Mainly Maine

Recently, I went to Boston and I love Boston.
But more than Boston, I love Maine.
I adore Maine.
Here are some highlights about Maine:It has two logos; 1. Vacationland and 2. The Way Life Should Be. Those have to be the coolest slogans ever. Also, they have a license plate that has a lobster and under the numbers it just says Lobster. I love lobster. It's like eating a dream. How AWESOME is that? It's fantastically wonderful and amazing.Also, to get to Maine from Boston you have to go through New Hampshire. Their license plate is Live Free or Die. Also epic.I'm jealous of all these cool state slogans and license plates. Suddenly the Golden State doesn't seem nearly as cool.

Additionally, as we were driving around Brian commented that he would love to live in a castle. Or a cathedral. Guess what we found for sale in Maine? A giant Cathedral. Yes, it is the land where dreams come true. And lastly, there is a 1700 lbs chocolate Moose. Yes. Yes, Maine is The Way Life Should Be.

Career Musings

Recently, I have been looking for places to live once I graduate.
I have decided upon Boston for an immediate first time employment opportunity (among other obvious reasons).
So Boston has: A baseball team, a football team, a basketball team, MIT, Harvard, BU, a culinary school, an ocean, a metro, and Newton was ranked the third best place to live in the country. I also hear there is a rather large and dynamic institute/single's ward. Also, pea coats. And scarves. Men who actually wear scarves. On purpose. It would be like waltzing through a J. Crew catalog. Boston is also home to about 3 dental schools (Tufts, Harvard and Boston University) and no real hygiene schools. Hopefully that means job placement will be fairly easy and straightforward. Who wouldn't want to hire me? I mean, really? I'm awesome!!
But then there is the question: What do I do after Boston? I establish a repertoire of being the best hygienist ever, but I certainly cannot live on the East Coast forever! That's when I discovered The International Federation of Dental Hygienists were I could apply to work in a foreign land. Being limited in the number of languages I know, I narrowed it down to one country, specifically one region, and eventually a city: Geneva.
Geneva was ranked third best place to live in the world. WORLD. Geneva has world famous lakes, mountains and beauty. Plus the language is French, and it's a short train ride away from Paris and the Riviera. Also, it has CHEESE, and bread, and so many other delightful things they are hard to mention. Men also wear scarves in Switzerland. And I could go skiing there. In the Alps. One my goodness what sheer joy and delight! Of course there is the somewhat ginormous possibility that I wouldn't get accepted to the program... so I had to think of other places that might strike my fancy and I came up with:
San Diego.
San Diego was ranked sixth best place in 2006, but was notable absent from the 2010 list. San Diego has the best weather probably in the world. It also boasts a baseball team, and a football team, as well as an ocean. And this one can actually be entered. And surfed in. Home to La Jolla and UCSD, San Diego makes a striking choice. Unfortunately I hear finding a job there is nigh impossible. However, if I live in San Diego I could join a Yacht club. Ok, I probably couldn't but it's a nice thought. Julianne, Yacht Club member. I could carry a card in my wallet. Men do not wear scarves, probably because they don't need to. But they do wear boat shoes because chances are they have a sail boat. Furthermore, San Diego was my dream location when I was 8 years old and wrote an essay about my dream life (Marine biologist, living in San Diego).
But Is San Diego a little too commercial and possibly too crowded? So to round out my possible options of future abodes, I went ahead and threw in Santa Barbara. I don't even know why. Maybe it was the movie It's Complicated. Maybe it's just sheer obscurity. Who knows. Santa Barbara has no football team, there is no baseball team, and I'm guessing only the gay men wear scarves (which isn't a lot of help to me, but they might be nice to gaze upon). They have only a few universities, namely UCSB. But it's a small, quiet, and devastatingly beautiful town. Like my hometown, on the ocean. Additional perk? Very close to Ostrichland, USA. Yes, you read the correctly. Why wouldn't that be a selling point? In addition, they have a mission, and a cute downtown and beaches. Lovely beaches.
Those are all of my options for the coming years of my life. At least all the foreseeable ones. The only similarity they share is a body of water. At least I'm consistent in one thing.
But who knows, maybe I'll just end up going to culinary school after all?

Boston

Since I have the world's longest summer vacation, I went out to Boston to visit brother #1, not to mention his wife and 2 girls. During my layover, which was in Dallas, I bought him the best birthday present money could buy! An Armadillo snowglobe. It was truly amazing. He loved it with the same sentimental care and heartfelt gratitude that he treats all knickknacks.
Anyways, I was fortunate enough to arrive just in time to see the Elms before they left! And I was also able to tour Harvard during freshman orientation. We went to Red Robin for Brian's birthday. As we pulled into Patriot Place, I thought to myself, "What awesome names they have back here!" It was only after that thought that I saw Gillette stadium and realized it was Patriot Place because the Patriots play there...
Furthering my adventures, I went to Maine!! Which was a life-long dream of mine. It was magnificent! I went with the Pattersons and had ice cream, and fish and chips, and watched surfers (I know, in MAINE!) and bought taffy. It is now my second favorite state. I love Maine.
Glenna and I went through the Freedom Trail, and ate pasta in the Italian Northside. My favorite building was the Custom House. I like clock towers.
While I was in Boston, Brian turned 28 and Libby turned 3. Mom and I bought her her first bike! Pink, of course, with training wheels. And I made THREE pies for my dear brother.
List of things I did in Boston: Freedom Trail, T rides (lots of them), Boston Common, Public Gardens, Swan Boat rides, Make Way For Ducklings, Newbury Street, Boston Temple, Boston Public Library, Museum of Fine Arts, hot dog stand, fish and chips stops, a visit to the shore, Faneuil Hall, Red Sox game, Old North Church, Kings Chapel, Copps and Granary Burying Ground (Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Paul Revere), Old State House, Government Center, Park Street Church, Massachusetts State House, as well as frequent visits to the many ice cream trucks. :)