For those who don’t know, I’m now living in Northampton, MA. This is the new stomping ground for my Ph.D. in Marketing at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass-Amherst. For more on my research interests and other papers, check out my site on Academia.edu (a social network for grad students & professors).
Here’s what’s been going on in the week I’ve been living here:
Friday: Movers came around 10:15, they were out before 1. While they were bringing stuff in, Judi and her mother already started unpacking. By the time we went to bed, 70% of the apartment was unpacked.
Saturday: Went to Stop & Shop to pick up groceries. That place was the size of 5 Key Foods! And they have these hand scanners, so you basically check yourself out while you go! We spent 2 hours there, since we were so in awe.
After unpacking another 28% of the apartment (we just have a couple boxes in the office that we’re not sure what to do with the space), my parents came up around late afternoon. They helped us with a few more things in the afternoon and then we went to dinner at the Northampton Brewery.
Sunday: Ran some unsuccessful shopping errands in Hadley.
Monday: Went to the RMV in Easthampton. Got new MA licenses, a new registration, and new MA plates. Went to the Honda dealership for the registration inspection. Went to the Forbes Library to get library cards. It’s the only public library in the country that also hosts a presidential library (Calvin Coolidge).
Tuesday: Went to BoA to get accounts, but they were busy til noon, so we ran some more errands. Completed car insurance inspection, went out to Hadley to buy a washer/dryer combo, and toured the gym, all before noon. On the way home, did a little bit more driving exploring and found a Wal-Mart, as well as a really nice food coop. We also decided to tour the conservative synagogue around the corner from us, in hopes that maybe we could meet people via it.
Wednesday: Went to the gym in the morning. First time I’ve been to one in about 6-7 years. Came home and waited for the Comcast guy, so we could finally get hooked back up with phone/cable/internet. While it was gone, I was anxious (for being out of touch with civilization) and bored. Now that it’s back, I’m just bored.
Yesterday: Rode our bikes on the Norwottuck Rail Trail 5mi toward Amherst. Got to the Long Hollow Bison Farm in Hadley, before turning around. Was otherwise going to try to get to UMass, but had to get home and still had 3mi to go. Judi’s mother came up with the cats and more shower gifts. The cats are now readjusting to this new place (with two floors!)
The next couple days, I’m actually not sure what we’re going to do with ourselves, now that everything is mostly done. We’ve got to figure out the office a little more, namely so I can hang up the pictures, but I think Judi is going to spend some more time studying for her license exam. Thus, we may get to hang out “downtown” a little more, and I’ll spend some time doing some schoolwork as well. Maybe one of the local coffee shops can give me 20 hrs a week during the summer?
