Dressed up and ready...

It's official. Today is Monday, July 11th, 2005, which officially begins HELL WEEK of "Once Upon a Mattress." We open on Friday night of this week, and we are...well...I think we'll pull it off. And who am I kidding? Hell week doesn't start tonight. It started on the very first night of rehearsals. Ugh. This show really has nearly taken away my will to do community theatre ever again. At least, not without some extensive research into the integrity of the company I'll be working with. It'll be fine...I just won't invite any of my family or friends to the show.

It's gone from "Once Upon a Mattress" to "Forbidden Broadway Presents: Once Upon a Mattress." For those of you who do not know what Forbidden Broadway is, it's a group of people who do parodies of Broadway musicals. The little anachronisms and ad libs that our director THINKS are funny or witty are really only succeeding in making a mockery of what Mary Rodgers wrote and envisioned. It is truly, truly a shame. But there are a few redeeming qualities about the show. The majority of the cast is really quite good and very funny. The costume designer is the ONLY ONE in the show who bothered to come up with any kind of conceptualization for what she's doing, and the choreographer did a great job of making us look good on that tiny teeny stage. *sigh* Whateva.

Anyway, as promised, here is a detailed re-telling of our Boston trip.

Tuesday
After going to watch Fireworks at the mall with CatPants, the Nutcase, and the E3 Writer, Michael and I went home Monday night and threw the last odds & ends into the suitcase and finalized our trip itinerary. Set two alarms, and were in bed by 12:30. Up again at 6....fun. Our flight was on time, thank God and after a 3.5 hour flight (and watching Ice Princess), we landed at Logan Airport in Boston, MA. Landing at that airport isn't exactly fun, because all you can see till you hit the runway is water. It looks like you're actually trying to land IN the Atlantic Ocean. And for someone who hates to fly....not fun.

Once we got there, we found Michael's dad waiting for us at the gate (he had just arrived as well). Went to get our bags, hopped on the bus to the T-station, bought our weekly combo passes and got on the Blue Line, transferred to the Green Line, and hopped off at Copley Square. Emerging from underground into this beautiful city was just delightful...our hotel was gorgeous (Copley Square Hotel), and the rooms were very reminiscent of a bed & breakfast. Went to lunch on Boylston street at an awesome little Irish pub called Solas, where Michael and Pop had a Guinness draft each and I had me some authentic Clam Chowder. :)

After lunch we walked over to the Boston Conservatory, where Michael will be getting his Master's degree over the next 2 years. While he was talking to Financial Aid and Admissions, I walked over to Human Resources and met the guy in charge. We had a little impromptu interview, and talked about which jobs I'd applied for at the school. He really liked me and told me that if he could hire an assistant he'd have hired me on the spot (always nice to hear). He said he'd go and see where my application(s) were in the process of things and for me to call him directly if I have questions or as new positions arise. Cool.

After that we headed back to the hotel. We'd been walking a lot and it was pretty warm and humid (still NOTHING like Texas, though). When we got back, I used Michael's phone to check my messages, and I 'd gotten a call from a woman at Boston College offering me an interview for a position I'd applied for there! The job is for Assistant to the VP of Student Advancement, and it'd probably be about $32K a year. Not too shabby for someone right outta college.

Fell asleep half naked on the bed for about 2 hours while Michael and Pop shot the shit in Pop's hotel room. Then we all went to Wendy's for a cheap dinner, and the most random thing happened. Some lady in very eclectic garb told me she loved my purse and asked where I got it, and I told her I got it at a kiosk at a mall in Dallas. Then onc we got our food this girl came up to me and said "Did you say you're from Dallas? I used to live in Plano for about 5 years." Long story short, she works at the Boston University medical campus in a research lab and told me they need Administration people and gave me her email address. She told me to send her my resume. Not 12 hours later I got an email from her that was basically a forward of what she sent to HER boss, telling her about me and that I needed a job and had university experience. Wow! All in all, a very productive day.

Wednesday
Up at the ASS CRACK of dawn (aka 6:30) to get a head start on the day. Got dressed in comfortable walking shoes, grabbed the umbrella and headed to Starbucks. Too bad it was a TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR outside. And Michael and I were sharing an umbrella. To make a very long and very WET story short, we looked at an apartment in Malden, two in Somerville, and one in Allston (each one involved WALKING at least a half mile from the train station...sometimes more...in the god-awful rain). The place in Malden was big, but too expensive and in a very shady neighborhood. The two places in Somerville were shitholes (and that's also when the rain was at it's WORST, so it made them seem even shittier). The final place was in Allston (practically Boston) and it was the best yet. A little less than 500 sq ft, $1050 a month, hardwood floors, etc. But something in our gut didn't feel right. We decided to think it over.

Back at the hotel and completely soaked to the skin and thoroughly beaten down physically and mentally, there were good things....a hot shower and an email for me about another interview. This one was for Box Office Manager at the Handel & Haydn Society. SWEEEEET. I called her and scheduled my interview for the next day. Two interviews in one day! Michael and I were so excited about that. But we still felt a little discouraged about apartments. We just didn't feel right. So we went back to the Apartment Guide and found a place I had tabbed and put a star next to. The reason we didn't follow up was because it's in Revere, MA, which is about 10 miles north of Bostin itself. About 15 min by car and more like 1.5 hours by mass transit, which could potentially suck. But we decided it was worth looking at.

That night we had an amazing dinner at Legal Seafood in the Prudential Center, right next to our hotel practically. We talked a lot, ate a LOT, and really got to take this move in perspective and look at what is most important to me and Michael and what will be most beneficial to making our relationship work and survive such a big change. I left the restaurant more in love with Michael than ever. :)

Thursday
Wake up call was a little later this morning, got up at 7:30 to meet for an 8:30 breakfast (at Starbucks again...this time MINUS the rain, thankyoujesus). Called the place in Revere and told them we were on our way. Unfortunately, the terrorist activities in London had the city in just a very weird place that morning. The Green Line was completely shut down so we had to walk AND take a bus to the blue line to get to Revere. Once we got there, we'd miscalculated how far we'd have to walk and ended up walking almost 2 MILES from the train station to the apartment. I was PISSED. Because of all these little unexpected things, I had to call and push back my first interview. Luckily, the lady was extremely nice. She completely understood.

When we FINALLY got to the apartment, it was well worth it. A nice building, nice neighborhood, 750 sq feet for $895 a month. Excellent. We got all the information we needed and a business card, and hauled ass back to the hotel. I changed clothes and headed to my first interview at the Handel & Haydn Society. It went really well, I thought. The woman who interviewed me was very nice and a little eclectic, which made me feel very comfortable. It lasted over an hour. :) I met Michael and Pop at Burger King, wolfed down a chicken sandwich, and headed to Boston College for my next interview. Of course, the train I was on went out of service and I had to wait 15 minutes for another one which made me late for THIS interview too. UGH. Again, I called, and the people were very understanding. I FINALLY got there and had a very nice interview. It was made very clear to me that it was a first interview, and they liked my experience and attitude very much. So, now I just have to hope that I get a second interview! I was the first person interviewed for both jobs. So now I just have to wait. .....

I met Michael on the way back to the airport and he had good news (NOT). Our flight had been cancelled. Always good to hear. So we get to the airport and wait in line FOREVER, by which time they had scheduled a new flight that didnt' leave until 10:30 pm...which is when we were supposed to be BACK in Dallas. We didn't end up getting home till almost 3am. Ugh.

However, our extra time at the airport gave us plenty of time to talk about this apartment in Revere. I'm sure people from the area (including my stepdad) would strongly oppose us living so far outside the city. However, it is very important to us that we feel very at home where we live, since the culture shock financially and otherwise will be enough of a stressor. If we get this apartment, we'll be able to close our door and feel like we're back in Lewisville. Even if the commute really blows after a while, it's only a year. We can put up with anything for a year. I think that's the place we're gonna go with. :)

My overall reaction to Boston was limited, simply because we crammed SO MUCH into three days. But I did discover that people just look different up north. And I also want an iPod more than ever because I was bombarded with iPod propaganda the whole time.

So, wish me the best of luck on my interviews!! I'll update as soon as I know anything!