Give A Reason

So it looks like my original intent to publish twice a week on this blog has fallen by the wayside. However, once a month is still more often than most of my friends update their blogs (*cough*hint*).

When last I left you, Yuval and I were about to head down to NYC to see Wicked. We did, and it was awesome. I loved the show, and (more surprisingly) he loved the show. It's always kind of a strange experience for me when I know the recorded version of a musical so well that seeing it live and performed by a different cast makes it seem like a totally different show. Does that happen to anyone else? I'm sure it does. The hotel we stayed at was fabulous (The Marcel at Gramercy) even if the room was a little cozy--but it normally costs $200 a night to stay there and I got it for considerably less thanks to Hotels.com and their spring sale. We also found a delicious French/Vietnamese fusion restaurant on a walk down 3rd Avenue, on the corner of East 13th Street. I'm not sure what the name was because it was a Vietnamese character, but they had the most amazing seared beef I've ever tasted. I did not know that mostly raw meat could taste that delicious. The bus rides to and from NYC were long, as always, but it was a wonderful way to spend the weekend, and even more wonderful to have that Monday (4/20--Patriots Day here in Massachusetts) off from work to recoup. Another fabulous birthday gift from Yuval! :o)

I was priveleged enough (thanks to Adrienne) to see the dress rehearsal for Opera Boston's production of The Bartered Bride the last week of April and thorougly enjoyed myself. Although, it was the second opera dress rehearsal I've seen that has had to be stopped during the performance because of some technical snafu (the first was a decorative mounted deer head that nearly fell on the male lead, this time because something went wrong with the violins and the speakers in the pit). However, I like it more when there are interruptions because it reminds me that these are collaborative pieces of theater, which I love.

Other highlights of that week included the Bruins' strong showing in Game 1 of Round 2 Playoff hockey against the Carolina Hurricanes, a Saturday morning kickball practice in beautiful weather, and babysitting Dylan. Book 5 (the final volume) of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series came out May 4 (also my mom's birthday), and thanks to Amazon pre-order I had it in my hands and finished by the end of that same day. A very entertaining series, and I highly recommend it to anyone who's at all familiar with Greek mythology. I also attended a surprise party for one of Yuval's best friends who is now also one of my friends. She is now 25 and can rent a car without underage fees. Hurray for Meaghan!

Sadly, some things didn't go so well after that. The Bruins played a humilatingly bad next 3 games, giving the Canes a 3-1 lead in the series (which is best of 7). They managed to rally back and force a game 7, which was exciting and breathtaking, but then played a rather half-hearted game and lost in overtime on home ice here in Boston. It was heartbraking, and Yuval and I didn't talk for about 20 minutes after the end of the game because we were both so distraught and distracted. Oh, well. Maybe next year? (Cross your fingers)

However, great things happened to make up for that bad piece of news. Yuval and I found an apartment for September 1st, and have signed the lease and handed over the deposit. It's a 1+ bedroom (that has an extra room that will be a guest room/study) that includes heat and parking in the rent. The unit has air conditioning, a full kitchen, a huge living room, and lots of storage. It's on Highland Avenue, less than a 10 minute walk from Porter Square, and 1 block away from the house Yuval lived in when I first met him. We're so excited! And I'm so relieved that the apartment hunt is over--I hate them!

Other good things that happened last week include Yuval's sister graduating from Carnegie Mellon with highest honors (congrats, Tamar!), getting to see a free production of Much Ado About Nothing that was pretty hilarious (if not a bit miscast), and the beginning of my committment to bike to and from work. I discovered that I actually really enjoy biking, and now bike most everywhere I can even outside of work. Great workout, and faster than the T! I also discovered something called Groupon, which is a website that emails you a new super deal every day for some fabulously discounted thing in Boston. Yesterday I got 4 spa treatments (facial, eye treamtent, hand treatment, and eyebrow waxing) for $59 (normally $144) at Total Skin Care II spa. I highly recommend both Groupon and the spa to everyone in Boston! And through my membership with Zipcar, I got 15% off a 45-minute deep tissue massage at Moore Massage in Brookline. It was a painful process, but my back feels much less tense now.

And now you're caught up on all my adventures from the past month. One last piece of really super exciting news: I have been invited to join Yuval's family on their upcoming vacation to Istanbul (not Constantinople) and Tel Aviv! It's the kind of trip I've always wanted to go on, and it will be even better because I will be with people I care about who know the local language and culture (at least in Israel). So incredibly psyched!

Anyone know of any great things to do in Istanbul?

Read
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan [Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book 5]
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve
Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd
Scalped: The Gravel in Your Guts (Volume 4) by Jason Aaron
The Foreigner by Larry Shue

Seen
Knockaround Guys