So Many Things!

Nantucket "king borrowed from queen" shoes.

So many things have happened in the past week or so.

I finished the Berklee Five Week program. The final concert was fantastic. We attended only the "City Music" final concert- apparently there were about 300 concerts in that last week alone! The concert itself was very emotional, as Berklee announced 16 scholarship winners for full 4-year tuition scholarships. Many students had waited to hear if they received the scholarship and therefore turned down other schools they may have been accepted to. Others knew that they would not be able to attend college at all without this scholarship. It was very exciting to see the emotions of those whose names were called, and heartbreaking to see those who didn't (especially two singers who had to perform right after all of the announcements!). In this day and age, the fact that Berklee gives out so many full tuition scholarships ($2 million in that night alone) is really something that stands out to me. It really feels like Berklee is giving back to the community, and its primary goal is to find and support the growth of the future generation of musicians, no matter their background. I haven't heard of any other institution that gives out so many scholarships (this is NOT financial aid, but rather scholarship). I was impressed and heartened.

Maya and Austin came to visit in Boston a few weekends ago. The night they arrived I made everyone fish tacos, which is a summertime favorite of mine. We ate out on the back porch. That evening we all went to go see Harry Potter in Harvard Square (with our bubble tea from the Tea Stop in hand) and then the next morning went to brunch. Austin went to take his plane that afternoon and Maya and I started a whirlwind of thrift/consignment/vintage shopping. The place which I think was a hit with Maya is a place called Garment District, where there is a huge pile of clothes on a tarp, and you basically go diving. If you are lucky enough to find anything, you pay $1 per pound of clothing, no matter what it is. Maya ended up with a silk blouse and suede jacket all for around $2! The next day, Maya and I went to go see the Chihuly exhibit. It was pouring buckets of rain so it was a good day to be in the museum. There was a humongous line to see the exhibit but Maya and I made do :). After the museum we headed over to Newbury Street to hit up a few Second Time Around locations. I ended up buying an umbrella because we previously had been sharing my tiny foldable one. My new one is clear plastic, like the ones they sell on the streets in Japan as sort of disposable umbrellas. But here in the states, I guess they're sort of trendy. I like it- it has sort of a bubble shape so it shields you from rain that falls sideways (which it always seems to do), and you can see through it so the umbrella is never blocking your sight. Good purchase. After Newbury, Maya and I headed over to Downtown Crossing because Amaro and Evan had an appointment at 9tailors that they wanted me to sit in on. 9tailors was having a sample sale, and Evan just started a new corporate job with a dress code and Amaro just likes clothes, so I suggested they make appointments. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but the boys went to town with it, and after 2 hours Evan ended up with 1 pair of pants, 6 shirts, and 2 jackets. Amaro, one perfectly cut Mad Men-esque charcoal navy blazer. (Little bit of fashion news: Mad Men costume designer and Banana Republic collaboration has hit stores! There are lots of high end designer collaborations, but this is the first that I've heard of a costume designer collaboration.. pretty neat.) Everything was perfectly priced (sample sale!) and good quality, and they helped with alterations. I think overall it was a hit! After the appointment, we popped over to Sweet and bought a half dozen cupcakes to bring to Jen and Mic's house where we were going to dinner. Maya, Amaro, and I took the T over to their house. This was the first I'd been to Jen's apartment (well, this particular one). As always, it was beautifully dressed. It sort of reminded me, in a way, of some of the homes of the artist-types in Paris from the 20s in that movie Midnight in Paris. I love all of the artwork and books and figurines- no one thing takes the spotlight but everything has a story to tell. And everything comes together in a sense of "home." We had a lovely dinner (fantastic roasted mini tomatoes!) and dessert, and it was great to be able to congratulate them on their engagement in person :). (Not to mention the beautiful vintage ring!).

I have photos of so many things but my camera is broken as of this past weekend...I don't know what it wrong with it but it will not turn on. I am sort of sad about this. I am going to take it to Best Buy or somewhere soon, but until then, only text.

This past weekend I went to Nantucket with Hillevi, James, and Elizabeth. Elizabeth's father is an investor in an inn there, so we stayed for free (same family who has the house in the Bahamas). It was really wonderful to see Hillevi after not seeing her the whole summer. She literally came straight from St. Lucia (where she was doing research on local birds) to Nantucket with us! That Friday, Hillevi and James came to pick Elizabeth and me up from work. We then drove to the ferry station on the Cape, and took the slooow ferry (cheaper than the fast ferry). The ferry ride was actually quite pleasant although it was 2.5 hours. When we got to the island, Elizabeth and James went to go check in and Hillevi and I explored the town a bit. When the four of us got back together, we decided to get a quick dinner at a pub. It turned out to be more of a dance party / bar for older people, which was sort of strange but also ended up being hilarious. We were fiercely carded (they computer scanned our IDs) because they probably just didn't believe we really felt old enough to be there...anyway, it sort of looked like a group of 50 and 60 year olds having a college party. It was like watching a soap opera while we munched on our tomato soup and grilled cheese.

The next day we spent most of the day on the beach. My goodness, never have I seen so many old old men with 6 packs and dark tans! It was strange, like all of these people only go to Nantucket, and then Nantucket ends up with a particularly large percentage of 60 year olds with 6-packs. The water was warm compared to the outer bar on the Cape, and the beach was not too crowded. I ate a Dove bar on the beach, which was a first, but I figured "hey, I'm on vacation in Nantucket." Besides, I guess I have until age 90 to work on that 6-pack. Later that evening, we went to dinner in town. The town is very cute and cobblestone-y, but soooo preppy and sooo expensive it is like a caricature of itself. Hillevi and I went into a sweater store. They had cashmere sweaters running for $650, and had photos on the walls of blonde families of four all wearing the same sweater, each with their own monogram. Some of those same men with 6 packs seemed to like to sport printed canvas shoes about town, of the likes I have never seen before. Hillevi said they looked like "shoes that the King of England might have worn if he stole them from the Queen." In any case, Nantucket was fun and just interesting to see such a distinct subculture of people who vacation there.

Now, I'm working at Suneri full time for the week, packing, and just preparing to leave Boston. I went to dinner with Sharon and Evan today, which is always a good time. I'm trying to find a good place to donate books- maybe a charity of some sort- any ideas? I bought Rit dye today and I plan to dye a few things black- a few things that already were black but faded (don't you hate how black cotton fades?!), and one thing that is grey but really would be much better in blue/black. Paying $7 for black and navy dye is a whole lot better than replacing those items :). Last night Dad came to stay at my house. It was nice to see him and I was glad that he was able to see it before I leave here. I have really liked living in this house. Too bad it was so short! Other than that, just chugging along.