Who Says You Can't Go Home?

Nation, I report to you from beautiful Maryland, land of lax bros, horses, and identity-conflicted Orioles fans. I'm happy to say that all is well down here. Sure my parents' house is completely different. I don't even have a bedroom here anymore. Yes, some of my high school friends have moved away and geography and college has separated me from many others over the years. But some things never change.

It's surprisingly comforting to open the Washington Post each morning and read the crucially important reports from training camp, (Haynesworth still runs with an inhaler strapped across his face, Cooley's shorts grow shorter). Soon I will sit down and count the average times the Post uses "McNabb" and "Superbowl." It's now 40 days until we face the Cowgirls, and I'm feeling a mix of excitement and panic. I need to find a place that shows Skins games, and I need to gain the confidence (or stoop to a new low) to watch the Skins alone, alone in some bar that has gone against the tidal wave of New England sports.

I'll be back in Boston tomorrow, but tonight it's all about reliving the Glory Days - Little Hill, 2400 M, Mcfaddens (McFaddens DC!). Tomorrow it's back to work and the gingiest roommate. Maybe rather than count down the days to Redskins season I should be preparing myself for grad school to start? August 30th y'all.

My Mouse is Wicked Smaht

SOOOOO I'm updating the blog in my living room right now, and who have I seen 3 times in the past hour alone? Justin! Now you're probably asking yourself, who is Justin? Is this some smokin hot New England guy that keeps dropping by our apartment? Nope. Justin is the little mouse that just will not die. 

Maybe mice in such close vicinity to Harvard and MIT (and obviously BU) are smarter than ordinary mice, because we've had a mousetrap out for almost 3 weeks and I have legitimately seen Justin waltz by that thing a number of times. He's not only too smart for cyanide, he's a bold little rodent. This guy saunters around the kitchen in broad daylight looking for fallen lucky charms. I scream at him, he runs back under the oven or fridge, and comes right back out 20 minutes later. I think we're going to try different traps...or a trip from the one and only Jackson...

In other news, I joined a boxing gym in Boston...in South Boston! Hopefully I won't have to use any combos I learn walking between the T and the gym. I mean, really.

Tell me lies, tell me sweet lil Julys

Thank GOD the World Cup is over. I mean really, I could only take so much more preaching from dudes on Boylston street about how rewarding it is to be a soccer fan during this whole thing. I'm sorry, the only sports to me that are worse to watch than soccer are golf and figure skating. The truth is that the only people who are soccer fans are former soccer players and people who studied abroad in some soccer-crazed country. And that makes things even worse because I apologize, but I really can't listen to you analyze boring soccer games AND explain to me how Barcelona changed your life your junior year, alright? People said to me, "But Mego, don't you want to cheer for team USA?" And I said, "Abso-fuckin-lutely! That's why we have TWO seasons of Olympics every 2 years. So I can watch snowboarding and basketball."

I understand what it's like for these poor soccer bastards. I played lacrosse and 85% of Americans don't care about that sport, but I don't pretend like something's wrong with them because they're not into it. There's a reason why most Americans get over soccer when they hit high school, that's all I'm sayin. And seriously, NEVER let those South African horns invade any sporting event again. Listening to those things was actually worse than listening to Lebron talk about all he's done for the city of Cleveland. Lebron? Thanks for ruining the NBA just when it was getting interesting again. In the words of Forrest Gump, That's all I got to say about THAT.

Barstool's hilarious T-shirts^

Shit My Roommate Says

Alaska is a very bright (and not ginger-wise) young woman with much to offer the city of Boston. That being said, she says some questionable shit:

"What's Rondo's last name?"

"Where's Ronaldo?" (During a Celtics game, when Rondo was benched)

"I actually like the smell of dead mice"

"Wait, Drake does his own reenactments?" (Confusing a televised concert with a reality show)

Me: We're going to Harp, it's a bar by the Garden.

Cab Driver: Okay-

Alaska: The Public Garden?

Me: No, no the basketball one...you know the TD Bank one? The Boston Garden?

Alaska: Mego, you can just call that the Garden.

"It's not that I can't swim, I learned to swim in saltwater. I just sink in freshwater. Like a pool."

Alaska: You would describe me as someone who doesn't follow sports? I was an athlete!

Me: Alaska, you couldn't name any Celtics.

Alaska: Ray...

Me: Allen.

Alaska: Yeah, Ray Antwon!

"Guess what, he used to be fat too!"

John Baker says Beacon Hill is broken, I say it's just snobby

Alright, there's no denying that I've been neglecting the blog the past two weeks. I've been preoccupied and adjusting, but I don't want to be the Gilbert Arenas of blogging. Or anything really. 

I'm not going to discuss the Celtics loss, it's too painful. But over the past few weeks I've learned a lot about my new city. Mostly, I'm picking up a lot of new vocab...

1. The Pru: The Prudential Center. It's a really tall skyscraper, I'm not sure what its purpose is besides changing colors to let people know how the Celtics and Sox are doing. There are shops in it too.

2. The Public Garden: Or "Gahden." It's a specific part of the Common, the big pond where the swan boats are. It's in a Good Will Hunting scene, and a lot of bored people hang out there on weekdays and feed the ducks.

3. Dunks: Not Nikes. Dunkin Donuts. Boston loves Dunkin more than Seattle loves Starbucks and hippies. Dunkin might actually own Boston, which means Dunkin might be run by the mob. I don't feel that I'm jumping to irrational conclusions here.

4. BHP: Stands for Beacon Hill Pub. This bar is sort of hard to describe, everyone seems to be sort of embarrassed to admit that they drink there, but everyone secretly enjoys it. It's a fratty little dive bar where they have arcade basketball games and a bartender who looks like a skinny Will Ferrell. 

5. Southie: South Boston, synonymous with land of Casey Afflecks and Leo circa The Departed.

I will try to be more diligent with my little blog, the SFBA continues (Search For Ben Affleck).

BAWSTON

Here it is, my first post from Boston. I've been here for almost a week now, and not surprisingly I am really liking it. Boston is sort of like DC but with less humidity, better sports teams, less politico banter, and taller guys. So I guess besides beautiful old buildings it's not so much like DC at all.

It's fun to be a transplant after having been a DC area native practically my whole life. The people in my neighborhood are pretty friendly, plus Alaska and I's TV on OnDemand has episodes from the first season of The OC.

I do have a lot to learn about being new in a strange city. For example, on Saturday we went out on Beacon Hill, and Alaska and I ran into some very intoxicated people on the street. One was an especially bizarre guy who gave us a business card that literally just said "Oliver" on the front with a phone number on the back. Alaska and I thought it would be funny to text this character the next day saying "Hey there Oliver." Well, our sassiness backfired. He proceeded to call me 3 times and send me some intense text messages, which is scary considering he definitely has no idea who Alaska and I are. I think I will try to refrain from any antics that could gain me a stalker. Although I could use someone who knows their way around the city.

College All-Time Top 10

Because I'm 4 days out of college and consistently reflecting on how amazing it was, I'm going to make a LIST post! Here it is, my top 10 moments at GWU:

10. The Night Before Junior Year Started: This is just one of those nights that I'll always think of when I talk about college. It was supposed to be just a few of us and some guy friends hanging out and having a couple beers, but somehow we shredded 4 phonebooks and "made it snow," engaged in a shaving cream fight, turned the kitchen table into a slip n' slide, and threw parts of the sofa out the window into the street. It was a good way to start off my second half of college.

9. Snowpacolypse: Is there much explanation needed? 10 days without school, limited lacrosse pre-season, and mounds of snow all over DC. I've never seen GW look so beautiful.

8. 2009 4th of July: I never thought that my freshman year 4th could be beat, but this one did it. Between my friend Baxter passing out at 11 am during Logan's annual "dramatic reading of the Constitution" and 12 hours of BBQs, fireworks, and bars, I would say independence day has definitely gotten better during the Obama administration.

7. Thurston 5th Floor: Where can I begin...I often tell people that living in Thurston was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and that feeling hasn't changed. I met some of my favorite people in that madhouse, and there are so many memories from there that I had to lump them all into this one number on the list. Playing hockey with empty skoal cans at 3 am after a night at the Exchange? Thank you, Mable.

6. Epic Mansion Party: This was the house party to top all college house parties. Brendan wore a green snuggie outfit and got into a fight with Mark at 4 am, and general mayhem filled the mansion. All was right in the world. 

5. Lax Winning Streak: Freshman year, we were virtually unstoppable in the A-10. I couldn't totally appreciate it as a freshman, but the feeling was amazing, ending with an appearance in the conference finals. "We Takin' Over" will always hold a special place on my ipod.

4. Inauguration: It was freezing, Brendan and I both got dumped, but there was Nooshi. It was a whirlwind time but I look back on it fondly. Despite what else was going on, Obama finally moved to DC and I got to wear a pretty dress and dance to "Proud Mary."

3. Commencement Week: Everyone said it was the best week of college, but I didn't completely buy it until I experienced it first hand. Senior night after senior night, it was the ultimate degenerate marathon. I may be giving it extra credit because it was last week, but I don't think I'm hyping it.

2. Senior Year Halloween: Glowsticks, a Maryland flag, and Lovett dressed in a children's Elmo costume. The Chemical Brothers' "Saturate" made it onto our warm-up mix purely because of the simple joy we got from hearing it at DC9 last halloween. Brendan dressed as a creepy baby. There is no overrating this night, the only way it could have been improved would be adding Jumbo Slice.

1. Election Night: This was truly the most amazing moment of my college experience. Mobbing Penn Ave and chanting outside the white house can't be topped. I saw people dancing on top of cars downtown and generally felt ecstatic the entire night.