down at two inches an hour, very quick. This is my first real snowstorm, since I was a kid up north. So I am very delighted, although I am probably the only one who is!



This is how Mogwai weathers the storm, in bed, with her head on my pillow. So sweet!

So get this…Friday, I have to go to the doctor, so I was going to take a half day at work.

Because it is a half day, I would have to drive.

It is going to snow 10 inches on Friday, so I can't drive.

The shuttle won't take me to the train station halfway through the day, so I can't take the train.

So I can't drive, and can't take the train, so I have to take the whole day off, just because I am stupid!  I bet they are going to think, "That dumb girl from Texas, every time it snows, she takes off work!"

AND it gets even worse.

If it snows, you can only park on the odd side of the street.  So, Friday, when we are expecting massive snow, I can only park on the odd side.  If I park on the even side, I will get towed.

BUT Friday is street sweeping day on the odd side.  So, if I park on the odd side, which is required for snow days, I will get towed, because it is a street sweeping day!

So I can't park ANYWHERE Friday.

I just rented a parking space for $100 a month.  I don't HAVE $100 a month!

If I could get RID of this car, I would have $365 extra every month (car payment) and $75 extra every month (car insurance) and $100 extra every month (parking space).

So basically I am going to park my car in this space today, and not be able to drive it again until MAY, during which time I will have spent $2700 on a car I can't even use.  The driveway isn't plowed, so I won't even be able to get it out, not even an option to use my car.

Now do you see why I am going insane?

Things I really need, and for the most part didn't know existed:

*A waterproof, hooded, knee-length parka.

*Leather boots for Mogwai. Sounds ridiculous, right? Well, did you know that the salt used on the sidewalks will chap and crack the pads of her feet? Sounds painful.

*Wool socks.

*Functional gloves with fingers, impossible to find such a thing

*Footless tights for under my pants and leggings. Yep, I need three layers. Two is proving not enough.

*A driveway, or place to store my car. Can you store a car at a Public Storage place?

*Snow shovel and snow broom.

*Snow plow.

*Cell phone that works under ground.

*Quarters.

*A cloche hat.

Another Photo Dump

Meg and I went on an adventure to New Hampshire to break the law by buying alcohol and cigarettes and avoiding the Mass state tax. Don't tell on us!

As soon as you cross the border into NH, they have these State-run liquor stores. Liquor is cheaper at these stores than in Mexico -- a gallon of Bacardi for $19!



And cigarettes were $42 a carton, which is pretty much exactly the same as Dallas prices. So, for just a tiny bit of gas (it is about an hour away), you can save $30 on a carton. I am doing this every payday!



Those are the lights at City Hall, just wanted to take a photo, so pretty! It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Here is a really short video of the snow falling on my car, it is snowing today!! Thankfully I am parked on the odd side of the street, so if they decide to declare a "snow emergency" I won't get towed...or will I? Still haven't paid that parking ticket!



So it is snowing, and this is the temp in my house, my heat is out. Yahoo! No heat, snowing outside. Thankfully the landlord fixed it. He is a really nice guy, met him today for the first time. Can you see the red stuck at 55? That was an HOUR after I started up the space heaters I had to frantically buy at Target. Which meant driving in the snow, for the first time ever.



But I got to wear my new snow boots, which was really fun.

But then I blew the fuses with my new space heaters, and had no power.

So, no heat, no power, snowing -- fun times!

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Fall / Ghosty Face

One old brown shoe falls in slow motion...



While I was napping today, the end of my baseboard heater fell off. This is what I found inside. Very eerie. Looks like a ghosty face little boy to me, Renaked says it looks like an owl, and is most definitely not a ghosty face.



This is the theater where I almost peed my pants with laughter while watching Twilight. Boston is so fun, because it is like living in NYC, but without the extreme expense, and crime, and dirt.

Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was amazing! I tried all kinds of food I would never, ever have tried, and I am so glad I did. Meg is a food genius! It was so nice to spend the time with family, although I did miss my Texas family a lot. Mogwai was invited, and we all had fun just gabbing and eating, and Mogwai loved barking at everyone renlentlessly. I wish I would have gotten more photos of the food, the carrots were the best carrots I have ever tasted. I also had butternut squash custard with garlic, which was to die for -- first time I ever tasted squash, and I expect it will never taste so good again!



This is the crown roast of pork Meg cooked. I have never seen meat this beautiful in my life, and even though I am anti pork, it tasted really, really good. And Mogwai loved it.



Have you ever seen stuffing that looks like this? It had huge chunks of bread, olives, onions, and was absolutely delicious. Stove Top will never be the same.



This is the most beautiful cake ever, and tasted even better than it looked. It was soaked in butterscotch, which is my absolute favorite!



This is what Mogwai looked like after she ate everything. She didn't move for 12 hours!

Faker.

There's this lady that gets on my bus a lot. She is older, but not old by any means, maybe 50. She walks with a cane, she appears very feeble, moves very slowly. She always demands that the bus driver lower the bus as she gets on and off, because she has a lot of difficulty walking, and she makes quite a show about it.

I hesitate to call her a crack head, but yeah, I think she is. She is constantly talking to everyone on the bus, and doing very invasive things. The other day, this young lady sat near her. She reached out and began stroking the girl's hat, and said, "Oh can I touch your hat? Oh it is just so beautiful! So beautiful!"

She did it to me, I was putting my bus pass back in my wallet, and she grabbed it, and told me how beautiful it was, and how she wanted one just like it. Then she talked really loud and asked me a gazillion questions and eventually the whole bus knew my life story.

Thankfully she forgot me, but she still pulls this song and dance every time she gets on the bus.

She was so involved with her conversation with another random lady today that she nearly missed her stop. She started screaming, "Where are we? Where are we? Is this Central Street?" Eventually someone told her it was, and lo and behold, she took off like lightning!

This feeble woman lifted up her cane, and RAN right to the front of the bus. Then I think she realized the gig was up, so she put the cane back down, and demanded the driver lower the bus, so she could get off safely....because she has so much trouble walking.

But apparently not much trouble sprinting.

Oh Jesus.

So, I've left the roaches behind, but THIS is what I killed today!!!



A brown house centipede! What the hell? I couldn't find the roach spray, so I tried to Febreze it to death. When that didn't work, I was forced to stomp it to death. I am sorry, but this thing scared the hell out of me!

Uhh...does anyone know if this thing can kill me? Because I am sure there are more.

Living Broke in Bean Town

I have already told all of you my finance issues, and they were getting me down, so today I decided to have some fun with it, and see how much I could get with barely any money.

This is what I had on my dresser:



According to my bank account, after rent goes through, I have about $23. That is all I have for two weeks. Pathetic, right?

Lo and behold, the ATM complied, and I got my $20:



Now, I knew Horrible Shaw's had a Coinstar machine, so I went to the one near Porter Square, just one train stop away:



Shaw's is the Neiman's of grocery stores, I swear. If you want to pay $5 for a loaf of bread, or $2.50 for a box of Uncle Ben's, or $5 for 8 slices of cheese, this is your place!

This is what I got for my sack of change:



It is only redeemable at Shaw's, so I knew I was going to have to spend some money there. I scoured the aisles for any good deals, anything I knew I could never get cheaper anywhere else. I ended up finding organic soy milk for $1.50, and some HFCS-free $5 bread for $2. You can't beat that!

I also applied for this handy dandy Shaw's card, though I absolutely loathe places that require cards for deals. I have added it to my Stop and Shop card -- when I win the lottery, I will frequent these stores.



So I bought the bread, the soy milk, and decided to treat myself to Cinnabon rolls, so I got out of there after only spending $10. I got about $2 back off my voucher, which was GREAT, because I found the holy grail next door to Shaw's:



That's right! A hardware store, just as I am completely desperate for bolts for my bed. My bed was falling apart, not secured properly as we lost the bolts in the move. I had been carrying this bolt around in my pocket since the day I arrived, because I just knew I would find a hardware store, and I had to find the right bolt.



And I did! For about $1.63. So I used the $2 I had just gotten back at Shaw's, and now I have a bed that won't break!

They were also having some sort of party there, so I got a free piece of cake! FREE CAKE!

And when I left the hardware store, I saw where I really wish I could have gone!



But alas, no beer for me, not until I find a place that buys plasma.

Now, on the bus ride home, I nearly started crying, because I knew what was coming next. I had $20, and had to get enough food for me and Mogwai to last for two entire weeks. Mogwai's food costs $2 a day, and she has 12 cans left, so if I bought her primo food for the other two days, that would cut my $20 by 1/4. Not going to happen. I had been eating sandwiches, but even that was going to be too expensive, at $5 for a tub of turkey that only makes four sandwiches.

What was left? Where could I go with pennies, and turn them into sustenance for two weeks? I knew what was left.

Fucking Market Basket.


So I sighed a very big sigh, put on my crash helmet and body armor, and went back to the hell that is Market Basket.



I knew I couldn't drive, the parking lot is serious hell. I think fistfights regularly break out here. In every aisle, you see two people with their turn signals on, each vying for the same spot that is about to be vacated. Who is going to win? Pop some popcorn and watch!

When I was inside, the guy on the loudspeaker kept saying, "Look, guy in the Ford F-150, we know it was you who hit the lady in the Focus in the parking lot. Everyone saw you. Please come back outside so we can get this sorted out."

You guys have NO idea how horrible this place is. You know what I saw today? People taking their baskets, putting a few items in them, perhaps 10 items or so, then going to a register. They then park their basket in a register line, as though they are ready to leave, and abandon the basket, and continue shopping, coming back every few minutes to push their buggy up in the line, and add more things to the basket.

What kind of madness is this? Yes, it takes nearly 10 hours to check out, but seriously people? I stood in line behind a chain of SEVEN unmanned buggies.

However, look at the booty I got for just FOURTEEN DOLLARS!



That's right:

Three cans of substandard Pedigree dog food
Seven boxes of cheap ass Market Basket white cheddar macaroni and cheese
Two loaves of bread (one with no HFCS, one with, but hell, it saved me $2)
Some kind of horrible "processed cheese product" (will use in grilled cheese, should be fine)
Ketchup (for the grilled cheese, of course!)
Eight sticks of margarine, which I know is deadly, but it is far cheaper than butter
Organic soy milk
Cinnabon
Frosting for Cinnabon
Smart Balance peanut butter
Polaner's

So I am sorry to Mogwai for feeding you substandard Pedigree food for three days, and I am sorry my own body for my future (temporary!) ingesting of HFCS and really bad horrible enriched flour in the mac and cheese.

These are ALL the cigs I have left for two weeks. If anyone out there is dying to buy me an early Christmas present, a carton of Camel Wide Lights sent to me in the mail would do me WONDERS right now, and I would love you forever, seriously!



And here is a random photo of Mogs being Mogs, just for the hell of it:

Boston RANT Part 2 (or Me, Whining, Part One Million)

I will probably regret writing all of this later, and laugh at myself, but I am very fed up and frustrated with Boston today, or maybe just with my life!

1. I forgot my coffee this morning.

2. When I got to the train station, I was in such a rush to get on the train, that I left behind my most wonderous fantastic fabulous umbrella that I spent years researching and locating.

3. When I got on the green line, the train was wonky, and it scared me half to death. Every time we stopped, all the power went out, and the train went dead. I was scared, but not of dying in the tunnel.

4. What I was scared of was getting reprimanded by the asshole shuttle drivers! One day I was 10 minutes late, and they sat there and told me they couldn't take me for 45 more minutes, to punish me for being late. It isn't a super fancy shuttle, it is just a Yellow Cab, so they can take you the four miles whenever they want. And they get paid whether or not I show. So they got paid for the 7:00 that they refused to take me on, and then they got paid again when they finally took me 45 minutes later, after I learned my lesson and shook in my boots a bit. Then I forgot to cancel one day, and they yelled at me like I was an idiot. So I was scared to deal with them, not that my train would stall and I would have to walk the underground tunnels with the rats! Because that would actually be fun! So I called to say I would be 15 minutes late. But I wasn't, I was right on time. And who would have thought -- they made me wait 15 minutes, more punishment.

5. After work, when I got back to the train station, I asked the train-type guy at the important looking booth thing if they had found any umbrellas today, because I am in mad love with my umbrella, and really, really upset about it. He laughed at me, laughed! Then he pretended to look around, very sarcastically, laughing, saying, "Nope, no umbrella here!"

6. When I finally got home, soaking wet, with pneumonia, literally (well, maybe, that hasn't been confirmed yet), my coffee was smelling up the whole house. I don't know how it got rancid so fast, must have been the massive amounts of soy milk I put in it, plus the fact that I keep the heat at 90 degrees. In any case, I dumped it down the drain.

7. Drain is now officially clogged.

8. No effing idea where to buy Drain-O (see previous post).

Camera Photo Dump

Ok, I have something for everyone in this post! Megs took me on a tour of the city before I was too sick, so I've got those photos, plus some random ones.

I can't remember all the stories, so I am cheating a bit and using Wiki. I have linked to the important things if you want to read up on Boston history, just click the blue links embedded below for more details. I suggest you do, it is very interesting!



This is the State House. Megs told me a funny story that they can only conduct business if this "Sacred Cod" fish is hanging on the wall. In 1933, some Harvard Lampoon kids stole the fish, and all operations had to cease until they got it back.



These photos are from the cemetery on the hill, Copp's Hill Burying Ground. I just posted them because Megs pointed out to me the skulls that adorn them. Odd, right? Apparently a long long time ago, skulls weren't seen as quite so sinister. And now they aren't so sinister, either, as junior high kids sport them as logos.



This is the "Skinny House" on Hull Street across from the cemetery. It is the narrowest house in Boston. It only spans 10 feet at its widest point. It has four levels, and only five doors. Legend is that the house is the result of a bit of vengeance. Apparently it was built solely to block someone else's view and ventilation.



This, I just don't get. The city put up these gigantic push pins all over the place...I suppose to let you know you are someplace important? Everyone tells me the city is far far in debt, so things like this seem a little frivolous and pointless.



This is Paul Revere's House. It is the only wooden building in this district, and looks very out of place, and very interesting. It has been renovated many times, and at one time was a tenement, and one time a candy store.



This is the Old North Church. You know, "One if by land, two if by sea." You should really read this one, lots of history there.



This is the site of the Boston Massacre. Thom and Kim -- see why you missed it? It is just a mark in the traffic diversion thing. This story is SO fascinating. Apparently the massacre was started on accident, and everyone involved was acquitted, except for two soldiers who were found to have fired directly into the crowd. There is SO much more, but of course you can research that on your own, this is just a blog!



Ok, these aren't in any order, but everyone is asking me how far my house is from public transportation. I took this photo at the bus stop -- that is my house in the photo. It is literally about ten steps from the bus stop. Very, very convenient.



This is an extreme close-up of the New England Holocaust Memorial. The thing is amazing, click the link to see what it looks like from a distance. It is all glass, absolutely beautiful. There are six huge glass towers engraved with the numbers one through six million to symbolize the six million killed. Each tower symbolizes a major concentration camp. There are also quotes and sayings carved into the glass, and smoke comes out of the grates beneath it, which give it a very eerie ambiance.



This is the Cheers bar, but it isn't actually what inspired Cheers, that was the Bull and Finch. This is pretty much a replica, but that's what everyone knows as the Cheers bar.



This is a fun gravestone in Copp's Hill. The man, Captain Daniel Malcolm, knew British Soldiers would occupy this cemetery, as it was the highest point. He didn't want them to dig him up for sport, so he made sure to have himself buried 10 feet deep, instead of the usual six, and interred in a concrete tomb. He had this information engraved right there on the stone. Apparently the soldiers were frustrated that they couldn't dig him up, so they just shot his grave with muskets instead. See the bullet marks?



This is a bridge that you can hardly see, but I thought it was pretty. Have no idea what bridge it is, or where it goes.



This is a Ben Franklin statue. You look from one side, and he is serious, look from the other side, and he is playful.



This is the old State House (I might have that wrong), and it is the balcony where the Declaration of Independence was first read.



Another cemetery.



Ok, this one is for Thomas! A duck tour, and you missed it! All the more reason to move here!



This one is for Dad, it is a Spartan that I found, according to his apron, his name is Maurice.


Renaked, this one is for you! Fond memories of Dirty Nelly's in San Antonio, and I found one here! Only this one is "Durty" Nelly's. This place is the capital of Irish pubs, I swear. I have found heaven.



And mom, this one is for you!! Look what I spent my last $12 on. HA! But seriously, all these for $12? That's a steal!

Parking Joke!

Somerville parking is a joke. I got a ticket for parking on the street during street sweeping, so I did a little research.

There are some people who think "street sweeping" was an ordinance passed solely to increase parking tickets. And I believe it!

So one side of my street requires that you not park there the first and third Fridays of the month. The other side of the street requires that you not park there the second and fourth Mondays of the month.

There is also an ordinance that says you can't park in the same spot for more than 48 hours. So I REALLY need to move my car, but the only spaces open are on the even side of the street, and street sweeping there is tomorrow morning.

I read some stories online about street sweeping. One guy said he left a bar, and saw a cop giving everyone tickets for street sweeping. This was on a Friday. Problem is, the street wasn't a Friday street, it was a Monday street. So he pointed this out to the cop, who said oops, and walked away, leaving all those cars with tickets.

A lot of the streets do the third Tuesday and the fourth Wednesday, which often fall right together. So Tuesday you have to frantically move your car to one side, then before the crack of dawn on Wednesday, you have to move your car to the other side.

How are you supposed to keep track of it? Well there's a web site called Boston Sweeper that will e-mail you the day you need to move your car. Fantastic, but I suspect Somerville cops are using it as well, so that they know where to go to write the tickets.

There are countless stories of people getting tickets at say 8:28 am, when street sweeping doesn't start until 8:30 am.

So logically they should appeal, right? Well, it costs $240 to appeal a $50 ticket.

I really, really need to sell my car. No one wants a pristine Miata Shinsen for below blue book value? Come on guys! Miatas are FUN!

Assing it up at Dunkin Donuts

Everyone here gets their coffee at Dunkin Donuts. Apparently no one actually buys donuts there, just coffee. There is one by me, but it is a long hike. I decided to make the hike, pre-burn the calories, and go.

I stood in the back of the place carefully reading the menu so I wouldn't make an ass of myself, and hold the line up.

I got to the cashier guy and ordered a large iced coffee with raspberry.

So he said, "How do you like it?"

Me: "Uhh...coffee, raspberry, and ice?" I did kind of say it with a nasty Dallas bitch smirk, because, I mean, isn't that what I ordered? Iced coffee with raspberry? Seemed very self-explanatory to me.

Him: "Ok but how do you like it?"

Me: "Coffee, raspberry, and ice."

Him: "But how do you like it?"

I was completely not getting this. Was there a secret Dunkin Donuts phrase I didn't know? Coffee, raspberry, ice -- how hard could it be?

Me: "Coffeeraspberryice!"

Him: "But how do you like it?"

Me: "Coffeeraspberryice!"

Him, talking slower, as if I am mentally challenged and can't understand what he is saying: "BUT... HOW... DO... YOU... LIKE... IT?"

Me: "Sir, I'm sorry, I have no idea what you are asking me."

Him: "How do you like it?"

Me: "Ok, what the hell does that mean? I like coffee, raspberry, and ice. I have no idea what you are asking me. What do you mean?"

Him: "Black? Cream and sugar?"

So, that could have been resolved much earlier had he just explained it to me, and I still ended up making an ass of myself. I can never go back there again! Put that on my x list!