You know I have become too dependent on public transportation when I start unconsciously rattling off the approaching stop with the automated voice on the tram:
"The destination of this train is: Cleveland Circle"
"Now entering....Brandon Hall"
"North Station. LAST STOP! Thank you for riding the Green Line!"
Many years from now, I see myself being woken up by my future wife, telling me to quit yelling out "Cleveland Circle" in my sleep.
Anywho, today was kind of a relaxing day. I woke up around 11, and decided it was too gorgeous to stay inside all day. So I spent most of my day hunting around for a good place to sit down and study some group theory, (otherwise known as "Everything you thought you knew about division is utterly wrong." Ladies and Gentlemen, we were lied to in elementary school.) However, the D branch was closed between roughly my house and Kenmore, so I couldn't go to Brookline Village. So after going to Kenmore, realizing there was no way to get from there to Brookline Village, I got back on the train outbound, and then on an impulse, got off at Coolidge Corner and decided to take a peek at a little cafe near the T stop. Unfortunately, it was a wee bit out of my price range, but isn't most of Boston? So, I decided to grab a park bench and start reading.
That didn't last long.
After about 20 minutes, I got uncomfortable and started wandering around the Corner. By chance I walked into this little bookstore (Rodney's, it was called. Brought to mind West Virginia), and found a little treasure. They had tucked away in the back of the shop a treatise on statistics and probability for *drumroll..............................* $9. Most bookstores would be $50. After persuading the owner of the shop that I could take it off of his hands (after all, how many math majors could possibly come wandering through that place?), I got it for the low, low price of $6.30. Needless to say, I was quite thrilled.
Armed with new merchandise, I decided to suck it up and go to Boston Commons for the outdoors experience. I know, I know, I'm really roughing it. I hoped back on the subway and got to the commons off of Boylston (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boylston_%28MBTA_station%29) Subway Station, at the intersection of Boylston and Tremont St. I wandered through the park a bit until I found a bench I liked, and then settled in to finish the chapter. This was quite productive, and the great, ozone-filled air of downtown helped ease along some of the finer points of the material.
It was interesting to note what a profound socio-economic blender the Commons are. I often see couples posing for their wedding pictures in the pavilions scattered across the Commons, alongside the homeless, the sociably questionable, and the chattering middle class immigrants that so seem to favor the park. Throughout the hour and a half I was there, there was a steady stream of rising and falling tonalities, primarily of an elderly Asian couple (Chinese? I am not sure that any other Asian languages are tonal). The downside being that unlike other languages, the occasional spike on the emphasis on a syllable made it difficult to tune out. More nostalgically, I also watched as two little boys practiced throwing a plastic ball at each other and calling out the names of Pokemon as they flung it back and forth. Reminded me much of John and I at a certain age.
It is amusing to note that when such public spaces were first constructed, the elites of Boston feared that the Commons and other parks in the Emerald Necklace would become the playgrounds of the city's lower classes. They were right that they would be destinations for all types, but wrong that they would detract from the quality of the green space.
Yet, biology is a terrible master, and by 7:30 I was starving. Not wanting to blow $10 on a 2 inch sandwich in downtown, I took the subway back from Boylston to Tappan Street, the stop right after mine, to go to the grocery store (I swear, if I were in charge of the MBTA, I would eliminate half of the stops on the B, C, and E branches. You shouldn't be able to walk 3 minutes to go from one stop to the other. Its horribly inefficient.) I have plenty of food at home, so I didn't get much, although while there, I saw they were offering cashiering openings for evenings. Being an intrepid sort, I have applied, although we'll see what hours and wages they offer. I also have an application out to a French Crepe shop at Coolidge Corner, so having a second job will certainly put me over $500 a week, which will make me a very happy man.
Tomorrow, I get to decide between going to a barbecue at Marina's house or going to a friend's party in the evening. Unfortunately, it does not seem possible to do both. We shall see.
Goodnight, folks.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Huzzah! Ladies and Gentleman, today, I am the windshield
My transportation issues are solved!
*Cue a triumphalist march*
On a whim, I asked Dan Lazewatsky (here on out, referred to as 'The Dlaz'), what he thought the fastest route between Riverside and Brandeis was. His response was, "Well, I work at Brandeis, too. Why don't I just carpool with you?" So, voila! In return for chipping in on the gas, I now have a fast and reliable way to get to the 'Deis sans commuter rail. I still will use the Bus/walking/D/C route to get home. However, the 30 minute walk down Washington St. is gorgeous and good exercise after sitting down for hours at the library, so I don't mind.
I imagine Dan will want about $10-$12 a week (since its a very short distance from Brandeis to Riverside, and I'm only using it in the mornings. Hell, better make it $12). So my transportation expenses weekly are:
$15 a week for the subway, $12 a week for gas = $27.
$27 * 4 = $108 a month. A bit pricey, but considering the alternative was trying to use the buses in the morning (risky), or using the commuter rail ($40 more a month), so this seems like it'll be a savings.
Anyway, shhhhh. The LOST season finale is starting. I'll return to this later.
*Cue a triumphalist march*
On a whim, I asked Dan Lazewatsky (here on out, referred to as 'The Dlaz'), what he thought the fastest route between Riverside and Brandeis was. His response was, "Well, I work at Brandeis, too. Why don't I just carpool with you?" So, voila! In return for chipping in on the gas, I now have a fast and reliable way to get to the 'Deis sans commuter rail. I still will use the Bus/walking/D/C route to get home. However, the 30 minute walk down Washington St. is gorgeous and good exercise after sitting down for hours at the library, so I don't mind.
I imagine Dan will want about $10-$12 a week (since its a very short distance from Brandeis to Riverside, and I'm only using it in the mornings. Hell, better make it $12). So my transportation expenses weekly are:
$15 a week for the subway, $12 a week for gas = $27.
$27 * 4 = $108 a month. A bit pricey, but considering the alternative was trying to use the buses in the morning (risky), or using the commuter rail ($40 more a month), so this seems like it'll be a savings.
Anyway, shhhhh. The LOST season finale is starting. I'll return to this later.
Monday, May 21, 2007
End of the Affair
So the weekend with Brandon winds down.
The upshot of having a visitor is that showing someone around prompts you to see places you otherwise never would have. I've been in Boston for 2 years, and until this weekend, I'd never seen:
1.) Southie
2.) Boston College
3.) Concord
4.) Salem
5.) MIT
(Note: Southie doesn't look anything like the movies, so don't ask.)
Tomorrow is my first adventure with the bus transit crazy links. Kinda like playing pin the tail on the donkey without the blindfold, but missing a leg and having a hunchback to boot.
UPDATE: Angela needs to go to Brandeis tomorrow morning, so I'm getting a ride. The great experiment is delayed for one more day.
Otherwise, this week is catch up week until the three day weekend, where I will hopefully relax for an extended period of time for the first time in months. I really haven't had a break since February, and I am just plain tired. Worn down.
That's a wrap.
The upshot of having a visitor is that showing someone around prompts you to see places you otherwise never would have. I've been in Boston for 2 years, and until this weekend, I'd never seen:
1.) Southie
2.) Boston College
3.) Concord
4.) Salem
5.) MIT
(Note: Southie doesn't look anything like the movies, so don't ask.)
Tomorrow is my first adventure with the bus transit crazy links. Kinda like playing pin the tail on the donkey without the blindfold, but missing a leg and having a hunchback to boot.
UPDATE: Angela needs to go to Brandeis tomorrow morning, so I'm getting a ride. The great experiment is delayed for one more day.
Otherwise, this week is catch up week until the three day weekend, where I will hopefully relax for an extended period of time for the first time in months. I really haven't had a break since February, and I am just plain tired. Worn down.
That's a wrap.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Is spasticness a word? And can I diet it away, Doctor?
So I'm on a roll.
In less than two months, I have:
1.) Missed my flight
2.) Lost my cell phone
3.) Left my room phone in my dorm
4.) Left my keys at school and got myself locked out my apartment and had to crash on a sofa in the Village last night.
Fortunately, I'm back and there weren't any serious problems, just annoying (Don't freak out, Mom. I had a friend give me a hand. Situation contained.) I don't know what the hell it is. Perhaps I'm more stressed than I realize and the fact that I keep forgetting things is an indication of it. Its not exactly inspiring confidence in myself.
On a more inspiring note, I have figured out how to beat the commuter rail. On my original commute, I would have to pay $9.50 a day, just to get back and forth between Brandeis and North Station. That's about $45 a week! $180 a month! Even with a rail link pass, that's $140 a month, although that also includes the subway, so its a big savings.
However, I did not buy a rail pass for May. So, I have devised a scheme to get from Washington Square to Brandeis on my 7-day pass, which is only $15 a week. A third of the cost?!! What a deal!!!
The downside is that it's a weeeeeeeeeee bit complicated. I.e. if I miss one of my connections, I'm deeply screwed. Considering that tomorrow is my first day at the library, I'll take the commuter rail in in the morning, and try this route out at night. So if it looks feasible, I'll do this until June and save myself a ton of money. (In June, they're closing down part of the D branch of the Green Line (http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/subway/lines/?route=GREEN) between Reservoir and Riverside, which is exactly the stretch I need. I'll just suck it up and buy the Rail Link Pass for June.
Ah yes, Brandon is coming tomorrow. Which means I'll have to clean the apartment top to bottom tomorrow afternoon. Fun. I'm still working on an itinerary, but I think we'll have a good time. On Monday, he'll be on his own to go visit Harvard.
That's all the news that's fit to print.
In less than two months, I have:
1.) Missed my flight
2.) Lost my cell phone
3.) Left my room phone in my dorm
4.) Left my keys at school and got myself locked out my apartment and had to crash on a sofa in the Village last night.
Fortunately, I'm back and there weren't any serious problems, just annoying (Don't freak out, Mom. I had a friend give me a hand. Situation contained.) I don't know what the hell it is. Perhaps I'm more stressed than I realize and the fact that I keep forgetting things is an indication of it. Its not exactly inspiring confidence in myself.
On a more inspiring note, I have figured out how to beat the commuter rail. On my original commute, I would have to pay $9.50 a day, just to get back and forth between Brandeis and North Station. That's about $45 a week! $180 a month! Even with a rail link pass, that's $140 a month, although that also includes the subway, so its a big savings.
However, I did not buy a rail pass for May. So, I have devised a scheme to get from Washington Square to Brandeis on my 7-day pass, which is only $15 a week. A third of the cost?!! What a deal!!!
The downside is that it's a weeeeeeeeeee bit complicated. I.e. if I miss one of my connections, I'm deeply screwed. Considering that tomorrow is my first day at the library, I'll take the commuter rail in in the morning, and try this route out at night. So if it looks feasible, I'll do this until June and save myself a ton of money. (In June, they're closing down part of the D branch of the Green Line (http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/subway/lines/?route=GREEN) between Reservoir and Riverside, which is exactly the stretch I need. I'll just suck it up and buy the Rail Link Pass for June.
Ah yes, Brandon is coming tomorrow. Which means I'll have to clean the apartment top to bottom tomorrow afternoon. Fun. I'm still working on an itinerary, but I think we'll have a good time. On Monday, he'll be on his own to go visit Harvard.
That's all the news that's fit to print.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Drama and the town llama
I can't wait to stop working at the alumni office. I just don't care anymore. It's hard to find the energy to do all of the little chores. Nothing against the good people who toil there, but its just mindless and worse, its just an elaborate social catering service to Brandeis Alumni. I am beginning to believe the alumni don't deserve the work we do for them. A more efficient system would be alumnize-as-you-go, where the more money you give to Brandeis, the more we pretend to like you.
But the vast majority of them do bubkis and get goodies in return. Although eerily reminiscent to the real world, reality should be combated at every turn. I put my money where my mouth is: I'm an economics major AND a math major. How much more divorced from reality can I get?
But the vast majority of them do bubkis and get goodies in return. Although eerily reminiscent to the real world, reality should be combated at every turn. I put my money where my mouth is: I'm an economics major AND a math major. How much more divorced from reality can I get?
Monday, May 14, 2007
I'm thoroughly enjoying Absurdistan:
"At Accidental College, we were taught that our dreams and our beliefs were all that mattered, that the world would eventually sway to our will, fall in step with our goodness, swoon right into our delicate white arms. All those Introduction to Striptease classes (apparently each of our ridiculous bodies had been made perfect in its own way), all those Advanced Memoir seminars, all those symposiums on Overcoming Shyness and Facilitation Self-Expression. And it wasn't just Accidental College. All over America, the membrane between adulthood and childhood had been eroding, the fantastic and the personal melding into one, adult worries receding into a pink childhood haze. I've been to parties in Brooklyn where men and women in their mid-thirties would passionately discuss the fine points of The Little Mermaid or the travails of our favorite superhero. Deep inside, we all wished to have communion with that tiny red-haired underwater bitch. We all wanted to soar high above the city, take on the earthly powers below, and champion the rights of somebody, anybody. The Sevo people would do just fine, thank you. Democracy, it turned out, had the makings of the best Disney cartoon ever made."
That paragraph made me almost giddy.
Goodnight.
"At Accidental College, we were taught that our dreams and our beliefs were all that mattered, that the world would eventually sway to our will, fall in step with our goodness, swoon right into our delicate white arms. All those Introduction to Striptease classes (apparently each of our ridiculous bodies had been made perfect in its own way), all those Advanced Memoir seminars, all those symposiums on Overcoming Shyness and Facilitation Self-Expression. And it wasn't just Accidental College. All over America, the membrane between adulthood and childhood had been eroding, the fantastic and the personal melding into one, adult worries receding into a pink childhood haze. I've been to parties in Brooklyn where men and women in their mid-thirties would passionately discuss the fine points of The Little Mermaid or the travails of our favorite superhero. Deep inside, we all wished to have communion with that tiny red-haired underwater bitch. We all wanted to soar high above the city, take on the earthly powers below, and champion the rights of somebody, anybody. The Sevo people would do just fine, thank you. Democracy, it turned out, had the makings of the best Disney cartoon ever made."
That paragraph made me almost giddy.
Goodnight.
Reducto ad Hitlerum
After living here for just 3 days, I can safely and imperturbably say that I love it.
Period.
Right outside my door, I have wine shop (not that I'd go there, but its kind of cool, nonetheless), the T, a chocolatier, a Chinese restaurant, Starbucks, and a Russian Grocery. Plus other stuff I'm still figuring out. And if I so choose, I can hop on the T and go to Coolidge Corner in about 5 minutes, which has everything aforementioned and then some. Grocery market, cinema, Jewish delis, 2 bookstores, and a leafy panorama of the Charles River and Back Bay. Boston may have been the original city on a hill, but it looks like Brookline got to be the town on a mountain.
There's gotta be a faster way to get to work though......
Period.
Right outside my door, I have wine shop (not that I'd go there, but its kind of cool, nonetheless), the T, a chocolatier, a Chinese restaurant, Starbucks, and a Russian Grocery. Plus other stuff I'm still figuring out. And if I so choose, I can hop on the T and go to Coolidge Corner in about 5 minutes, which has everything aforementioned and then some. Grocery market, cinema, Jewish delis, 2 bookstores, and a leafy panorama of the Charles River and Back Bay. Boston may have been the original city on a hill, but it looks like Brookline got to be the town on a mountain.
There's gotta be a faster way to get to work though......
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Day 1.9583333
Hahahahaha, I just got back from the Harvard Co-op and just as I was getting off the stop, I almost got hit by two yuppies whizzing purposefully by on some Segway scooters. I wonder if it'd be fast for me to get to Park Street via one of the Segways or on the Green Line. The trolley can move really slowly.
I spent most of my traveling time reading Mark Kagan's book on abstract algebra. This is a completely different way of looking at the world. Even the first chapter seems to be a concerted effort to reducing everything I ever learned in elementary school to an algorithm.
On the upside, it did contain some useful tips on how to scam the USPS. Turns out the book shows how money wire services check for their number entries, and if you just take a few minutes to play with the numbers, with a little luck and pluck, you could cash a forged check by beating them at their own game.
Additionally, I bought a book called Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart. I'm beginning to see why the Russians accuse me of being a wannabe...Although I still maintain that they are giving themselves too much credit. *cough* Yelena *cough*
And I promise: No more ridiculous ways of labeling my entries. After this one anyway.
I spent most of my traveling time reading Mark Kagan's book on abstract algebra. This is a completely different way of looking at the world. Even the first chapter seems to be a concerted effort to reducing everything I ever learned in elementary school to an algorithm.
On the upside, it did contain some useful tips on how to scam the USPS. Turns out the book shows how money wire services check for their number entries, and if you just take a few minutes to play with the numbers, with a little luck and pluck, you could cash a forged check by beating them at their own game.
Additionally, I bought a book called Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart. I'm beginning to see why the Russians accuse me of being a wannabe...Although I still maintain that they are giving themselves too much credit. *cough* Yelena *cough*
And I promise: No more ridiculous ways of labeling my entries. After this one anyway.
Day 1
Well, in spite of the chaos and the running around of getting my stuff down to Brookline (thanks again to Santa Katya and San Gregory), I'm sitting here in the recliner thinking what the hell to do now.
I do like this place so far. The only draw back seems to be a lack of a place to put my extra shit on in my bedroom, but I think I can get over it
I think for tonight anyway, I'm going to go to Harvard Yard and grab dinner on the go. Perhaps I can get Sassen-Liang to join me. That kid is an oot and aboot kind of fellow.
I do like this place so far. The only draw back seems to be a lack of a place to put my extra shit on in my bedroom, but I think I can get over it
I think for tonight anyway, I'm going to go to Harvard Yard and grab dinner on the go. Perhaps I can get Sassen-Liang to join me. That kid is an oot and aboot kind of fellow.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Day n-2
Yes, so I'm starting a blog for the summer.
Why?
Because for the first time in my life, I won't be in Cincinnati, OH for the summer. This is as convenient a tool as any for people to know what the hell I'm going to be doing while I languish in Boston.
Why should I care?
You shouldn't. That's why I named it "The Star Chamber", because
Do you frequently write as if you're carrying on a conversation with yourself?
Yes, it keeps the voices in my head happy.
Moving on. So in case you couldn't gather from today's title, I just finished doing mediocre-ly on my proofs final. Now I find myself with two more finals, and I should probably be studying instead of writing.
College is depressing. I never thought I'd have this much trouble getting grades I'm happy with when I came here. Proofs has been weighing on me like an albatross perched on my back, screeching into my ear that I keep needing to be more and more precise. If I'm going to be a halfway decent math major, I have to lose the mentality that I can bullshit my way out of life.
Why?
Because for the first time in my life, I won't be in Cincinnati, OH for the summer. This is as convenient a tool as any for people to know what the hell I'm going to be doing while I languish in Boston.
Why should I care?
You shouldn't. That's why I named it "The Star Chamber", because
Do you frequently write as if you're carrying on a conversation with yourself?
Yes, it keeps the voices in my head happy.
Moving on. So in case you couldn't gather from today's title, I just finished doing mediocre-ly on my proofs final. Now I find myself with two more finals, and I should probably be studying instead of writing.
College is depressing. I never thought I'd have this much trouble getting grades I'm happy with when I came here. Proofs has been weighing on me like an albatross perched on my back, screeching into my ear that I keep needing to be more and more precise. If I'm going to be a halfway decent math major, I have to lose the mentality that I can bullshit my way out of life.
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