Seriously. I can't wait to get out of this place.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
of course
It's because I'm going out of town tomorrow and my apartment knows I'm leaving for good soon and so my shower had to get ONE LAST HIT in.......
Seriously. I can't wait to get out of this place.
Seriously. I can't wait to get out of this place.
Friday, July 17, 2009
alteration station
Next weekend I'm in a wedding. Yes, I know, it's shocking. Me & a wedding. Who would have thought?
The bride did everyone a favor by allowing us to pick our own dresses. They just had to be black, and she reserved veto power for anyone who picked a truly ugly dress (no one did, luckily). This is my dress:
You'll notice the length is, shall we say, interesting. It looks alright on this model, because she's probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 5'10" and she's a model so anything looks good.
I'm just barely 5'4", so it made me look like an expensively attired bag lady from the waist down when I first put it on. This would simply not do. I purchase this dress sometime in March, and then let's just say I procrastinated like a champ on getting it shortened. See all the pleats? Yea, that's a lot of pleating. I was pretty sure someone was going to charge me an arm and a leg to get that shortened the 6 inches I needed (so that it would actually hit just below the knee and be a fun party dress instead of a weird matron length). I would say to whomever was listening on a weekly basis, "man, I really need to get that dress altered" and then do precisely nothing toward that end.
Enter the bride's mother, who sent me a list of tailors after the bridal shower the last weekend in June (yes, that's three months of putting it off. I told you, like a champ). One of the people on the list was located in Winthrop, which I thought would be the easiest. It's best if I just sort of transcribe my first conversation with her so you get the picture:
(phone rings)
Her (thick Italian accent): Hello?
Me: Is this Maria?
Her: Who this?
Me: My name is Jessie, I was given your name on a list of tailors-
Her: Oh! yesyesyesyesyes
Me: I was wondering, are you open tomorrow?
Her: Yes! What time do you want me to be open?
Me: Well, I was thinking around 10 or 10:30am?
Her: Yes! I will be open then. 10:00! Make sure you bring your shoes! Shoes are very important for length!
Me: Yes, I will bring my shoes! Thank you! Where are you located?
Her: Where are you?
Me: I'm in Winthrop, I'm on _____ Ave.
Her: 0384UQ2L3IY5P346YL/RKHGJNS;DKF;DHGOERTU2!!!!! I'M ON _______ TOO! I LIVE AT __! WE NEIGHBORS!!! HOW MANY TIMES WE MUST SEE EACH OTHER?!?! OHHH!!
Me: Well, great! So I'll see you tomorrow!
The next morning, there she was, waiting for me to arrive. As I walked up to the door this teeny-tiny woman peers out of the window with huge glasses and crazy hair. Seeing that I had a dress in my hand and guessing who I was, she came to the door saying, "Yes you are! Yes you are!!" It was pretty nice for someone to be that excited to see me!
Fast forward to a week and a half later. She called Wednesday morning to tell me that my dress is ready to be picked up. Here is that conversation:
(phone rings - 9am)
Me: Hello?
Her: Oh I'm sorry to call so early, I wake you up??
Me: No, no, I'm already awake!
Her: This Maria, your dress ready to pick up!
Me: Oh great! Can I pick it up tomorrow evening?
Her: Yes, what time you want to come?
Me: Between 6 and 6:30pm?
Her: Yes! Good!
Me: How much do I owe you?
Her: Oh..... between 15-20 dollars? In there?
Me: Ok, see you tomorrow!
Last night I arrived to pick up the dress. She did a beautiful job, I tried the dress back on (with my shoes!) and it's exactly where I wanted it to be. Maria told me that it took quite a bit longer than normal because of all the pleats, when she finished shortening it she had to press all the pleats so it would look good. I thanked her many times over and told her that she did a beautiful job, and as I was changing back into my regular clothes I said, "so over the phone you said $20, is that correct?" I got a vehement "NO!" from the other side of the door. I figured she meant that because of all the extra pressing it was going to be a little more, which I was more than willing to pay since I thought someone would be charging me like $50 for this job. She straightened me out by saying, "I said BETWEEN $15 and $20. So, you give me $17!" I kept trying to give her $20, but she absolutely wouldn't take it. $17 was what she wanted, and it was all she wanted.
That, and to give me several of her business cards to give to all my friends who need work. Anyone who lives in the area and wants this lady's information, she does a GREAT job, she's the cutest lady on the planet, and she's extremely reasonable, price-wise.
Today, I finish out my last day of work and then it's off to new adventures and good times!
See all you Michigan people soon!
The bride did everyone a favor by allowing us to pick our own dresses. They just had to be black, and she reserved veto power for anyone who picked a truly ugly dress (no one did, luckily). This is my dress:
You'll notice the length is, shall we say, interesting. It looks alright on this model, because she's probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 5'10" and she's a model so anything looks good.
I'm just barely 5'4", so it made me look like an expensively attired bag lady from the waist down when I first put it on. This would simply not do. I purchase this dress sometime in March, and then let's just say I procrastinated like a champ on getting it shortened. See all the pleats? Yea, that's a lot of pleating. I was pretty sure someone was going to charge me an arm and a leg to get that shortened the 6 inches I needed (so that it would actually hit just below the knee and be a fun party dress instead of a weird matron length). I would say to whomever was listening on a weekly basis, "man, I really need to get that dress altered" and then do precisely nothing toward that end.
Enter the bride's mother, who sent me a list of tailors after the bridal shower the last weekend in June (yes, that's three months of putting it off. I told you, like a champ). One of the people on the list was located in Winthrop, which I thought would be the easiest. It's best if I just sort of transcribe my first conversation with her so you get the picture:
(phone rings)
Her (thick Italian accent): Hello?
Me: Is this Maria?
Her: Who this?
Me: My name is Jessie, I was given your name on a list of tailors-
Her: Oh! yesyesyesyesyes
Me: I was wondering, are you open tomorrow?
Her: Yes! What time do you want me to be open?
Me: Well, I was thinking around 10 or 10:30am?
Her: Yes! I will be open then. 10:00! Make sure you bring your shoes! Shoes are very important for length!
Me: Yes, I will bring my shoes! Thank you! Where are you located?
Her: Where are you?
Me: I'm in Winthrop, I'm on _____ Ave.
Her: 0384UQ2L3IY5P346YL/RKHGJNS;DKF;DHGOERTU2!!!!! I'M ON _______ TOO! I LIVE AT __! WE NEIGHBORS!!! HOW MANY TIMES WE MUST SEE EACH OTHER?!?! OHHH!!
Me: Well, great! So I'll see you tomorrow!
The next morning, there she was, waiting for me to arrive. As I walked up to the door this teeny-tiny woman peers out of the window with huge glasses and crazy hair. Seeing that I had a dress in my hand and guessing who I was, she came to the door saying, "Yes you are! Yes you are!!" It was pretty nice for someone to be that excited to see me!
Fast forward to a week and a half later. She called Wednesday morning to tell me that my dress is ready to be picked up. Here is that conversation:
(phone rings - 9am)
Me: Hello?
Her: Oh I'm sorry to call so early, I wake you up??
Me: No, no, I'm already awake!
Her: This Maria, your dress ready to pick up!
Me: Oh great! Can I pick it up tomorrow evening?
Her: Yes, what time you want to come?
Me: Between 6 and 6:30pm?
Her: Yes! Good!
Me: How much do I owe you?
Her: Oh..... between 15-20 dollars? In there?
Me: Ok, see you tomorrow!
Last night I arrived to pick up the dress. She did a beautiful job, I tried the dress back on (with my shoes!) and it's exactly where I wanted it to be. Maria told me that it took quite a bit longer than normal because of all the pleats, when she finished shortening it she had to press all the pleats so it would look good. I thanked her many times over and told her that she did a beautiful job, and as I was changing back into my regular clothes I said, "so over the phone you said $20, is that correct?" I got a vehement "NO!" from the other side of the door. I figured she meant that because of all the extra pressing it was going to be a little more, which I was more than willing to pay since I thought someone would be charging me like $50 for this job. She straightened me out by saying, "I said BETWEEN $15 and $20. So, you give me $17!" I kept trying to give her $20, but she absolutely wouldn't take it. $17 was what she wanted, and it was all she wanted.
That, and to give me several of her business cards to give to all my friends who need work. Anyone who lives in the area and wants this lady's information, she does a GREAT job, she's the cutest lady on the planet, and she's extremely reasonable, price-wise.
Today, I finish out my last day of work and then it's off to new adventures and good times!
See all you Michigan people soon!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
what is that about?
For the last two days I find myself using the exclamation point to an alarming degree. Everything I type seems to be punctuated with at least one (and in some cases up to 7) of these guys.
I'm not sure if it's the prospect of tomorrow being my last day of work, that this move is really happening, soon I'll be back in Michigan seeing everyone I've been missing for the last few years, or just the fact that I'm so tired I'm trying to counteract the effects by using intense punctuation.
It's a mystery, but I will ask this: if you get any emails, IMs, facebook messages, electronic correspondence of any kind from me in the next few days and it's chock-full of !, I'm pretty sure it's not permanent. At least I hope not, because that would be really annoying.
I'm not sure if it's the prospect of tomorrow being my last day of work, that this move is really happening, soon I'll be back in Michigan seeing everyone I've been missing for the last few years, or just the fact that I'm so tired I'm trying to counteract the effects by using intense punctuation.
It's a mystery, but I will ask this: if you get any emails, IMs, facebook messages, electronic correspondence of any kind from me in the next few days and it's chock-full of !, I'm pretty sure it's not permanent. At least I hope not, because that would be really annoying.
I think I'm better now
So, Tuesday was pretty stressful. But last night I gave myself the night off from thinking about packing, or moving, or anything like that. Instead I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I will not say much, but I will tell you that this is now my favorite of all the movies that have come out so far, I'm extremely thrilled that David Yates is also directing the final installment, and I will probably be seeing it again when I get back to Michigan (Mom? Dad? I know at least one of you wants to see it).
Work is winding down pretty nicely, in fact I have very little to do for these last two days, which is pretty nice (hence the blogging). Tomorrow there will be a farewell lunch and then I think that's it! It's full-on wedding/packing mode from there on out (except for Saturday when the necessary leaving celebration takes place)!
Tonight I will be picking up my bridesmaid dress from the adorable, ancient, tiny Italian lady who lives down the street from me. Because my dress was apparently designed for an amazon who is at least 6 feet tall, I had to get it shortened about 6 inches so that it wouldn't look completely ridiculous. I haven't actually seen what it looks like all finished yet but my spy was there on Tuesday and said it looks great, so that's a load off!
And now to continue the winding down process (which is a good thing, given that I didn't get home last night until after midnight! I'm too old for that on a 'school night'!).
Work is winding down pretty nicely, in fact I have very little to do for these last two days, which is pretty nice (hence the blogging). Tomorrow there will be a farewell lunch and then I think that's it! It's full-on wedding/packing mode from there on out (except for Saturday when the necessary leaving celebration takes place)!
Tonight I will be picking up my bridesmaid dress from the adorable, ancient, tiny Italian lady who lives down the street from me. Because my dress was apparently designed for an amazon who is at least 6 feet tall, I had to get it shortened about 6 inches so that it wouldn't look completely ridiculous. I haven't actually seen what it looks like all finished yet but my spy was there on Tuesday and said it looks great, so that's a load off!
And now to continue the winding down process (which is a good thing, given that I didn't get home last night until after midnight! I'm too old for that on a 'school night'!).
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
the state of things
Number of trash bags put in the dumpster: 20 and counting (I need more trash bags)
Number of bins I thought I'd fill with books: 1
Number of bins I actually filled with books: 3+
Number of bins containing books I can actually carry: 1 (this is going to be a problem)
Times HG2.0 said I seemed stressed when he stopped by: 2
Sales pitches given to HG2.0 lobbying him to rent my apartment for August: 5
Number of items attempted to pawn off on HG2.0: countless
State of my apartment: complete shambles
State of me: much the same
Number of bins I thought I'd fill with books: 1
Number of bins I actually filled with books: 3+
Number of bins containing books I can actually carry: 1 (this is going to be a problem)
Times HG2.0 said I seemed stressed when he stopped by: 2
Sales pitches given to HG2.0 lobbying him to rent my apartment for August: 5
Number of items attempted to pawn off on HG2.0: countless
State of my apartment: complete shambles
State of me: much the same
limits
So the packing (sort of) continues. It's a long, slow process which I hate (which makes it a longer and slower process - it's a vicious cycle, really). Trying to finish up the packing (oh who am I kidding? Trying to get to the halfway mark with the packing, more like) and trying to finish up the job and getting ready for the wedding next weekend and look forward to everything going on once I'm back in the homeland and attempting to still do normal life things has proved to be more than I'm capable of at the moment. Things are falling through the cracks people: bridal shower gifts, new baby gifts, laundry, cooking (I quit buying food like two weeks ago), basically I'm getting a failing grade in functioning right now.
14 bags of garbage later, the living room is almost finished and the kitchen closet is nearly empty. Of course I still haven't figured out exactly what I'm going to do with the furniture I am not taking back with me and I have precisely three plastic tubs left in which to put things, so I will shortly be going on a scavenger hunt for boxes. This evening's project will be to start on the bedroom. I am not looking forward to it.
And now I'm pretty sure I've lost all grasp of the English language, I barely make any sense to myself (let alone to other people), and I keep spacing out. It's been great, really.
I will accept any soothing, calming thoughts anyone has available as I make my way through the next two weeks.
Also, if anyone in the greater Boston area needs 'things' and/or 'stuff', please contact me. I'm trying to get rid of a bunch! Couch, chair, dresser, end table, various kitchen equipment, etc. Obviously I haven't made it as far as getting everything on craiglist yet either.
(pulling my hair out)
14 bags of garbage later, the living room is almost finished and the kitchen closet is nearly empty. Of course I still haven't figured out exactly what I'm going to do with the furniture I am not taking back with me and I have precisely three plastic tubs left in which to put things, so I will shortly be going on a scavenger hunt for boxes. This evening's project will be to start on the bedroom. I am not looking forward to it.
And now I'm pretty sure I've lost all grasp of the English language, I barely make any sense to myself (let alone to other people), and I keep spacing out. It's been great, really.
I will accept any soothing, calming thoughts anyone has available as I make my way through the next two weeks.
Also, if anyone in the greater Boston area needs 'things' and/or 'stuff', please contact me. I'm trying to get rid of a bunch! Couch, chair, dresser, end table, various kitchen equipment, etc. Obviously I haven't made it as far as getting everything on craiglist yet either.
(pulling my hair out)
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
ugh
My absolute least favorite part of this whole life change situation:
The moving. Walking into my apartment just makes me tired because I know how much more there is to do.
Three weeks to go!
The moving. Walking into my apartment just makes me tired because I know how much more there is to do.
Three weeks to go!
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