Forget Pahking The Cah, We Took The T Instead
I've been disappearing a lot lately.
Truth be told, life's not as interesting as you'd assume, for me to not have time to update this. For a number of reasons, my attentions have been elsewhere the last month. More than a month, truth be told...but who's counting at this point?
Anyway, this past weekend was the annual trip for Liam's birthday, and Greg's birthday as the date inches into October. This year, we'd debated long and hard on where to go, since with Liam not at RPI, we don't have a common jumping-off point for a Montréal run. We had debated between New York City and Boston, and settled on Boston because it seemed like the cheaper alternative, as well as something none of us had really explored in the recent past. With Liam and me in this area more now, we might as well learn the city anyway. Carmine was a late cancellation, so Greg drove up from New Jersey early Saturday morning, I drove to Fall River Friday night, and we convened with Liam to take the commuter rail into the city.
Putting a damper on the weekend this year wasn't just the absence of Carmine, but the fact that rain was fixed on the city with no sign of stopping. I brought my new camera along for its maiden voyage of sorts, but didn't get to use it as much as I'd have liked, on account of the weather. We started walking up from South Station to see Boston Common and a Civil War memorial Liam had been looking for, as well as the original site of the Bull & Finch Pub that was the basis for the bar in "Cheers." All of that accomplished, we hiked back down to the Downtown Crossing T stop to hop the Orange Line into Jamaica Plain for the Samuel Adams Brewery Tour. "Chappelle's Show" Samuel Jackson Beer jokes ensued, and we found ourselves at the rear of a rather large tour group. The tour took about an hour, through a whole three rooms in the building, but the final stop was the most important, a free tasting of some Sam Adams products. I'd never honestly tried beer, so I decided to give it a shot. As you can expect, I wasn't particularly impressed...the flavor of beer just isn't my thing.
We returned to the city afterwards, wandering around and finally locating our hotel so we could check in. After a moment's rest, we had planned to go to Faneuil Hall and visit the replica "Cheers" bar before a trip to the New England Aquarium. Greg thought the aquarium sounded boring, so instead we hit the Museum of Science. Liam had said it before we went in, and reiterated it once we were inside...it may have been quite the sight when we were younger, but now, it seemed immature, so geared toward kids that it was hard to appreciate some of the exhibits. Either they were too young for us, or they were something that we could easily explain instead of stare in wonder. Greg noted that kids just love touching buttons, and sure enough, some would just push any exhibit's buttons without even looking at the end result. I remembered certain things just blew me away, yet as I walked through, I realized that everything seemed dated. The Big Dig exhibit hadn't changed in ten years, the display IndyCar was the same one from ten years ago, the computers were still aging relics, and one display showed a telltale Macintosh system-error bomb dialog box. We still spent about an hour inside, looking around, maybe appreciating some things we hadn't appreciated when we were younger. They were just a lot harder to find.
After the museum, we made it downtown and found Faneuil Hall. We stopped at a pub called Ned Devine's for dinner, which filled us up quite nicely. I ordered a cheeseburger club sandwich, without mayo, but there was that telltale white condiment smeared between the lettuce and the bun. That aside, it was good. I ordered a Captain Morgan and Coke, but the mix was too strong for me...when I added some more Coke (or Pepsi, actually), it made it far more palatable. Yes, by now I was approaching my past drink total for one night, if you count the half-glass of Sam Adams I had to force down. And it was barely seven-thirty.
We headed back to the hotel to change into drier clothes and hit the town, but the rain began to pick up as we left the building. We had planned to check out a couple places on Boylston Street, and figured a taxi would keep us drier for the trip downtown. The doorman at the hotel called for a taxi, but as soon as the driver's current fare got out of the car, the taxi driver took off. We were ushered into a waiting Town Car, which was a more pricey alternative, but talk about riding in style. We got off at the Cactus Club, a margarita joint, but decided it was too packed to bother, so we walked a few blocks down to another bar, Whiskey's. Whiskey's was packed too, but we found seats at the bar and got ourselves settled in for a bit, until the noise became too much to bear...we were yelling two stools down to be heard at all.
This is where it gets sort of exciting.
Liam's friend Dave, who joined us for the Toronto trip last August, was in town with his friends from Syracuse. We called them and found out they were checking out a pub near Fenway Park. And with that, we set off walking to Fenway, a good hike but we could use the exercise. We beat Dave and his friends to the pub, so we found a couple tables. They arrived a short time later, and we all got to talk for a bit while throwing back drinks (I actually had another Coke...I'd had my fill of alcohol with two drinks on the night). Greg started talking to a couple congenial women at the bar, and I'm not sure how they became part of our group, but they did. At 2am, though, the bar closed. No real warning, no last call, just people had to leave. Dave and his friends caught the last cab, and with the T closed for the night, Greg decided to hitch a ride with the girls at the bar. Liam and I were more skeptical, so we walked back.
An hour and a half and three miles later, when Liam and I got into the hotel soaked from head to toe, we thought maybe Greg had the right idea.
We awoke the next morning and made the best of what dry clothing we still had before heading back out to the city. We grabbed lunch at a hot-pot restaurant in Chinatown called Shabu-Zen...quite tasty, and I'm sure I'll go back some time. After that, we walked to South Station for train schedules, but discovered that the next commuter rail train left for home at 3:10pm. It was 2:00...not enough time to see anything else, but too much time to wait in the station. We ended up hanging out, knowing that the last train back was too late in the evening for Greg to have a reasonable return trip.
And like that, Boston was over. Remarkable and yet not remarkable...it was hard for the same antics as usual to play out in steady rain, much as the desire was there. It's really weird...it was a nice time, even just to see Liam and Greg again, to see other people my age out and having fun. Yet at the same time, something was lacking and I can't explain it. Boston's definitely more of a bar city than a club city...and the bar scene isn't really my comfort zone, but I'm willing to venture there. That wasn't it. It wasn't the absence of one person, or the doing or not doing of any activities we didn't get to. There'll be next times...Boston isn't far away at all.
I did decide that alcohol isn't my thing, though. Liam and I talked about how maybe it was a mental block, like the one he once had. At one point we were dead set against any sort of drinking. I still don't like my sister doing it, but she's my little sister. Now, I don't have any issue with my own drinking. A single drink doesn't make me a bad person. Hell, I'd feel normal saying I had an alcoholic drink, moreso than sounding like I tried to avoid it. And all the same, I've enjoyed maybe one drink in my life of all the ones I've had. I wouldn't mind fitting the definition of normal for a change. But that doesn't seem to be in the cards. It's just as well, though.
I do feel more oriented in Boston, though. I feel comfortable in the city. I wouldn't hesitate to take the commuter rail from Lowell into town now. That's a good thing...it's the only city around here where anything worthwhile is happening. I just wouldn't try driving down there. We had considered taking a car to the hotel, but with the constant road construction, it's hard to be sure where to go. I'll take the T, thanks.
I've posted photos from the trip, though not as many as my usual trip galleries. The new camera works well, though I could have been more generous with the flash on inside photos, and some day I'll be more confident with the different modes and features.
Between the trip and the last few days of work, though, I haven't felt well-rested lately. I spent Monday night at work, came back after work at 8pm and left around midnight. Wednesday and Thursday were spent until nine or nine-thirty. These late-night work rushes are less than exhilarating, mostly frustrating. And they shouldn't be happening. I have to plan out a new server for the office. I wanted to get that done this week, but I haven't had time, and I've been lacking on after-hours motivation. It's Thursday and I'm only posting this now. That should tell you something.
So for now, it's back to the old grind. I'll be in the office moving stuff around Saturday, it appears...Ed wants people shifting around, and delaying it isn't an alternative. We'll make it happen. I just wasn't looking forward to working for a weekend. But we have to do what we have to do, right?
I'll try to post here more often. I've had one overwhelming thought in mind, but didn't want to stir anything up writing about it. Maybe I'll chance it anyway, for the same of catharsis. As long as some people don't take it the wrong way.
Truth be told, life's not as interesting as you'd assume, for me to not have time to update this. For a number of reasons, my attentions have been elsewhere the last month. More than a month, truth be told...but who's counting at this point?
Anyway, this past weekend was the annual trip for Liam's birthday, and Greg's birthday as the date inches into October. This year, we'd debated long and hard on where to go, since with Liam not at RPI, we don't have a common jumping-off point for a Montréal run. We had debated between New York City and Boston, and settled on Boston because it seemed like the cheaper alternative, as well as something none of us had really explored in the recent past. With Liam and me in this area more now, we might as well learn the city anyway. Carmine was a late cancellation, so Greg drove up from New Jersey early Saturday morning, I drove to Fall River Friday night, and we convened with Liam to take the commuter rail into the city.
Putting a damper on the weekend this year wasn't just the absence of Carmine, but the fact that rain was fixed on the city with no sign of stopping. I brought my new camera along for its maiden voyage of sorts, but didn't get to use it as much as I'd have liked, on account of the weather. We started walking up from South Station to see Boston Common and a Civil War memorial Liam had been looking for, as well as the original site of the Bull & Finch Pub that was the basis for the bar in "Cheers." All of that accomplished, we hiked back down to the Downtown Crossing T stop to hop the Orange Line into Jamaica Plain for the Samuel Adams Brewery Tour. "Chappelle's Show" Samuel Jackson Beer jokes ensued, and we found ourselves at the rear of a rather large tour group. The tour took about an hour, through a whole three rooms in the building, but the final stop was the most important, a free tasting of some Sam Adams products. I'd never honestly tried beer, so I decided to give it a shot. As you can expect, I wasn't particularly impressed...the flavor of beer just isn't my thing.
We returned to the city afterwards, wandering around and finally locating our hotel so we could check in. After a moment's rest, we had planned to go to Faneuil Hall and visit the replica "Cheers" bar before a trip to the New England Aquarium. Greg thought the aquarium sounded boring, so instead we hit the Museum of Science. Liam had said it before we went in, and reiterated it once we were inside...it may have been quite the sight when we were younger, but now, it seemed immature, so geared toward kids that it was hard to appreciate some of the exhibits. Either they were too young for us, or they were something that we could easily explain instead of stare in wonder. Greg noted that kids just love touching buttons, and sure enough, some would just push any exhibit's buttons without even looking at the end result. I remembered certain things just blew me away, yet as I walked through, I realized that everything seemed dated. The Big Dig exhibit hadn't changed in ten years, the display IndyCar was the same one from ten years ago, the computers were still aging relics, and one display showed a telltale Macintosh system-error bomb dialog box. We still spent about an hour inside, looking around, maybe appreciating some things we hadn't appreciated when we were younger. They were just a lot harder to find.
After the museum, we made it downtown and found Faneuil Hall. We stopped at a pub called Ned Devine's for dinner, which filled us up quite nicely. I ordered a cheeseburger club sandwich, without mayo, but there was that telltale white condiment smeared between the lettuce and the bun. That aside, it was good. I ordered a Captain Morgan and Coke, but the mix was too strong for me...when I added some more Coke (or Pepsi, actually), it made it far more palatable. Yes, by now I was approaching my past drink total for one night, if you count the half-glass of Sam Adams I had to force down. And it was barely seven-thirty.
We headed back to the hotel to change into drier clothes and hit the town, but the rain began to pick up as we left the building. We had planned to check out a couple places on Boylston Street, and figured a taxi would keep us drier for the trip downtown. The doorman at the hotel called for a taxi, but as soon as the driver's current fare got out of the car, the taxi driver took off. We were ushered into a waiting Town Car, which was a more pricey alternative, but talk about riding in style. We got off at the Cactus Club, a margarita joint, but decided it was too packed to bother, so we walked a few blocks down to another bar, Whiskey's. Whiskey's was packed too, but we found seats at the bar and got ourselves settled in for a bit, until the noise became too much to bear...we were yelling two stools down to be heard at all.
This is where it gets sort of exciting.
Liam's friend Dave, who joined us for the Toronto trip last August, was in town with his friends from Syracuse. We called them and found out they were checking out a pub near Fenway Park. And with that, we set off walking to Fenway, a good hike but we could use the exercise. We beat Dave and his friends to the pub, so we found a couple tables. They arrived a short time later, and we all got to talk for a bit while throwing back drinks (I actually had another Coke...I'd had my fill of alcohol with two drinks on the night). Greg started talking to a couple congenial women at the bar, and I'm not sure how they became part of our group, but they did. At 2am, though, the bar closed. No real warning, no last call, just people had to leave. Dave and his friends caught the last cab, and with the T closed for the night, Greg decided to hitch a ride with the girls at the bar. Liam and I were more skeptical, so we walked back.
An hour and a half and three miles later, when Liam and I got into the hotel soaked from head to toe, we thought maybe Greg had the right idea.
We awoke the next morning and made the best of what dry clothing we still had before heading back out to the city. We grabbed lunch at a hot-pot restaurant in Chinatown called Shabu-Zen...quite tasty, and I'm sure I'll go back some time. After that, we walked to South Station for train schedules, but discovered that the next commuter rail train left for home at 3:10pm. It was 2:00...not enough time to see anything else, but too much time to wait in the station. We ended up hanging out, knowing that the last train back was too late in the evening for Greg to have a reasonable return trip.
And like that, Boston was over. Remarkable and yet not remarkable...it was hard for the same antics as usual to play out in steady rain, much as the desire was there. It's really weird...it was a nice time, even just to see Liam and Greg again, to see other people my age out and having fun. Yet at the same time, something was lacking and I can't explain it. Boston's definitely more of a bar city than a club city...and the bar scene isn't really my comfort zone, but I'm willing to venture there. That wasn't it. It wasn't the absence of one person, or the doing or not doing of any activities we didn't get to. There'll be next times...Boston isn't far away at all.
I did decide that alcohol isn't my thing, though. Liam and I talked about how maybe it was a mental block, like the one he once had. At one point we were dead set against any sort of drinking. I still don't like my sister doing it, but she's my little sister. Now, I don't have any issue with my own drinking. A single drink doesn't make me a bad person. Hell, I'd feel normal saying I had an alcoholic drink, moreso than sounding like I tried to avoid it. And all the same, I've enjoyed maybe one drink in my life of all the ones I've had. I wouldn't mind fitting the definition of normal for a change. But that doesn't seem to be in the cards. It's just as well, though.
I do feel more oriented in Boston, though. I feel comfortable in the city. I wouldn't hesitate to take the commuter rail from Lowell into town now. That's a good thing...it's the only city around here where anything worthwhile is happening. I just wouldn't try driving down there. We had considered taking a car to the hotel, but with the constant road construction, it's hard to be sure where to go. I'll take the T, thanks.
I've posted photos from the trip, though not as many as my usual trip galleries. The new camera works well, though I could have been more generous with the flash on inside photos, and some day I'll be more confident with the different modes and features.
Between the trip and the last few days of work, though, I haven't felt well-rested lately. I spent Monday night at work, came back after work at 8pm and left around midnight. Wednesday and Thursday were spent until nine or nine-thirty. These late-night work rushes are less than exhilarating, mostly frustrating. And they shouldn't be happening. I have to plan out a new server for the office. I wanted to get that done this week, but I haven't had time, and I've been lacking on after-hours motivation. It's Thursday and I'm only posting this now. That should tell you something.
So for now, it's back to the old grind. I'll be in the office moving stuff around Saturday, it appears...Ed wants people shifting around, and delaying it isn't an alternative. We'll make it happen. I just wasn't looking forward to working for a weekend. But we have to do what we have to do, right?
I'll try to post here more often. I've had one overwhelming thought in mind, but didn't want to stir anything up writing about it. Maybe I'll chance it anyway, for the same of catharsis. As long as some people don't take it the wrong way.