Blog award
Thank you so much to The Marvelous Life for this lovely award! I’m very flattered. If you haven’t checked out her blog yet, you really should as it has some great posts that I’m sure you all would enjoy!
Here are the Rules:
To accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have recently discovered and think are great! Remember to contact the bloggers you’ve awarded to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
I don’t have 15 blogs to award but my favourite ones are:
I hope you enjoy them!
Having my cake…
I’ve been incredibly busy with work lately and have had very little time to do much outside of work. It’s finally quietening down which is great as now I have more time for me! I actually like when things are busy at work, it makes the days seem shorter and I actually enjoy work more!
Aside from working, I have seen the Greek a few more times. He actually cooked dinner for me on Tuesday evening which was very sweet of him. I haven’t had a man cook for me in a while and he did a wonderful job. I haven’t told him of my plans to move back to Ireland yet which I know is terrible but I guess I haven’t found the right moment. That or I’m being selfish and want to have my cake and eat it too! I do appreciate the advice I’ve been given here (thank you Stephanie and Catherine) and I know what you’ve both suggested is the right thing to do so I will have to let him know sooner rather than later.
Hopefully he will be ok with it and we can continue spending time together!
Career Change
Lately I have been given my career a lot of thought. I think I made it known in some previous posts that I am extremely dissatisfied with my work situation. It’s a number of factors such as the actual work, work environment and atmosphere here that are making my work life an unhappy one. I realised that i have no interest in the work I’m doing and lately, in technology in general. This is not good for someone who works as an engineer.
However, working here I have developed a strong interest in the financial services side of the business and I think I would like to pursue a career in that area. I recently updated my resume and cover letter and sent it out to some top companies in London that were offering analyst positions for people entering the industry like myself. I talked things over with my roommate who works in that field and she thinks I have a good chance of getting a position because of my background and experience. I hope she’s right! This is one of the few things that I’ve become excited about lately! All I have to do now is wait and I don’t know if I mentioned this before but I’m not a very patient person!
Second and third dates..
I haven’t had a chance to post in a while as I have been incredibly busy both at work and in my spare time. I have come to a few conclusions regarding my work situation that I will post about later but for now, an update on the Greek!
Last Friday I went out for a nice quiet dinner and a few drinks with him. We decided to meet at 8.30 for dinner at a small Italian restaurant down town. I can’t remember the name of it because I was having such a good time! I rushed home from work that day so I could get ready. I was thinking about what to wear all day and in the end I wore a purple, grey and black print sleeveless dress, black tights and a long chunky black cardigan over it to keep warm. It was a cute outfit and I felt comfortable wearing it.
Dinner was great. The food, the wine, the conversation – everything was perfect. He’s very easy to talk to, and surprisingly there aren’t any awkward silent moments. After dinner we went for a few drinks at a nearby bar on Boylston St. befre saying good night. It was a nice way to wind down after a long week and a great date.
Sunday was such a beautiful day here in Boston. We had surprisingly mild weather here for this time of year so I met up with the Greek (I think that’s what I’ll call him here!) for a coffee and a stroll through Boston common. Again the conversation flowed freely and in between threats from him to throw me into the pond for making fun of his thick accent we had a really nice time.
So far it’s early days, we talk regularly and I think the fact that we’re both in a new country and feeling slightly homesick is uniting us. We do get along very well but I’m not sure if I should pursue it further. I have planned to move back hom in June and I’m already making plans to do so. I feel if I were to let things develop more between us somebody would get hurt and I don’t want that. I’m not sure what to do! Any advice?
Rain Boots
Yesterday evening after work my roommate and I went to Natick Mall to do some shopping. She needed to buy a gift and I tagged along for the ride because I’d never been before. While we were there I bought some rain boots which I really needed, especially now that the weather is wetter and it’ll soon be snowing. I had decided to buy some Hunter boots after being inspired by Tine at The Red Geranium. I had originally planned on buying the black glossy boots as I thought they’d be classic and would go with everything, however, upon viewing the selection at Nieman Marcus I realised that the brighter ones were much more fun and besides, they’re rain boots – I won’t be wearing them all day, and who says I can’t have a little fun splashing in the puddles on my way to work!
In the end I bought a violet pair! I’ve wore them once and as I strolled to the market I received so many smiles from people who caught sight of my boots that I knew it was a good idea to buy them.
Blind Date
A friend I have made through my roommate is currently seeing a guy from Greece. He has been living and working over here now for a few years and is a really nice guy. About a week ago I got a phone call from him telling me about a friend he has, who is also Greek and has been living here for about a year. Apparently this friend is feeling a little homesick and nostalgic for Europe and to cheer him up he told him that he knew a lovely European girl (me) who had agreed to go out on a date with him (he told him first and asked me later!). While I did find this hilarious, I have to admit I was also a little panicked but I agreed to go for dinner and a quiet drink with this guy on Tuesday evening.
We decided to meet at Harvard Square. My friend had shown him my photo but I had no idea what he looked like so all I could do was wait for him to find me. I waited in the square listening to a man play Christmas songs on a trumpet when I was tapped on the shoulder by a tall, dark and handsome man! What a cliche, but it describes him perfectly! I have to admit that I was relieved he seemed normal and very chatty. We went to the Border Cafe for something to eat and had a great time talking about the differences in American and European culture, work life, food – everything! It was so nice to talk to another European who was going through the same experience as myself. We were talking so much we barely ate any of our food and afterwards we went for a drink in a local bar. It was such a wonderful evening, I don’t think either of us wanted it to end soon but alas we both had work in the morning so we exchanged phone numbers, said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
Since then I have talked to him a few times and we’re going out again tomorrow night for dinner. I’m looking forward to it and all I have to do now is decide what to wear!
Little Black Dress
Last night one of my friends decided to throw a masquerade style party at his house. He had thrown a Halloween costume party the week before and it was a huge success, enough so to make him want to throw another one! I wasn’t able to attend the costume party because I was sick at the time but I felt well enough to attend last night. Plus I had a little black dress that I picked up the last time I was in Ireland that I was dying to wear. It’s always good to have a LBD in your wardrobe, they come in so handy when you need something that looks great in a hurry! I tried to take a photo of it but I couldn’t manage to take one that showed off the puffy pleats on the dress and my shoes so I had to make do with these, I don’t know how you ladies who take photos of your outfits every day do it! My hat’s off to you!
This is the only decent photo that has all of me in it, excuse the graininess of the shot.
This one is more close up but no shoes
Because the lower part of the dress was so puffy (doesn’t really come across in the photos but is more noticable from the side) I went light on accessories, choosing only a large gold bangle with a square peridot stone. I didn’t have a mask to wear but my friend kindly lent me one he had at his house. He had bought extra for people like me who had none which was very sweet of him.
There was a great mix of people at the party, and everyone looked great dressed up. There were fresh canapes of salmon and avocado, antipasto and one of the best Chardonnays I’ve had in a while. I literally had a ball! I also met a really nice man there as well. He’s a New Yorker but now lives and works in Boston. He told me I reminded him of Eva Green which was a wonderful compliment to receive! We got on very well, so much so that I’m having coffee with him tomorrow afternoon. I can’t wait.
On the Mend
I just want to thank everyone who left me kind messages and sent me emails full of warm wishes while I was sick. I’m feeling much better now and even felt well enough to do some work from home today. My manager has been great, telling me that there is no rush in me returning to work before I’m ready and for that reason I plan on working from home for the rest of the week. I really want to make sure that I’m feeling 100% before I return so as not to catch any other bug and more importantly so I don’t make anyone else sick.
This morning I left the apartment for the first time in almost 2 weeks and I can honestly say that I was so tired upon my return, it’s been way too long since I’ve stretched my legs so much. It’s amazing how much our health can change in as little as 2 weeks. Now that I have my appetite back I plan on eating as much fresh and organic foods as poosible to build back up my strength and immune system. I also purchased some fantastic tea that I have been sipping all day, and it’s really soothing my stomach.
It’s called monekey picked oolong tea and when infused, the unbroken, evenly-sized leaves gracefully unfurl to reveal the most complex Oolong bouquet available. Its legendary name refers to Buddist monks who trained monkeys to harvest the youngest leaves from the top of the wild tea trees. It’s quite expensive at $25 for 2oz but very little is needed to make a cup and up to 4 cups can be made from each infusion.
Pumpkin Festival
On Saturday before I realised I had swine flu I went to a pumpkin festival in Keene, NH. They hold one in their small town every year and ask people to bring with them a carved pumpkin so they can beat the world record of the most carved and lit pumpkins in one place. I think they won the record a few years ago with 28,000 but I’m not sure how they did this time.
A few of us drove up on Saturday afternoon, without pumpkins, because it was a spur of he moment decision to go and we didn’t have time to buy and carve pumpkins. When we got there the place was already bustling with people adding their pumpkins to the huge numbers already there. There were lots of food stalls, as well as stalls selling jewellery and clothing. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. We wandered about for a bit checking out all the amazing designs carved into the pumpkins and stopping every now and then for a cup of hot apple cider or for something to eat. I think we really ate our way around the fair! It was very cold though so we had to in order to stay warm, or so we told ourselves!
Not feeling so good
I’m sorry I haven’t updated in a while. I’m actually sick with swine flu and have been quarantined to my bedroom until I get better. When I’m feeling a bit better I’ll post what I did at the weekend but til then I’ll be keeping a low profile.
