At least once a day my husband will pause from whatever it is he's doing, look at me for a moment, then wrap me up in a big hug and whisper in my ear "You're so pretty."
Sweet, I know. 
But that also means that at least once a day I respond with "No, I'm not." or "No, I'm so fat!"

I don't really think I'm even conscience of what I'm saying, it just blurts out somehow.  I've never really had major self-esteem issues (you know, beyond those awkward teenage years) and overall I think I'm happy with the way I look.  It's just something about receiving a compliment that makes me want to refute your claims, show you all the evidence to the contrary, and prove to you that I am but a humble Korean girl from the suburbs (you can't get more suburban than LANGLEY).  Why is that?  Is it the Korean in me? What is it about a compliment that makes me so uncomfortable?   Because they do. Compliments. They make me uncomfortable.  That taxi driver, the one who told me I was beautiful, he's just a creepy old dude looking for a big tip.  The ex-boyfriends, they're just looking to get laid or they've never dated an Asian woman before and we all look exotic to them.  My parents, well that's a given, they're obligated to tell you you're pretty and have been bias from the very beginning. See! So many reasons and so many excuses. Why??

I don't know. But next time, I'm just going to say Thank You.

About once a month my good friend Em and I like to get together for dinner, just me and her, no husbands allowed! We usually find ourselves at some back table of a sushi restaurant where we'll park ourselves for the night, talking long after they've given us our bill and re-filled our tea cups multiple times (I know, awful restaurant patrons, but we at least try to tip well). We call it our "Date" and I look forward to it every month. 

During our last date, while munching on eel and salmon makis, we commiserated over the fact that we both live so far from our families and wished we could be closer (she also has family in Canada).  But then we realized something important.  Given that our families are so far away, it really was up to us to turn our friends into our own extended family. Lucky for us, we have found a great core group of friends here in Boston. When push comes to shove, when times are tough, when all you need is a little support, we know we can turn to each other.  It's those small comforts you appreciate when you pause long enough to enjoy the taste of a great seared scallop and the company of a dear friend.

Wow. A brand new year and yet so few updates.  Is anyone else finding it really hard to update their LJ blog? It seems like there's so much going on with so little time to sit and savour those moments, plus no one seems to bother to update anymore.

Where to start...

November and December were a COMPLETE blur.

• Spent my 30th birthday in New York City with my love and two great friends. 
• Spent Christmas with my family in Vancouver, including my parents who drove 8 hours on Christmas day to be with us, then two days later, turned around and did the whole drive back home again. 
• Realized we were so busy visiting family and friends, it never even occurred to us to head downtown and check out the Olympic preparations.  Oh well, friends and family beat the Olympic games anytime!
• Got to spend some quality time with my adorable nephew.  Didn't take very long for him to warm up to us, mom and dad even let us babysit for an hour while they ran errands SANS the baby for the very first time!!
• Spent New Years Eve with Des's family in Edmonton where we also got a surprise visit from his aunt and uncle.
• Was the coldest New Years I've ever experienced with temps hitting a "high" of -25C (that's about -10F). When I got back to Boston the 32F actually felt warm.

2010 is already off to a busy start.  Des is off to San Francisco this week for some big laser conference. Work is going well for him and I'm proud to brag about the fact that he is definitely the Superstar of the company! 
I am training for my second 10k race happening in the beginning of February.  At first I was intimidated by the idea of running in the cold, wintery weather but once I actually got out there I realized, I LOVE running outside in the winter.  Am very much looking forward to the race, this time its to benefit the Lance Armstrong Cancer Foundation.
Winter semester for school just started.  Bought my textbook today for over $220!!! What the heck happened to textbook prices? Criminal I tell ya...

So, lots going on and no time to waste.  Better see if I can borrow my nephew's new wheels to get 'er all done:

Just as a follow up to my previous post, I just want to point out that NEVER at any point did She need to worry or stress out about a medical bill.  There was NEVER a question of how She was going to pay for the surgery or whether She would have to choose between feeding her family, selling her home, or having the surgery to save her life.  That includes both the mastectomy, the follow up scans, the Extra bone scan and Extra skin surgery (as a precaution) required to clear her of all cancer.  Say what you will about Universal Health Care, but when someone you love is saved from the stress of having to deal with insurance policies YET receives some of the best care that even money can buy (her surgeon actually had Americans flying up to her and paying for the same procedure themselves), I say the system works!

***

Yesterday, on Canadian thanksgiving, the day of my first 10k race finally arrived.  It was a crisp, cool, and sunny day, perfect for running!  Des accompanied me to the site and was the perfect cheerleader (meaning he took pictures for me and carried all my non-essential running gear).  Overall the race was fantastic, I ran at a much faster pace than any of my training runs.  With over 7000 runners, the start of the race was a little frustrating.  You were constantly forced to weave in and out of people as you tried to find your pace and the water stations were just littered with tiny paper cups that crushed under your feet.  The highlights for me were running past the redline train as the passengers waved and cheered you on, my friend Emily showing up at the 2 mile mark and again at the 4 mile mark just to cheer me on, and running across the Mass Ave bridge with the Boston skyline and thousands of runners looming ahead of you.  I had originally hoped to finish around 66 minutes (as that was my pace during my training) but actually finished the race at 64 minutes.  I guess the energy of the crowds and my competitive nature (I think I can pass her!) really helped.


So Many Bananas!


There go the Elite Runners.  I believe the winner of the race finished at around 32 minutes.


And me at the start of the race, wearing Red and White for Canada.  When Des asked me why I wasn't wearing the shirt they gave me for signing up, I replied that I had to wear this shirt b/c I am Team Canada!

This Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving.  I am most thankful for the people I have in my life, my family and my friends.  I will fully admit it, when it comes to people in general, I tend to be a hater.  I get so annoyed by crowded places, hate having strangers bump up against me, glare at those too stupid to realize their backpacks are shoving into my side during the busy morning commute, and even hold a special amount of hatred for those who deliberately hurt me, my family, or my friends.  BUT with all that hate is AT LEAST an equivalent amount of love.  My friends and family mean the world to me.  I hope they all know that if they EVER needed me I would try my absolute hardest to be there, anyway I could. 

So it hit me hard when I learned that someone very special to me was diagnosed with breast cancer and that She would have to undergo a mastectomy.

Let me back up just a little bit...

Last spring I was feeling out of shape and unmotivated.  Normally I don't have a problem playing sports or doing weight training but for some reason I can't stand long distance running.  All throughout high school I was the worse runner in the class and I was convinced that my body just wasn't cut out for long runs. So in an effort to challenge myself, I decided to start training for a 10k race.  It went well for a little while, but then I worked myself up to the 4mile mark and just couldn't get past that point.  It was "too hard" so I just gave up. I felt guilty for awhile but eventually found excuses for why is was Ok that I stopped running. 

Then I heard the news.  She had breast cancer, would undergo surgery, and was hoping to be able to recover in 3-4 months provided they got all the cancer out.  If they didn't get it all, then they would start talking about Chemo.  WTF.
She had to be strong enough to work through the stress of cancer and through the pain of surgery and I can't even be strong enough to run 4 miles?? What a wimp! That's when I decided to stop being such a wuss and re-start my training.  Whenever I started feeling like the runs were "too hard" I would remind myself of what She is going through.  I would remind myself that this was NOTHING compared to the strength She had to find.  

Which brings us to Today.  Today, She is officially cancer free.  The surgery was a success and because She is such a strong fighter, her recovery period has been miraculous!  We have to remind her to take it easier, that her body is still healing, because She feels great! 

And I pushed right past that 4 mile mark and am running 6 miles comfortably.  My 10K race is on Monday, it's the Tufts 10K race for Women, and I am running it for her.  She is my source of motivation and every time I feel tired or need to find that extra ounce of energy I'm going to think about her.  My goal this time around is simply to finish this race strong!  I'll worry about my time during the next race ;)

Happy Thanksgiving eh?!

The good thing about blogging is that it allows you to capture certain milestones, like an anniversary!

Today is our second anniversary and I can't believe how quickly time has flown by.  I always get a little bit sad on our anniversary though, just because I remember how wonderful that day was and how much I loved being around all my close family and friends.  Now I look from left to right and everyone is so far away!

Des is actually flying to San Francisco for a conference today, but delivered to my office this morning was a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  I still never expect flowers, so it was a really nice surprise! 

Overall, we've been together for 5 years now, lived together for 3.5 years, and married for 2.  On one hand it feels like we've been together for forever, and I mean that in a good way.  We're so comfortable and relaxed together, I feel like I get to hang out with my best friend everyday.  Then on the other hand things are still just as playful and fun as they were during our first year of dating.  For instance, we were folding laundry together the other day, a totally mundane everyday task, and he tells me how when we first starting living together and he did our laundry for the first time he totally panicked because he thought he had shrunk all my clothes.  He had never lived with a girl before and was amazed at how little my clothes looked.  "See look!" he would claim as he held up t-shirts and a pair of jeans up against his own frame.  And I had to admit, even though Des is not that big in terms of build, my clothes looked ridiculously small next to him.  A pretty silly admission, yet it had me rolling on the ground laughing as he continued.

It has certainly been an amazing two years. And in the end, I know that no matter how many happy or sad, healthy or sick, or big or small experiences get thrown at us, we'll tackle them together with some "happy dances", "towel hats", and "grape lamps" thrown in for good measure.

Been thinking about posting for awhile now, but somehow never got around to it.  Also been thinking about starting a new blog, a non-LJ blog.  Maybe...

While I've been thinking about that, summer has zipped by way too fast.  Good thing I LOVE the fall (especially here in New England) because it feels like it's here already.  I've been getting up pretty early during the week to try to get in a workout before I have to head to work but the darker mornings aren't making it easy.  I love my quiet morning runs, the air is so crisp and clean and there's hardly any people or cars around.  While it's those qualities that make my morning runs so wonderful, it also makes me a little cautious when it's still dark out.  But I can't keep delaying my start time until the sun finally comes out too much longer or else I'll be late for work.  Why am I so concerned about this?  Because I'm training for my first 10k race in October!  I'm already excited/nervous, I just hope I finish with a decent time.
Aside from running 3x a week and weight training 2x a week, Fall Ultimate starts this week.  Des and I decided to play on two teams this fall which means I'll also have games 2x a week.  On top of that, another semester of school starts for me tomorrow!  Which means papers, case studies, readings, and exams.  Yuck! I just hope school doesn't get in the way of my life ;)

With my race, Ultimate games, school papers, our second anniversary, and my 30th birthday (!), I expect Fall to fly by even faster than summer did.
Speaking of summer, here are a few pics of what we've been up to:


Whale watching in Gloucester MA.  We saw SO MANY whales (over 30), including these two humpback whales that were working together while feeding.  They had no fear of the boats around them and came up pretty close.


"The Breakers" in Newport RI.  The former summer home of the Vanderbilt family. Stunning mansion with just over the top decor (no pictures allowed inside).  We also really loved the town of Newport, so quaint and beautiful.  While we were there, we dined at the "Salvation Cafe"



Des had the tandoori rubbed sea bass while I had the seared scallops with lobster risotto.

Also, been cooking a lot more Korean food these days.  Experimenting with spicy chicken wings and soy bean stews (sorry forgot to take pics) as well as this old favourite that my mom use to make:

Fried tofu with a chili pepper-soy sauce.  Finally I found a tofu recipe that Des really likes! 

Hope everyone else is doing well.  No one really seems to blog anymore these days and I miss reading (snooping) through your lives.  At least email me and let me know how you all are doing!

All right.  Sorry about the previous post.  It's just that some people can be so... you know what I mean? 

Anyway, on to brighter more inspiring things.  We had a GREAT visit with the in-laws two weeks ago.  They came into town for Des's commencement and hooding ceremony.  We had his parents stay with us in our new guest bedroom and his sister and her boyfriend stayed downtown at the Fairmont Copley Plaza.  The hooding ceremony for PhD grads was scheduled for Thursday morning and the general commencement for all grads was set for Friday morning.  While anyone was welcome to come to the hooding ceremony, each grad was only allocated 4 tickets to the commencement ceremony on Friday.  Considering Des had 5 guests, he felt so bad that he couldn't score an extra ticket so that his sister's boyfriend could join us.  Luckily I made a new friend during Thursday's hooding ceremony, someone I like to call "Chatty Cathy".  While she certainly didn't hesitate to tell me ALL about her family and her daughter's studies, I did discover that she only had 3 guests coming to the commencement the next day.  I'm no dummy, I carefully subtracted 4 from 3 and quickly deduced that she might have an extra ticket.  Low and behold she did!!  So through her generousity we were able to have the entire crew come out on Friday morning, wait 4 hours, and clap for the split second that Des was projected on the big screen.  

Seriously though, we were all extremely proud of him!!!


We spent the rest of the visit walking all around Cambridge and Boston, eating at Turners Seafood (great food!), Pomodoro in the North End, Union Oyster House, and stopping for 2pm beers every afternoon.  Oh yeah, and they LOVED my Korean dinner.  Many went back for second helpings (actually I think only Des did NOT, humph!) and although I was SURE we had way too much food, there was barely anything left!  A good sign I think.

Make Way for Ducklings:


After a long day of walking, the Adler siblings:


Stopping for 2pm drinks:
 

At the Navy yard in Charlestown:


Important public service announcement, it reads "OUCH! It shouldn't happen to a Dog. Wear Safety Shoes":


Gateway to heaven? Or just the entrance to the Samuel Adams brewery tour:


We knocked but there was no one home:


We ended the visit with a trip to Salem:


It was great seeing family again and already we miss them dearly.  The morning of the day of their flight I overheard Des's dad talking about how much he wished they didn't have to leave already and I wholehearted agreed.  I wish we lived in the same city as our family but I guess I'll settle for a shorter period of time between visits. 

Congrats to the rest of the Grads of 2009!!!!

Oh the pettiness and selfishness of people.  Why waste your energy acting petty and just plain mean when there are REAL problems going on in this world?  Illness, injustice, and death are always present.  I've had news of all three this past week.  Think.  Are your issues really that important that you should intentionally hurt someone else?  If so, then maybe it is best to just let you go because you don't know what really matters in this world.  Family, Friends, and Love.  Don't mistreat or take any of those things for granted.  Maybe you'll come around eventually and realize this grudge just isn't worth it, or maybe not.   

So yeah, it's been a bad week.  The constant rain and clouds hasn't helped either.  Can I start the week over again?  Only this time, lets have everything happen in opposites.

So sad, I've been too tired to update regularly or even think of things to update about.

After trying a couple of different cardio kickboxing classes at different gyms, I decided that "cardio kickboxing" just wasn't for me.  I get no joy out of flaying my arms at air.  I need a target, someone to encourage me when I punch hard and someone to yell at me if I'm wussing out.  So I went back to the gym in Central square and have been trying it out for the past month.  A couple of times I got paired with some strong kick ass women and that was fun.  But then a couple of times I got stuck holding the pads for some strong ass kicking men, which was less fun.  Each and every time I go I get an awesome workout and plan on sticking it out for at least the summer.  I'll assess how much I have improved versus how many bruises I have and decide whether or not to continue in the fall.  So far I have not lost any weight, although Des claims he can see a difference in my muscle definitions already.  Last night the coaches had us punching each other LIGHTLY in the abs.  Even those light punches hurt, I can't even imagine how a full force punch in the abs when you're least expecting it feels!

Summer semester has already started, but I'm taking it easy now, only 1 course at a time. 

The in-laws come into town for Des's commencement next week.  This weekend will be filled with cooking up tons of Korean food and cleaning the apartment in anticipation of their visit.  I've never cooked for the in-laws before and they've never had authentic Korean food before.  At least I know his dad Loves Kimchi!

Oh My!!!!  My brother's wife has gone into labour.  I'm about to be an Aunt!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Over the weekend I finally made some time to check out a kickboxing class in Central Square.  While I didn't barf up a lung as expected, I did end up having to take a 2 min break near the end of class as I began to see spots.  Once the immediate need to pass out eventually passed, I jumped right back into the ring and managed to finish the class.  It was intense.  There were about 12 people in the class but only 2 other girls.  So when it was time for us to partner up I was stuck facing a 5'10" male in very good shape.  I felt SO BAD for him.  Poor guy gets stuck having to partner up with the new girl in class.  Yet, no worries, it didn't deter him from punching and kicking the pads I was holding in FULL FORCE.  Bruises pretty much started forming right away and my arms wouldn't stop shaking for the rest of the afternoon.  Overall though it was a good workout and I think I could learn a lot from this gym.  I'm just not convinced it's the right gym for me.  Everyone was really nice and my partner was very encouraging throughout.  However I'm not enthusiastic about having to hold the pads for guys every class.  I find that it takes so much energy and strength for me to hold the pads that I don't have much energy left when it becomes my turn to punch and kick.  Plus I HATE looking like a wimp!

I did find another gym that offers kickboxing classes, only this one is really close to our new apartment.  Before I come to a final decision on the Central Square gym, I've decided to try a class at this new Melrose gym first.  

Lately I've been feeling so tired and anti-social.  For example, I haven't updated this blog in months.  Yet so much has happened.  Des, oh excuse me - Dr. Des, finally finished his phD at the end of February and started his new grownup job two weeks ago.  He's been working long hours but it really sounds like he's already made an impact on his new company, fixing problems, making new lasers, that sort of thing.  We also moved 3 weeks ago.  While a part of me was really sad to leave our Brookline apartment, I love our new place.  We also spent a week in March lounging in paradise.  Otherwise known as the US virgin islands, the beaches were simply amazing and is now my default "Happy Place".  Whenever work starts to get me down I let my mind shift to the coral filled beaches of St. John while my head nobs automatically at whoever is talking to me at the moment.

I guess what I've been missing most these days is the gym.  Even though my new apartment complex has a free gym that I can use, I just can't seem to get myself motivated enough to actually use it.  Running on the treadmill and lifting free weights has just gotten so boring, and in lieu of boredom, I have opted to spend my evenings curled up on the couch in my jammie pants instead.  It doesn't help that my previous trainer left the backbay gym and headed to Waltham, thus leaving me without my weekly dose of ass kicking, aka kickboxing.  In an attempt to get out of this funk and get motivated again I've been searching for a new kickboxing gym, maybe one that's a bit more serious and intense then the classes I use to take in backbay.  I think I've found one.  Redline Fight Sports is located in Central Square (close to where I work), its membership fee includes unlimited classes (so I can go more than just once a week), it has a great rate for students (yup, I'm still doing my MBA parttime), and they completely remodeled the gym last fall (so it now looks clean and professional).  Unfortunately, deep down, I'm a HUGE chicken.  Especially in new situations when I don't know what to expect.  What if the gym is filled with no-neck Southies who could squish a little Asian girl with a single forearm?  What if I've been in this funk for so long that when I get to the gym not only can I NOT keep up with the classes, but I end up barfing up a lung too?  Man, I hate being the worst at anything, yet I fear I will be the worst boxer in the whole gym.

Despite this fear though, I have to give this new gym a try.  I miss kickboxing too much to let my chicken-istis get the better of me.  So I'll gather what courage I can find and go try out a class on Monday.  And if things get really bad, I can always just go to my happy-place...

 

Yesterday afternoon Des had his thesis defense presentation and I was SO proud of him!!  Of course for me that meant sitting through a 1.5 hour presentation that I didn't really understand but at least he looked really cute in his suit and tie. 
It feels like it's been a loooong three years with many stressful, tear jerking, and hair pulling moments at the lab for him.  Now with only 3 weeks left until Des is done school for good (or as he likes to say, For Now...) I look forward to getting my husband back.  For being able to spend 2 whole stress free weekend days with him, to be able to make vacation plans without worrying about emails from his adviser, and to not receiving text msgs from him at 1am saying he'll be home right after he finishes this last grant application.  
It's been a tiresome road, but I'm so proud of how well he's coped with all that irrational stress and how despite all the bad times at the lab, he still managed to be a patient, loving, and nuturing husband. 

2009 budget has been finalized and distributed, 2008 year end reports are complete, and we've finally got a handle on the new software we've installed.  So how am I spending my time at work? 

Reading blogs!!  I came across this one today http://metrodad.typepad.com/
So funny!  My favourite post has to be:

THINGS KOREAN PARENTS MUST SAY TO EACH OTHER BEFORE HAVING KIDS

(1) "We should definitely never talk about our feelings."

(2) "Let's cut their hair at home until they're 18. We'll use the kalbi scissors."

(3) "What else can we pack for lunch to ensure that he's teased mercilessly?"

(4) "Whenever his friends come over, make sure the whole house smells like kimchi."

(5) "Don't forget to use guilt whenever possible."

So funny because it's true.

After Des accepted the new job offer last month (he starts in April) fantasies about buying a condo or townhouse of our very own quickly filled our heads. 
However, we soon discovered that even though interest rates were at an all time low, houses prices in Boston were still quite high.  At least by our budget standards.  Plus, any sort of moderate down payment would quickly deplete our cash reserves and leave us feeling more than a little bit financially vulnerable. 
Narrowing down a suitable neighbourhood was another issue all together.  We needed something that would make each of our commutes reasonable, me to Cambridge and him to Westford, and wanted something that would manage to retain it's value within the next 5 years.  Why 5 years?  Well that's another issue.  We don't even know how much longer we'll be in Boston.  Given the current state of the economy and all the lay-off reports we have no idea how Des's new job will go.  Maybe the company will go under, maybe they will decide they no longer need, or can afford, Des, or maybe Des will hate it there.  If any of those situation were to happen, the last thing we would want is to be limited in our options b/c we bought a place that we can't sell quickly (without taking a huge loss). 
These are all reasons why maybe we should stick to renting...

But then again, those are all "What ifs" and I know you really shouldn't live your life on "What ifs". 

So here we are, contemplating our options.  To buy or not to buy...
The lure of low interest rates and having your monthly payments go towards building equity as opposed to just rent is really enticing.  But is it too risky right now?  Add to that the fact that I am DYING to move.  Our cold, buggy, toilet clogging, no water pressure apartment is quickly losing whatever charm it once had when we first moved in.

I think I go back and forth DAILY on what we should do.  What do you guys think?  Would you buy or stick to renting?

I can't believe 2008 is already almost over.  And more importantly, I can't believe we're already back from our holiday trip up North!!  Why, oh why do we continue to choose to travel over Christmas??  As usual, our trip involved plenty of delays, frustration, and stupid people. 

But before I go into the dirty details of our trip, here are a few pictures from the Holiday/Birthday party that my LJ friends threw in December (I finally got around to uploading my pictures).
( Holiday/Birthday party pics )

Due to time constraints, we decided to just hit up Edmonton this year and save Vancouver for the spring (hopefully!).  Unhappy with our experience with Air Canada last year, and because of lower fares, we decided to try flying United this year.  Unfortunately that meant flying from Boston to Chicago, then Chicago to Edmonton.  Silly us and our optimism, we keep our fingers crossed and hoped for the best despite the stories we've heard about trying to connect through O'hare. 
( Super long travel story! )

Whew, long post!  Good thing no one's in the office today and I could spend this time goofing off.  I hope everyone else's Christmas was fun and relaxing.  Let me know if anyone's staying around Boston for New Years.  We'll plan something!

We're staying in Boston.

Des accepted a position today and starts his new job in April. 
While moving to Holland would have been fun and exciting, in the end we decided that it made more sense for us to stay in Boston.  The job itself is more interesting and could lead to more opportunities for him and I get to keep my job in Cambridge.  It's a tough year to be graduating (I heard somewhere that graduate admissions applications went up 40% this winter!) and we feel lucky that Des was even offered an opportunity as good as this one.  

2009 will probably start with us house- (or rather condo-) hunting.  That should be fun!

Interesting... annual bonuses for this year has been reduced by 4% and raises have been reduced by 2%.  Yet there is NO mention of any reduction in management bonuses, even for those who typically receive BOTH management and company-wide bonuses. 

Grrrrrrr...

For the last couple of months, Des and I have been busy exploring new job opportunities.  Here in Boston, in California, Europe, and Canada.  Unfortunately our Canadian options didn't work out (damn this slumping economy, it's the worst year to be graduating!) and the California option wasn't that grand.  Thus, we were left to choose between Boston and Europe. 

It's no secret that over the last 3 years I've developed a rather strong dislike for the city of Boston.  "Service" in this city is almost non-existent, where people are rude to the point that they not only don't give a shit, but they'll yell at you too -just- so you know how little they care.  The public transit system is very hit and miss (HELLO! 5 D-trains, 3 B-trains, and 2 E-Trains before even 1 C-train, then it's only a one car train???  Who's running this operation?). Our apartment feels like it's falling apart (despite the high rent price which indicates it should be otherwise) and the roads/traffic are HORRENDOUS.  I HATE driving in this city and normally I LOVE to drive.  But overall I think I've realized that what I hate most about this city is that it's not Vancouver.  It's missing the beautiful snow capped mountain view in the winter and the cloudless sandy beaches in the summer.  Most importantly, it doesn't have Cathy, Sheana, Peter, Thompson, etc.  My friends and family who I miss terribly everyday. 

However, that is not Boston's fault. 
And the choice to give all that up for the city of Boston was mine.

So perhaps I've been unfair to poor Boston and not really looked at it with fresh eyes.  Last weekend I realized that Boston has more positive qualities then I gave it credit for.  First and MOST important are the new friends that I've made here.  They threw me and another girl in our group a joint birthday party last Saturday.  It was AMAZING the level of detail and the amount of work everyone put into it.  The decor was absolutely beautiful (decorated in our favourite colours), the food was delicious (they asked our husbands for our favourite food info and catered the menu to that), and the gifts were so generous.  I was so touched by how much effort people put into this party for us, especially since I'm the newest member of the group.  Looking around the room I thought, if staying in Boston means I can spend more quality time with these friends, then that's a very good reason to stay.  A Great reason actually.

So THANK YOU supper club gals, for extending your friendship and making me feel so welcome! 
Here are a few photos from the night, taken by Kallianne.  (My home computer's down so I haven't been able to upload my own photos yet).

The supper club gals: Msboston, sixpixee, Chie (the other birthday girl), linh, dreamsrey, and digitaldewi


Part of the buffet table, loaded with Cambodian, Korean, and Japanese food.


The birthday girls, me and Chie cutting our birthday cake at the glorious dessert table.