Valentine's Weekend: The Breakdown

Valentine's Day 2009

(I guess I should have sent this to Ali BEFORE she purchased a dozen eggs for our first romantic event of the weekend: chucking eggs and happy couples.)

Dates: Ali, Michelle, Katie

Locations: Pour House, our apartment, Green Dragon, Big City

Memories:
(at Pour House) 

Strange Man: (consoling his friend who just faced rejection) Dude, it's ok. You know one thing about tonight. If they're out, they're single.

Maria: I wanna wake up where you are.
Ali: You do. Every day.

(at Green Dragon) 

Bouncer: (to Ali) That's a lot of singles. I know 

what you do for a living.

(a 75 year old man tries to pass us)
Ali: Sorry
Old Man: For what?
Ali: For being in your way.

(old man starts stroking Ali's torso)
Old Man: You'll never be in my way.

(an ex-convict takes a stool next to Ali)
Ex-con: I just got kicked out of Sissy K's for being in a bar fight.
EC's Scrawny Friend: Stop scaring the girl!

Two nights of dance parties to oldies in our apartment.

OJ: Tip your bartenders! Two dollars, not one. For giving you the nectar of life!

(at Big City)
Hot Bartender: You girls are nursing those beers. Do you need a shot to get you going?
Ali: We've been drinking for six days straight...
(bartender snaps around and begins pouring shots.)
Ali: I'm going to leave him your number.

Michelle: Ugh! The pole is in the way. DAMN YOU POLE!
(puches pole)

When Thanksgiving bites back.

Thanksgiving Feast #1: Devoured with great success.

Tara decided it would be mandatory to host a Thanksgiving party in our room. She organized it. I helped.

Long live Team Taria.



I lobbied to enforce a strict "Pilgrim or Indian" dress code but the only one who complied was Meesh. (Who was lovingly referred to as a "NavaHO" for the rest of the night.)



The initial thought of 20 people in our tiny apartment was a little daunting but the preparation was fun. We were a little worried there wouldn't be enough food but ALAS! We have a fridge full of delicious Thanksgiving leftovers. Including but not limited to:

The remainder of the divine 20 lb turkey Brian carved after Noelle cooked:



... and delivered atop a shopping cart contraption:



Delicious ricotta stuffed shells thanks to my mom's recipe and my mad cooking $killz:





Heath Bar/Pudding/Cake Mass of Heaven (that I've been told I have to recreate when I get home):




While standing at our massive buffet of scrumptious food...



... Noelle and I both eyed the corn bowl.

Noelle: Wellp. Everyone'll be seeing that later tonight.

The wine was fantastic. The food was fantastic. The company was fantastic. And in true Family-Holiday-Gathering form, the night ended in injury.

I stood in the kitchen frantically washing the growing pile of dirty dishes. Reached for the aluminum can opener Tara used for the cranberry sauce. Tried to quickly scrub it with a sponge. Instead sliced open my thumb and watched as the blood poured. I left it under water watching the red fall into the drain while repeating Tara's name until she came over, dialled her mom and announced my injury.

Christina sprung to my rescue.

Christina: Girl. Sit down.
Maria: I'm fine.
Christina: GIRL. SIT. Elevate your hand and press this towel against it.

For a second I thought I'd lose my thumb. But I just ended up with this little cut. Which is a lot more badass in real life.





So glad I'll have a scar to remember our first ever Big Girl Party!

If you want to attract guys, rub McDonalds all over you. Or just carry a bag...

Fanueil Hall is by far my favorite weekend destination. I haven't had a single bad experience in that area, so far.

Friday night, Erin, Meesh and I went to the Green Dragon. It was my first time there. The bouncers were fun, younger guys who called us over to go inside.

Initial reasons this bar was a great choice...

...#1 No line
...#2 Cute and hilarious bouncers
...#3 Awesome bartender

Soon after ordering our beers, the band returned from a break and started playing covers. The Lisa Love Experience was the first female-fronted cover band I've seen so far. She was kick ass. She belted out those tunes with a spunky attitude and crazy dance moves.

Meesh, Erin and I boogeyed and made new friends including some Long Islanders and some Irish, who have apparently invaded Boston. People were dancing so intensely that the floor was shaking and we thought it might fall through. Here's a little video of the band singing a song that reminded us of Noelle.

Eye Spy:

1. A crazy Irish man posing for a picture, completely unaware he was on video
2. The annoying Long Islander who kept following us around
3. The singer (who is not named Lisa) pointing at me while belting it out
   
4. The psychotic, drunk groupie who kept trying to stroke and leap onto the guitarist
   

Sweet cover band at the Green Dragon. from Maria F on Vimeo.


The night ended and we headed to McDonalds to get in on some Walk-Thru Window action. Little did we know....

Erin ordering:





Meesh ravaging her burger:





If you are looking for ways to meet men, walk around with a McDonalds bag in hand. We were approached by literally every guy on the street. Everyone wanted a fry. Some really went over-board. We were trying to hail a cab and some 30-somethings came over begging for food and talking to us. One reached in Michelle's bag for a fry and instead pulled out her entire burger. We all started screaming as he devoured over a quarter of the sandwich in one bite. He ran away, mouth full, as I screamed I'd stab him with my heel.

We decided to relocate because no cabs were stopping. Two guys were walking up the Government Center stairs behind us, asking for fries.

Us: Go away.
Guy: Can I have a fry?
Us: No. We are never getting McDonalds again.
Guy: Come on! Where are you guys going, anyways? Where's the party?
Me: I'm not sure... my dad's coming to pick us up right now.

WELL! That is the best defense mechanism ever because he scattered faster than Chris running from dogs.


THEME OF THE YEAR #37: Compiling good lines to make guys go away.

1. My dad's picking me up.
2. No thank you, sir. (Noelle)
3. Why don't you give ME your number and then maybe I'll call later. (Tara)
4. Keep moving! (Erin)
5. Surprise transvestite costume (Katie)
   

Saturday was even more eventful so I'll write about it later.

Sleep tight, kids.

Like sand through the hour glass...

The general consensus seems to be that no one in the class of '09 can comprehend the fact that we are now seniors. People have serious internships, are starting to worry about jobs, money, life after college, what happens next...

BUT it's not THAT close yet.

Our mantra, the oh-so-cliche-but-necessary, "work hard, play hard" has been in full force. This was the best weekend ever. By Sunday I felt pretty tired but the excitement induced an adrenaline rush that resulted in hundreds of pages being read. So then I decided that I want to be able to say every weekend was the best weekend ever. Since I returned to Boston about two weeks ago, I've been able to say that. I guess I'm on track!

FRIDAY

Umbrella Today told me I should probably bring an umbrella with me. So I did.

I finally met the other intern at work. She's pretty awesome. We bonded over lunch in the Prudential Center. We share similar views on Boston, the dating scene and our love of all things free.

After work I turned in my 41 page summer internship report. On the cover I displayed one of my tasks as an intern this summer: Have my photo taken while kissing some Astra.



While at Kinkos having my report printed on beautiful glossy paper, I ran into an old classmate from sophomore year who was doing the same. He gave me a ride home. I was very happy I didn't have to walk, considering it was about to rain.

I napped for an extensive period of time (after reading about ritual in Bali) and woke up just in time to get ready for an evening out.

Friday's destination? Gypsy.

The crowd was very diverse, ranging from half naked college girls to middle-aged business men awkwardly bouncing under the lasers to techno and rap mash-ups. The music was a fantastic mix of Top 40s, 90s, oldies, rock and techno. Their choice to close the night with Build Me Up Buttercup was interesting, but it worked.

Did I mention Gypsy was voted Boston's best pickup bar?

It was, in fact, no such thing. I say this while reliving a rather awkward scene toward the end of the night. The girls and I created a large dance circle in the middle of the floor and were dancing (or in my case... attempting to dance) when all of a sudden I felt a tap on my hip. I clenched my fist and whipped around to find a man exactly one foot shorter than I with a huge grin on his face beckoning me to be his dance partner. I respectfully declined laughed in his face, waved my hand to signal "I don't think so" and returned to the dance circle.

Similar situations repeated through the night.

Strange Russian man: (To Christina and I) Do you girls want to dance? I'm a bouncer here on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Me: That's nice. We're going to need a minute, actually, if you could leave.

(Some European-looking man approaches the circle and opens his mouth to speak.)
Noelle: (Puts up hand) No thank you.

Later that night we spent some quality time with the Irish. Hilarity ensued.


SATURDAY

Exhaustion lead to a two hour nap on the couch, mouth agape, while Noelle and Michelle worked on homework at the kitchen table.

Revived, we headed to Banana Republic for the 40% Friends and Family discount graciously bestowed upon us by our favorite BR employee, Jess. Christina tried on the entire store and flattered the cashier endlessly as she discounted every item Christina threw at her.

We shopped. Almost dropped due to starvation. Noelle, Christina and I rushed Champions and ordered most of the menu. Even though we were the only table of girls (large male Red Sox fans dominated the area) we ate more than all of them combined, washing down our feast with a pitcher of Bass. Don't judge.



We waddled to the T stop, went home long enough for me to change and then Michelle, Erin and I headed to the Bell in Hand where my favorite local cover band, Jimmy's Down, was playing. The music was amazing.

Some (good looking) Australian men waved their passports at us. Apparently the new trend dictates that passports get girls. The three of us smiled politely then made our own little dance circle and thrashed around to Cake, Bruce Springstein, Pearl Jam and so much more. The Australians went crazy when the band played Down Under. Good times.

The bar closed early due to construction. We walked up to the main road to catch a cab. We then met Tony, the cab driver from the Phillipines.

Tony: Everyone happy! You boogie boogie all night!
Us: Hah. Yea.

[Later]

Meesh: So what do you do in your free time?
Tony: I hunt.
Me: Hunt what? College kids?
Tony: Lady friends.
Me: You should hit the clubs.
Tony: I don't know how to dance. I need a nice lady to teach me the one step and the two step.

[Later]

Tony: You need a cab later? Take my number!



Ooohh Boston.