Visitors Knocking

Borchers Visit

Published on by Lisa

This past weekend, Nick’s parents, Ron and Kay, were in town and the Cleveland weather grandly welcomed them to the northeast region of the Buckeye State.

Saturday morning and afternoon, Nick and Ron took it to the house and did several small projects – fixing doors, installing air conditioners, re-installing lights…all the while I laid out on the front lawn and Kay fell asleep. I felt a bit of a lazy bum, but not too much because I would have been ZERO help in the projects they were working on. At least, that’s what I tell myself to feel better.

I’m happy to report that we went out for a lovely dinner to Trattoria, which is located in Little Italy and I was able to order a red sauce dish without any messes or Great White Massacres. Still, I left my white coat at home this time and wore black.

We had a terrific time and it’s always great to have family with us, so come up to see the Indians, Cavs, or just plain ol’ exciting us!

Eat, Pray, Love (Not necessarily in that order)

Published on by Lisa


This past weekend, one of my best friends from childhood, Tricia, came to stay with us during the long weekend.  Taking the infamous Fung Wah Bus (it’s a bus company that takes you from NYC to Boston for $15), Tricia and I enjoyed a nice long weekend of long talks, buying books at Barnes and Noble, and drinking fine wine.

My latest book is the memoir, “Eat, Pray, Love,” by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I am on the 6th page and have already decided that I need to write a memoir of my own, complete with my own journeys and travels.  “Eat, Pray, Love” is a book that takes you to India, Indonesia, and Italy to explore the true meaning of self, life, and God.  I already highly recommend it.  The first six pages are riveting.
Speaking of books, Nick is still nose deep in his theological studies.  February is almost over and almost mid point for this semester.
Where does the time go?

Boston Undies

Published on by Lisa

Keith is in town.

As he is now Mr. Audit for Macy’s, Keith has spent the weekend with us here in Beantown. Knowing that Keith’s been up here a few times before, we knew that entertaining wouldn’t be difficult. A few bars and good eats provided a fitting backdrop as we got to spend some quality time catching up.

On Saturday afternoon, Nick, Keith, and I went into Harvard Square for the afternoon. After a nice lunch at Au Bon Pan, Nick and Keith headed off to explore and I went to explore the sales at some of my favorite retail places. We met up at the great bar of John Harvard’s Brewery and I saw Nick’s shoulders sag with relief when he saw me return with empty hands. No shopping bags means thicker wallet in butt pocket.

We headed back home and walked to the T stop (Boston’s public train station) and amidst our chatting, I noticed an odd site. I shook my head thinking I saw it wrong. I looked again and I could have sworn I saw a few men with jackets and ties, but no pants – only boxers. Nick and Keith were engaged in conversation and I peaked around them to get another look. A few more people appeared in their underwear and before I knew it the train pulled up and Nick was pushing me along to get on the train.

Nick and Keith looked dumbfounded as Fox news and police officers were on the train with us. Cameramen were interviewing common T riders asking how they felt about riding the T with others in their underwear. It was then I looked beside me and saw a man, mostly normally dresssed in a nice suit, except for no pants. He was wearing boxers. Nonchalantly, he read the newspaper and Keith was swiping glances out of the corner of his eye while he did the infamous silent shoulder-shaking Keith laugh.

I looked around and saw a number of police officers just ensuring that nothing too outrageous occured.

Nothing outrageous?

Fox news, police officers, and people running around in their underwear on the T was just another funny day in Boston. As it turns out, it was just an organized harmless prank of over 500 individuals to get people smiling and laughing. Click here for the full story.

As we contemplated whether to drop our own pants or not, Nick, Keith and I could barely contain our laughter when we overheard a police officer say, “Yeah, did you see that one guy’s boxers? The Rubix Cube ones? He must be an engineer or something.”

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.