Subway Classroom

Getting on the red line at Park Street and heading outbound (north) is, by far, one of my favorite things to do in Boston. This is not for the leisurely, Saturday afternoon people-watchers. Alewife-directed redliners are a mosaic of humanity. Characters range anywhere from popped-collar-Polo Harvard students with the whole world at their feet to people who carry their world in multiple plastic bags (heartbreakingly, sometimes plastic bags are their world).

At each stop, increasingly more interesting people get on. I've over-heard conversations where I swear I was dumber by the time I got off the train. On that same ride, I also picked up what the next "it" book would be. This occurred when one woman got off reading said book and another woman took her spot reading the same book. The many contrasts I see between people just on that line alone fascinate me. People get on in Southie and get off in Cambridge. Just in one train ride, passengers travel the equivalent of Wyandotte to Blue Valley.

"Where are they going?" I silently ask myself as a majority of them file out at the Harvard Square stop. I think this is what I have found most rewarding about my time in a big city; the bustle of a million different people going a million different directions, and I try to figure out their story. I wish I had the eloquence to write how much I have learned just from riding the subway in Boston.



...Hope the lesson is worth paying off loans the rest of my life.    

Kansas' Birthday

Kansas turns 150 today!!!

Dear K-State Men's Basketball Team,

In honor of Kansas' 150th Birthday, a win against the Jayhawks (BOO!!!) would be fantastic! Please and Thank you.

Your friend, 

Caitlin

A Couple of Snowy Explorers

 Hannah and I went on a walk-about today to survey our snowy territory.



snow piled high



This is a park close to where I live. It is beautiful in all seasons.



Here's Hannah Pants.




Nothing like a refreshing dip on a January afternoon.



They don't give you much room to work with.



Up to my knees! My feet were still on top of several inches of snow




Pretty!




Someone was able to cross-country ski.




Good thing we wore our boots!



Neat-o trees.



I...don't even know.




Hope this guy doesn't need to go anywhere until April.  



Uphill Battle

What a struggle today was. And the exasperating thing is I don't really know why. Actually that is a lie. For some reason, I am required to have the next two years of my life figured out because my financial aid application must be turned in by February 1. Why has my mood and the quality of my life for the past two days been determined by a double sided piece of paper with 27 fill-in-the-blanks? I'll tell you why, because not only are there a dozen questions to ask my financial aid counselor (who is quite the Suzy Sunshine, let me tell you), but I also must make a pest of myself to my advisor (with whom I am additionally taking a class this semester, so I'm sure she looooves seeing me every Monday), and the good people over at Residence Life. All because I have to know by February 1 whether I will be in Boston over the summer. Argh. And people wonder (myself included) why I am so high strung all the time. Believe me, I would love to be one of those people that takes life a day at a time, but deadlines and a long genetic line of women worriers prevents me from being the care-free being I dream of becoming someday. How do those people do it? Don't they have FAFSA deadlines or money to worry about or something? Those people that fall into jobs, or relationships, or money so easily and you're talking to them at a party and you just want to punch them in the nose.

Whoa. I seem to have Hulked out a bit there.

And I do realize that if I were a good person I would put things in perspective here and realize that I have it pretty good compared to a lot of people, but damn sometimes it feels good to complain for a little bit.

Speaking of complaining. It has been brought to my attention that I neglected some very important family members of mine in my last post. Carol, Scott, and Grandmother's pie, I am very sorry and you all are some of my favorite lovies ever (in addition to the rest of the family)!

In honor of the State of the Union Address, I thought this was somewhat interesting: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/25/133212080/a-users-guide-to-the-politics-of-applause

Also, I got this off my friend Kyle's facebook. Hilarious, but also a little sad:
http://pleated-jeans.com/2011/01/24/the-united-states-of-shame-chart/

Five Things I Love Right Now

1. Breakfast at Tiffany's
I'm watching it right now for the bazillionith time. I will never get sick of this movie.

I'm also reading Sam Wasson's Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. (thank you, Heather).It is all about the making of the movie. Pretty interesting.

...sigh... I just adore Audrey!

2. They finally got chocolate milk at Bartol (the dining hall here)!!

So, yes, God does answer prayers. And boy did I ask... A LOT.

3. Le Boyfriend.

Yes, cliche and cheesy. Sorry if you're throwing up now. But take heart in the matter that he was mentioned AFTER Audrey and chocolate milk. He knows where he stands.

4. Other people's blogs- At first I loved reading them for inspiration and motivation. This is how it went: "this blog is awesome! When I make mine, it will be just like this, only cooler! Now, that I have begun my own, I fear that I have blog envy. Now it goes like this: "recipes? I can't compete with that!" or "She has how many  followers?" 

5. Being back in Boston. God bless it, and its $10 beers. 

Aaaaand a bonus one:

6. http://ameliabloomer.wordpress.com/

It would be my dream to work for that project.

Now, I am off to eat a cookie. Probably more than one.

My First Post

Welcome to my blog!

I have been wanting to start a blog for a while now, but was waiting for a clever name. Thanks to my friends Hannah and Sarah, I now have one. Kansas (the wheat) comes to Boston (Beantown).

I will keep this first entry short.

This will be about my adventures while I am working on my MLS in Boston. In addition, expect many nerdy ramblings and laments on the way of the world (a la cranky, elderly citizen).

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy writing it.