Still Job Hunting.

I've been in Massachusetts for two weeks now. I've been applying for jobs constantly. Hopefully something good turns up soon.

We went out on a double date with Josh and Olivia this past Saturday night at Border Cafe. They have really yummy gumbo... :-) After we ate, we all went over to Daigle and Knox's apartment for a "Cajun Rockband Party". It was a "welcome back" party for us that his friends planned. We had a lot of fun. I love hanging out with his friends.

Today I had an interview and we ate lunch with Alex's friend from high school, Leslie over in Boston. We ate pizza at this place called Bertucci's. The pizza was okay.

That's it for now.

Officially a New Englander?

I've officially been living in Massachusetts for a week. It has been filled with tons of things (mainly job hunting).

We went to eat with Bob, Josh and Jon at Lowell Beerworks. Very yummy food. I got a chicken/pesto sandwich. No surprise there but there were some delicious sweet potato fries to go with it. I seriously will master the art of baking sweet potato fries at home one of these days. Each time I try to make them from scratch or from frozen ones, it's a fiasco. If anyone has a surefire way to make this happen, let me know a.s.a.p. Josh suggested a sparkling white wine that was really good but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it.

We've been to the Natick Collection a few times in search of a dress for Alex's cousin Emily's wedding. I finally found one at Express today! SO excited because it's really cute and I don't have to spend money on new shoes or jewelry to match it!

Both of Alex's brothers were in town for Memorial Day. Drew's here for the summer but Adam came in town from where he lives. It was nice having them both around and to see Alex getting to hang out with his brothers. :-) Their Dad, Bob, grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken. SO yummy! Alex made his famous burger recipe "PLC style" as he would say (ground beef, cayenne pepper, eggs, beer, Tony's, and salt).

I've been eating a ton and have gained 5 pounds already. This is not good so Alex and I went running today. I want to start running everyday (even when I don't want to). I need to lose the rest of the weight I'd like to lose and tone up.

I've been applying to jobs like crazy and working on my thesis. Yes, I am going to finish my masters degree even though I moved almost 1600 miles away. :-P I'll most likely defend it over Skype in the Fall semester. There's a nasty university policy that says you have to be an enrolled student to defend your thesis and receive your degree. So guess who gets to pay $600 for one credit hour so she can defend her thesis and receive her master's degree?! ME! Yay! lol

Life's pretty good. I'm enjoying being a "honorary yankee". Perhaps I'll cross over to being a full on yankee on of these days? Who knows? But I'll always be a southern girl at heart, of that I'm sure. G.R.I.T.S.!

Journey to Yankeeland

We were supposed to leave Saturday (May 21) at 8a.m. Things did not go quite as planned. Here's what happened on our trek to the north:

Day 1: We didn't get into our cars until around 8:30a.m. Peter was riding with me and Alex was riding with his mom. Petter and I pulled out of the driveway and waited in the street for Alex and Norma to follow. They weren't pulling out of the driveway and Norma begins to flag us down. His car wouldn't start... We tried to jump his car with two different sets of jumper cables which to our dismay did not work at all. Norma called Triple A for help. Peter and I went down the street to get some McDonald's breakfast because after all, a McDonald's breakfast is ALWAYS a must when beginning road-trips. When we got back to Alex's house, Triple A was there working on his car. They tried charging the current battery for a while and then finally replaced it with a new one. We ended up getting on the road at 10:30a.m. YAY! We were finally en route to the north! I've been so anxious to move away because I've never lived anywhere else and this is an exciting new chapter in my life. We left Baton Rouge and headed over to Slidell to visit Norma's sister who lives there. We had a yummy lunch and great talks with his family. I got to meet his Aunt Andrea, Uncle Paul, cousin Kevin, his wife Sophie and their daughter Isabelle. When we left their house at around 1:30p.m., we had intentions of driving as far as possible. We originally wanted to hit Blacksburg, Virginia in the first day. Since we had a delay in our start, we decided to just go as far as we could. Leaving Louisiana was not as easy as you'd think. Alex and I were in my car with Peter and Norma following in Alex's car. Right as we passed the Mississippi state border, we get a call from Peter that they've broken down on the side of the road. We turned around and went back into Louisiana. I was out for a whole 15 minutes and the magnetic force pulled me back to Louisiana lol. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! When we got to where they were at on the side of the road, Norma had already called to get a tow truck for the car. Alex and I drove to the Firestone where they were to be towed to back in Slidell. Once Peter and Norma got to Firestone with Alex's car, we had to wait for the guys there to charge the battery so they could run tests on it to see what was wrong with it. It was the alternator. The alternator had completely drained the brand new battery. Firestone luckily had the parts for Alex's Cadillac and were able to fix it. They said it was going to take three hours. It was 5p.m. at this point so we went across the street to this local seafood type place for dinner. The guys over at Firestone finished working on Alex's car at around 7p.m. which was much earlier than expected. Everybody thought it was a good idea to make some headway that night. Our plan was to drive to Birmingham, Alabama and spend the night there. I drove from Slidell to Birmingham straight (5 hours). Norma and I followed Peter and Alex. After about two and a half hours, we needed the guys to switch with each other because Alex was swerving on the road and almost hit an 18 wheeler. Norma and I were both yelling in our car behind them "ALEX! ALEX! ALEX!" and probably having minor heart attacks lol. We pulled over at the next rest stop where I yelled at Alex "Alex, GET IN THIS CAR NOW!" He said it was because there was a lot of wind and the Cadillac was a heavy car to handle. I just felt better with him not driving at that point. We got to the hotel at a little after 1a.m. and crashed for 7 hours.

Day 2: We all woke up at 9a.m. There was free breakfast at the hotel! So nice! We left Birmingham at 10a.m. with plans to make it to Rockville, Maryland where his Aunt Joyce and Uncle Greg live. It was a VERY long day. We left Birminham, went through the northwest corner of Georgia and through Tennessee. We stopped around noon to get lunch at Subway somewhere in Tennessee. We stopped at a few rest stops in Virginia. We finally made it to Rockville, Maryland at almost 10p.m. Saturday night. Alex's Aunt Joyce was so sweet. She made us spaghetti with marinara sauce and salad with some beer bread. The bear bread was very yummy. She said she got it at Trader Joe's which I am told is like a Whole Foods. Can't wait to start exploring there. At around 11:30p.m., Peter, Alex and I decided to go into Washington D.C. which was about 20 minutes away from his aunt's house. When we got there, we stopped to walk in front of the White House. The secret service had the entire road blocked off. It's quite humbling to stand in front of the White House. It was really beautiful. Peter talked to one of the secret service guys and asked "Where's Obama? He told me to stop by anytime I was in town to have a drink". The secret service guy did not laugh at this and told him that Obama was in Europe. We got back in the car and went to see the Lincoln Memorial where yes, I read the Gettysburg Address in its entirety for the first time. I've only really ever heard the first few lines. Thank you Louisiana education! lol We then walked over to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. There were SO many men's names on that wall. It was haunting and rather sad. We then drove past the George Washington Memorial, Congress, Watergate, and Georgetown. I'd really love to go back to Washington D.C. one day to explore more in the lighter hours. We didn't get back to Aunt Joyce's house until almost 2 a.m. We had to stop and get gas because we were riding on empty for about 20 minutes.

Day 3: Aunt Joyce had cereal, milk and coffee out for us when we woke up. I slept in the basement with Alex and his Momma. I've never slept in a basement before. It was like any another room in the house except it was downstairs. After we ate, we filled up on gas and headed out of Rockville, Maryland. We drove into Hoboken, New Jersey for lunch and to stop by a certain bakery of course. Lunch was ate at Grimaldi's (no, not the same one in NYC). Lunch was pretty yummy. We walked down the street to Carlo's Bakery. :-) There was a line out the door. A teenager in a Carlo's Bakery sweatshirt opened the door every so often to let people in. He gave a number to each person who wanted to order something. We didn't have to wait too too long. We were in and out in about a half hour. There were SO many yummy looking pastries. I got two canollis and a mini chocolate cake filled with chocolate mouse topped with more mousse and a strawberry. Alex and Peter split a lobster tail and some canollis. Norma had a little pie filled with custard. After we ate, we went back to the car to get Peter's stuff. He walked to the metro and rode home. I got to drive from this point... and I got to drive through NEW YORK CITY... I was a bit scared and nervous but I made it through. The Lincoln Tunnel was a lot of fun to drive through. It was like you were inside of a ride at a theme park. Whoever said having like 6 or 7 toll booths of people driving into a two lane tunnel was a good idea, should be shot. That part was scary. After driving for about 3 hours, Alex and I switched driving. We got into Natick, Massachusetts around 9p.m. and unloaded our cars. We have TOO much stuff... jobs and an apartment should come soon hopefully.

We've been here for two days and two nights now. I had an interview yesterday. They wanted a second interview today. I realized that it was not where I wanted to work as I found it was commission based and not salary based. Alex and I are still on the job hunt and then we'll be on an apartment hunt. That's it for now...

Callin' Baton Rouge

These past few days in Baton Rouge have been lots of fun. Alex and I helped Trevor and Angela move into their new duplex over in the garden district. It's a really cute area. I've gotten a good chunk of work done on my thesis. Alex and I took a midnight walk around the LSU lakes. It was tons of fun and very sweet.

Last night we went on a double date with Trevor and Angela. We went to sushi and then putt putt golf at Celebration Station. We arrived about 15 minutes before they closed at 9p.m. They let us pay, gave us balls and golf clubs anyway. At 9:30p.m., with two or three groups of people still on the courses, they shut off the lights. We played in the dark until Alex pulled out his phone that has a flashlight application. Yes, we played putt putt golf in the dark with a flashlight from a cell phone. After we were finished, we tried going back into the building to leave... THEY LOCKED US OUT! We all had to jump the fence to get into the parking lot where our cars were at. It was an adventure for sure. Trevor said "This is the beginning to a scary movie". I was half expecting some random guy to pop out of the bushes and kill us. lol I'm paranoid like that when it comes to scary situations.

Only a few more days left in Louisiana...

Next Chapter of Allison's Life Begins...

It really did feel strange today driving away from Lafayette. It's been a great place to live and grow in. I've made friends that I'll never forget and had some pretty great times. I was alright last night when I said goodbye to all of my friends. But today, after Alex and I packed away all of my things into my car, we went to go see Lauren at her work. I seriously started tearing up when I saw her. Alex calls it the "graduation effect". I'm really going to miss the crap out of that girl! We've been friends for 11 years now. She better skype me about random boys and other things all the time or I'll be VERY upset! :-P

Final stages...

So I'm in the final stage of writing my thesis. I've finished the results section. Tonight I am writing the discussion, limitations, and suggestions for future research sections. Everything has become so final lately. I'm sorting through and packing up my apartment this week. I still have a few pieces of furniture I'd like to sell. If I don't sell them, I'm donating them to Habitat for Humanity Re-store (not putting them on the curb, Dad). I'm almost finished with a baby blanket that I'm making for my little nephew Mason. Hope he likes it... although he's only two months old. So, let me rephrase it, I hope Melissa likes it! :-) Everybody keeps asking me if I'm going to miss Louisiana. And it's hard to say. I'm sure there are certain aspects about living here that I'll miss and several that I won't miss. More than anything, I'm going to miss my family. I won't be living two hours away from them anymore. Everyone needs to get Skype a.s.a.p.!

So... there's a week full of sorting, cleaning and packing my apartment as well as editing my thesis! The ride is a bit bumpy but I'm strapped in with a safety belt and good thoughts! ;-)

You Can't Make Everyone Happy All The Time...

This is a lesson I've learned quite well lately. I tend to always want to be the nice person and not step on any toes. There are just some situations in life where you've got to look out for yourself rather than make everyone else happy while you screw yourself over on something. It's a tough lesson, but it has been learned for sure.

I'm in deep thesis hibernation mode this weekend.

Marketing 555

My last college exam ever is tonight. It's for my Marketing 555 class, it's 100 questions, it covers 5 chapters, and I'm ready for it to be over. :-) After tonight, all I have to worry about, school wise, is working on my thesis.

Yay for semesters ending!

The Countdown Begins...

I have three days of physically having to be at school for working in the computer lab. Thursday night is my final exam in my Marketing 555 class which is my last exam at ULL ever!

Next week, I'll be sorting through everything in my house. I'll be tossing out things I don't need, packing things I do need, and shipping books to Alex's parent's house. It's all "happening" slowly but surely and yet it doesn't really feel like I'm moving away from Louisiana. Perhaps I'll feel differently when I've been up there for a few weeks and haven't come back to Louisiana like Linda said. Maybe that's when it will hit me. I am super excited though. I can't wait until Alex and I find our own apartment and have decent jobs.

I'm still writing my thesis. Dr. Dinu said that I should have it finished and edited by May 13 and that I'll defend it on May 20. These next few weeks are going to be... shall we say a bit hectic?

The Pursuit of Happiness...

Okay, so Oprah's rerun today has inspired this post. She has Goldie Hawn, Jenny McCarthy, and a legitimate researcher/doctor on discussing what factors into people's happiness. The Pursuit of Happiness is promised to us in the Declaration of Independence. I whole heartedly agree with Will Smith's character in the movie "Pursuit of Happiness" that happiness is not a guarantee. Happiness will not automatically fall into your lap. It is not something that can be seen or solved with the snap of your fingers. Happiness, I believe, results from the actions you take day to day. Your active participation in your choices in life is what determines your happiness. You can choose to be negative and down or you can choose to be positive and upbeat. The way that people respond to a situation factors into their happiness as well. You have to be directly involved with your happiness. You can't depend on other people to fulfill your every whim when it comes to happiness because they are concerned with their own happiness. Each experience should not be a "woe is me" scenario if it doesn't go your way. I want to take all future experiences, whether they be positive or negative, and turn them into a learning experience. Looking at situations that do not go my way as a learning experience rather than letting it get me down, I believe will be a much better use of my energy than letting the negativity overwhelm my outlook.