Life is Never General

Winter Arrives

Published on by Lisa



While there are 12 days until Christmas, you wouldn’t know it in our lives because school and work has consumed our lives.  Nick had his last day of class today and instead of celebrating, he is a hermit trying to finish 3 25pg papers.  That leaves me to find my own entertainment.

My job’s been keeping me pretty busy so I haven’t had much time to be lonely this week.  We fly out next Friday.
As we speak, we are getting plummeted by our first snow storm.  The roads are killer and traffic is a nightmare.  Luckily, I am three floors away from my job and Nick’s commuting is done until next semester.  While I can gripe for hours about the pains of my job, for days like today, it’s wonderful to have a live-in position where I don’t have to battle the roads.
Our apartment yields pretty park views as it blankets itself in white and our holiday decorations are out.  So while we’re too busy to shop, we’re definitely surrounding ourselves in the Advent season.
We can’t wait to come home for the holidays.

Catching Up

Published on by Lisa

Oh, I’m so behind.

It’s been awhile since the last post and everytime I remember that I need to write something, I chide myself, “Tomorrow! Tomorrow I will.”

Of course tomorrow becomes tomorrow becomes tomorrow.

Today is tomorrow.

So, where did we leave off?

Oh yes, three weekends ago, my parents came in from Pennsylvania to visit and it was wonderful, of course. They loved our apartment. They loved Boston. They loved that my commute is 3 flights of stairs. They loved that Nick takes the train to school everyday. They loved that there is a park across the street. They loved everything.

Rog and Jan Borchers followed suit the weekend after my parents. Unfortunately, for Rob and Jan, Boston decided to show its nasty side. It was cold, rainy, and grey all day and that didn’t afford much alternatives for entertainment. Buckeye fans don’t lose heart that easily though. We poofed out the umbrellas and slugged it up to GAME ON, a bar that exclusively shows OSU games on Saturdays. We cheered the Bucks to beat the pants off Wisconsin and gleefully watched Wisconsin fans become more solemn in the bar.

I was on duty the weekend Rob and Jan were in town and unfortunately was called into work that night so I was unable to make it to dinner with them. Leaky windows from the rain, maintenance issues, and a student mugging incident will do that. Ugh.

And that concludes 5 consecutive wonderful weeks of family visitors.

This past weekend, Nick curled up to his beloved texts and powered through a 25 pg. paper while I hopped onto a bus and spent Veteran’s weekend in New York City with some of my closest friends from childhood. It was refreshing to get away from my job and to visit with some old buds who know me well. Nick was couch-slapping and texting his sorrow over the Bucks loss to Illinois. My cell phone was in orange alert danger of being thrown against a wall when I received that text. BOOO. I hate losing.

One of my RAs who loves Michigan (poor infected soul), loves to razz on Nick about Saturday’s game. Nick just shakes his head and tries to be friendly to my RAs but inside I know he wants to throw some Tressel vs. Carr statistic. I admire his benevolence. Me? I tell my pro-Michigan RAs to shove it and talk to me after Saturday.

We’re leaving for Ohio on Tuesday evening. We’ll be in Russia all day Wednesday and for Thanksgiving morning/early afternoon. After that, we’ll head to Massillon to be with my family for Thursday evening and all day Friday. Departing out of Columbus at the crack of dawn on Saturday, we’ll fly back to Boston for a wedding (one of my co-workers) Saturday night. The busy-ness never ends.

Nick and I decided that likely this will be the last Thanksgiving that we try to split between families because it’s way too hectic and we don’t get time with either family. Beginning next year, we’ll switch off Thanksgiving and Easter between families, but continue to split Christmas holidays.

So, Factoras and Borchers families beware: come 2008 you’ll either have us for the turkey or the resurrection.

See some of you next week!

Family Visits Continue

Published on by Lisa

Sometimes life seems like a series of hellos and goodbyes.

That’s a quote from one of my favorite priests who I grew up with in Ohio. And before you think I’m about to write a Hallmark sentiment to make up for the fact that Nick forgot that Saturday was Sweetest Day, I’m just marveling how quickly this weekend passed because of the goodness of family visiting.

Nick’s mom, brother (Keith) and, Kelly were here for three great days and the time slipped by us too quickly. We bar-hopped like wild college animals and we walked the city like true Bostonians. With Game 6 of the ALSC at Fenway; the Regatta/Head of the Charles (an enormous national rowing tournament that filled the Charles River all weekend); and the infamous Family Weekend scheduled for several colleges in a city that boasts 250,000 students in the greater Boston area – the city, needless to say, was busting at the seams.

Keith and Nick opted for an early Christmas gift to head to Fenway for Game 6 and watched the Sox stomp 12 runs out of the Indians. Benedict Nick rooted for the Sox and I, remaining true to my roots, cheered for Cleveland from bars in Harvard Square. It was a sport-filled weekend with a lot of celebration and catching up.

One of the things that is always fun about visitors is the opportunity to see the city from fresh eyes. The following is a collection of shots I have taken for the past few visits.

On deck for next weekend: my folks will be visiting!

This shot of Fenway was taken during a tour of the park last weekend.

To give you an idea of the busy-ness of the city, three weeks ago Nick and I woke up to the sound of a loud microphone voice booming, “GOOD MORNING BOSTON!” I glanced out the window to see 7,000 plus women registering for the Tufts Healthcare for Women 10K. (picture is taken from our living room window)

Just another morning in Beantown.

An autumn sunset on Beacon Street.

Two RDs for the Price of One

Published on by Lisa

Visitors galore!

Boots, Don, and Barb Cordonnier just passed through Boston last weekend and we’re gearing up for another fresh batch of family tomorrow night. Kay, Kelly, and Keith Borchers are flying in tomorrow and Nick is heading up to the airport to pick them up so I don’t miss one moment of Grey’s Anatomy.

Sometimes I forget that we live, as Don would say, DOWNTOWN. “Not just near downtown, but DOWNTOWN,” is how Don describes it. Unfortunately, our guests got a little too much a taste of city life when we watched the aftermath of a pedestrian get hit by a car right in front of our apartment complex. The drama doesn’t stop.

In addition to visitors, Nick and I are gearing up for our first autumn together in the city. The sheets are flannel, the jackets are out, and Nick’s Adidas pants are a near daily occurence. Living in a high rise residence hall continues to be full of surprises. About three weeks ago, a student accidentally burned a plate full of Tostino pizza rolls that sent the alarms off at 12:30am. As the RD (Resident Director) on duty, I helped evacuate the building and tried to keep traffic under control, I kept glancing at Nick to make sure he knew where to go.

Why was I worried? That worry proved unnecessary when I spotted him directing students across the street and cautioning them not to jaywalk. Sometimes, I swear, he wants my job. When it was time to go back in the building, I started wondering how 550 students were going to get back into the halls without their IDS, which is necessary for entrance. It took some time, but I managed to get a system going and it seemed to be going well. Then I felt a finger poking me in the shoulder. It’s Nick.

“Leese, there’s a kid trying to sneak in by using someone else’s ID. I stopped him and confiscated his card.” He held the card to my face and nodded emphatically several times in a quite official manner.

“Oh. Ok. Thanks. I’ll take care of it. You, uh, you know, don’t need to be confiscating cards or guarding the entrance. I have staff to take care of it.”

“I know, but I wanted to! Crap like that pisses me off! I told him to stand over there,” Nick points to a section of the lobby where a dismal student anxiously shifted his weight from side to side.

Though Nick is entirely happy to be studying his theology and ethics, I think it’s important to note that anytime my job requires my authoritative fist and Nick is around, he is more than happy to jump in and bust any student on any policy violation. We were resident assistants together in college, so I guess that still hasn’t died down in him just yet.

Goodbye to Summer

Published on by Lisa

It’s only official in our books: Summer is Over.

Wedding season is over, thus our travels calm down a bit. And as Nick said today, “Classes have started, today I had to wear a sweatshirt, and football is on. There. It’s Fall.”

Agreed.

I stayed put last weekend while Nick partied it up in Akron for Allio and Christina’s wedding. Pelvic thrust dance moves by Goatee was probably the highlight of Nick’s storytelling when he came home.

This past weekend, it was my turn to head home to Massillon to see a childhood friend marry in our hometown church. A gradeschool and highschool reunion unfolded. That was interesting. “Hi, I haven’t seen you since 1994, how’s your life been going since then?”

As nice as it was to get away, it does feel good to be back with schedules just beginning to solidify into routines. We’ve been quite the movie goers lately. On Copley Square last week, there were free outdoor film showings and we parked our blankets and watched Raising Arizona and Napolean Dynamite on two separate nights. We even managed to go see Halloween that just opened in the theaters, as well. Even though I was curled in a fetal position and covering my eyes for over half of it, we both gave it two very big thumbs up.

And so summer is drawing to a close and, honestly, that is just fine with us. This picture was taken in the daawwwggg days of summer. We were biking around Santa Monica beach in Los Angeles and we took a break. Santa Monica pier has a ferris wheel and all kinds of crazy stuff right on its pier. As Nick read his latest 78lb. novel and I picked up my camera, we lazed around for a few hours.

Adios a el verano.

Adjusting to Beantown

Published on by Lisa
Nick and I have moved around a lot.

In 2004, I moved from Boston to Cincy and lived in Clifton and he lived in Norwood. When we got married, we suffered a double case of selective amnesia and thought that COLERAIN would be a good idea for residency. When we came to our senses that we would rather live in cardboard boxes on U. of Michigan’s campus than Colerain, we moved again. This time, we took our time in our research and chose Forest Park. Three time’s a charm.

Now, we’re back in Boston and this is our new home. The glass windows start on level 3 and we live on 5 off to the far right. That’s us. A highrise. It’s nice. We have a beautiful view of the Boston Common, right across the street.

Specifically, we’re in the theater district. That means big excitement from me and an occassional, “That could be cool,” from Nick.
If you squint and look hard at the first picture you can see two vertical flags, one yellow and one purple, that designate it as property of Emerson College, where I work. I am in charge of the lower half of the building and work with several other folks in running this urban campus. Emerson is a specialized school, meaning they concentrate mostly on communication and art: theater, journalism, digital media, photography, and performance. (I get to take amazing art courses for free at some of the best schools in the city. Sweeeeeet!)

Adjusting to the city can be a big much. You must get used to a lot of things living in downtown Boston. So, when you come visit, be ready for a couple of things:


1. An insane amount of noisy tourists. Duck Tours, with their absurdly decorated car/boats (see picture 3) are pretty popular, but try living on a street when they pass about 8-12 times a day and you hear the riders scream, “QUACK QUACK QUACK.” Yeah, you get the idea. A.n.n.o.y.i.n.g.

2. The movie references. The statehouse (see pic 4) is right across the street and we have a gleaming view of it and everytime I see it, I think of the end of The Departed. And everyone talks about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck like they are social justice heroes. Good Will Hunting is referenced at least once a week. It’s life. We’re growing accustomed to it.

Overall though, things have been very intense and hectic. While I work insane hours and Nick is getting our apartment, banks, mail, and such in order, we’ve tried to maintain positive attitudes. Nick starts his program on Tuesday and I am continuing to work on establishing my writing career. So, our lives are just unfolding and getting more and more interesting everday.

Tune in for more later, but leave us a message first!

In the Beginning…

Published on by Lisa

there was just us,

two cars,

and one big borrowed tank from Grandpa/Paul Cordonnier.

Somehow, though, we managed to make it all the way to Boston and unload after one of the most tiring trips of our lives.

After a fragmented loading and unloading and reloading process in Ohio (delivering unwanted furniture to Jay and Keith), we stopped in Lewisburg where my parents reside and spent the night. The next morning, we made it to Boston – through traffic, rain, and some serious illegal parking. Then Nick turned right back around to return the truck to Paul.

What a trooper I have for a husband.

But, we’re here!