This post was about our three day trip in Boston. There will be many more of these, this is just a quick update! The temperature in Boston were absolutely awful, it didn't get above 25 degrees the entire time we were there! It also started snowing unexpectedley the last two days..

The sushi restaurant that we went to had just opened up, so we had no idea of what to expect.. The restaurant was beautiful, got big points for ambiance, and a definite 6 thumbs down for price. The prices were atrocious! We figured we had ordered way too much: shrimp, broccoli, and sweet potato tempura, and 5 sushi rolls, but the waittress told us that it would barely be enough. She wasn't kidding! The large, intimidating roll to the right is the "Russian Roll," which is eel wrapped in salmon skin, completely smothered in black caviar. I refused to try it, but Greg and Ankur seemed to take care of it on their own! Yuck!

This, unfortunately, was the only picture we have with the three of us this entire time.

This is Greg and I facing incredibly stong winds on the bridge of Charles River. Almost all universities in Boston and Cambridge (Harvard, Boston U, MIT, and Brandeis) are located along this river. Charles River is infamous for its pollution, there are tons upon tons of toxic sediment scattered throughout. The weather channel deems 50 days a year on average where people can come in contact with water, despite EPAs promise to have the water "swimmable" by 2005. This river is also very famous in pop culture; this is the river where Quentin drowned himself in the Sound and the Fury, and is the location of a prominent scene in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. My brother told me there is a custom for Harvard freshmen and this river; supposedley if you successfully walk across the frozen river second semester of your freshmen year, you will have good luck throughout your remaining years and get all A's or something ridiculous like that. One of Ankurs friends once made him and some other friends cross the river. My brother says he tried and almost made it halfway, but "chickened out." Remember, this river is very toxic, so if you slip through the ice you are dead in an instant! By the way, the friend that got everyone to cross the river was doing it to impress a lady friend, which happened to be Natalie Portman, the very famous actress! 

I wasn't too sure where I wanted to go with this next set of pictures, so I figured a nice post about Greg would be perfect! These are some of my favorite pictures..

I believe this is Greg his freshmen year at Columbia, right in front of Radio City Music Hall!


I think this may be Greg's junior year, on Halloween. He was supposed to be the tinman.. To his left is Rick, who was supposed to be a woman, then Greg Alushin who was dressed as a ninja, and Debra, who for some reason was perfect for her role as a "ghost."
This picture was taken the first month Greg and I were dating. My friend at the time insisted that he got a "make-over," which meant a big change in facial hair, a hair cut, a completely revamped wardrobe, and of course, cologne. This is the first picture we took of the all "made-over" Greg! This, of course, only happened because Greg agreed to it.. and later on admitted that he loved the change! He also told me his new "make-over" won him much attention upon his return at school! :(
I love this picture but the t-shirt is absolutely terrible. The shirt supports Columbia sailing team, but it's awful! I love this picture because it's got the classic Greg face and reflects his personality well. The girl in the picture with him is absolutely dreadful, but what can one do? 

I apologize for the lack of organization in posting these pictures! I cannot figure out this software for the life of me. I can also only post four pictures at a time, so I will try to do "themed" posts. This post is about the most important reason why I went to NYC - to see Greg at his school!

This is the ONLY picture we have of Greg on his graduation day. It was POURING rain the entire time, I couldn't believe Columbia didn't anticipate this ahead of time and create a plan B in case of the rain. Greg ended up leaving the graduation and not walking at all, but this is the picture his friend Jessica shot while he was contemplating whether or not to stay. A lot of Greg's friends and other graduates left early as well; you have to keep in mind that is was 52 degrees faranheit the entire time and the rain mixed with the turf created a nice, muddy, muck. A woman that I encountered while waiting for Greg smiled and told me, "This is just Mother Nature telling ourselves not to take ourselves so seriously." Sure, but couldn't she have picked another day?

This is Columbia's Law School. Greg's dorm was behind and to the left of this building, so you actually got to walk around it everytime we went anywhere. It's absolutely beautiful, but you cannot go inside unless you are a law student!

This is the Philosophy building (makes sense, doesn't it?) This building is right in front of the Amsterdam overpass where Greg lives. The Thinker is very well-detailed in real life, and is an absolutely beautiful peice.

This is the very famous Low Library at Columbia. It was built in 1895 and is patterned after the Parthenon and the Pantheon. This is just absolutely gorgeous to see, its size is truly overwhelming. The best part is the Alma Mater, which is very detailed and beautiful, and mounted on marble.

 

These first few pictures are of Central Park in May. The park is green now, instead of the drab, dead colors I saw when I was here in March. These waterfalls were so beautiful! Greg and his brother, Chris, were actually able to climb these up and down!
Central Park. It was ridiculously difficult trying to keep Greg, Chris, Whitney, Mom, Frank, and I all together amongst all the crowds of people!
The very famous and well-respected FDNY. This station is very near Columbia, and literally next door to Greg's mechanical engineering lab!