The area is certainly a blast -- NYC at least so far seems to be everything it's made out into. I'll definitely be making more trips than there in the next few weeks to do some holiday shopping for the rents, sister, and "The Dream" aka little Brendan. I've never been much of a present buyer for absolutely everyone, but maybe now's a good time to start, considering I'm on my own now?
Work all in all is amazing, I really couldn't ask for more out of a first job. They treat me great, are incredibly flexible, and keep complicated and mind enticing projects flying at me as fast as I can finish them. The proximity to wall street is a huge bonus, considering how hooked I am on reading the related news articles and watching companies stock prices fall (and occasionally rise.. I guess).
About a month ago I drove up to Boston and met up with Steve, Geoff, Oboy, Rat, and a few of Geoff's friends to tour the town while thye were in the area visiting Tyler. Boston was incredibly pretty, and not as busy as I would have expected. Certainly a place I'd considering chilling a while at some point down the road. It wasn't too long of a trip, but we did make it to a few landmarks, including the Cheers! bar (yes, like the TV show) and the Sam Adams brewery tour. That was followed by a wacked up night on the town where I fronted the drinks for a weak $200 tab. I guess I should have bought more shots, drinks don't quite run up the bill as quickly. Some alumni are better than others I guess!
I spent last weekend going out with the roomies, then one of my roommates (Kate) was in the Stamford Thanksgiving Parade the day after, so we went to watch her juggle in that. Kate dressed as a man bum clown, I only have videos it turns out and no good pictures (you can go to her Facebook for the pics..) so I won't throw them on the blog, but I did get some good shots of the different floats that were being expertly maneuvered down the street. I had to get the underdog pic for dad, since I always seem to remember him talking about that cartoon.
And here's Miss Piggy showing some skin, but at the same time keeping it just classy enough to parade through public.
Then this last weekend I spent Thanksgiving in Philadelphia with Sandra's parents and family. Everyone was remarkably hospitable, and even though I couldn't understand 80% of what was spoken in the house I felt surprisingly at home. The food was stellar (and completely new to me), and seeing Philly for the first time was great. I'll throw up a picture of the monsterous Phillie Cheesesteak I woofed down from Tony Luke's... mushrooms, hot peppers, onions, and cheese wiz make for one amazing sandwich. Sandra was nice enough to give me a tourist view of the down town, where we went to see the Liberty Bell, the Constitution Center, and South Street on Friday. Wednesday and Friday nights were spent partying and Saturday was a nice day to stay in the general area, take a peek at the high school, play around in Chinatown, and get a glimpse of what the bad parts of Philly are like.. haha. Overall I was pretty impressed with the city.. it's no Chicago but certainly has a welcoming feel to it.
