So moving in to my apartment was about as chaotic as I imagined it would be. My mom drove a truck through the streets of Boston and Cambridge (and various other MA locations because we got lost) and at one point ended up stuck perpendicular to the sidewalk while trying to do a three point turn. But in the end it was all ok because the apartment looked great to me. I have a very nice sized bedroom with my own teeny bathroom and my roommate has a smallish room but she gets the big bathroom. We also have AC, an elevator (we're on the 7th floor!), a fireplace, and a little patio. It's so sad that I think the apartment is such a steal since our total rent for this little place in Cambridge could prob buy a whole house in Buffalo. Oh well, it's not forever.

Leaving Boston I thought the whole trip had gone well and I was relieved. I tend to get panic attacks and therefore did not even visit Harvard for fear that once I got to Buffalo I would be too afraid to go back for school in Sept. Anyway, on the car ride home the shit hit the fan. My roommate, Lauren, is a girl I don't know too well. She's the girlfriend of one of my best guy friends at school and I was relieved to have someone to live with. However, now I'm not totally sure that she's sane. She is abnormally attached to her parents, who definitely have some screws loose. Anyway, here's what happened:

Although the people who are subletting the apt. to us offered to get a cleaning person to come in after they moved, Lauren's mother insisted that her's come and clean the apartment for 6 hours before we moved in. She badgered the people until they left a check to cover her cleaning women (I thought the whole thing was ridiculous...I can clean, and I don't need to get paid!). Anyway, when Lauren's mom Nancy arrived at the apartment with the cleaning lady she insisted it was far too dirty for us to live in (mind you, I had already moved my stuff in the day before). She said the pipes smelled and the bathroom walls were crumbling. So here I am sitting in the car driving home from Boston and I receive a call from my new roommate saying that we can't live in the apt I just moved into. I was completely dumbfounded...she and her mother were the ones who picked it out! My mother and I were just there the day before and it was fine...nothing wrong with it at all. So I told her she needed to wait until she got there and that her mother was exaggerating. Meanwhile my mom and flipping out and calling her mother names while I'm on the phone. Lauren proceeded to call me 4 more times before I got to Buffalo. Finally I thought it was all settled (after I explained to her that she had signed a lease and could not rightfully break it for no good reason) and she seemed okay with everything. Then the next morning I wake up to a very nasty email from the landlords calling Lauren's mom rude and inconsiderate. Apparently her mom had called them directly and told them they were dirty and had left the apartment unlivable! I immediately called Lauren and told her I didn't want her mom to speak to the landlords for us and I emailed them and told them I thought apt was fine and apologized for the things that were said to them. Unfortunately Lauren's dad is as crazy as her mom and when he heard about the email they sent he shot back at them with a nasty email of his own. He said things ranging from "your cleanliness is different from my wife's, and possibly all other humans" to "the reason you found my wife's comments insulting was because of your english aptitude, which is clearly very low" (they are Asian). Feel so embarrassed and annoyed to be caught in the middle of this. I feel terrible about what is happening but clearly nothing I do is stopping anything. I can only write so many emails apologizing for things I did not say. Hopefully when this is all done with they will be cordial to us. I don't know that I would be if I were treated like that. Oh well, I guess this is what i get for living with someone I don't really know. Yet, I think she's a nice girl...her parents are just crazy.

Two days ago I found some really pretty multi-colored blue yarn so I started knitting a scarf. It's about 6 inches long so far and it looks good. I forgot how much I like to knit. It's really relaxing and I love making things from scratch. Here's what my scarf looks like so far.



The colors in the last picture didn't come out so well, so here's what the yarn looks like up close. Isn't it pretty!



So tomorrow I'm going to be starting the big move to Cambridge. My mom and I are going to drive up to Schenectady, where all of my belongings are in storage, then load a Uhaul and bring them to my new apartment in MA. After that we're coming back to Buffalo since I'm not actually going to live there until September. I'm really excited to see what the apartment looks like since my roommate picked it out and did all the work for us. I'm nervous too though, since I haven't ever even been to Cambridge and this is where I am going to be living from now on. I'm going to take pictures of my apartment and hopefully post them when I get home. It's going to be a long couple days of driving back and forth to Boston, ugh, at least I can knit in the car :) . Have a good middle of the week everyone!

Last night was a super fun night out with (e:mike)! We hit a lot of clubs and were extremely social on our night to "meet people." Without (e:beast) and (e:jill) I'm afraid (e:mike) is becoming an alcoholic, and am I becoming a party girl?...no, definitely not, but (e:mike) is an alcoholic! Although I don't have any pictures of from last night, I do have ones from when (e:mike), (e:mk), and I went to Frizzy's two weeks ago. I'm really not sure what we're doing in most of them, but it was a really fun night out. Enjoy!

Life in Buffalo for the summer is always something I look forward to when I'm away and am bitterly disappointed by when I'm experiencing it. Although it's really nice to be in my house and with my mom and friends, I'm really bored when I'm not in school. I going to get a job so that I'm not so bored for the next couple months...school doesn't start until mid-September so this is only the beginning. Good thing I have (e:Mike), (e:MK), and (e:Jessbob) (for the time being) to hang out with. I definitely need to make an effort to be more social this summer. I don't push myself enough in that respect and I think it's time for me to work on that. (e:Mike), it's time for you to work on that too. Let me know if I need to make any calls from your phone for you.

There is a bit of exciting news to tell. I got an apartment in Cambridge for the year. It's so perfect, it's right in Harvard Square just a couple blocks from my school so I don't have to commute. It seems expensive but the girl I'm going to live with did a lot of searching and found the best price for us. I can't wait to live Cambridge, it will be such a departure from Schenectady! I'm getting a little nervous about my grad school program, but every time I start to freak out I go to the website and read all the course offerings and everything and I feel really happy again (I know I'm such a dork).

I don't have too much to tell. I'm sure I won't have anything to post about before the 4th so I hope everyone enjoys the fireworks.

Check this out:

It's so funny that someone would bother to poll poeple on whether they say "pop" or "soda." I think the interactive map is really cool. I always thought us "pop"ers were the minority but it seems we may not be. Although I have to admit, this hardly seems unbiased...just check out the Conclusion. At any rate, put down your info and be represented.

It's been a while since i updated my journal last, but things have been mighty busy. I returned from Atlanta, GA for a psychology conference (the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development). This is the first conference that I ever presented my research at so I was really nervous. I travelled and stayed with a prof a don't know that well but we got along great. I really like her company and I hope that I will be like her some day. We talked about all sorts of personal things and I felt pretty close to her by the end. I'm really lucky to have had so many good mentors while I've been at Union.

Anyway, the conference was exciting. I was the only one taking pictures. I met a bunch of "famous" psychologists (clearly no one besides me would think they are famous) and some impressive people actually sought out my research. I was terrified that people would ask me questions and I wouldn't be able to answer them, but I was able to talk to everyone. Most of the people were so supportive and interested- except one person. She came up to me and asked "so, what's the point?" I asked what she meant and she replied "well, I mean, why??" I was stumped. That was a low point, but otherwise all went well.

On the upside, I got to meet Arnold Sameroff and Robert Plomin...so cool!!

Oh yeah, I got to wear a badge!


My poster:




Grad school decisions must be made by this Friday. I'll keep you updated...maybe.

So I got into a couple of grad schools and I am really happy. I had my fingers crossed that I would be accepted to one school, so having a choice is really something I never expected. Now I have to decide where I want to spend the next 5 years of my life. It seems surreal to make a decision that involves so much time and so many variables that I couldn't possibly predict. But still, that is what I have to do. I know that if it really doesn't work out I can always leave or transfer to someplace else. Anyway, now it's time make a choice...then I can start worrying myself crazy about actually going to grad school.

[size=l]Happy Birthday Jillian Marie!!!

Sorry I can't be there to celebrate, but I hope you have a fantastic day :D [/size]

(e:Mike) I love you. I want you to know that you are really important to me. My life would not be the same without you. I know it doesn't seem true since I've been away at school, but you really are so important. You were the first (and so far only) person I have called since I've been home. When you came to visit me at school I suddenly felt so much more at home, even though I have been living there for three years. I know that I am not fun and I don't go out much so it's me saying this doesn't make you feel better and I'm sorry. But just know that if you ever need someone to talk to or hang out with, I'm here for you.