The destination of this train is......

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.