Chronicles of a Jersey Girl in Beantown

St. Paddy’s Day in Boston: Kinda Makes me Hate Living Here

Being such a huge college-town and a huge drinking town, Boston has earned both of these titles individually. Now imagine combining both of those on one St. Patrick’s Day weekend…and it’s enough to make me want to move out. 

Personally, I’ve never seen what the big deal was about getting shwasted on St. Patty’s Day. I did it last year when my brother came to visit, and I inadvertently did it last night as well. And when I got on the T today around 6:30p in the afternoon with all the drunk college-grad school kids complaining about how old being 22-23-24-25 is, I just thought: “Omg, this is what I looked and sounded like last night? Except that I’m about to be 27…hmm.” 

Now, I love a good drink every once in a while, I like wine with my dinners, or a cold beer while watching a game, and trust me, I will drink with colleagues and co-workers, but getting shwasted and running my mouth like a “sassy black woman” (someone literally said that’s what I sounded like) is not a good look for me, at least not how I want to be anymore. It’s all fun and hilarious when it’s just me and my friends, but with other strangers on the street, in the bar, on the T…it ain’t cool to me. I am not 21 anymore. I need to reserve moments like that for my friends, in Vegas or something…not in the town I work and live in. 

Meh, I guess I do sound like I’m being lame and old, but who cares? The college students and heavy drinkers of Boston sure don’t. 

I’m Back! Or…Where Have I been?

So where exactly have I been if I haven’t been posting on this blog? Did my life in Boston not pan out into something I thought was worth sharing? Did my fellowship keep me too busy to have time for blogging? Am I just lazy? 

A little bit of yes to all of the above…along with this new found desire to want to stay somewhat private. 

Boston took some adjustment. In fact, it took almost the entire length of my fellowship: 2 years. During my first year, I was constantly coming back to Jersey to hang out with friends in Hoboken, NYC, or just in my hometown. My friends in Jersey were all still in the going out and partying mood, and I didn’t want to miss out, especially since I hadn’t really solidified my new friendships in Boston.

I did make friends though.  My two closest friends in Boston are K and E, and are my co-fellows.  My former roommate/co-fellow, G, was a huge disappointment as a friend and as a co-fellow (‘disappointment’ is a huge understatement).  In both aspects, he was selfish and deceiving. But enough about him…back to other more important things that happened during my two-year fellowship. 

Fellowship: I ended up switching completely out of Drug Safety and into Medical Affairs thanks to a senior co-fellow who brought me in and became my preceptor. It was an amazing learning experience, and a great team to work with. When I finished my fellowship last June, I continued to look for Med Affairs positions both in Boston and Jersey, and was fortunate enough to have two offers: one in Boston and one back home. 

For those who know me…you know what choice I made. But the decision was a difficult one. I was excited at the idea of coming home, being with my college and hometown friends, saving money by crashing with the parents for a few months (okay, maybe even a year if I could tolerate them or vice-versa). But I had already built my network at my company, and I enjoyed the people I worked with. And, not for nothing, but no one else I interviewed with seemed to have as flexible work hours as my team did…it mattered to me, because that’s how I had become accustomed to working. 

So I chose to stay in Boston. I felt that I had put in a two-year investment in myself here, building relationships with people, and should continue to develop those along with build my resume and show that I have a sense of loyalty or commitment to a job.

Little did I know that 3 months later I would have to leave my team. Due to budget cuts, my boss anticipated that he could not keep me for much longer, so he suggested (strongly) that I interview for another therapeutic area within the company. And as of November, I have been a part of this new team with a new role (more on that later). 

Friendships: K and E are still my besties in Boston even though we all work at different companies now and don’t see each other as much as we used to.  We make time to see each other for dinner or yoga every now and then. And I still go to them with all my questions about Boston, New England, and general life advice. In my post-Nicky/post-pharmacy school life, they have been my rocks. 

During my second year of the fellowship, I moved into the wonderful North End of Boston.  I got a brand new roommate, who coincidentally was both my junior fellow in Drug Safety, went to high school with me, and was a good friend’s cousin.  We lived on top of a bakery right on Salem Street…our apartment was always warm (yes, even in the summer), but always smelled of fresh bread. Definitely an improvement overall from my first year! She was clean, funny, and just a good person to be around. Quite excited for her wedding this summer!

Relationships: I think this one deserves its own post, so…sorry! 

All in all, I have adjusted to Boston…enough to at least commit to another few years here for my career. It’s been good, I still miss my friends, and NYC, but Boston is a really pleasant city to live in. I’ve had a lot of fun so far…and I know there will be more ahead! But one thing is certain, as much as Boston has grown on me, I will NEVER be a Red Sox or Patriots fan. 

That’s all for now! 

I apologize for the haphazard order in which I’m posting

I’m trying to make sure I post pictures that I’ve taken in the past month before the New Year comes.