The end of one chapter and the beginning of the next...

This blog post is brought to you by: An impromptu day off due to a blown transformer that knocked the power out for the  majority of Back Bay....

Phew! I have a lot to catch up on. Let's see...

First, my last 3 days at Unum. I couldn't have had better co-workers and friends. Seriously. I was spoiled rotten. That Monday, my friends threw me a happy hour. I was pleasantly surprised to see some faces I hadn't seen in a while. It's always funny to bring people from different areas of your life together...but things seemed to go quite smoothly. {{Insert fact: the boy came up for the week to partake in festivities. Bonus!}} That Tuesday, my department threw me a happy hour @ Jimmy the Greeks. I was overwhelmed by the attendance. The majority of my team showed up, even those who work from home. I was astonished, really. All I could think of was the first few months I started in that position and wondering how I would ever fit in... I sure had come a long way... Wednesday, my area arranged a brunch for me. Ridiculous amounts of deliciousness. I had cards and gifts on my desk. I was completely overwhelmed with emotion. This was really happening. My Unum career was really coming to an end. My boss was wonderful enough to give me a 1/2 day {{Thankfully because I had no idea how much packing I still had before I could leave for MA}} and I made my way down the aisles to say goodbye. I'd like to say some were easier than others, but they weren't...It was far more difficult than I thought it would be. I cried on the way out of the parking lot. Thank you Unum for almost 5 1/2 wonderful years. I have so many wonderful memories to take with me. Most importantly, I gained some incredible friendships.

I'll skip the details about moving. It was a long couple of hours of packing the car and truck, cleaning, and figuring out what in the heck I was going to do with my mattress and boxspring. Luckily for me, the boy was incredible through it all. He made things so much easier on me.

Thursday, I hit up the RMV. Yes, RMV. No more DMV. Gawd damn you MA. Not only did you take $100, but you took my pretty Maine license. {{If you know me, you know I pretty much despise every single picture ever taken of me. I loved my license picture. loved.}} Then, I commenced to freak out that I was traveling and didn't have a picture id other than my passport {{Who know your passport is as good as gold anywhere?!}} We then packed up our stuff and headed North in the Scoob-a-ru {{C's affectionate name). In the worst snow storm to date. Now, I was in the hands of the best driver, I've ever single handedly experienced, but I was a nervous wreck. I may or may not have had wine in a coffee mug. {{Okay, I totally did...}} The concert was fantastic. I would see Brantley & Eric again, in a heart beat. I have also found, it really helps the fun factor to be surrounded by fun people who enjoy country music.

Friday morning, we headed South toward New Jersey. The road trip itself was fairly uneventful in a good way. I did see my first ever truck stop. {{Well, other than Dysarts...I suppose}} I found that the state of CT is quite boring. Most importantly, we found out that we could spend nearly 8 hours in a car together, carry on a conversation, laugh, kiss, sing and take pictures and in the end, we still weren't sick of each other. I thought that was pretty awesome. We made our way on the Jersey Turnpike {{which isn't much to brag about ha}} and I started thinking I might have made a major mistake with our hotel location. The part of the city we were traveling through was straight up ghetto. We were a bit aprehensive. We found our way to the nice part of Jersey City and were very much relieved. Let me tell you how 'out of place' I felt when I walked into the Westin lobby.... What a gorgeous, gorgeous hotel. After valet parking, we made our way to the 23rd floor {{yes, that was top floor}}. The room/view was absolutely amazing. We had plans to meet his cousin and her husband later, so we relaxed for a bit before we set out to take on NYC.

Our view of the city

Pre-Dinner

 

 

 

We ventured to the train station to make our way to NYC. We not only had NO idea what we were doing, we didn't know where we were going either... Needless to say, we laughed quite a bit. We finally figured out the metrocard and he agreed to let me ask someone where we should be going and we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of rainy NYC. Enter bicycle taxi...It was the first thing he saw and he wanted me to have a unique NY experience, ha. A bicycle taxi...for those of you who have never been in one...is much like an enclosed baby stroller. We were zipped in and there was a blanket just chillin on the bench. Because of the rain, all we could really see were flashes of light. We could have been taken out at pretty much any point. I was amazed that this guy was pulling 300+lbs in the pouring rain.

Hollywood was on the phone...of course ;)

We met up with his cousin and her friend at Joshua Tree. I was pretty much in awe the whole time. I couldn't believe I was actually standing in a bar in NYC. This isn't my life, is it?! From there, we went to 230 FIFTH. Now, let me tell you. I felt like a straight up VIP in this place. It was a ridiculously cool experience. They have a rooftop bar that you wear snuggies on that looks directly at the Empire State Building. It was windy and rainy, so we didn't stay up there too long but man, it was surprising how many people were  actually up there.

 I can't seem to get rid of the crazy eyes but love the background

We ventured inside for the rest of the night and had an absolute blast. We made a dance floor where there wasn't one. We drank and danced like rock stars. {{Sidenote: It is amazing how different people are in NYC than in Portland ME.... we tried like hell to get people to dance with us and people REFUSED. Seriously. I was shocked. But, I did dance with a marine...who had nothing on my cowboy}} From there, we got pizza. Now, I've heard a thing or two about pizza in NYC. Oh.Em.Gee. Seriously the best pizza I might have EVER had.  Lauren said it was because I was drunk, but I don't think that was it....ha. At sometime around 3 we made it back to our hotel....

We spent the following day with his cousin and her husband. They were such gracious and wonderful hosts. I definitely enjoyed our time together. The Nuclear Cowboyz performance was quite impressive. It was my first experience seeing a show like that.

I tried to add the video I took, but it wouldn't let me. Humph!

 My favorite part? Watching him... It is pretty fulfilling watching someone you love, watch something they love.

We headed home the next day. I needed a 'first day of work' outfit {{yes, much like the first day of school...}} so we stopped at the Burlington Mall. Holy Eff. Sensory overload. Despite being in jammies{{yes, I freaked out about this the majority of the time. I really don't like going out in public like that...}}, I had a really great time walking around, looking at the different stores. I even bought my first business suit. {{The boy makes an excellent shopping companion. He even picked out shoes for me}}

Needless to say, I left myself NO time to prepare for Day 1....

More on the apartment and job at a later date...