You'll be on my mind forever
Mmmm I'm back home after a 6-day "weekend" trip to Albany and Boston. Now there's no avoiding the monster pack that's ahead. Kevin told me that whenever his family moved, movers would come one day and pack everything for you and then come the next day to take it away...That's pretty darn convenient but I don't think it'll be necessary.
Friday morning I hopped the train to Albany. It was a very early morning as I had to be out the door by 5:45am. I got into Albany around 9:45am so it wasn't a bad journey. I slept through most of it. We got back to her apartment and I immediately underestimated how I'd deal with her having a cat. I think because it's been so long since I've owned one, I'm back to being allergic to them. So I commenced sneezing for quite some time but hey, I think I cleared out my sinuses 3-fold XD It wasn't all bad, though. I sat out on her deck and read a bunch of Lirael before snoozing a bit. I then came back inside and putzed around on her lappie until it was time for us to tour downtown Troy. It was a really quiet and beautiful city. The architecture was gorgeous in a lot of places. I forgot to bring my camera (d'oh!) so you'll have to use your imagination...or Google. We came back to her apartment and partook in some "House" watching (I'm really getting into this show now) before heading out to play black light putt putt. It was a psychedelic's dream complete with pirate ships, bears, tigers, gorillas, aliens, dinosaurs and robots. It was crazy. After that, we had a late dinner at a restaurant called Old Chicago-something and I ordered apple juice to drink. Everyone looked at me funny but once it got there, they all wanted it. Muahahaha! I actually think I left my food in Whit's fridge so...score 1 for her!
Next morning we went to this mini farmer's market in downtown Troy where I got a really good muffin and bought Whit a poppy seed somethingorother. Apparently it was yummy. From there we went to Pet Smart where they had a bunch of dogs out on display that were up for adoption. I resisted the urge to pet the really cute ones since I knew I was going to end up sneezy and miserable again. Boo. After that, we found our way to the mall and spent a lot of time in B&N where I found the William Claxton photo book of Steve McQueen in hardcover and immediately bought it and huggled it. The first edition is over 100$ and this 25th anniversary version was substantially less so...score! After that, she dropped me off back at the train station and we said our "goodbye for now"s.
My train ride to Boston was fine but made interesting because of one crazy woman who sat next to me. First things I noticed were that she was wearing clothes that were dirty and were written on them in Sharpie - kind of like if she was wearing AC's hat as an outfit. She also had a belly button ring in one ear and a giant tin cross in the other. So she sits down and asks if I mind her leaving her suitcase on the floor because her slight scoliosis hurts a bit. She ends up leaving for a while so that I suspect she's been abducted until she came back and asked the conductor if he's taken the tickets yet. She then pulls her ticket out of an old, flattened "The X-Men" VHS box. Oooook. I turn to my iPod and mind my business for most of the ride but then say "bless you" after she sneezes. She responds, "thank you, thank you, and thank you for not smoking". Erm, we can't anyway? A little while later she pulls a magazine out of the back pocket on the seat in front of her, starts cuddling/rocking it and then proceeds to softly sing some kind of lullaby to it. O__________O! I'm trying SO hard not to laugh. Towards the end of the trip she gets up and leaves, telling me to have a safe journey and that she doesn't like Pink, the music. The girls across the aisle were playing it and so she had to leave. Hallelujah. I ended up getting into Boston about 45 minutes early so I sat in the Green Room of the play Ben was working. Before coming, I agreed to help strike the set after the show was done. Not realizing how long it'd take, I finally called it quits at 4am. Ben got me a taxi and gave me directions to his house. So the taxi drops me off and I'm standing on a street corner at 4am+ in the morning, not knowing where I'm going and what the house looks like. I finally find it and pass out.
The next morning we got up super early to go to the aquarium with 2 of his friends from home. He ends up leaving around 11am to be at work at noon. So me and his friends walked around Boston and then they told me how to get to my subway(or 'T') stop and said goodbye. So I find the stop fine and then get on the bus. The driver's a dick and didn't tell me where Ben's street was when I asked him. Jerk. I make it home and then sleep the rest of the day. So later that night, Ben and his 2 friends came back to his place for a little bit before we went out to MIT to visit another one of their friends. So at this point, I'm really not having a good time because I feel like a burden and out of the loop. I wanted to come out to have some quality time with Ben before I leave for Japan and it was pretty much the opposite of that. So they ask what we would like for food: Thai or Indian. I say Thai because I don't like Indian and we all agree to find some food. Well, the Thai places were closed and the only thing open was an Indian restaurant. I was exhausted and felt invisible. I ended up ordering chicken soup. I also had to excuse myself to go break down crying in the bathroom because I was just not having a good time at all.
The next day I was set to go home and still not feeling any better. Ben convinced me to stay and extra 2 days because his schedule was a lot better and we could spend some quality time. I was hesitant but I agreed. I'm really glad I did. We ended up visiting Quincy Market and the adjacent harbor for most of the day. At Newbury Comics, I bought a 2009 Steve McQueen calendar and a Mai-Otome Gasaphon figurine. He actually went into a lot more clothing stores than me and I wasn't complaining. For lunch/dinner we went to Wagamama and I just couldn't finish my chicken ramen...with a chicken breast in it. Jeeze! Anyway, I headed back to his apartment and he headed off to work. While he was working, I watched a bunch of "Animal Cops", "House", and "Heroes" while doing laundry at the same time. Productive :)
The next day we went back to Quincy Market (I bought another Mai-Otome figurine ^^), the dock and then to the aquarium. We went late in the day so it was calmer and we saw people feeding sharks. Dun-dun dun-dun! From there, we walked across Boston to the Prudential building and to the reflecting pool next to it. It was really pretty but it was also a very long walk. Then Ben and I had sushi at a restaurant called Haru. It was expensive but yummy and the banana spring rolls I had for dessert...MMMMMMM! We were then ushered out by the fire alarm.
The next day was my leave date and I got to the bus and then the T and then to my train station all by myself. I'm a big girl! XD The ride from Boston to Albany was awful only because there were 5 kids between the ages of 1 and 10 who were brats: swearing, hitting, yelling, etc. and their parents did nothing about it. I sat next to an old woman from Maine who was visiting family in Chicago. She was really sweet and told me all about traveling as a kid and such. The Albany to Syracuse leg was easy. I was a little hungry but was awake for most of it.
Now I'm home! I slept until 12:30pm not counting when Kevin called at 8:30am. I must've needed all that sleep after all! So today wasn't very productive but it sure was relaxing. I decided that I'd wear scrubby sweats because I just wanted to be comfortable and didn't expect to have any contact with people I knew/didn't know. Well, the doorbell rang and some guy wanted scrap metal. Then when I went to the post office to drop off some letters, I saw Joe Wilcox (Whit'll know who he is) in his car. Man, he must've thought I was homeless or something!
So now that that's over with, I have no excuses about why I'm not cleaning, organizing, and packing. Boo :( 36 more days!
Friday morning I hopped the train to Albany. It was a very early morning as I had to be out the door by 5:45am. I got into Albany around 9:45am so it wasn't a bad journey. I slept through most of it. We got back to her apartment and I immediately underestimated how I'd deal with her having a cat. I think because it's been so long since I've owned one, I'm back to being allergic to them. So I commenced sneezing for quite some time but hey, I think I cleared out my sinuses 3-fold XD It wasn't all bad, though. I sat out on her deck and read a bunch of Lirael before snoozing a bit. I then came back inside and putzed around on her lappie until it was time for us to tour downtown Troy. It was a really quiet and beautiful city. The architecture was gorgeous in a lot of places. I forgot to bring my camera (d'oh!) so you'll have to use your imagination...or Google. We came back to her apartment and partook in some "House" watching (I'm really getting into this show now) before heading out to play black light putt putt. It was a psychedelic's dream complete with pirate ships, bears, tigers, gorillas, aliens, dinosaurs and robots. It was crazy. After that, we had a late dinner at a restaurant called Old Chicago-something and I ordered apple juice to drink. Everyone looked at me funny but once it got there, they all wanted it. Muahahaha! I actually think I left my food in Whit's fridge so...score 1 for her!
Next morning we went to this mini farmer's market in downtown Troy where I got a really good muffin and bought Whit a poppy seed somethingorother. Apparently it was yummy. From there we went to Pet Smart where they had a bunch of dogs out on display that were up for adoption. I resisted the urge to pet the really cute ones since I knew I was going to end up sneezy and miserable again. Boo. After that, we found our way to the mall and spent a lot of time in B&N where I found the William Claxton photo book of Steve McQueen in hardcover and immediately bought it and huggled it. The first edition is over 100$ and this 25th anniversary version was substantially less so...score! After that, she dropped me off back at the train station and we said our "goodbye for now"s.
My train ride to Boston was fine but made interesting because of one crazy woman who sat next to me. First things I noticed were that she was wearing clothes that were dirty and were written on them in Sharpie - kind of like if she was wearing AC's hat as an outfit. She also had a belly button ring in one ear and a giant tin cross in the other. So she sits down and asks if I mind her leaving her suitcase on the floor because her slight scoliosis hurts a bit. She ends up leaving for a while so that I suspect she's been abducted until she came back and asked the conductor if he's taken the tickets yet. She then pulls her ticket out of an old, flattened "The X-Men" VHS box. Oooook. I turn to my iPod and mind my business for most of the ride but then say "bless you" after she sneezes. She responds, "thank you, thank you, and thank you for not smoking". Erm, we can't anyway? A little while later she pulls a magazine out of the back pocket on the seat in front of her, starts cuddling/rocking it and then proceeds to softly sing some kind of lullaby to it. O__________O! I'm trying SO hard not to laugh. Towards the end of the trip she gets up and leaves, telling me to have a safe journey and that she doesn't like Pink, the music. The girls across the aisle were playing it and so she had to leave. Hallelujah. I ended up getting into Boston about 45 minutes early so I sat in the Green Room of the play Ben was working. Before coming, I agreed to help strike the set after the show was done. Not realizing how long it'd take, I finally called it quits at 4am. Ben got me a taxi and gave me directions to his house. So the taxi drops me off and I'm standing on a street corner at 4am+ in the morning, not knowing where I'm going and what the house looks like. I finally find it and pass out.
The next morning we got up super early to go to the aquarium with 2 of his friends from home. He ends up leaving around 11am to be at work at noon. So me and his friends walked around Boston and then they told me how to get to my subway(or 'T') stop and said goodbye. So I find the stop fine and then get on the bus. The driver's a dick and didn't tell me where Ben's street was when I asked him. Jerk. I make it home and then sleep the rest of the day. So later that night, Ben and his 2 friends came back to his place for a little bit before we went out to MIT to visit another one of their friends. So at this point, I'm really not having a good time because I feel like a burden and out of the loop. I wanted to come out to have some quality time with Ben before I leave for Japan and it was pretty much the opposite of that. So they ask what we would like for food: Thai or Indian. I say Thai because I don't like Indian and we all agree to find some food. Well, the Thai places were closed and the only thing open was an Indian restaurant. I was exhausted and felt invisible. I ended up ordering chicken soup. I also had to excuse myself to go break down crying in the bathroom because I was just not having a good time at all.
The next day I was set to go home and still not feeling any better. Ben convinced me to stay and extra 2 days because his schedule was a lot better and we could spend some quality time. I was hesitant but I agreed. I'm really glad I did. We ended up visiting Quincy Market and the adjacent harbor for most of the day. At Newbury Comics, I bought a 2009 Steve McQueen calendar and a Mai-Otome Gasaphon figurine. He actually went into a lot more clothing stores than me and I wasn't complaining. For lunch/dinner we went to Wagamama and I just couldn't finish my chicken ramen...with a chicken breast in it. Jeeze! Anyway, I headed back to his apartment and he headed off to work. While he was working, I watched a bunch of "Animal Cops", "House", and "Heroes" while doing laundry at the same time. Productive :)
The next day we went back to Quincy Market (I bought another Mai-Otome figurine ^^), the dock and then to the aquarium. We went late in the day so it was calmer and we saw people feeding sharks. Dun-dun dun-dun! From there, we walked across Boston to the Prudential building and to the reflecting pool next to it. It was really pretty but it was also a very long walk. Then Ben and I had sushi at a restaurant called Haru. It was expensive but yummy and the banana spring rolls I had for dessert...MMMMMMM! We were then ushered out by the fire alarm.
The next day was my leave date and I got to the bus and then the T and then to my train station all by myself. I'm a big girl! XD The ride from Boston to Albany was awful only because there were 5 kids between the ages of 1 and 10 who were brats: swearing, hitting, yelling, etc. and their parents did nothing about it. I sat next to an old woman from Maine who was visiting family in Chicago. She was really sweet and told me all about traveling as a kid and such. The Albany to Syracuse leg was easy. I was a little hungry but was awake for most of it.
Now I'm home! I slept until 12:30pm not counting when Kevin called at 8:30am. I must've needed all that sleep after all! So today wasn't very productive but it sure was relaxing. I decided that I'd wear scrubby sweats because I just wanted to be comfortable and didn't expect to have any contact with people I knew/didn't know. Well, the doorbell rang and some guy wanted scrap metal. Then when I went to the post office to drop off some letters, I saw Joe Wilcox (Whit'll know who he is) in his car. Man, he must've thought I was homeless or something!
So now that that's over with, I have no excuses about why I'm not cleaning, organizing, and packing. Boo :( 36 more days!