What a Week!

I have not managed to get myself back on the dating horse here in Boston (I'm thinking this might be a project for Thanksgiving - to sign up for some dating sites and switch over my dating profile). But never fear! The life of an International Woman of Mystery is NEVER dull.

Let me tell you a little bit about my week.

Here is an executive summary of what went downn this week in the life of an International Woman of Mystery:

I did over 200 pushups. I did hundreds of sit ups. I sprinted up and down hills. I skipped Boot Camp due to the rain. But still managed to get to Boot Camp despite lots of drinks and shots the night before. I saw the Bruins win. I watched the Celtics loose. I learned what a hat trick is. I drank way too much Blue Moon beer. I drank way too much champagne on Saturday night. I discovered the burrito place down the street and ate burritos every single day (yes, I really did). I woke up with a hangover on Saturday but still managed to throw an awesome housewarming party. I worked a lot. I socialized with work people a lot. I texted my boss to tell him I thought my colleagues were hot I was the victim of a work practical joke...

And now for the details:

Being the insane person that I am, I have continued to torture myself with week number two of 6 am Boot Camp.  Although I will admit that even the International Woman of Mystery is not superhuman, I totally skipped it on Wednesday when the alarm went off at 5:30 in the morning and I could hair the sound of the rain POURING even over my white noise machine and the loud buzzing noise outside my bedroom window (I have mentioned this noise a few times now - it is unfortunately the downside of my new apartment). I can't say it's gotten any easier to get up in the morning but I do feel good about doing it (even though it makes me hungry and cold for the rest of the day - oh and tired. So very tired).
This week I got a re-introduction to the Boston sports scene in a BIG way! My company has box seats to the Garden for the Celtics and Bruins (how awesome is that)? So, on Thursday night I went to the Bruins game and Friday night I went to the Celtics game!

The Bruins game was exciting as it featured a hat trick - the same guy scored 3 goals. I found this out when I asked someone why everyone was throwing their hats on the ice! Look at all these things I'm learning.

Sporting events to to involve a lot of beer and as I live and work in walking distance of the Garden, it was way too convenient to go out for drinks after the game despite the fact that I tried to plead out of it. Drinks for some reason led to shots (I can't even remember the last time I did a shot on a weeknight).

So, needless to say that Friday morning Boot Camp (yes, I did make it) was not a lot of fun. Especially when the trainer seemed to be in a big bad mood and made us do hill sprints and over 200 push ups (obviously done the girlie way on our knees) and various other torturous exercises in the what was the hardest Boot Camp yet!

The Celtics unfortunately did not bring it the same way the Bruins did and ended up loosing by 4 points. But at the game I learned what little pranksters the guys I work with are (I'm working with mainly men in a technical environment so I guess it shouldn't surprise you). No one is safe from them. I know better than to leave my computer unlocked when I get up from my desk (or random emails and embarrassing emails will be sent). But after a few beers, I wasn't paying attention and had left my un-password protected phone laying around. Luckily one of my female colleagues managed to rescue my phone before any damage was done and remind me to keep my phone in a safe place at all times.

But even with that reminder, I fell victim to a little practical joke that I should have seen coming a mile away. 

Since I'm working with mobile in my new job and since I'm working in a rather geeky tech environment, there is often a lot of discussion about mobile phones. There is a definite ongoing Android vs. Iphone discussion. I won't bore you with all the details. But I need to explain this to get to the next point.

So my rather Cute co-worker has an Android phone and rather than typing, you can kind of just drag your fingers over the keys without lifting them and the words will appear. It looks very strange. I had seen him do this in meetings and was wondering how hard it was to do. So, he opened his phone and started a blank text message and showed me how to do it.

He wrote: This is a text message
Then I wrote the following very uncreative sentence: This is International Woman of Mystery. I am at a Celtics game with Cute Co-worker now.*
Then our prankster colleague came up to see what we were doing and wrote: Prankster colleague is hot according to International Woman of Mystery. Have a good night.

And then of course he immediately sent this text message TO MY BOSS!

So this message from Cute Co-worker's phone randomly went to my new boss.

This is a text message. This is International Woman of Mystery. I am at a Celtics game with Cute Co-worker now. Prankster Colleague is hot according to International Woman of Mystery. Have a good night.

Needless to say I was pretty embarrassed. But apparently my boss is used to them doing such things as he immediately texted back to say that Cute Co-worker should know better than to leave his phone around when Prankster colleague is there. Still it was embarrassing for such an incriminating and unnecessary text to be sent with my name all over it. Oh well. Lesson learned. I need to watch those guys all the time!

Saturday night I had a kick-ass housewarming party at my new apartment! I invited old and new colleagues and friends and we filled up my apartment and drank way too much. I was super excited that many of my college roommates showed up even though many live out of state. It was great to see them! Although way way too much champagne and wine have made Sunday pretty miserable especially since I had a lot of cleaning to do.

So, that was my week. How was your week? Are you looking forward to the long weekend ahead as much as I am? I have lots of things going on this week. I will be sure to tell you all about them soon.

*Obviously real names were used

Desperately Seeking a Man

So, at this point, I'm pretty much in a dry spell when it comes to men - it feels like it's been weeks since I've even flirted with a man. Correction - it HAS been weeks. The last man of interest in my life was THE WRITER and that was in London in September! And usually this doesn't bother me, but with the move and all, I've been noticing more than usual that I'm alone and kind of wishing I had someone there to fill in the lonely spaces and to help with the heavy lifting (emotional and physical) of the move. Let's face it moving is LONELY. It would be way more fun to do it with a special someone else.

So, with this thought in the back of my head, for the past couple weeks, I've been composing a list of the reasons why this International Woman of Mystery is suddenly desperately seeking a man.

Desperately Seeking a Man

To help carry all the boxes up the stairs (I promise to help - I swear).

To live in my apartment with me and split the exorbitant rent for the closet-like awesome space.

To hold my hand as we walk through the gaslight streets and discover the charming neighborhood of Beacon Hill with me.

To go for long runs with me on the Charles River.

To drive my car around Boston and hopefully do a better job at navigating the city than I do.

To discuss the apartment and help me decide which furniture would go best.

To go with me to pick out furniture for the apartment.

To help me build the furniture and recognize quickly when I am inevitably building things wrong (because I am too impatient to follow directions) and suggest I do it the right way before I "finish" it and then have to take it all apart and start over.

To step in and take over anything involving a hammer and nails as soon as he sees that I hammer every single nail in completely crooked.

To take the lead with anything involving 'tools.' Actually, he should probably ban me from using tools all together. It's not pretty.

To help with the emotional side of the move and the super life changes I'm going through.

To help me re assimilate to the US and remind me that it's ok to give up my jet-set life for awhile.

To tell me that when I'm ready to resume my jet-set lifestyle, that he will accompany me.

To go with me to pick out a kitten. And to clean the litter box help take care of the kitten.

To share the cost of my awesome car that I so do not need since I can walk to work in 15 minutes - note that in return, the boyfriend can drive the car all he wants as long as he sometimes will drive me somewhere...

To help with all the long "to-do" list associated with moving like setting up utilities, paying bills, switching the registration on your car, talking to your insurance, getting a Beacon Hill parking pass...

To cuddle with me at night and tell me that everything is going to be all right.

To listen to me talk about my new job and provide various other emotional support.

To reassure me that I'm awesome and cute when I'm feeling insecure.

To tell me I'm beautiful even when I'm not wearing any makeup.

To tell me that 6 am Boot Camp is already paying off (even though as far as I can tell the only result I'm seeing is uber-tiredness all the time).

To sit with me in front of the fire place and drink wine on a cozy night in.

To go out and party with me and my friends on a crazy night out.

To cook us dinner in our new kitchen (I have yet to turn on the stove or oven - actually, I just realized that I don't even own any pots or pans which leads me to the next point)

To buy us some pots and pans and wine glasses, and utensils and all the other things that are still "missing" in the apartment because I ran out of money motivation to buy them myself.

To buy a television and install it (this isn't high on my priority list but I feel like a boyfriend would make sure it happened).

To cuddle up on the couch with me and watch movies on the television (obviously he will have also figured out how to stream Net Flix).

To bring to the apartment some kind of video game system and sometimes let me play it with you (I secretly like video games in moderation and when played with boyfriends) and not to complain when I make him play Sing Star or Making the Band with me.

To help me host an awesome housewarming party tonight.

So, if you know any hot TALL Boston boys who favor skinny jeans, hate khakis, do not shop at Brooks Brothers, and are super smart, nice, tolerant, funny, interesting, love to travel and would consider living abroad, like cats, are strong and love to cuddle... well, please tell them about the International Woman of Mystery and send them over to Beacon Hill!

My Apartment

So, I figured I would share with you some pictures of the mistress in my life. The reason that I have not had time for you lately. The thing that has been keeping me way to busy to blog

The good news is that my apartment now has enough furniture now to be livable and to feel like home! And most of my stuff is unpacked although I have a couple boxes in the closet that still need unpacking. So, hopefully I can stop totally stressing about it and get back to blogging.

Obviously my apartment is not yet complete. I still need to get some more furniture for the living room. I think I need a desk, some kind of eating table and maybe a chair. I probably need a shelf or storage space of some kind since I still have boxes in the closet of things that don't yet have a "home."

I also need a rug and stuff for the walls. Although not a big TV fan, I probably will get a television at some point, especially since the wall mount for one is already installed.

I also have ordered two more stools for the counter (the one in the pictures is one my parents brought from home because they felt bad that I had no furniture).

The pillows on the couch are so not right. I have to find more appropriate ones. The problem is that the couch has very low arms and is therefore not very comfortable to "curl up" on (do not buy a couch with low arms - trust me), so the couch needs lots of pillows - just not those pillows...

Anyway, I'm ready to show you it now. So, here it is... my new apartment in its current state. Let me know what you think.


Kitchen and living room area

 

Couch with the bad pillows and the $20 Ikea coffee table I bought to be "temporary" but that I kinda like



Kitchen Area



Bedroom



Bedroom



Bedroom

Bedroom and my awesome walk-in closet that actually has a washer and dryer over to the left-hand side

Does this seem like a pretty good apartment for an International Woman of Mystery? What should I do to improve it? Any suggestions on the rest of the furniture for the living room?


Hope your week is off to a GREAT start. Happy Monday!

Random Updates from an International Woman of Mystery

So, since I haven't had much time to blog lately, there is a lot I need to update you all on - including my Halloween adventure and costume choice!

So, this blog is going to totally lack any structure (as if my normal posts are so full of structure anyway) and I'm just going to tell you what's been going on and what's on the mind of this International Woman of Mystery!

So, here are my random updates:

On Halloween

The costume choice for Halloween ended up being...Drumroll please....

THE VINTAGE NURSE!

So, the vintage won out over the sexy firewoman - but mostly because I got the costume on and couldn't be bothered to change again. Both were pretty good outfits and Crazy Sexy Friend S was not very helpful as she liked them both too and made me change them back and forth until I got tired and went with the Nurse one because that was what was on!

Halloween weekend ended up being fun but not really over-the-top. Actually, I found it pretty overwhelming to be out and about and meeting new people and trying to adjust to American culture - especially after a long week at work of trying to remember names.

Friday at work was total Halloween madness. Some of my colleagues were in full on furry animal suits! Yikes!

I decided to do my part in dressing up. I wore a white dress and a halo and wings and my colleague wore devil horns and we were The Forces of Good and Evil. It worked and was kind of cute. At least that's what people told us.

The day was full of candy and sugar highs and culminated in a Halloween parade and costume competition followed by drinks at the bar. The bar was packed and I stayed for awhile drinking with colleagues whose names I for the most part couldn't remember, before heading out to another bar to dance to some live music. I made my way home around midnight - totally exhausted.

And the next day I woke up with a HANGOVER. Ugh. That's what happens when you drink 5 beers and do not eat dinner. A late afternoon run shook away most of the hangover. And then it was time to get ready for Halloween take II.

Crazy Sexy Friend S went hiking on the day of the party and managed to twist her ankle. So she was not in top form. Crazy Sexy Friend S lives in South Boston (aka Southie) so I went over to her hood. We started off at a pretty low key house party which was nice but there were not too many people there - and definitely no hotties.

We then moved on to a crazy huge party at a certified bachelor pad. This apartment was home to 5 men and had an HUGE INDOOR pool. It was a scene for sure. Lots of people. Lots of crazy with people cannonballing into the pool. But Crazy Sexy Friend S wanted to leave. And she kept asking me if I was having fun. And while the scene was interesting, it's kind of hard to really have "fun" when you don't know anyone and you know your friend wants to leave. So, we decided to call it a night.

On 6 am Boot Camp Class

Because it's totally normal that when you are in the middle of a move and feeling a bit out-of-shape that you sign up for a 16 session 6 am boot camp class to whip you back into shape. Oh wait? It's not normal? It's in fact absolutely insane? Oh yeah... Right. I wish someone had told me that BEFORE I payed $250 to be tortured every morning.

It hasn't helped that it rained poured 2 of the 4 mornings so far. On the first day, it was absolutely pouring down and really windy. As I lay on the cold wet ground doing sit ups with the rain splashing on my face... well, let's just say that I couldn't wait to come back the next day! ha ha...

Actually, it's not that bad. Physically it's challenging - but in a good way. Nowhere near as hard as the British Military Fitness I attended in London (which was good - I have back problems and as they didn't emphasize form or structure, I was too afraid of getting hurt).

And it's good for me to actually do something for myself. Since I have graduated college and started working for The Company, I have never ever done something like take a class. With my crazy work and travel schedule, I wasn't able too. Life was too unstable. So, I'm happy to be doing something for myself. Let's just hope the results pay off!

What was not such a good idea was starting this AND moving at the same time. Moving is rather physically challenging - especially since I live on the third floor. My body is so sore and exhausted right now. Friday was awesome because I actually got to sleep in. I never thought that sleeping until 8 am would feel like sleeping late!
Week one done - just 3 more weeks to go! Next week class meets every single week day!

On So Not Being a Morning Person

The most challenging thing about the Boot Camp is the fact that I'm so not a morning person! I never go to bed before midnight. I often don't go to bed until 2 am. I don't have to be at work until 9 and as I live close to work, this means I can get up at 8, or at the earliest 6:30 if I want to go for a run (although admittedly I tend to reach for the snooze button rather than my running shoes - which is why I'm torturing myself with the Boot Camp as it forces me out of bed).

So, getting up at 5:25 to be at Boston Commons by 6 fully dressed and stretched is a difficult one!

So, because of these EARLY mornings, I should really be in bed by 10 or 11 at the latest. But with all my trips to Ikea and building furniture and unpacking boxes, this has been a total FAIL this week. And therefore at work I've been completely exhausted yawning and barely able to keep my eyes open. Not fun! I really need to get myself on the early morning schedule!

However, it is kind of nice to be up that early. I'm back at my apartment by 7:10 and I can sit and have a coffee and read the news blogs and not have to worry about rushing around. I even managed to put together some Ikea furniture before work!

And as the work out is done in the mornings, I have my evenings free - which is nice. I can now meet people for drinks after work without feeling guilty about not going to the gym.

On living in America again

The transition is harder than I thought in some ways and easier than I thought in others.

I don't think it's hit me yet that I'm here for good. I still feel like I'm on vacation. And I've been so focused on the move and getting settled, that I haven't really been living. I have hardly been out of my apartment or office besides my trips to Ikea and Target. I haven't had any chance at all to explore Boston or the nightlife.

I have to say though that when I have a quick moment to reflect, I feel desperately homesick for Europe. I miss my friends and I feel far away from them.

I'm afraid that when all the manic craziness of the move is over, that I'm going to look around and want to pack up and leave again.

On the other hand, there are lots of nice things about being home as well. Boston is a beautiful city. And I have a pretty nice life here. My office is great. Life is comfortable. I have more friends around then I thought... It's pretty easy to live in the US (once you get past all the moving bull shit). Although I have never been one to go for "easy."

On my new neighborhood: Beacon Hill

This might be one of the most charming neighborhoods in the world! I can't wait to explore it more. But the gaslight streets and tiny brick roads make it seem so cozy and cute. And what a great location. Walking distance to everything in Boston! Whole Foods (the best and unfortunately the most expensive store ever) is right across the street. And it only takes me 15 mins to walk to work (bonus exercise) - good thing I bought that new car!

On the loudness of city living

The only downside is that it's LOUD living in the city. My apartment in London was really quiet.

In addition to the loud constant buzzing noise from a generator on the roof of the store next door, there is also a fire station less than a block down the street. So, the wailing of fire engines is now incorporated into the daily background noise of my life.

And speaking of fires and loud noises, I learned the hard way that the fan must be when you take a hot shower or else the fire alarm WILL go off. There is nothing like loud obnoxious beeping first thing in the morning when you are naked and soaking wet!

On Downsizing from a big two-bedroom to a tiny one-bedroom apartment

This is no fun at all. My London apartment was about twice the size of my new Beacon Hill one! Last Tuesday, moving men delivered 43 boxes from London. I could hardly even fit the boxes into the apartment. Luckily Super Dad came to the rescue and helped me unpack and put together the couch that was delivered. And I sent a whole carload of "stuff" home with him (much to my Mother's dismay).

On Ikea

Well, I've hardly had any time to miss Sweden since I've practically been LIVING at Ikea!

Seriously, that place sucks you in. I have been there 3 times in the past week.

And then you get the furniture home and you have to spend hours BUILDING it! I finally finished the last piece of furniture I had to build yesterday. My apartment now has a full  bedroom set plus a couch thanks to Ikea.

But at least my visits to Ikea got me a good dose of Sweden with some Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and lingon berries. Yum!

On Dating

Moving alone is lonely. More than ever, I'm ready to find a man. Since the Hot British Writer (who I still think about way too much btw), I've been in a bit of a dry spell. I definitely feel like I'm missing intimacy at the moment.

However... the sad sad thing is, that I have not seen one attractive man since I've been home! I know. I know. I haven't exactly had time to be out on the prowl... but in Stockholm (the land of beautiful men), I would see hot men everywhere. The walk to work alone was great for hottie spotting!

As soon as I can manage to get settled, I need to switch my Match.com account back over to the American version and line up some dates (another good thing about working out in the morning, I have evenings free to do social things - once I get my apartment settled that is).

I'm also hoping that I'm Attractive Single Friend C will soon take me out on the town and teach me the Boston tricks!

Alright. I could go on forever. But I think that's enough of my random updates for now. I hope you all feel caught up on the life of an International Woman of Mystery.

Come back tomorrow for pictures of my new apartment!

An International Woman of Mystery's Awesome Guide to the Do and Do NOTS of moving

Guess what?

I'm baaaack!!!! Yay! I never meant to be away for so long. Moving is very very hard. Let me tell you. But I'm happy to say that I now have an apartment. And it even has a few pieced of furniture in it. Tomorrow I have 40 boxes (and no idea where I am going to put them) being delivered from London so I will finally have all my stuff! I will also get a couch delivered tomorrow.

I just have to say that these last couple weeks have been REALLY REALLY hard. I can't wait to put this all behind me and start living and enjoying life again and blogging on a regular basis. I have missed you all so much!

I have so much to update you all on. But let's start with a list that will give you some major insight as to what has been going on in my life.

The International Woman of Mystery's Guide to the DO's and DO NOTS of moving

Do NOT think that moving will be easy. Do not even think that it will not be that hard. Tell yourself it's going to suck and make sure you set your expectations right from the beginning.

DO try to keep a positive attitude even when it seems that life is working against you in every single way possible

If possible, DO NOT start a new job that is hard and difficult at the SAME time as you are moving. This will make your life very difficult.

DO NOT think that you will get a good deal (aka cheap apartment) in Beacon Hill.

DO NOT think that your Beacon Hill apartment will be big. It will not be. In fact you do not even want to calculate the rent per square foot. It might make you cry.

DO NOT constantly compare the small small one bedroom Beacon Hill apartment to your huge two bedroom London flat.

DO realize that your Beacon Hill apartment is actually nicer than your London one... just a LOT smaller.

DO be thankful for your walk in closets - remind yourself how rare this is in Beacon Hill (and try not to dwell on how much it all costs).

When looking at apartments, DO take note of important things like the fact that there is a loud generator outside of the bedroom window that creates a loud buzzing sound that is enough to drive you absolutely insane and will ensure that you will never ever be able to open the window. DO NOT sign a lease without checking up on that shit more than once!

DO NOT stress too much about it when you realize that the living room windows in your apartment look DIRECTLY into the windows of one of your married male colleagues (yes, awesome things like this happen to me).

DO take a strong note that you had better keep those shades locked down!

DO NOT expect that moving into an apartment that has NO furniture at all will be anything like moving into a completely furnished apartment. Believe me, it's a whole new ball game.


DO NOT sign up for a 6 am boot camp class (every single morning) when you are in the middle of a move.

DO NOT think that you will be able to have any form of a personal life or social life while you are in the middle of a move.

DO try to blog but do NOT beat yourself up if you cannot manage it because you are so tired that it's all you can do to keep your eyes open when you realize that it's midnight and you are nowhere near done with your to-do list and you think about opening up your computer but realize that nothing good is going to flow from your fingers to your blog. Seriously. Don't feel guilty. (I'm still working on this one).

DO ask your friends for help.

DO make sure you have a LOT of money. Moving is freaking crazy expensive.

DO have a really awesome friend like I'm Attractive Single Friend C who let's you stay at her place for a very long time and takes trips with you to Ikea and offer you lots moral support

DO have awesome parents who will help you in your time of need.

DO set a time limit for your Ikea trip. That store is MASSIVE. You could live there. Or at least stay there for forever.

DO have a list when going to Ikea - focus, focus, focus.

DO NOT go to Ikea 1 hour before it closes and expect to get a lot done (although I might have set a world record for being in and out in an hour with a full bedroom set

DO expect and plan to go back to Ikea more than once... It happens.

When the man delivering the mattress tells you that there is just no way he is going to get it up the stairs and is generally just being mean to you, DO start to cry. Believe me if there are enough tears, he will get that mattress up the stairs just to shut you up.

Do NOT expect any delivery or assembly men to come anywhere NEAR the time they tell you they are going to be there. Be prepared to wait around the house the ENTIRE weekend.

DO right mean yelp reviews of companies like Urban Express who really messed up your life by making a prisoner in your furniture-less apartment all weekend while you stood (because there is no furniture to sit on) around waiting for them to arrive for hours and hours just to finally find out (after you called them 5 times) that they will not make it until tomorrow - and then repeat the whole process.

DO NOT use the company Urban Express which is the company the Ikea in Stoughton, Ma uses for deliveries and assemblies (the delivery was ok, the assembly was a nightmare - I waited for the guys for about 10 hours in total and waited on the phone for 45 minutes talking to incompetent staff each of the 12 times I had to call them to check where the assembly guys were).

DO grin and bear it when the delivery men and assembly men call you "cute" nicknames like "beautiful" and "honey" - decide that if it makes them get shit done faster, it's worse a little degradation

DO try to see the humor in everything even when all you really want to do is cry and cry and cry

DO let yourself have a major breakdown on a Friday night when it all seems impossible and your are so miserable in your furniture-less apartment in a new city and are so homesick for Europe and your friends there.

DO try to wake up with a more positive attitude on Saturday morning

DO NOT think that you will not need a winter jacket in Boston in November. DO pack this in your things you are bringing with you.

DO NOT think that you will not need summer running clothes in Boston in October. Do remember that sometimes it is 70 degrees one day and 30 degrees the next day.

DO NOT think too much about Europe and all your friends there who you miss so much.

DO NOT freak out when you pull the Ikea furniture out of a box and you end up with 300 small pieces. This is normal. Take a deep breath. And then begin the long assembly process.

DO know that building Ikea furniture has a big learning curve. It does get easier. Although not that much easier.

DO NOT make fun of your father when he wears dorky knee pads to put together your furniture. DO remember that he is there to help.

DO covet your fathers kneepads (although still wonder why he needed to put them on in the street OUTSIDE your apartment where he then has to walk two blocks with them on) when you have been kneeling for 4 hours putting together furniture on the hardwood floor and have massive bruises on your knee

DO consider asking your father if you can borrow the kneepads... Although DO NOT even for a moment consider wearing them OUTSIDE the apartment.

DO NOT think twice about buying a wine opener even though one is eventually coming in your boxes from London. You are going to need a LOT of wine to get through this.

DO NOT think that it is a good idea to drink while putting together Ikea furniture. This will inevitably lead to big messes. Although DO consider drinking if it is the only way that you can convince yourself to stay at home on BOTH Friday and Saturday night and put together said furniture.

If you DO drink while putting together Ikea furniture (hey, sometimes it just has to be done) DO make sure you put aside some time the next day to fix all the stuff you put together wrong.

DO set a hard date on when you are determined to be finished with the move by having a housewarming party (mine is November 20th).

DO try not to stress about 40 boxes coming to your tiny apartment tomorrow! I will for sure update you and let you know how that goes.

And the number one piece of advice that this International Woman of Mystery has for all those other hot messes who are considering a move:

DO NOT MOVE ANYWHERE UNLESS YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND!

DO MAKE SURE THAT A BOYFRIEND IS ON HAND TO HELP YOU WITH THE EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL HEAVY LIFTING ASPECTS OF YOUR MOVE!

I promise to write again soon! I think I'm just about ready to be back to normal blogging (although this damn Boot Camp is sure not helping things) Miss you all!

Kisses and hugs and glasses of vino.

Moving Back Home Task Number 3: Find an Apartment in Boston

Oh man. This apartment search is not going very smoothly. I knew it would be hard. Boston is a student town an therefore most apartments turn over on September 1st. So, looking for an apartment starting now or on November 1st is not that easy. There is just not a lot to choose from.

The other deal with Boston - not sure if it's the same with other US cities, I would love to hear how it works where you live - is you usually have to pay a broker's fee equal to one month's rent! This is just money that

In other places, you either pay a small fee to the broker or the landlord pays the broker. How does it work where you live? Do you have to pay one month's rent to the real estate agent?

In addition to the fee to the agent, you also might be asked to put down first and last month's rent plus a security deposit equal to one month's rent (although with non-student apartments it is common that just 2 of the 3 are asked for). But either way, you are paying 3 to 4 months rent up front. And no matter how you look at it, that's a lot of money!

And since most of my money is still sitting in a bank account in England, fronting lots of money in cash is kind of hard for me. Luckily, I have nice parents who have fronted me the cash until I can figure out how to move my money back.

So, I came into the Boston apartment search thinking that I wanted to live in Charlestown. I had briefly lived there before and I thought it was really nice. It has cute gas light lined streets and a nice neighborhood feel. But while it's very close to central Boston, it is a bit out of the way - it's not considered Boston proper and it's not well linked by the subway. But since I refuse to take any form of public transportation don't really take subways anyway, I thought that would be ok.

So, I started seeing some places in Charlestown and I actually saw some great places including an amazing converted carriage house with in-garage parking and a roof deck with an awesome view... but there was always something a bit off. They were either not in the exact location I was looking for (Charlestown has some more desirable areas and some less desirable ones) or they were too small, or too run down.

And then I started to have a small panic about the location of Charlestown and the fact that it's not very central. I'm coming back from living in really desirable central areas of Stockholm and London. I could walk out my door and easily access shops, bars, restaurants, nightlife... My friends always wanted to come to my apartment because it was so central. Living in Charlestown started to feel a bit out of the way. I mean let's face it, besides the quaint Warren Tavern, there is really not much happening over there.

After speaking with different people, I decided to include the Beacon Hill area in my search. Beacon Hill is probably the most desirable (and therefore most expensive) location in Boston (although don't get me wrong there are other good places to live in Boston). Beacon Hill is know for its gaslight streets and brick sidewalks. It's a very charming and centrally located neighborhood in Boston. Famous former Beacon Hill residents include: Louisa May Alcott, Daniel Webster, John Hancock. Today people like John Kerry live there (as well as lots and lots of regular old normal people like me).

The problem with Beacon Hill however is that apartments are small, lack storage space and are EXPENSIVE!!! I saw a few places and was very tempted by one that was owned by a woman I work with. It was very cute but a bit less modern than I am used to and also lacking storage. And I was panicking a bit about trying to fit my 43 boxes of stuff into the small space. But it had a lot of charm and a HUGE roof deck.

I felt like it was an ok place and that I could live there and probably enjoy it, but I didn't quite feel excited about it. That little voice in the back of my head was telling me that I hadn't yet found "the one."

I decided to see a few more places. And as Realtors do, the one I was working with convinced me to see a place slightly out of my price range (although nowhere near as expensive as my London place) that was totally newly renovated and included a washer/dryer in unit. By the way washer/dryer in unit = totally awesome.

And of course I LOVED it! It occupies the whole floor of a brownstone. Beautiful cherry hardwood floors. Newly renovated kitchen with granite counters. A cute little gas fireplace. Modern bathroom. Big bright sunny windows. Good sized bedroom. Big (for Beacon Hill) living room. Nice open layout. And TONS of storage space! 3 huge closets including a massive walk in one in the bedroom.

The only small downside is that it doesn't have an outside area (many Beacon Hill places have great roof decks) - but I guess I have to sacrifice something - and everything else is perfect (and I didn't have any outside space at my London apartment as I also sacrificed that for a bigger and more modern place - and while I sometimes wished I had a balcony or a garden, I enjoyed my apartment enough not to regret the sacrifice. Let's face it, you don't use your outside space as much as you use the rest of the apartment).

But of course, nothing is really perfect and absolutely nothing is really easy (at least not when it comes to moving)... The problem with this apartment is that because it's totally new, they don't yet have the occupancy permit and they are not sure when they are getting it. They are hoping it will be all set for Nov 1, but they are not sure and therefore don't want to guarantee a move-in date. Well without a move in date, I'm not about to offer them my life savings in rent and fees... So, we are at a stand-off and since nothing is yet official (i.e. I haven't signed a lease), I'm feeling pretty insecure about the whole thing as they are still showing the apartment to other people (although supposedly, I have first dibs). Anyway, it's all a bit stressful. It will be great to have this settled. I will hopefully know more by the end of the week (as Nov 1st is Monday after all).

In the meantime, I'm kind of squatting. Single I'm attractive friend C was nice enough to let me stay at her place last week even though she was super busy preparing to run a MARATHON in DUBLIN that she ran YESTERDAY! (How awesome is that? I'm sure she did great). So it wasn't exactly a convenient time for her. But she's nice like that so she let me stay. And this week I have her apartment to myself - which is awesome. But I'm still really hoping that I can move into this new place next weekend or early next week. I've been living in limbo for 4 weeks now and it's starting to drive me mad. I just want to have my own space and to settle in and let life get started again. I feel like I'm not living life and having fun right now... I'm just planning, waiting, worrying... Ugh.

Keep your fingers crossed for me! I hope to have this apartment thing locked down soon so I can get back to writing fun blog posts about dating and discovering the USA!

Oh and as soon as I have this apartment. My next task will be to FURNISH the apartment. So, I will be looking to you - my bloggy friends - for advice in inspiration cuz this International Woman of Mystery has never had to furnish an apartment before!

Have a great week!

Moving Back Home Task 2: Start New Job

Hello my lovely bloggy friends! This International Woman of Mystery has missed you so much! I'm sorry for being away for so long. It was not exactly a planned absence.*

Single I'm attractive friend C was nice enough to let me stay with her in Boston (while I look for a place) but she unfortunately has a situation with her wireless Internet so I was unexpectedly without Internet access all week (and also crazy busy so even if I had Internet, I'm not sure how much blogging would have been done) - although thanks to my Ipad (which totally rocks by the way), I was able to keep up with everyone's blogs although not able to comment as much as usual.

The task at hand this week was to start my new job (and also find an apartment but I think I will focus on the job part and talk about the apartment hunt in a separate post).

As you might or might not remember (depends on how long you have been reading), I have worked for The Company for close to 10 years in 5 different countries. I actually started out my professional journey with The Company in the very same Boston office that I'm working in today. But in true The Company fashion, I soon found myself working in Indonesia, China, Sweden and most recently London - all with The Company. If you are not well acquainted with my life, you can easily catch up by reading part I, part II and part III of the Making of an International Woman of Mystery. Seriously, it's a good read. Check it out.

The Company is obviously very big and very international (which is why I wanted to work for them in the first place). So, when I say "new job" I mean same company but totally different product. In fact, I'm working in a totally different industry than I was working in before.

So, I had the advantage of being quite familiar with the office, being familiar with the culture, being familiar with a few of the people there who I had met over the years.. But despite all that, I was still NERVOUS!

I was pretty comfortable in my old product. I'd been working there for a long time and had gained the "expert" status many years ago. I enjoyed being the one that everyone knew would have the answer. I enjoyed having all the answers. I like being asked to attend an enormous amount of meetings. I loved being able to contribute. Yup. Pretty much, I was a big "know it all" and I loved it.

So, needless to say I hadn't done the "new girl" thing in awhile and I was pretty aprehensive.

And to make it harder, in true fashion of The Company, the job I was hired for had changed already and I was going to work on something completely different then what I was initially told and report to someone different as well. I found this out the Friday before I started.

This actually didn't phase me too much and in fact, at this point I've been with The Company long enough where if it had been any different, I think I would have been truly surprised. Like all employees of The Company, I've figured out how to be pretty flexible and deal with major ambiguity (as well as work long hours and do hard work). So, while it didn't really upset me, it didn't really make things easier either.

The first day was a little bit awkward. People definitely welcomed me, but no one asked me to go to lunch on my first day -which is a pretty standard thing to do. However... I am now working with more technical "geeks" so I guess that I have to take that into consideration. And it's ok. I'm  a pretty tough girl and don't mind having lunch on my own - in fact, most of the times I prefer it.

My first assignment is to help this part of The Company "go mobile." Umm... Great. Except that I will admit that this is something I know next to nothing about. I've worked a lot with technology over the years, but my last role was more general management and working to create processes and improve efficiencies. There was of course a technology angle, but that was not my primary role. So, I'm not exactly up-to-speed on the latest tech trends. Believe me, part of the reason I've been so busy this week is because I've been reading A LOT of geeky tech stuff trying to give myself a crash course.

I do admit that it was kind of embarrassing this week when I could hardly manage to use my Iphone (hey it's new, I was a previous Blackberry owner - although let me tell you that the Iphone is soooo much better). So, I've been working on improving my Iphone skills so I don't look like such an idiot around all the geeky and super smart "just out of college" (oh man I'm old) kids who know all about all the cool technology and kept coming into my office telling me how excited they were about the mobile initiative and how much they wanted to work with me on it. And I'm sitting pretending to know what they are talking about... Oh boy do I have a lot to learn. But the first step is to master the Iphone and then try to get up-to-speed with all the lingo.

Other than that it was a typical first week of work. I listened a lot and tried to put all the information together. I tried to understand the structure and organization of this product (it's massive and a bit complicated). I tried to get a grasp out of all the acronyms everyone was throwing around (The Company loves acronyms). I . My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I met a zillion new people and in most cases as soon as they said their name I forgot it in the next second. On Friday I did a quick analysis of how many people (outside of senior management - I got those down at least) whose name I actually remember and it was sadly very few. I did a lot of research. I talked to a lot of people. I bombarded every person I met with tons of questions. I took a lot of notes. I tried really hard to make a good impression. I tried to be a good and sympathetic listener. I tried to say the right things. And I came home every day completely exhausted from trying so hard.

I hope next week will be easier, but I think it will actually be harder. I'm really looking forward to sinking my teeth into this project and the ones that follow. I have a massive capacity and actually like working hard. I hope that I will be able to contribute in many ways. I get stressed when I feel like I'm not working hard or contributing. I am finding it very hard to be "the new girl."

I do have to say that it's really nice to back in the Boston office. It's a gorgeous office with amazing view - especially at sunset. And I'm loving the in-house restaurant with fruit salad, granola, yogurt, eggs, bagels, for breakfast and sandwiches, soups, hot options and a big salad bar for lunch. And of course there is also a fully stocked bar just waiting for employees to stop by for after work drinks.

And the benefits are pretty good too. $65 a month for Blue Cross and Blue Shield health car is not too shabby! And of course the people in the office are kind of awesome as they are all interested in traveling (and The Company is kind of awesome by giving all first years 3 weeks of vacation and upping it to 2 the second year then accrual up to 30 days). The people in the office are all very international and are interested in travel - most have lived abroad. Most are smart and ambitious. The Company has a strong culture and it doesn't seem to matter what office you are in, the people are similiar - which is great.

Overall, I found myself more excited to be back in the Boston office then I thought I would be!

By the time Friday rolled around though, I was tired. And I was missing my team in London (I don't have staff - yet - in Boston and while it's nice to have a break, I miss having a team). I couldn't help but think that if I was in London, we would have had Byron burgers for lunch and already be at the pub after work. And various colleagues and team members got me on Skype or email to tell me how much they missed me - which was sooo nice to hear, but it also made me sad and a little homesick. So, I was feeling a bit down on Friday. Missing my life abroad. Missing my friends. Tired of feeling like a stranger in my home country. Tired of living out of a suitcase (more on that soon). Tired of not having any routines.

But luckily one of my colleagues stopped by at 5 to save the day. She was someone I recognized from 10 years before although I'm not sure we had ever actually met. Anyway, she invited me down to the bar for a few drinks with the rest of the team (I was so grateful to her). And despite having decided to drive back to Western Mass to my parents, I decided to accept for just one drink and I was really glad I did as it was a fun time.

This colleague turned out to be really fun - a single gal around the same age as me. She seemed to have the scoop on everyone at work and also on the Boston nightlife. She did a great job at introducing me around to everyone at the bar. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.

Next up - I will tell you about my quest to find the perfect apartment in Boston. Needless to say, it's not going that well.

But really... I hope I will get settled soon and back to my regular blog posting (next week is gonna be tough as well, so I apologize in advance for being a bit off the radar). And I hope that soon I will get to tell you about the fun stuff - like dating boys in Boston and the nightlife! I just have to sadly point out that I have yet to see a single hot boy in Boston - ugh...the preppy look just doesn't do it for me. But that's a whole other story!

*I apologize in advance for this rather lackluster post and the fact that I will most likely be off the radar again next week for the most part. I really miss blogging. But I'm so flat out busy right now and without a place to stay, without any routine and with so much change in my life right now, the creative juices (and the time to write) just aren't flowing right now!

First Weekend Back Home

photo courtesy of portfolio.kevinthom.com

So, yeah. I survived my first weekend in the countryside. And it was a long weekend as today is Columbus Day (you know 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue...). 

In case you are interested, the weekend was kind of like this:

On Friday night after the car purchasing experience, I stayed home BY MYSELF as my parents ditched me for dinner with friends (see how happy they are that I'm home). So, I ordered  Chinese take-out and watched a documentary on TV (oh man did the millions of channels overwhelm my non-TV watching self) on Hippies that was kind of interesting.

On Saturday I spent time on the phone with the car insurance agency, then ran 4.5 miles and did some core exercises (apparently according to Mr. Personal Trainer, I have a weak core - so I'm trying to improve on this. Damn planks. They kick my ass - or my abs as it may be).

Then I jumped in the shower quickly as I had agreed to meet a high school friend - the boy who shared the locker next to mine for 6 years (poor boy) who I have known since I was 3. Locker Boy had seen that I was moving home on Facebook and had a little too eagerly gotten in touch with me.

He originally suggested that we go hiking in the Berkshires - where he lives now. But as didn't want to drive up to the Berkshires because I hate to drive I had some stuff to do in the morning, I suggested he come down here instead. He then suggested that we go kayaking. It was an absolutely gorgeous crisp autumn day so I agreed.*

As I was rushing to get ready, I realized that this felt kinda like a date. Weird. And while this guy is nice and good-looking-ish and I did have a crush on him for about 5 minutes in the EIGHTH GRADE, these days, he is not really my type. I mean he is the typical, small-town, baggy stonewashed jeans and Red Sox hat wearing, Republican type of American boy.

Speaking of clothes... I realized that once again, as per usual, I had packed like an asshole (it happens every time). I did not have any appropriate country-activity type of clothes with me (remember, I have just 2 suitcases of stuff with me, the rest is on a boat from England). Skinny jeans and high heels did not really seem appropriate for kayaking... Neither did a dress. Besides, what do you wear for kayaking anyway? I have only been kayaking in a bathing suite in the summer. Exasperated with my lack of kayak clothing options and running late (as per usual), I decided to throw on a skirt while fixing my hair and makeup and figure out what to wear later.

Unfortunately Locker Boy arrived before I got around the changing my clothes again. He laughed at my outfit and told me it was not appropriate for kayaking. "Don't you have any jeans?" he asked.


"Ummm... only skinnny jeans."

"Sweat pants?"

"Ummm... no. I will sort something out," I said and left him alone with my parent's dog while I scrambled to assemble an appropriate kayaking outfit.

I finally settled on black khaki-type pants, sneakers, sweater, scarf and jacket. I grabbed the skirt though and a pair of boots and decided to bring them with me.

Locker Boy deemed my outfit appropriate but laughed at me for bringing a skirt with me.

Anyway, we drove up on small country roads taking in the beautiful autumn scenery (seriously, I cannot say this too many times NOTHING BEATS FALL IN NEW ENGLAND) to some small town I had never heard of (we are talking hickville here) and went out kayaking on a big lake. 

photo courtesy of jasonfarnsworth.com



Not to brag or anything, but I do have to admit that I was kind of awesome at kayaking and Locker Boy was struggling to catch up - for real. He had a laugh at this because his father (who the kayak's belonged to) was all worried that I wouldn't be able to kayak at all. Jeez. This family has known me since I was a little kid. They should know how sporty I am!

It was lovely out on the lake - we kayaked from one end to the other taking just over an hour to do so and feeling pretty tired by the end. It was a beautiful day but windy and the water was extremely choppy and we ended up soaking wet! Well let me tell you, I was the one laughing when after getting completely soaked kayaking, I could slip into my skirt and boots and be all nice and dry while Locker Boy had to endure his wet jeans!

We then decided to head to the local pub where they make their own micro-brew (the master brewer graduated with us from high school - see it's that kind of small town that my parents live in). There we had pints - oops... I guess pints are in the British word. I think in America it's drafts?

Anyway, we had some drafts of the local brew. Another thing I LOVE about America: micro-brews! I had yummy American Wheat beer (or 2 or possibly 3) and also a fabulous pumpkin spice beer. Gotta love America and all it's flavour options (if you are American, you know what I mean - and no this does not exist in other countries like it does here - I have never seen pumpkin spice listed as a flavor outside the good old USA). I'm feeling fall festive and so I'm loving pumpkin flavors right now (seems like everything from coffee, to muffins, to beer has this option here).

Locker Boy was interesting to talk to and surprisingly a good conversationalist. Although the interesting part is that we were so different. He was Mr. American and I was Ms International... He was all waxing poetic about why guns are great (Yes Europe, I'm so serious here) and I was all like - "guns are illegal in Europe and therefore the homicide rate is lower." I told him that cops in the London do not even carry guns (thank you Mr. Sexy Policeman for that bit of info) and he found this hard to believe. Although we were both stumped over the question of how to "de-gun" America if it ever came to that (I admit that would be a hard one), leading him to conclude that my visions of a gun-free America are ridiculous and therefore I should suck it up and learn to love guns. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em right? Right? Well maybe that will be my next purchase after the apartment - KIDDING!

He admitted he has conservative views - i.e. he is was against abortion and gay marriage and thinks Obama's an idiot. I actually kept my mouth shut and left him to his right-wing views without trying to argue for once - actually I was shocked silent since I had forgotten that yes, this is America. I realized that I'm kind of ill-equipped to go head-to-head on American politics at the moment. I need a quick brush up on American politics and to figure out where I stand exactly on key issues (it's strange but it was easy to not pick sides on American politics while living abroad, and I'm used to being the conservative one when discussing politics with Europeans).

And of course I talked about my life abroad and my travels. He seemed impressed with all the places that I had been. And of course talking about traveling got me excited and all I wanted to do was get back on a plane and go back abroad. (Sob).

And then we had this conversation which I feel perfectly exemplifies why it's going to be so hard to fit back into American life:


Him: "Like are there any countries you would never go to? I mean, like why would you want to go to Iceland? You wouldn't ever go there right?"

Me: "Well, I was actually there on Wednesday..."

Silence.

Locker Boy: "You are kidding right?"

Me: "Well no, I technically was only at the airport so that doesn't really count. But yes, I was in Iceland on Wednesday for 2 hours, so I'm not lying. But I hear it's a cool place and it is somewhere I really want to go and hang out..."

Silence.

Locker Boy: "Wow. It's kind of hard to talk to you. You have done everything. I have done nothing unless you count going to New Orleans two years ago."

Silence.

So... there it is. My life as an International Woman of Mystery is over. And not only that. Having that experience makes me weird and just plain hard to talk to. Great!

And so the date ended - and admitedly conservative talk aside, I had a really nice time. I went home and hung out with my parents and their dog and their cat and my blog.

On Sunday, I laid out at the pool and willed the autumn sun to give me some color - it did but only a little. Then went for a 6 mile run followed by more exercises. Then my Mom made me my favorite lobster dinner!

On Monday, I spent the morning searching apartment listings in Boston (next task) and doing more move-related emailing (i.e. trying to get my security deposit back from my London apartment, arguing on the phone with British Telecom over my bill - again, trying to figure how to wire my money from my London account to my US account, and hassling with the movers over my customs documents). And then I spent the afternoon at the mall wherea among other things I purchased an IPAD!!!!

As if it wasn't enough that I bought a car this weekend, I had to then rush out and buy and Ipad too (say nothing of a few new clothes to update the back-to-work wardrobe). Let me tell you, the Ipad is soooo cool (except for the fact that you cannot blog on it - you can read blogs, but you can't blog, or at least I can't find the right app - does anyone know of one)?

Is it really bad that I secretly think that my Ipad is cooler than my new car? Although I might change my mind tomorrow when I actually take possession of the car.

So, that was it. My exciting first weekend back in the US. A far cry from my club nights and meeting hot boys in London... And a bit more expensive too.*

*When talking about what "moving home" would be like, my Swedish friends tried to reassure me that my life in the US wouldn't be so different than my life anywhere else. I told them they were crazy. I was all like "Hello? Boston is a small city with a very student oriented night life. The bars close at 1 or 2 am. There is no hot single 30 something scene like there is in Stockholm. There are no nightclubs like there are in London. My life is totally going to change. I'm going to spend my weekends hiking and doing outdoorsy sporty country things."


But Swedish ladies - here's your proof! This International Woman of Mystery has become a Country Girl!

They didn't believe me...

Moving Home Task One: Buy a Car

I'm back home and my To-do list that needs to get accomplished before I start work in a week is miles long.

First up on the list however, was to Buy a car.


Actually, let me rewind a minute. First up was to pay the movers for moving all my stuff from London to Boston. This "stuff" turned out to be 43 boxes (I swear I tried to downsize but quite obviously failed). Mind you... I have very few actual furniture items besides a book case, an awesome espresso maker, a small shelf container, a coat rack... So, those 43 boxes are literally just clothes and books "six years of random shit." So unfortunately, the movers kindly felt the need to charge me $1,000 extra then the originally quoted price (apparently I had more shit "stuff" than they thought), so I was looking at a whopping $5,000 dollar bill!

The bill was due and I had to pay - I tried to get them to reduce the price but failed. So, pay I did. IN CASH. The single most expensive one-time payment I have made for anything ever (until that afternoon when I bought a car - talk about a double whammy). And seriously, paying movers to move your own stuff across the ocean is not a fun purchase. I mean all you get out of it is your same old crappy stuff in boxes that you then have to unpack (actually, they will unpack it as part of the service - I just have to put it away). There is nothing at all exciting about shelling out $5,000 to welcome my things to Boston! Just think of how many amazing shoes and purses I could have gotten for that amount.*

Now with my considerably lighter wallet in mind, let's return to the car buying process.

On Thursday night (the first night home) my Mother sent me out with my Father to begin the lovely process of acquiring a new car.

Let me provide a bit of background information.

• I have never owned a car.
• My parents were kind enough to provide me (and my brother) with a car at various points over the years
• These cars were a Nissan Sentra, a Honda Accord Sedan, and a Honda Accord Station Wagon.
• Living abroad, made it so I did not need nor miss a car - I could walk everywhere or take public transportation a taxi.
• I HATE driving. If I miraculously became mega-rich suddenly and had a driver at my disposal and would never have to drive again, I would do the happy dance and I would never miss driving.
• I have a clean driving record (knock on wood) but consider myself to be a bad driver.
• I am not a confident driver and tend to get lost All. The. Time. Although thank God GPS has been invented since the last time I drove.
• My greatest wish is to have a boyfriend who loves to drive and then I will never drive again (cuz boyfriend to me obviously = driver, dog watcher, house fixer-upper, heavy stuff carrier, chef, technology guru.... Think I'm setting the bar a little high here?)

So, needless to say I was not thrilled to start this whole buying a car process. I half-seriously asked my Mom if a) she could do it for me (she said no) or

b) if I could pay someone else to do it for me (she didn't respond to this - I think she didn't get just how deadly serious I really was).


My parents told me to do some research on cars. So, being the kind of awesome daughter that I am, I did as I was told. But I got discouraged when I realized that I probably wasn't going to be able to afford a Mercedes or even a Lexus and probably even a BMW wasn't a really good idea right now as I have no idea what my other costs in my new life back home will be. (Obviously living in Chelsea - the land of incredible cars - seriously distorted my idea of what normal cars for normal people are. I got jaded by all the Aston Martins and Porsches and Lamborghinis just sitting around on the road in my neighborhood. I started to think these were normal cars for normal people). Out of disappointment (and boredom), I ended my car research before it really even began.

But there I was, my first night home and my Dad was taking me car shopping. Yippeee!

Our pre-car-shopping-departure conversation went something like this:

"What do you want in a car?" my parents ask me.

"Umm... leather seats?" I say.

"Oh good. That narrows it down. What else?"

"A good stereo. Cool technology..."

"Oh good. Glad you are so specific." I can tell they are getting irritated. "What about color? Any preference there?"

"Not really... But I prefer black. Something dark. At least nothing flashy. Yeah, black would be best. And definitely a four-door car. I don't like two-door cars."

They are looking more and more skeptical so I say "I hear that hybrids are cool. Maybe I want one of those. I mean, all I really care about is a having a 'cool' car." Both parents groan out loud.

"What about make?" they asked.

"Umm... I guess I have to rule out a Mercedes? Well, how about a BMW?"

My parents looked at me like I was crazy. "How about a Hyundai," they said?

"No way!" I said emphatically for no other reason that I feel like I hate Hyundais. "Perhaps a Honda Accord?" I say trying to bridge the gap and this is basically this is the car I'm most familiar with since they have had 3 different Accords over the years that I have driven (and in some cases been given). Luckily, they looked more pleased with this answer.

"New or Used?" they asked. But before I could respond, they told me I was getting a used car. "You hate to drive. You don't care about cars. You are getting a used car."

I couldn't really find a reason to argue with that.

So there it was folks, I had narrowed my car search down to this very weak check list: used car, leather seats, good stereo, black, four doors, possibly a hybrid (not that I even knew what that really meant). In summary, I wanted "a cool car." Although the definition of a "cool car" was not one that could be defined even by me.

I could see my Father was not very happy to be coerced into this trip. But off we went to the Honda Dealer where and my Father tells me he doesn't want to talk to any salespeople. So, instead we skulk around in the dark looking at the cars and reading the information pages on the windows. Let me tell you, for a person who has never bought a car, never owned a car, never shopped for a car before... this is not very informative.

But, I do learn the following things:

• Cars are pretty expensive, even when used
• I don't really like Accords - they seem too big and ugly
• My father also knows nothing about cars
• Car shopping is freaking boring

We decide to leave the Honda place and my Dad suggests we visit the Subaru or the Hyundai place near by. I tell him "No way. Those kinds of cars are on my definite 'no' list."

"Why are they on your 'no' list?" he asks me exasperated.

"I don't know. They don't sound like 'cool cars' to me." I respond. (Note: My Father currently drives a Subaru Outback and previously he drove a Hyundai Sonata - both cars I did not like to drive when visiting home preferring my Mom's cooler Saab or Honda Accord - mostly because they had leather seats and a cool stereo system. So, I was not endearing myself to my Father with these remarks - never mind the fact that he already feels I have 'snobbish' and 'outrageous' tastes 'like your mother').

"But Dad. Nissans aren't on my 'no' list. Let's go there!" I say, pointing to the nearby Nissan dealership.

By this time it's starting to rain and all I want to do is go home. We walk over to the used car section and I immediately find this black Altima. I look inside and get excited over the tan leather seats! And then I check out the info. It's a Hybrid! A 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid. Well, that sounds kind of cool.

I convince my Father to actually let me talk to a salesperson and she tells me the price is $22,000 which is within my range. My dad thinks it's expensive but is pleased with the fact that it only has 16,000 miles. The leather seats, the Bose stereo, the navigation system, the blue tooth hookup, the totally awesome interior fail to impress him as much as they endear the car to me.

Interior of the car

Then we decide to go home. On the way home I am quiet and thinking about the black car. "I want that car." I tell my Father.

"Why?" He asks. "I mean you have certainly taken a lot of time to research and look around and make a well-educated decision," he says sarcastically.

"It's cool?" I say. In the dark I can feel him rolling his eyes.

On getting home we recap the car search adventure to my Mother who is livid that My Father didn't get the Vin number (or even tell me what that was) or let me talk to a salesperson or test drive the car.

At this point Dad is officially demoted from the car search process (I'm pretty sure this was his goal) and Mom takes over. She helps me research the car online and pull up the Carfax File (whatever that is).  She also decided that she can leave work early the next afternoon to help me.

"I want that car" I tell her.

"Why?" She asks.

"It seems kind of cool I say... Plus. I don't want to go through that process again - I'm already bored of this."

"Right. You spent a whole two hours on it," she reminds me. And we both crack up laughing at the ridiculousness of that. "You are your Mother's daughter" she says.

2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid

So, there it was. The biggest purchase I have ever made in my life was decided in just a couple hours based more on the fact, that I was bored with the process and didn't want to do anymore research on it or spend anymore time searching car lots (and I could tell my parents didn't want to either). This is so typical me. It's also so typical behaviour of my mother. Like mother like daughter. That's for sure.

So, the next day we go back to the lot and test drive the car. I'm a nervous driver to begin with but having my mother in the backseat cringing and moaning about what a bad driver I am didn't help. I had never driven a hybrid before and I was kind of expecting it to be different. I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't that different (although it's very weird when you turn it on because the engine only turns on when you put your foot on the gas) and it felt nice to drive.

The saleswoman who literally admitted to us that she was an inexperienced and not very good salesperson (and no I don't think this was some ploy of hers to makes us trust her - she seemed pretty limited) also had me drive a Silver 2007 non-hybrid Altima. It had leather seats but was missing some of the bells and whistles the other car had. Despite being about $4,000 less, I wasn't as impressed.

My mother pointed out that $4,000 was a lot to shell out for an undefined "cool" factor. I told her I didn't care. She also pointed out that the trunk space was severely limited which I admit, it was. But something like that would bother someone who has a car with normal trunk space more than me since I'm not actually loosing anything since I don't have a car at all right now (admittedly, I might regret this later).

By this time I irrationally (I know) had my heart set on the black Altima Hybrid and I just wanted to get this car process OVER WITH! I had had enough. I didn't want more choices. I didn't want to go back home and research the silver Altima and see if there were better alternatives. I was done. I was ready to throw down my money and get the hell out of Dodge - or Nissan as the case may be.

But unfortunately, the process was just beginning. Why didn't someone warn me the process of buying a car takes HOURS?

My mother and I decide to negotiate cuz that what you should do when buying a car right? So, we put in a considerably lower offer. And that's when the weak little saleswoman brings in the big guns. Enter the smarmy salesman. Picture the text book definition of a used car salesman - a smooth an fast-talker - complete with stories of his ex-girlfriend owing the same car and loving it and threats that another person is making an offer as we speak. We obviously did not stand a chance.

I'm embarrassed to say that we managed to get a whopping (wait for it) $350 discount! Although admittedly, the Kelly Blue Book price was actually the same as their initial asking price (so while I don't think we were getting screwed, we also weren't getting a bargain). That price was the pre-certified (whatever that means) price and this enabled me to get better financing saving me $1,000 over all in interest. But then of course I agreed to a $1,600 extra warranty covering all the electronic aspects of the car with a $0 deductible (it is a Hybrid after all). Pretty much I feel I got taken for a ride. By the end of it, I had no idea what I was actually paying for the car. But, that's what I expected so - oh well.

Then the paperwork began. It was excruciating. 2.5 hours of sitting around, signing my name, trying not to appear as bored as I looked. My mother and I - the two most impatient women in the world, sitting there tapping our feet, trying to get everyone to hurry up.

Amazingly I managed to get pretty good financing all on my own (my mother would have co-signed but was reluctant to).

And finally, 3 hours later after I signed my life and my money away, I was a proud owner of a 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid. Yippeeee!

So, that is the story of how I spent less than 6 hours making the biggest purchase of my life.
It does make me a little sick to think of all the money I spent this weekend. Seriously between the car which with sales tax, interest, and the extra warranty they convinced me to get ended up somewhere around $26,000 and the movers cost $5,000 this was like a $31,000 weekend! Wow. That feels ridiculous to even write. (I actually only spent $7,000 in cash but STILL - that's a LOT OF MONEY). I'm feeling pretty poor right now. Say nothing of the fact I still need to put a down deposit on an apartment and then furnish it. Gulp. This moving thing is way overrated. And WAY EXPENSIVE.

But. I'm now a proud car owner and next Tuesday I'll be driving around in my new black Altima Hybrid. Watch out Y'all!

And because I'm already feeling ridiculously frivolous, I'm totally going to top off this weekend of spending with a purchase of an Ipad since suddenly I feel this is "oh so necessary" to have. Yup. That's how I roll. Just sayin.

Next on the moving back home "to-do" list: Find an apartment in Boston. Stay tuned. The life of an International Woman is never dull.

*The Company is giving me $5,000 for the move (although I don't have it yet). So, essentially they are paying for this. I was just hoping it would be cheaper so the extra money could go to the other costs associated with this move - cuz believe me, there are lots of other costs. Moving is seriously expensive.

Update: Google announced that they have made self driving cars that are already out and about and driving around ALL ON THEIR OWN! This is so awesome! That means that maybe in a few years, I don't even need to be rich enough to have a driver! I just need to have a self driving car. Thanks Google! To read more about this, click here.

Back 'Home'

So. I'm 'home.' I landed yesterday in Boston and am now at my parents in Western Massachusetts.

The last weeks have been tough. Full of anxiety, preparations, packing, worrying about things, turning off gas/electricity/Internet/water, canceling things, worrying about things, goodbye dinners and parties, lots  of sad goodbyes and lots of worrying about things.

It was difficult to say goodbye to friends and colleagues in London and Sweden. And throughout all the sad goodbyes. I did not cry. Some of my friends cried. Some of my colleagues even got a bit teary eyed. But I did not cry.

I did not even cry when I found out that the cost of shipping my stuff home would cost $1,000 more than what I budgeted (that's right it apparently costs a whopping $5,000 to 43 boxes of "six years of stuff" from London to the US).

I did not even cry when I found out I was loosing part of my security deposit on the crazy expensive London apartment for stupid reasons like a stain on a bedspread that I had professionally cleaned and then never used!

I did not even cry at the airport in Stockholm where I started to get this panicked feeling when I realized that after this plane ride, I had no more trips scheduled. I can't remember the last time that I had no trips (and no plane rides) scheduled. For the past 9 years, my crazy travel schedule has ruled my life. And I hated it. But I also loved it. At least life was never ever boring.

I did not even cry on the plane when I watched a movie with a scene filmed on King's Road right down from where my London apartment used to be and I at first felt that jolt of excitement and then extreme sadness when I realized that I no longer live there anymore.

I did not even cry when I got all the emails and texts from my colleagues who are in Dubai (where I would have been if I had not decided to switch jobs and countries) and having a blast celebrating a good end to our sales year.

I did not even cry when I arrived 'home' and felt this deep sense of loss and sorrow as I realized that perhaps my whole life is behind me and all the good things, the fun things, the things that make me me, the glamour of an international life, the nightclubs, the boys, the ridiculous drinks, the amazing international friends, the partying in different cities, the amazing friends around the world, that those things are now in my past and the future is a big lackluster unknown.

I did not even cry when today - on my first day home in the US - I got that familiar feeling of already wanting to get back on a plane and return to my 'home' abroad as that is where I feel that I belong... and then realizing that there is no more 'home' abroad. That I am here and here is now 'home' whether I belong here or not.

I didn't cry because I'm afraid if I started to cry, then the floodgates would be open I would never be able to stop crying. Because right now it seems there is more to be sad about than happy about. More to be worried about than to be content about. More to be anxious about than to look forward to.

Ahead of me is a mountain of 'stuff to do' like: find a car to buy, figure out how to finance the car, find an apartment, find a place to stay until I can start the lease on the apartment, read some books for work, fill out the customs forms to bring all my stuff into the country, pay the movers, figure out storage for all my stuff because it seems to be arriving before I will have an apartment, try to contact old friends, try to make new friends, figure out Internet dating in the US, find a man, start my new job.

But those are just tasks. They are practicals to take care of. They are not plans. They are not fun. They are the details of life but not the substance. 

I feel like I'm at the bottom of the mountain of  'stuff to do to get settled in' and I'm not sure what I will find when I get to the top of that mountain. And I'm so afraid that I'm going to look around, take in the view of 'my new stationary life' I'm not going to like what I see. That I'm not going to know who I am anymore when I'm stuck in the city of Boston and no longer a jet-set International Woman of Mystery.

There are so many unknowns right now and the control freak in me is completely freaking out.

Picture courtesy of webecoist.com

But this morning while driving with my father I saw a rainbow and this evening while running, I saw another one. I take this as a good sign. An omen. Two omens actually.

So, despite wanting to just cry, I am holding out a rainbow fueled hope (however small it may feel) that all the fun in my life is not in my past. That there somewhere in the future, good things are going to happen to me.