The Commonwealth...

Superfluous regulations, socialist government programs, horrible customer service, lack of smiling, rampant squirrel violence.... When we first got here, Brandon kept saying how much Cambridge reminded him of Moscow. But saying that Brandon and Bucky think alike isn't much of a compliment.

Boston-isms

Things are a little different here in Boston, so I made a list of words to help all you non-Bostonians for when you come visit. We wouldn't want you to sound like a tourist!
(Naturally, most of them have to do with food.)

rotary = round-about
the T = the subway
frappe [pron. 'frap'] = milkshake
milkshake = flavored milk without ice cream (ie chocolate milk)
grinder = hoagie or submarine sandwich
jimmies = sprinkles (as in, on ice cream or donuts)
chowdah = chowder (this kind of pronunciation applies to a lot of words; try it on the following: Harvard, dog, garbage, park)
whoopie pie (see pic) = a kind of homemade oreo that's sold in a lot of bakeries



So until next time everyone...Mataheah!

BYU/BC Game, a tragic defeat . . .

Thanks to some vast generosity on the part of one David Magleby, we were able to attend the BYU/BC football game. Aside from the really expensive hotdogs, we had a blast! I'm not sure if it is common practice among the jet-set Cougar fans, but there were a lot here. As we were wandering around showing Baxter the sights, it seemed like every other group were Cougs. But really, who wouldn't want to come visit Boston? (hint, hint to all you feliciabrandon.blogspot.com readers out there)


Waiting for the bus . . . which was the good option given how far Boston College is from our place. The bus is weird, mostly cuz it smells funny, which is why Brandon is grimacing.


A little pre-game excitement, although maybe the shadows on our faces are a foreshadowing of the defeat soon to befall us!


Dejected. Just dejected.


Even though we lost, we were still happy that we got to spend time with friends, like Baxter, Emily and Justin. Emily and Justin have been here a while longer than us and know of places to get some good eats, like the crepe place they showed us. Umm, crepes. Numptiousness!

Friends in Town!

Our first house guests! Baxter and Nate came and visited us, but somehow we didn't end up with any pictures of Nate, so it SEEMS like only Baxter was here, but Nate really was, too. Either way, what a great excuse to go out and party in Boston!


Baxter and Brandon at the subway.


Supermen...with an anchor!


Secretly overjoyed to see the USS Cassin Young


Guns away!


Found it! (the old north church)


Taking ourselves WAY to seriously (it's really a picture of the Boston skyline)


What are you lookin' at?


The funny thing is, we don't even know who this is a statue of.


Near Faneuil Hall with Baxter and our new favorite friend, Ellie.


The Capital Building

Our one regret? We only had Dunkin Donuts once during their visit. Next time, Baxter!

Harvard Museum of Natural History

Brandon looks good from above!


Felicia is showing this whale how it's done...


...while Brandon is getting blown away by another whale's bad breath.

(dental hygiene is so important)

Some Random Shots of Harvard Campus

As promised, Felicia and Squirrels

So, several posts ago I (Brandon) promised some great shots of Felicia and some of the fauna that seem endemic to our new home. In reality, I didn't have any shots of Felicia with any squirrels, and mostly just thought it sounded funny. You know. "Felicia and squirrels." I mean, she's cute, they're cute, it's just a pleasant thought. I actually think if she were to ever front a band, that's what she could call it, "Felicia and Squirrels," no unnecessary articles.

Well, as for the pictures, I actually got some. Here they are, exclusively for the readers of feliciabrandon.blogspot.com:

A day at home....

Hey all! It's Felicia. And I'm bored. So I cleaned the house and took pictures for the blog....Somehow it looks a lot smaller on the computer.



Bathroom and bedroom (view from the entryway)


Bedroom


Living Room (another view from the entryway)


Opposite view of the livingroom


Kitchen


The Building!

You probably noticed that I didn't bother to take a picture of the bathroom itself. If you really want to know what it looks like, go to the smallest bathroom in your house, imagine that it's smaller still, and that'll be about right.
No, I'm joking!

No, really.

Law School at the Big H

So, this is Brandon. I thought I would write a little about my thoughts on law school, you know, a couple first impressions from the first two official days of school.

Overall, it's been a great experience. I've met a lot of really amazing people, all of whom are going to be influential and important someday, but none of them are nearly as pretentious as I thought my average classmate would be. The professors are demanding, but it's not like any of them act like they are out to get us, at least not yet.

Example of demanding: First day of my law school career. Professor Mann, Property, class starts at 3:00 pm, sharp. By 3:00:15, as in 15 seconds past 3 o'clock, after saying only his name and the name of the class, he is already pointing to people and asking them in-depth questions about the case we were assigned to have read, which was a real nail-biter 1805 Supreme Court case about one hunter shooting a fox that some other hunter had been chasing. No nice but unnecessary pleasantries. No explanations of what the class would be like or his goals for the year. Nothing but deep, thought intensive questions about the case. Crazy.

The thing about Harvard is that you are in this place that looks very academic, with all the very old looking, seriously imposing red-brick buildings, garnished with timeless and imposing columns. All the people walking around look like they are probably working on their second or third Ph.D., or possibly picking up a seventh language, or both. As the squirrels scamper past you, you can't help but feel important in such surroundings, but there is also that sense of intimidation, being in such an INSANELY scholarly and very ivy-league setting.

I don’t feel overwhelmed yet, but I’m sure it will come. I’ll let ya’ll know how things feel in a week or two.