My level of subway insanity descended to previously unrealized nadirs yesterday, but for once, 'twasn't the fault of the MBTA, but my own.
Just to liven the blog up, I will relate my story of the consulate to the tune of "Charlie on the MTA"
Let me tell you the story
Of my appointment at the embassy
On a tragic and fateful day
I put my papers in my pocket
Shouted goodbye to my roomie
And went to ride on the MBTA
I handed in my dimes
At the Wash. Square Station
And I barreled towards the Avenue of St. James
When I got there the bureaucrat told me,
"One more paper!"
I was in for a whole lot of pain.
Chorus:
Will my visa ever return?,
No, they'll never return?
And its fate is still unlearn'd
It may hide forever
'neath the file folders of Espana
It's the visa who never got returned.
Now all day long
I rode through the tunnels
Saying, "What will become of me?
How can I attach three photocopies?
Print these ten items?
Or convince them that I haven't committed any felonies?"
Now half way down
Back to the Wash. Square station
Somwhere around a quarter past twelve
I saw that all I would need to do
Was trust the good folks at IES (IES!!)
And they would see me through.
As my train roared on
back towards downtown Boston
I looked around and sighed:
"Well, I'm sore and disgusted
And I'm absolutely busted;
If I had just read this packet, I could've spared myself this ride."
Now you citizens of Boston,
Don't you think it's a scandal
That smart people like me who think they're doing a-okay
Should miss the details on some papers in my bundle
And had to ride 6 times to get my visa on the good, ole MBTA!
Hope you enjoy!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The pain in Spain
Embassies are bureaucratic stinkholes. Designed to serve the people my ass.
In other news, I've been very social this week. I went out to Quincy yesterday to visit Aileen, Yuriy, Amy, and Franklin(e). We watched this amazing movie called OldBoy, a Korean production. It's a vengeance flick, but although the initial premise of the blood feud between the two characters is a tad thin, the movie amplifies the conflict with a powerful effect. The film resolves itself in a convincing, although morally ambiguous, finale.
On the way back, I was propositioned by my third beggar of the week. The homeless of Boston aren't frightening, because a.) I don't go to any areas where they would be and b.) They mostly cluster around the T, and the Boston T is the safest subway system in the U.S. Its just a bit unsettling, awkward, and I always vacillate pity and calloussness. Either way, its just not a comfortable experience. Strike one for the suburbs. Like almost everything else in life it seems, living in an urban environment has its plusses and minuses.
Tonight is chess night again, and I get to whoop some butt on Eli and Greg. Still figuring out where its to take place (my vote is Hynes Convention Center, Eli wants to do it here in Waltham.) We'll see.
That's all that's going on in my world. The sun has finally taken a vacation here in Boston, and I might just be beginning to believe that summer actually exists in this corner of the world.
In other news, I've been very social this week. I went out to Quincy yesterday to visit Aileen, Yuriy, Amy, and Franklin(e). We watched this amazing movie called OldBoy, a Korean production. It's a vengeance flick, but although the initial premise of the blood feud between the two characters is a tad thin, the movie amplifies the conflict with a powerful effect. The film resolves itself in a convincing, although morally ambiguous, finale.
On the way back, I was propositioned by my third beggar of the week. The homeless of Boston aren't frightening, because a.) I don't go to any areas where they would be and b.) They mostly cluster around the T, and the Boston T is the safest subway system in the U.S. Its just a bit unsettling, awkward, and I always vacillate pity and calloussness. Either way, its just not a comfortable experience. Strike one for the suburbs. Like almost everything else in life it seems, living in an urban environment has its plusses and minuses.
Tonight is chess night again, and I get to whoop some butt on Eli and Greg. Still figuring out where its to take place (my vote is Hynes Convention Center, Eli wants to do it here in Waltham.) We'll see.
That's all that's going on in my world. The sun has finally taken a vacation here in Boston, and I might just be beginning to believe that summer actually exists in this corner of the world.
Friday, June 15, 2007
The chemistry at Juilliard
Quote:
"The synergy between actor X and actress Y is much like the chemistry department at Juilliard. And that may be the one and only time you'll ever see the words "Actress Y" and "Juilliard" appear in the same sentence."
Having nothing else to read on the way home, I was amused.
This weekend will be salaciously quiet. It will be most welcome. Simply put, I'm tired.
This one'll be short. But I would like to say that I am having the time of my life. I will remember this summer in Boston for the rest of my years, God willing. I look forward to waking up every day; its really a treat.
Good night, folks.
"The synergy between actor X and actress Y is much like the chemistry department at Juilliard. And that may be the one and only time you'll ever see the words "Actress Y" and "Juilliard" appear in the same sentence."
Having nothing else to read on the way home, I was amused.
This weekend will be salaciously quiet. It will be most welcome. Simply put, I'm tired.
This one'll be short. But I would like to say that I am having the time of my life. I will remember this summer in Boston for the rest of my years, God willing. I look forward to waking up every day; its really a treat.
Good night, folks.
Monday, June 11, 2007
It just turns out that way....
There is a certain methodology and order to madness. A je ne sais quoi...
I was walking to Beaconsfield this morning (a delightful, tree lined stroll that allows me to connect to Riverside with only a 10 minute walk), and on Beacon St, an obviously unhinged woman started drifting in my direction. I resolutely focused on the road ahead of me, and steeled myself for a solicitation for money. Although Brookline is a fancy, upscale neighborhood, its still regretably close enough to Boston that the homeless sometimes wander in, especially around Cleveland Circle, and occasionally near my end of it, which is right along the border of Brighton/Allston. As I drew near, I heard her muttering to herself that she needed to sing, as I passed by her, she continued whispering cheerfully on the need to sing. As soon as she was a few steps behind me, to my delight, she started singing "Monday, Monday" by the Mamas and Papas. Captured my mood in a heartbeat.
I'm not entirely happy with everything I have to do this week. I am going to suck it up and angle to work at the supermarket next door, after the Parisian cafe and the Calc grader position didn't work out. Additionally, I have to start getting all of my documents together for the Spanish embassy, plus finalize the purchase of my ticket to Spain. Plus, the rent check has to go out by Friday, but fortunately, I am in an excellent financial position. Little things, I realize, but I am not yet looking forward to going to Spain. Currently, it just feels like a lot of hassle. And I hate hassle.
Reunion was fun. I met a lot of really interesting people. I was lucky in that I had a nice dinner with some of the members of the first class to graduate Brandeis. I really think there's something about a college education that keeps people sharp and with it, no matter how old they get. We talked about the death penalty, Israel/Zionism, liberalism at Brandeis, presidential politics, and pot on campus. Plus the neurotic Abraham Maslow, pioneer of feel-good psychology. Only one person behaved like a dingbat, however, everyone involved knows who that person was, so no more need be said.
Although I could have made more per hour working in the library, not having to feed myself or travel anywhere for 5 days saved me at least $60, so doing reunion actually put me ahead by about that much for the week, which makes me a happy man. Plus, I got a tip for being charming in the coatroom. Hey, $5 can buy you a delicious, cheap lunch at Felipe's at Harvard Yard. Or a smoothie at Emack and Bolio's on Newbury Street.
The saddest news of the past 5 days has been that I lost my copy of Dr. Zhivago while at JFK park on the Charles, just south of Harvard. Irony being irony, I bought that book 2 years ago, but I only got around recently to reading it. Now, having less than 100 pages left, it fell out of my pocket while I was climbing a tree (don't ask), without me noticing. The streak continues, although in the grand scheme of things, Pasternak is a small loss compared to a cell phone. And hey, I don't have any excuses now not to start Ch. 7 in my group theory book.
Another downside to the past 5 days is that Reunion has put me staggeringly behind in terms of calling people. I expect some cantankerousness when I start playing catch up tonight. Sorry, Mom.
I was walking to Beaconsfield this morning (a delightful, tree lined stroll that allows me to connect to Riverside with only a 10 minute walk), and on Beacon St, an obviously unhinged woman started drifting in my direction. I resolutely focused on the road ahead of me, and steeled myself for a solicitation for money. Although Brookline is a fancy, upscale neighborhood, its still regretably close enough to Boston that the homeless sometimes wander in, especially around Cleveland Circle, and occasionally near my end of it, which is right along the border of Brighton/Allston. As I drew near, I heard her muttering to herself that she needed to sing, as I passed by her, she continued whispering cheerfully on the need to sing. As soon as she was a few steps behind me, to my delight, she started singing "Monday, Monday" by the Mamas and Papas. Captured my mood in a heartbeat.
I'm not entirely happy with everything I have to do this week. I am going to suck it up and angle to work at the supermarket next door, after the Parisian cafe and the Calc grader position didn't work out. Additionally, I have to start getting all of my documents together for the Spanish embassy, plus finalize the purchase of my ticket to Spain. Plus, the rent check has to go out by Friday, but fortunately, I am in an excellent financial position. Little things, I realize, but I am not yet looking forward to going to Spain. Currently, it just feels like a lot of hassle. And I hate hassle.
Reunion was fun. I met a lot of really interesting people. I was lucky in that I had a nice dinner with some of the members of the first class to graduate Brandeis. I really think there's something about a college education that keeps people sharp and with it, no matter how old they get. We talked about the death penalty, Israel/Zionism, liberalism at Brandeis, presidential politics, and pot on campus. Plus the neurotic Abraham Maslow, pioneer of feel-good psychology. Only one person behaved like a dingbat, however, everyone involved knows who that person was, so no more need be said.
Although I could have made more per hour working in the library, not having to feed myself or travel anywhere for 5 days saved me at least $60, so doing reunion actually put me ahead by about that much for the week, which makes me a happy man. Plus, I got a tip for being charming in the coatroom. Hey, $5 can buy you a delicious, cheap lunch at Felipe's at Harvard Yard. Or a smoothie at Emack and Bolio's on Newbury Street.
The saddest news of the past 5 days has been that I lost my copy of Dr. Zhivago while at JFK park on the Charles, just south of Harvard. Irony being irony, I bought that book 2 years ago, but I only got around recently to reading it. Now, having less than 100 pages left, it fell out of my pocket while I was climbing a tree (don't ask), without me noticing. The streak continues, although in the grand scheme of things, Pasternak is a small loss compared to a cell phone. And hey, I don't have any excuses now not to start Ch. 7 in my group theory book.
Another downside to the past 5 days is that Reunion has put me staggeringly behind in terms of calling people. I expect some cantankerousness when I start playing catch up tonight. Sorry, Mom.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
To the lighthouse!
Yesterday, it rained.
And rained.
And rained.
And it was a cold rain.
Something to miss about Cincinnati: Past May, the rain never makes you shiver.
However, walking downtown yesterday was quite an unexpected delight. The fog that settled over Boston after the rain dissipated was intensely thick; the kind of marshmellowy, saccharin white that you only read about in books but you don't think actually exists. A literary flight of fancy. Although the concrete valleys between the steel behemoths of the Financial District were relatively clear, looking up even 50 feet and the top of each building was being swallowed indecently by the fluffy mist. I was put in mind of being on a small, unsteady ship, and readily imagined trying to pilot my way through downtown, constantly afraid of being sunk by some treacherous spire of a floating skyscraper lurking in the lost clouds.
In further good news, Katherine has just arrived for the month! I will truck on over to Arlington for dinner tonight and hopefully enjoy a sumptuous meal with Mme. Schram and Vincent.
Looking forward to relaxing tonight before tomorrow, when Reunion begins.
And rained.
And rained.
And it was a cold rain.
Something to miss about Cincinnati: Past May, the rain never makes you shiver.
However, walking downtown yesterday was quite an unexpected delight. The fog that settled over Boston after the rain dissipated was intensely thick; the kind of marshmellowy, saccharin white that you only read about in books but you don't think actually exists. A literary flight of fancy. Although the concrete valleys between the steel behemoths of the Financial District were relatively clear, looking up even 50 feet and the top of each building was being swallowed indecently by the fluffy mist. I was put in mind of being on a small, unsteady ship, and readily imagined trying to pilot my way through downtown, constantly afraid of being sunk by some treacherous spire of a floating skyscraper lurking in the lost clouds.
In further good news, Katherine has just arrived for the month! I will truck on over to Arlington for dinner tonight and hopefully enjoy a sumptuous meal with Mme. Schram and Vincent.
Looking forward to relaxing tonight before tomorrow, when Reunion begins.
Friday, June 1, 2007
La fin de la semana
Aujourd'hui, c'est le vendredi!
Not entirely proper for me to fully celebrate this Friday, as it's only been a 4 day week, but it feels good nonetheless.
This coming week is reunion. Essentially, 1,000 people from about 10 different classes will descend on our small campus for a weekend, while we poor schmucks run and around trying to master the artful blend of being bright-eyed and bushy tailed youngsters for the alumni to gaze nostalgically at, and having our butts worked like dogs to haul everything from storage to the reception areas. Fortunately, Madamoiselle Schram will be joining us and so she and I plan to tag team on the social end of it, which should be fun. She is excellent at small talk.
Also on the upside, they're paying me $200 + 5 days worth of free food. Considering that food is my biggest daily expense, this should work out nicely as a savings, even if I am forgoing the chance to make the full ~$460 I normally would during the work week. But I'll work in the library half of the week, make around $200 there, so it'll be a $400 week. Nothing wrong with that.
On my way home last night from work, I was riding the bus with an middle-aged woman who demanded to know my secrets for Sudoku. To be fair, I am not an expert by any means, given that I only started playing it 2 weeks ago, so it still takes me about 45 minutes to do a professional one. But apparently, she is a software designer person who moonlights as a fashion designer (what a wonderful world we live in, nu?), and she approached it like a typical computer science person would: algorithms. Crunching each row painfully can get you the right answer.......sometimes. But more often than not, there just aren't enough clues given at the beginning to do that kind of slow burn through the puzzle. My method is more haphazard and intuitive, but it works. So let this be a lesson to all of you computer science people: Programming ≠ real world. This is one of the few times I get to take a pot shot at another major for being less realistic than my own, and I am enjoying it.
Another quiet weekend ahead. Need to nail down with Henry and Cooker when they are flying here (early August), and start looking to cough up the money for a plane ticket home in August myself for Nelsen's wedding. Plus rent. Joy.
Adios hasta la fin de la fin de la semana. Spanish is fun.
Not entirely proper for me to fully celebrate this Friday, as it's only been a 4 day week, but it feels good nonetheless.
This coming week is reunion. Essentially, 1,000 people from about 10 different classes will descend on our small campus for a weekend, while we poor schmucks run and around trying to master the artful blend of being bright-eyed and bushy tailed youngsters for the alumni to gaze nostalgically at, and having our butts worked like dogs to haul everything from storage to the reception areas. Fortunately, Madamoiselle Schram will be joining us and so she and I plan to tag team on the social end of it, which should be fun. She is excellent at small talk.
Also on the upside, they're paying me $200 + 5 days worth of free food. Considering that food is my biggest daily expense, this should work out nicely as a savings, even if I am forgoing the chance to make the full ~$460 I normally would during the work week. But I'll work in the library half of the week, make around $200 there, so it'll be a $400 week. Nothing wrong with that.
On my way home last night from work, I was riding the bus with an middle-aged woman who demanded to know my secrets for Sudoku. To be fair, I am not an expert by any means, given that I only started playing it 2 weeks ago, so it still takes me about 45 minutes to do a professional one. But apparently, she is a software designer person who moonlights as a fashion designer (what a wonderful world we live in, nu?), and she approached it like a typical computer science person would: algorithms. Crunching each row painfully can get you the right answer.......sometimes. But more often than not, there just aren't enough clues given at the beginning to do that kind of slow burn through the puzzle. My method is more haphazard and intuitive, but it works. So let this be a lesson to all of you computer science people: Programming ≠ real world. This is one of the few times I get to take a pot shot at another major for being less realistic than my own, and I am enjoying it.
Another quiet weekend ahead. Need to nail down with Henry and Cooker when they are flying here (early August), and start looking to cough up the money for a plane ticket home in August myself for Nelsen's wedding. Plus rent. Joy.
Adios hasta la fin de la fin de la semana. Spanish is fun.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
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.
"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.
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