Notes on Today

It’s official, I’m hungry again. This week I’ve eaten my very plentiful lunch and within the next hour or two was hungry for another meal. I’m noticing it’s been about a month since the last time this happened. Good to note. Must pack accordingly.

This morning I missed my fast bus and took the slower bus, sitting in traffic forever. Only to arrive to the subway station where the trains were backed up (i.e. it didn’t matter I missed the bus) and spent the trip to Boston stuck between stations forever. Train broken down + medical emergency on train behind = super long commute. Glad I just started a scarf for a friend and a new book.

I’ve noticed that I’m drinking more tea the last couple of days. It’s because I’m hungry and refuse to go and buy junk food for a mid-afternoon snack after having gobbled down all the food I packed – which was plenty.

Note to self last night, eating half a jar of Nutella for “dessert” after dinner while watching “How I Met your Mother” probably isn’t helping the whole fitting-into-pants thing happening recently. But it was good and is now gone, at least that jar is.

Found a box of graham crackers in the bottom of my drawer to have with my tea – yay! Is that considered junk food? Wait, I don’t want to know.

Note to self this afternoon, wait to drink the tea. Even if you are hungry. The burnt tongue is annoying.

Good news/bad news session this morning. Tons of progress with therapy – I love my therapist – she’s the best. No more “buts”. And she’s actively looking for another job two towns over. I’m not happy. Life was easy – her office was only a block away. I run out the door 5 minutes before the appointment.

And finally, need to put the bike back to the top of the To Do list. I let it slip due to no time to take care of it. Beautiful cool spring weather (should) = bike to work. I’d avoid the subway delays that have been occurring more frequently this last week or so.

Oh, and another note to self: if you decide to unbutton the pants, don’t forget when you get up and walk around the office. Especially when your shirt isn’t that long.

Subway Sighting!
Last month it was little people and this month... any guesses? My subway train just pulled up and I was navigating my way from the bench to the car door during the busy rush hour crowds going home. I ended up doing "the dance" with a middle aged man in a suit. We both go to the left then the right. Nothing unusal and it all happened in a split second but I did notice that his right hand was missing and he had a polished silver end cap. No hook, no fake hand. Just a silver nob. Honest. I felt like I was about to enter into a Hitchcock film as he seemed a bit distracted and didn't have the best posture - was hunched over a little. I half expected to turn and see Carey grant.

Rodney's

This weekend was a good weekend. Saturday I was throwing another dinner party, but this time it was a smaller party – only six people. It was a farewell party for Noah who is off to grad school this fall but will be leaving to travel around this summer. I’m working on getting a plane ticket to go over and visit while he’s in Paris and is house-sitting a friend’s apartment. Anyways, this time, I was a little less all-consumed in getting everything perfect. The house wasn’t perfectly cleaned and the cooking wasn’t completely in place. But it was with dear friends so I wasn’t too worried. It was nice being able to take it easy throughout the day. Although by lunchtime I was still running around grocery shopping in the pouring rain and crowds and had some last minute menu changes. But more about the party in a future post, perhaps.

So Saturday was busy, but not frantic and exhausting. I slept in Sunday morning and had absolutely no plans for Sunday. And I mean absolutely nothing (well, other than calling mom for mother’s day). With the dinner party I was so focused on Saturday I hadn’t even started thinking of the “shoulds” for Sunday. I should do laundry, or I should finish my mending, or I should drop off my dry cleaning, or I should tackle any of the other items on the endless “to do” list. I had nothing of that. I started the day watching a movie on Netflix in bed. And then had to run off to Central Square in Cambridge to meet up with Noah. He had left his cell phone at my place and I didn’t really want to get out of my comfy bed to bring it to him. But then I thought – he’s not going to be around much longer (in Boston, not life), it’s a nice sunny day, I have a car (that I love driving) and he doesn’t, and I could easily check off a “should” that has been on the list for about two years now.

My step-sister had given me this wonderful messenger bag from Ten Thousands Village. But I don’t really use messenger bags – they’re too clunky for me and wanted to exchange it for the same bag in the tote style. And the store is in Central Square, so there you go. I was running a bit late, but it was a Sunday. I met up with Noah, I found that my procrastination paid off.  The bag I wanted was on sale which meant I could get something else so picked up an engagement gift for a friend, and then… Then, Noah introduced me to my Sunday adventure. The store next door is Rodney’s Used Bookstore. And it was having a sale. A huge sale – 50% off! Unfortunately the place is going out of business. I should have known something was up because I easily found a good parking spot even though I was running late. Which is very very odd. It’s impossible to park down in Central Square, well at least without having to hike a mile.

Well, Noah headed off to get back to studying and I hunkered down, systematically going through each section. Not too far in I realized this was the bookstore I had visited a few years ago and seen this awesome book on graphic design in Germany during the early 20th century. I hadn’t bought it. It was expensive and I was poor (covering rent and a mortgage while working at a non-profit doesn’t add up in ones favor). So I shifted gears and went upstairs to the design section and went through each book. But no luck, the book wasn’t there – understandable. I found some other wonderful books though and had to keep sitting down and going through my pile and only keep my absolutely must have books.

I love used bookstores. The selection is always so unique for each store. Case in point, I was almost done with the second floor when I came across a section on – Kennedy. A whole bookcase packed full on books about JFK and Teddy and the whole Kennedy clan – only in Massachusetts! By now I’m getting a little thirsty and hungry and already had a nice pile of books that included design, architecture, memoirs, and art. But I pushed on, and headed downstairs to finish off where I left off. I spent a bunch of time in the history sections. Picked up a book of short stories. And was thinking I was almost done when I turned the corner and found a section on art, architecture and design. There was a second section downstairs that I didn’t know about. And I’m always torn about these books, because I love studying the images but they’re usually big and bulky and expensive. I did find I was selecting many of the books based on their ability to survive my commute. I probably spend about 14 hours a week reading of which at least 12 are while I’m commuting. So the big heavy art book just isn’t going to work.

I did a quick perusing of the shelves. Just to make sure I wasn’t missing out on anything amazing. And there it was. In the design section on the second shelf from the top, was none other but the German design book! I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it. Even this morning while I was sifting through it over breakfast. So with that, I decided it was time to leave. After three hours, I walked away with 23 books which honestly shows a lot of self-restraint. I had found at least three times that amount and books are good. Ok, it’s a lot of books, but I could still carry them to my car all in one trip. And I got to use my new tote bag (which I love). All in all a good day.  A good weekend.  I was fatigued but in a rewarding way.

I think I enjoyed this weekend more than normal as I had somehow booked my "spring tour"inadvertently this year.  I've not had much of a free weekend for awhile.  This doesn't include the adventures during the weeks, but here's the list for my spring tour this year.

Mar 6/7: Kennebunkport, ME - visiting Maggie and Dave - Reegan & fam, Sarah, Nima & pregnant S.
Mar 13/14: Jamica Plain, MA - visiting with Marie to see her new house
Mar 20/21: Richmond, VA - visiting my new nephew and his parents (my step-sister and her husband).
Mar 27/28: Brattleboro VT - sugarbush weekend enjoyed with friends Dawn and Bill
Apr 10/11: Dover, NH - visiting Reegan and her family
Apr 17/18: Lexington, MA - dad visits for Patriot's Day weekend celebrations
Apr 24/25: Brattleboro VT - earth day celebration 
May 1/2: Ferry Beach Park, ME - retreat weekend with Cece and the kids
May 8/9: Cambridge, MA - dinner party for Noah and Rodney's bookstore
May 15/16: Chatham, NY - visiting Emilia and family and see her new house

It's been great seeing everyone, but, it's been a bit exhausting and I didn't even get in all the visits I intended.  I still want to make it to CT to visit my cousins but no set date yet as I need a little breather before even thinking about it.  Still, I'm thankful that weekends exist in the first place (thank you unions) and that I have so many great opportunities for traveling and visiting with friends (love New England for being small - that's six states there and only VA required some vacation days).  I just need to remember that there is a reason why I might be a tad on the tired/worn out side.  It does sneak up on you.  The good news is that I don't have anything else planned other than the potential Paris trip sometime in July. 

#379

Don’t you love it when things come back to you? I’m listening to the latest This American Life (TAL) episode, which turns out to be a repeat. I push play and am half paying attention while working away. And then suddenly I’m transported to a certain segment on Route 2. Driving along the less populated portion up near the VT border. It’s the episode I was listening to driving back one weekend from a visit at Dad’s. The first act had me laughing out loud. But as I drive deeper and deeper into the wilderness, the station slowly transitioned into static. I would strain to hear the story through all the white noise, rushing to get to the next hill. But to no avail. And here it is again!

 Also, the second act is about Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I first heard about the musical on TAL and then promptly forgot about it. I wasn’t that impressed even though Neil Patrick Harris cracks me up. But then a few weeks back, Netflix recommended the movie and I gave it a whirl. It’s completely unexpected. Definitely worth the viewing. It’s very satirical and was done during the writers’ strike a few years back so the ending is a little subpar – it’s suddenly all wrapped up when the strike ends. Although listening to this episode I realize I should get the DVD commentary as that’s just as fun too!

Oups a Weegie

Another busy week. Not sure how it happened, but I’m only involved with two committees, which a year ago was manageable, but now… Well now, they’ve both ramped up and I feel like I’m having meetings every week now which kills my evenings. Last night after my building committee meeting, I made a quick run to the local Stop and Shop which I never visit but has the benefit of being open late. And another committee meeting tonight. And I forgot tomorrow night is a work related event. Which leaves me Friday to chill before I clean my place and figure out a menu for a farewell dinner party the next day. I’m exhausted already.

This morning I took a moment from getting ready for work and just tried on all my pants. I get dressed last before heading out the door in the mornings. So by the time I get to that point, I’m in a rush and lately, I’ve been flummoxed with having to think of a new outfit for work last minute as the one I had picked out no longer fits. I go to put the pants on and am forced to grind to a halt. They don’t fit! I’m bummed about a few pairs I’ve outgrown but surprisingly found the excuse liberating and cleaned out a bunch of stuff I haven’t worn for awhile. So there were three piles. The keep pile which interestingly enough, found a couple pairs of jeans looking even better than before now that I’ve got more junk in the trunk. Then there’s the giveaway pile (which I’ll bring to a friend’s thrift shop in a few weeks during a trip to NY) and then there’s the basement pile. The pairs of pants I really really like and will hold on for… let’s say 3 years. After which I’ll donate them if they don’t fit. You never know. So that’s a total of 16 pairs out of the closet. There’s just enough pairs for me to still function in society without having to go bottomless.

And finally, gotta love being exposed to different cultures. I was emailing with an employee who is from France originally. Loved that he wrote Oups to a mistake that was found. Doesn’t it sound so much better? And listening to some Scottish podcasts to continually get acclimated to the accent I came across that folks from Glasgow are referred to as Weegies. I’m not clear if it’s derogatory if you’re not from Glasgow yourself – along the lines of the n-word and not being black. So I’ll have to remember that.  But think the podcasts are wearing off on me as I just took a call and the fellow, who had an English accent, thought I was English too!  It left me in limbo the rest of the call.  I ended up speaking a gentler American with a hint of the English inflection.

Water Water Every Where

I spent a wonderful New England weekend up in Maine. I can’t imagine what it must be like in the height of summer. Now was the perfect time to go – it was 70s and sunny and not too crowded or hot. It was great hanging out with Cec and the kids. Of course, before evening on the first day (Friday) I had already thrown my back out “kind of”. “Kind of” meaning my lower back hurt like #&!! but I could still pick up things if I approached from the right angle. Which meant I kept picking up the kids. Who can resist! Two nights back in my own bet and I’m getting better. But it was useful having two adults for managing the two kids.

It was a ton of sun and sand and wind and playing with the kids and water as far as the eye could see. The pictures I took were on Cece’s camera which turned out great. Some are posted on her blog, here. So I think it might be time for me to get a new camera. My pictures never turn out this decent and I usually chalk it up to user error. And I got a surprise Birthday present - including a Japanese embroidery kit. Really hip and modern (mid-century modern - my favorite).

And it’s nice being connected. I’ve been able to take advantage of some wonderful New England trips through friends. Stuff I wouldn’t if I were just a tourist (or didn’t have cool friends). We ended up staying at a friend’s house in York Maine which was so much nicer then the bunk beds we were scheduled to use. And the retreat was so perfectly situated next to Ferry Beach with veranda sitting and a nice little community of people. It was fun people watching – especially the young teens. The ratio of girls to boys was off so trying to figure out who liked who was a complicated mess of a love triangle. Anyways got some knitting done but we were very exhausted heading back home Sunday.

Sunday I started noticing my messages. I couldn’t wait for a nice hot shower in the comfort of my home. But it turns out that while I was away there was a water main break, which I’m sure you heard about. It affected over 2 million people and there was a run on bottled water. And Monday was wicked hot and humid. But by this morning, everything was up and running and tested and the green light was given. Which speaks volumes to the workers putting in overtime to get it fixed.

And it was a nice affirmation to the community I live in. Before I even got back home I had had a handful of people call, text and email me about the water, in case I hadn’t heard. Which frankly, if I had been home Saturday I don’t know if I would have found out before I used it in the morning. We didn’t get a chance to stop and get water on our way back but it turns out I didn’t need to. My landlords had bought a bunch of water and left me a couple of gallons which was really sweet. So I was all taken care of – no worries. And after a few days of no potable water I’m very appreciative of being able to just turn on a faucet and voila – which unfortunately puts front and center how many millions of people still don’t have this luxury.

Kites on the Beach!

Enjoying the sun while sitting on the beach knitting and watching the kites dance in the ocean breeze.  Including this dragon fly kite.

(I sent this Saturday but it never posted for some reason).