Closing This Chapter

*sighs* My dear readers, it’s been wonderful having you guys sort of by my side as I write (more like typing) about bad and good times I had gone through. Unfortunately, this blog had come to an end, but it won’t be the last of my writing you will see! Think of it like ending one chapter and another chapter is just beginning. That’s right. You read correctly. There is nothing wrong with your eyes, eyeglasses, or contact lenses! I’m starting a new blog and it is about my new life in Massachusetts. Even though I will be living half hour outside Boston, my new blog will be about discovering Boston as well as new things I may try out. As much as I would love to talk about my new career, I can’t do that without somehow breaching confidentiality or work ethnics. Hmm, while we are on the subject, I just want to say that my heart goes out to everyone who were affected by the marathon bombings. I could go on and on how this world had gone mad, but something tells me it’s not going to do anybody any good. I am positive they will find who these guys are.

Anyway, this is my new blog: From the Garden to the Bay

It is still in construction, though. Give me some time! I have been crazy busy with my new job!

So Much Crap!

Why do I have so much clothes?!  Apparently, my two luggages weren’t enough to pack in all of my clothes.  I had to use a couple of boxes, which are lined up with spare sheets.  One is all packed up.  The second one is still empty because I’m doing laundry, but damn, I never realized how much I have gained in articles of clothes over the past two years.  I guess I will have to buy a new luggage after the move.  Hopefully, the second box won’t be so full that I can’t pack my hangers, which is a lot.  At least 35 hangers, I would guess.  *sighs* So, I move out in 4 days… and I start my job next Monday.  I guess my life starts now.  From here out, the world is mine for the taking.

There are so many things I want to try, and I’m going to try them in Boston!

Okay, back to cleaning and packing!  Bleh!

In A Week

I leave for Boston in a week.  Well, actually, I will be living in Framingham, which is half hour outside Boston, but yeah…  In a week, as in next Friday, as in the day after my 28th birthday.  What am I thinking?  I should stay for the argument’s sake that I may be let go.  Of course, I should not be thinking stuff like that.  I think I like to set myself up for disappointments.  What am I feeling?  Overwhelmed because there are good things I’m leaving behind in New Jersey.  Friends, the shores (despite the Hurricane Sandy situations), and some of my favorite restaurants.  Yes, I do have emotional attachments to certain foods, but luckily, I don’t eat my feelings.

Let’s be honest here, what makes me want to go?  Crazy mom.  What makes me want to stay?  Ace, who is not only the best man I know, but also the best person that I have had the pleasure of knowing.  What is there for me in New Jersey?  Nothing.  I mean, my life in New Jersey is getting stagnant.  Besides, I will get to see Ace once in a while.  He goes to Boston now and then.

Anyway, I’m all packed up.  Most of my stuff is packed in a box and sealed.  Those boxes will be staying behind along with my huge desk, nightstand, and futon.  There is only one box that’s packed up with stuff that I will be bringing with me.  It’s not sealed up yet, at least, until the very day I leave.  Crazy, isn’t it?  What’s even crazier is the fact that I haven’t figured this out a long time ago, why Boston didn’t appear on my radar earlier.  Hey, better late than never, right?  Anyway, when I’m settled in Massachusetts, I’m going to find a storage space and hire movers to get the rest of my stuff and move it into my storage.  In fact, I already found one place that seems affordable, but I’m just going to see how well it goes with my job, if I can last more than six months.  Hopefully, I will.

Bidding My Goodbyes

I know I’m supposed to give a couple of reviews on some places that I have eaten in Boston, but things have gotten crazy.  I have been visiting friends and seeing them for the last time.  I even had a goodbye dinner party at Bahama Breeze with friends who I have known for a decade or two.  I’m having a family dinner on Saturday.  This Wednesday, my mother wants to show me her first home when she moved from Bangladesh at the age of four.  Her first American home in Hoboken, so I’m so looking forward to that.  Anyway, please be patient with me on those restaurant reviews.

New Blog(s?)

I do want to make a new blog.  It will be called From the Garden to the Bay, with the possible headline that goes something like this, Nasreen Takes Boston.  I think I will start this blog, maybe after 3 months of actually living there.  Besides, there’s always that 90-day thing at any new job.  As soon as they want to keep me permanently, I will start the new blog.  Until then, I will be updating in this lame blog. :p

Oh, yeah, one more thing before I sign off and maybe sleep, I have this dying desire to buy a cookbook called The Cheesecake Bible: Includes 200 Recipes and try every single recipe and blog about it or even maybe, vlog about it.  What do you think?  I mean, 200 recipes?  Eh, anyway, good night, everyone or good morning to those who are getting up.

Visiting Boston

So, I’m currently at a Starbucks… In Boston! Yeah, my friend (who wants to remain anonymous, so let’s call him Beethoven) invited me to join him and drive up to Boston. It’s usually a four-hour long drive, maybe a little more, but on Friday, we were getting some serious snow. Now combine that with drivers that shouldn’t even be allowed to drive. It took us about six hours, minus half hour due to pit stops, so about five and half hours.

Oh, man, Boston is a gorgeous, historical city. And it is very, very easy to get around, especially with their T train (or subway, whatever) system, which is easily to recognize because of the color code references. I must have gotten on at least three different trains and I didn’t even get lost once! I actually knew where I was going. Well, actually, I downloaded this app on my iPad, Embark BOS, and it’s been very helpful! Apparently, there are similar apps for other cities, so I highly recommend it.

Friday
Beethoven and I went to this amazing restaurant, the Parish Cafe. Expect a review from me maybe by tomorrow. Anyway, after the restaurant, we went to a bar where his friend is a bartender. I was so full that I only wanted water. Then, his friend gave me a short glass of Disaronno.  It tastes like vanilla, which is supposed to soothe my stomach and help it settle. Well, it really did help. He gave me two more glasses of it.  Then, he processed to wrap the bottle in a plastic bag and shoved it into my purse. Apparently, I drank the last of it and a person who finishes the bottle keeps it for good luck. Of course, I felt bad, but I was told to not worry about it. Remembering my favorite shot, I told him it was kamikaze. Guess what he made?  Blueberry kamikaze!  It was so good!  I think I had one or maybe two.  It was more than enough to get me absolutely intoxicated.  I was so drunk that I blocked out certain parts of Friday night, especially the time.  I didn’t even know we got home at 4am in the morning until I woke up and Beethoven filled in the blanks.

Saturday
I certainly paid for it the next day when I was visiting The Learning Center School for the Deaf.  They were hosting an event, which was the reason I came up here, to get familiar with my new workplace.  Beethoven had a class, so his friend picked me up.  Oh, man, I met some really cool people there, even some people I may work with in the future.  I had such a good time.

Afterwards, 14 of us met up at this expensive Italian restaurant where every entree they have comes in sizes of “small” or “large.”  The small portion is enough to feed a small family, I swear to God.  I was still feeling the aftermath of Friday night, so I ordered a small pizza after I was told that it was small enough for me to finish it by myself…  Well, it wasn’t. Not only it was too big, it looked disgusting. So, Beethoven gave me some of his order, which was really good, even though I couldn’t eat too much of it. I will pose a review about it after the Parish Cafe. Over this enormous dinner, I met an awesome guy, who was sitting across from me. His name is Blaise. He is, well, just yummy.  Too bad he has a boyfriend.  We bonded almost instantly.

After dinner, most of us split up.  Beethoven and I went to Sheraton Hotel in Framingham.  It is a gorgeous hotel!  There was a social event as well as a poker tournament where the winner gets a free seat to some other poker tournament.  And, behold…. MUSIC!  Finally, a deaf event where there is music just blasting away!  NJ deafies doesn’t really appreciate music JUST because “we are deaf, we don’t understand what the artist is saying.”  Like it matters!  If you can feel your soul swaying side to side to the lovely vibrations of the music, go with it.  Dance!  Sadly, most NJ deafies don’t see it that way.  I also hung with Blaise there.  We got to know each other better.  Hopefully, we will hang out more when I move.

Sunday (today)
I went to the Paul Revere House! The admission for adults is only $3.50, so if you are ever in Boston, you should go! Hell, if you’re even in the same state, take the train! I used the orange line and got off at Haymarket. From there, it’s a 8-minute walk.

Well, that’s it for now. My iPad is dying, so I better go and see what else is in Boston.

Moving to The Bay State

So this bitch did it!  I got a job out of New Freaking Jersey!  As much as I love being that aggressive Jersey girl, New Jersey is really a better place to visit rather than live in.  Of course, there are so many things I will miss… Ace.  Wawa.  Friends.  The Shore!  The nude beach in Sandy Hook!  Some family relatives.  Then there’s all the hilarious deafie drama that I enjoy laughing at with some of my closest friends, of course.  I certainly will not miss working with morons at Target, lolz.  Of course, that wouldn’t stop me from shopping there, though. :p

Ya know, as much as I love spending as much time as I can with Ace, I seem to have too much free time on my hands here in New Jersey.  I would be working full-time in Massachusetts at Walden School, which I’m really excited about.  I will make good money, which will enable me to pay off most of my debts and even go out once in a while.  The pay is, whew, pretty damn good.  Then, there are all kinds of people I would get to meet, which is even more exciting.  Then, fuck, you got Boston!  The Red Sox!  The Tea Party!  Lolz, I wonder if there’s a museum for that.  I also know that there’s a deaf community there that got a passion for theater and arts.  I just can’t wait, really!  Honestly, all I see is opportunities when I think of moving to a new state.  There are a few deaf people that I’m quite fond of in the Bay State, and I’m just excited to get to know them better.

Then… There’s THIS blog.  Yeah, when I do move out of New Jersey, I will be Liberty, officially broken out from the chains, hence perhaps bringing an end to this blog, closing a chapter?  Of course, when a chapter closes, another will open.  So, naturally, I’m thinking of starting a brand new blog where my new life in Massachusetts will be the center focus.  Not sure what to call it yet, though.  dollm, what do you think?  Any title ideas?  Should I call it Jersey Girl in the Bay State?  JGBS for short… Hey, it’s a start.  Lolz.

Well, I have to think about what I want to do in the terms of moving out and when I can start.  I need to let them know tomorrow via email.  I seem to have almost everything worked out, though.  I’m just concerned about driving to Massachusetts…  All that tolls and gas… Bleh…

Things Are Looking Up

Even though Mother Nature is acting kind of funky lately, I can’t complain.  About two weeks ago, in an interview with Walden School (in Massachusetts), I was asked to fill out a form, agreeing to a background check.  I filled it out, but getting it to them was a bit of problem, but I should get it in the mail today before 5pm.  I intended to scan and email it, but my dumbass dad just kept changing his computer, upgrading and whatever else it is he does to that thing.  Shocker, he NEVER checks essential programs to make sure they were working properly, such as, oh, let’s say the scanner!  That’s just so fucking annoying.  There are even times where I think he may have fucked it up all to hell.  *sighs* I totally want a macbook along with a printer/scanner.  I’m sure it’ll require LESS wiring than he has around his computer area.  It’s just mad ridiculous.  Hmm, I’m getting off the point here, aren’t I?

Right, anyway, I suppose it’s a good sign that Walden School asked me for a background check.  Why would they waste time if they weren’t interested in hiring me, right?  Now, onto the next job interview… Yes, that’s right.  I had another job interview last Tuesday.  I had to get on a train to Newark and walked for like 10 minutes.  It was lightly snowing, lucky me.  It was easy enough to get there.  I was interviewing for the SSP job.  If you don’t know what that is, it stands for Service Support Provider.  It’s basically a human guide for deaf/blind people.  The interview definitely went well because they gave me a form, which I have to fill out for a fingerprint request.  I had to pay for it, though.  I will get a refund if my records are clear, and of course, they are.  I mean, I have never been arrested or anything like that.  Anyway, I had an appointment today.  Really, it was in and out.  I arrived like 10 minutes early, but when it was my turn, I was only in for like 3 minutes and the process was digital, which was pretty cool.  I actually got to see the pattern lines of my fingerprints really up close and personal.  They said I will get my results.  When I do, I have to mail that to the office, and, well, hopefully, I will get the job.

But therein lies the problem.  I’m not sure which job I want, so I used an app that lists pros and cons on my iPad.  I also can assign from 1 to 10 points for each item.  Hmm, why don’t I show you what it looks like?  Look at the picture below.  Keep in mind that “Pro” represents Walden School, which is in Massachusetts, while “Con” represents SSP, where I may work as an independent contractor in New Jersey.  If you count the points from each side, it looks like Walden School is winning.

I was told that each deaf/blind individual can request up to 16 hours of SSP assistance per month.  Suppose I have four to six individuals who personally wants my assistance.  Then, I can actually stand on my own feet and likely help my mother out.  But some of my friends who are actually SSPs said that the job is very slow and the paychecks comes by slowly.  So, I’m not really sure yet.  All I can do is just hopefully get my training in and, ya know, just see how it goes.  At least, I will have two jobs while I’m waiting to hear back from Walden School.  And it will look good on my resume, too.  So, it’s not such a bad thing, right?  It’ll be an interesting experience.

Nonetheless, I still do want to experience both.  To be honest, I’m kind of hoping that Walden School would take too long for me to have enough experience with the SSP job or at least, enough time for me to complete my training and actually do a job or two.  Either way, my future is looking just a bit brighter.

Neither Waiting Nor Running

Everyone’s favorite hallmark holiday, Valentine’s Day is creeping up on us.  Obviously, I did not exactly have a good experience around this holiday last year, but you know what?  I can safely say that I’m completely over it and him.  I mean, I have been saying in at least ten past posts that I’m “almost” over Jonathan.  To be honest, in saying “almost,” I was trying to be realistic.  I was still analyzing things that may or may not have happened between us.  However, I think I already have been over him for a while.  I barely think about him anymore, except for when I’m blogging.  He occasionally rarely commented on my Facebook posts.  I do reply sometimes.  However, I used to check his profile out due to a pathetic impulse after I noticed that he had commented on a post of mine.  But now, I don’t even feel the impulse to see what he’s up to nowadays.  Hell, his posts on news feed just went over my head like any other typical post, unless they were funny enough to get a like from me.

So, I’d say that my heart had healed pretty good.  Of course, I am not waiting for love to come along.  I am not going to try to run away from it either.  All I can say is that I certainly will have my defenses up.  I most definitely will have quite a few tests that every guy must pass before I can even consider going out with him.  Honestly, I have never really thought about these certain tests until Ace came along and passed them all.

I don’t have any Valentine’s Day plans.  I’m not going to push it or even pursue the idea of celebrating it with Ace, even though it will be lovely.  But I do have a risqué idea for a card to give him.  If anything, I will be very happy if I could just lay in bed with him, in our birthday suits.  Lolz.  Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Wow, this is EXACTLY what happened to my heart over the time from last Valentine’s Day to this day. Perfect…