Just in case you need some help brainstorming places to go this year. :)
The Destinations of 2006
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Chicago weekend
Ahh, vacation. Josh and I had a fantastic time in Chicago, although two and a half days is definitely not enough time to see everything there is to see. In sifting through my pictures, it looks like I only took photos from the John Hancock Center, both when we were there during the day and when we stopped by the Signature Lounge later at night for drinks. I guess that means I still need to steal some of Josh's pictures. :)
In any case, here are a few of my favorites:
Josh in the Hancock Observatory
Chicago skyline from the Shedd Aquarium
Lakeshore Drive, seen from the Hancock Center
The only decent night shot I got from the Hancock
The old water tower, one of the few buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire
A psychedelic shot from the Signature Lounge
In any case, here are a few of my favorites:
Josh in the Hancock Observatory
Chicago skyline from the Shedd Aquarium
Lakeshore Drive, seen from the Hancock Center
The only decent night shot I got from the Hancock
The old water tower, one of the few buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire
A psychedelic shot from the Signature LoungeMore to come later...
Friday, January 20, 2006
19+ = genius
This is obviously bogus, but my officemate found this Mensa test online, so we spent several minutes at lunch trying to beat each other. Your hints are:
- Think sports
- Think British
- Think Bible
Have fun! =)
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
On to the more mundane things in life...
Hmm... what's been going on lately? Work has been going better - I have some more direction on what I should be doing and accomplishing it is slow, but not as painful as I thought it would be. IAP (Independent Activities Period, our January term off) has been great - no homework to do at night or on the weekends. The only annoying part is that it seems like everyone at MIT has decided that now is when they're going to start their New Year's resolution of working out regularly, so the gym is always crowded. However, since the weather's been freakishly warm lately, I've been able to run outside more often, thereby avoiding the smelly crowds at the Z Center.
Phil, Glenn and I tried to go to Friday's for dinner last night in an attempt to get the three of us together in one room one last time before Phil graduates, but Friday's was closed! As in, permanently (at least for the Newbury Street location). And just when they brought back the 3 course menu that we had been imagining (with drool) the entire afternoon... We ended up at Pizzeria Uno's instead, and I resisted getting the deep dish pizza since I imagine I'll have it at least once in Chicago this weekend, but hopefully not at Uno's. Anyway, it wasn't a bad substitute, but I regretted eating my leftovers for lunch today... my stomach's been complaining all afternoon.
Continuing with the food theme, I cooked! Definitely not the first occasion, but a rare one. I'm more of a baker - I can cook you a pie or some brownies, but getting a real dinner together (i.e. anything fancier than boiling pasta or scrambling eggs) is much more effort than I'm willing to put forth on a regular basis. But there's more time on the weekends and I had just gotten back from the grocery store on Monday evening, so I made pizza casserole from a recipe that I found online. It's pretty foolproof, and admittedly not anything gourmet, but I'm still eating the leftovers, so that's a good sign.
IAP also affords me free time to read something other than textbooks, so I got several books out of the library and have been reading those in addition to a couple that I got for Christmas. So my goal is to finish the following books before February 7th (the beginning of spring term, when it's back to reading about Fourier transforms and symplectic matrices):
Phil, Glenn and I tried to go to Friday's for dinner last night in an attempt to get the three of us together in one room one last time before Phil graduates, but Friday's was closed! As in, permanently (at least for the Newbury Street location). And just when they brought back the 3 course menu that we had been imagining (with drool) the entire afternoon... We ended up at Pizzeria Uno's instead, and I resisted getting the deep dish pizza since I imagine I'll have it at least once in Chicago this weekend, but hopefully not at Uno's. Anyway, it wasn't a bad substitute, but I regretted eating my leftovers for lunch today... my stomach's been complaining all afternoon.
Continuing with the food theme, I cooked! Definitely not the first occasion, but a rare one. I'm more of a baker - I can cook you a pie or some brownies, but getting a real dinner together (i.e. anything fancier than boiling pasta or scrambling eggs) is much more effort than I'm willing to put forth on a regular basis. But there's more time on the weekends and I had just gotten back from the grocery store on Monday evening, so I made pizza casserole from a recipe that I found online. It's pretty foolproof, and admittedly not anything gourmet, but I'm still eating the leftovers, so that's a good sign.
IAP also affords me free time to read something other than textbooks, so I got several books out of the library and have been reading those in addition to a couple that I got for Christmas. So my goal is to finish the following books before February 7th (the beginning of spring term, when it's back to reading about Fourier transforms and symplectic matrices):
- It's Not About the Bike, by Lance Armstrong (done)
- Tales of a Female Nomad, by Rita Golden Gelman
- The Unsavvy Traveler: Women's Comic Tales of Catastrophe
- Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes
- There Are No Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz
- Every Second Counts, by Lance Armstrong
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
24 reality
The new season of 24 started on Sunday, and I couldn't be more excited. Jack is back, Chloe's still hilariously weird, and the edge-of-your-seat storyline makes up for the occasional bad acting and/or completely implausible subplot. Anyway, I turned on my computer tonight after coming back from dinner with my roommates, and I saw that the top story is an update on a female journalist in Iraq who's been captured; her kidnappers are threatening to kill her in 72 hours if the U.S. doesn't release all female Iraqi prisoners. This is only one in a long line of journalists who have been captured during times of war, but I guess Jill's story hit a little closer to home - she's 28, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, has written for the Boston Globe and the Christian Science Monitor (a nonreligious newspaper based in Boston), and grew up in Ann Arbor.
I suppose it sounds childish, but why aren't there any rules in international conflicts? On 24, even if the situation looks hopeless, you always know that eventually Jack Bauer will save the day, even if he's currently unconscious, wounded, and been abandoned by the U.S. government. But in the uglier world of real life, who saves an innocent woman like Jill Carroll? Journalists and the media, however often we give them a bad rap for slanted reporting, are the only windows we as the general public have on events happening around the world. No one can understand, sympathize, or change what's going on in Iraq without journalists abroad to show us the reality of the situation.
As much as there are international regulations for war, what's to stop it from becoming "by whatever means necessary"? Jill can be used as leverage, so it's done. Maybe there aren't a lot of innocent targets to choose from, but it just seems like whatever organization has captured her is shooting itself in the foot - without the media, the public has no way of knowing the truth of the situation and subsequently applying pressure to the government to change the status quo.
Sometimes it's hard to distance myself from what's going on when I watch 24 - on Monday I was imagining myself in the shoes of those hostages that were dragged in front of the video camera and then executed. What would I be thinking? What would I say? Would I be calm or hysterical? Would I pass out from sheer terror? The only way I can watch those scenes is to remember that it's all made up by TV writers - until a story like this shows up in the news. Those scenes are this woman's reality.
I suppose it sounds childish, but why aren't there any rules in international conflicts? On 24, even if the situation looks hopeless, you always know that eventually Jack Bauer will save the day, even if he's currently unconscious, wounded, and been abandoned by the U.S. government. But in the uglier world of real life, who saves an innocent woman like Jill Carroll? Journalists and the media, however often we give them a bad rap for slanted reporting, are the only windows we as the general public have on events happening around the world. No one can understand, sympathize, or change what's going on in Iraq without journalists abroad to show us the reality of the situation.
As much as there are international regulations for war, what's to stop it from becoming "by whatever means necessary"? Jill can be used as leverage, so it's done. Maybe there aren't a lot of innocent targets to choose from, but it just seems like whatever organization has captured her is shooting itself in the foot - without the media, the public has no way of knowing the truth of the situation and subsequently applying pressure to the government to change the status quo.
Sometimes it's hard to distance myself from what's going on when I watch 24 - on Monday I was imagining myself in the shoes of those hostages that were dragged in front of the video camera and then executed. What would I be thinking? What would I say? Would I be calm or hysterical? Would I pass out from sheer terror? The only way I can watch those scenes is to remember that it's all made up by TV writers - until a story like this shows up in the news. Those scenes are this woman's reality.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Chicago, here we come!
Josh and I are going to Chicago next weekend! We just bought tickets this afternoon for three days of blissful vacation. I spent the first 9 years of my life in the 'burbs of the Windy City, but I don't remember much about going downtown other than the fact that I loved the Museum of Science & Industry as a kid, the Aquarium stunk of fish, and my parents loathed the traffic. Hopefully, we can take public transportation everywhere this time... But I'm taking suggestions for places to visit, eat, and stay!
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Beauty and the Geek
Overheard at the Tech meeting on Monday night:
Photo editor: "All right, the next news item is.... Beauty and the Geek? I'm not sure what that's about..."
A female photographer: "Oh! There's an MIT grad who's going to be on this season of the show."
Photo editor: "Oh okay... does anyone know who it is?"
Another female photographer: "And is it a girl or a guy?"
A male photographer: "Oh, it's a guy. The girls are supposed to be beautiful."
It took this guy a full 15 seconds before realizing that he had just insulted the entire female population at MIT.
Photo editor: "All right, the next news item is.... Beauty and the Geek? I'm not sure what that's about..."
A female photographer: "Oh! There's an MIT grad who's going to be on this season of the show."
Photo editor: "Oh okay... does anyone know who it is?"
Another female photographer: "And is it a girl or a guy?"
A male photographer: "Oh, it's a guy. The girls are supposed to be beautiful."
It took this guy a full 15 seconds before realizing that he had just insulted the entire female population at MIT.
Monday, January 09, 2006
10 Layers of Me
This is shamelessly stolen from my little sister, but I don't have anything else more interesting to write about, and I'm trying to write in my blog more, so...
Layer 1: On the Outside
Name: Melanie
Birth place: Ypsilanti, MI (pronounced "ip-seh-LAN-tee")
Birth date: February 25, 1982
Current location: Boston, Mass.
Eye color: Blue or green, depending on what color shirt I'm wearing
Hair color: Sandy blond (calling it dirty blond puts you on my hit list)
Righty or Lefty: Righty in writing, lefty in gymnastics and card-dealing
Zodiac sign: Uh... I guess should know this, but I don't. Oh! Pisces. How dumb. Somehow I think Chinese fortune-cookie fortunes are fun, but horoscopes seem ridiculous.
Layer 2: On the Inside
Your heritage: English, German... your basic Euro mutt
What shoes did you wear today: An old pair of running shoes
Your weakness: Movie theater popcorn (read: obscene amounts of butter), ice cream, Sex and the City re-runs
Your fears: Death, childbirth, eye injuries
Your perfect pizza: Augh, there are so many choices! But I think I'd have to go with Pizza Hut's stuffed crust, topped with pepperoni and extra cheese.
Goal you'd like to achieve: Marry the love of my life, have a job that I look forward to going to everyday, see absolutely as much of the world as possible
Layer 3: Yesterday
Your first thoughts waking up: Trying to remember a very strange dream I had involving... being at camp? I think...?
Your best physical feature: I think I have nice feet.
Your bedtime: Yesterday? About 12:45am. I'm usually up a little too late yapping on the phone with Josh.
Your most missed memory: Missed? I'm not quite sure how to interpret this one. I'll go with a time that I would love to revisit right now - it's a toss-up between my trip to Vegas last February or the roadtrip from Houston to Seattle this past summer.
Layer 4: Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke: Coke
McDonald's or Burger King: McDonald's
Single or group dates: 9 times out of 10 I would pick single, but sometimes a group get-together that's a bunch of couples is a lot of fun.
Adidas or Nike: I can only run in Asics.
Lipton tea or Nestea: Who cares?
Chocolate or vanilla: About once a year, I'll get a vanilla shake at McDonald's. Every other time, the answer's chocolate.
Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee, but only if there's lots of cream and sugar.
Layer 5: Do You/Are You?
Smoke: No
Cuss: Trying to quit
Single: Nope
Take a shower: Yes. I once had wrist surgery and had to take baths instead for six weeks - it was awful.
Have a crush(es): Sorry babe, but if I ever met Johnny Depp, I would have to give him one loooong kiss.
Think you've been in love: I'm sure.
Liked high school: My memories of high school are a little rosier than the entire four years were, but yes.
Do you believe in yourself: Yes. But don't ask during finals week.
Get motion sickness: Sometimes. It usually involves roller coasters or airplane turbulence.
Think you're a health freak: Who voluntarily labels themself a freak? I run about 15 miles a week, lift weights, and watch what I eat (mostly). For a rebuttal, see items 1 & 2 under "weaknesses."
Get along with your parents: Yup
Layer 6: In the Past Month
Drank alcohol: Yup
Gone out on a date: Yup
Gone to the mall: Yup
Eaten sushi: Definitely not. The smell and taste of fish makes me nauseous, so sushi isn't something I eat.
Been dumped: No
Gone skating: No
Gone skinny dipping: Nope
Dyed your hair: Nope
These questions would be a lot more revealing if they weren't restricted to just the past month...
Layer 7: Have You Ever
Played a game that required removal of clothing: No, but I once went to an underwear party...
Changed who you were to fit in: Unfortunately, yes. Anyone who tries to tell you they didn't obviously never went to middle school.
Layer 8: Getting Older
Age you hope to be married: Whenever I'm ready
Number of children: Not sure I want them
Describe your dream wedding: The only things I'm sure of are that I want my immediate family there and I want my grandfather to play the organ. Everything else is negotiable.
Layer 9: In a Girl/Guy
Best eye color: Deep blues and greens are very striking, but I'm also partial to very dark browns. :)
Best hair color: Anything natural
Short or long hair: Short
Height: Taller than me, but not more than about a head taller
Type of clothing: I'd veto goth and Steve Urkel attire, but most everything else in between is fine by me.
Layer 10: In the Numbers
Number of people I can trust: A number I'm comfortable with
Number of CD's I own: I dunno... maybe 100?
Number of piercings: One in each ear. Not interested in additional ones.
Number of tattoos: None. Not interested. (Exception: If I ever participated in the Olympics, I would get the Olympic rings tattooed on my ankle.)
Number of times I've been on TV: None that I know of, but I would love to be on TV someday.
Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Several times, but just in the local papers when I was in high school sports. Oh, and I guess in a handful of photo credits in The Tech.
Number of scars on my body: My body's pretty good at healing scars, but there are two that I'll be stuck with forever: the scar on my right wrist from getting a ganglion cyst removed, and the scar on my forehead from its collision with the wooden armrest on our couch during a rowdy game of Ring Around the Rosy.
Number of big things in my past that I regret: I try to live my life so that I have no regrets. There is one thing... but it's shaped my life in so many ways that I can't imagine where I'd be if I could go back and change it. And I like my life now, who and where I am, so maybe it's not a regret.
Layer 1: On the Outside
Name: Melanie
Birth place: Ypsilanti, MI (pronounced "ip-seh-LAN-tee")
Birth date: February 25, 1982
Current location: Boston, Mass.
Eye color: Blue or green, depending on what color shirt I'm wearing
Hair color: Sandy blond (calling it dirty blond puts you on my hit list)
Righty or Lefty: Righty in writing, lefty in gymnastics and card-dealing
Zodiac sign: Uh... I guess should know this, but I don't. Oh! Pisces. How dumb. Somehow I think Chinese fortune-cookie fortunes are fun, but horoscopes seem ridiculous.
Layer 2: On the Inside
Your heritage: English, German... your basic Euro mutt
What shoes did you wear today: An old pair of running shoes
Your weakness: Movie theater popcorn (read: obscene amounts of butter), ice cream, Sex and the City re-runs
Your fears: Death, childbirth, eye injuries
Your perfect pizza: Augh, there are so many choices! But I think I'd have to go with Pizza Hut's stuffed crust, topped with pepperoni and extra cheese.
Goal you'd like to achieve: Marry the love of my life, have a job that I look forward to going to everyday, see absolutely as much of the world as possible
Layer 3: Yesterday
Your first thoughts waking up: Trying to remember a very strange dream I had involving... being at camp? I think...?
Your best physical feature: I think I have nice feet.
Your bedtime: Yesterday? About 12:45am. I'm usually up a little too late yapping on the phone with Josh.
Your most missed memory: Missed? I'm not quite sure how to interpret this one. I'll go with a time that I would love to revisit right now - it's a toss-up between my trip to Vegas last February or the roadtrip from Houston to Seattle this past summer.
Layer 4: Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke: Coke
McDonald's or Burger King: McDonald's
Single or group dates: 9 times out of 10 I would pick single, but sometimes a group get-together that's a bunch of couples is a lot of fun.
Adidas or Nike: I can only run in Asics.
Lipton tea or Nestea: Who cares?
Chocolate or vanilla: About once a year, I'll get a vanilla shake at McDonald's. Every other time, the answer's chocolate.
Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee, but only if there's lots of cream and sugar.
Layer 5: Do You/Are You?
Smoke: No
Cuss: Trying to quit
Single: Nope
Take a shower: Yes. I once had wrist surgery and had to take baths instead for six weeks - it was awful.
Have a crush(es): Sorry babe, but if I ever met Johnny Depp, I would have to give him one loooong kiss.
Think you've been in love: I'm sure.
Liked high school: My memories of high school are a little rosier than the entire four years were, but yes.
Do you believe in yourself: Yes. But don't ask during finals week.
Get motion sickness: Sometimes. It usually involves roller coasters or airplane turbulence.
Think you're a health freak: Who voluntarily labels themself a freak? I run about 15 miles a week, lift weights, and watch what I eat (mostly). For a rebuttal, see items 1 & 2 under "weaknesses."
Get along with your parents: Yup
Layer 6: In the Past Month
Drank alcohol: Yup
Gone out on a date: Yup
Gone to the mall: Yup
Eaten sushi: Definitely not. The smell and taste of fish makes me nauseous, so sushi isn't something I eat.
Been dumped: No
Gone skating: No
Gone skinny dipping: Nope
Dyed your hair: Nope
These questions would be a lot more revealing if they weren't restricted to just the past month...
Layer 7: Have You Ever
Played a game that required removal of clothing: No, but I once went to an underwear party...
Changed who you were to fit in: Unfortunately, yes. Anyone who tries to tell you they didn't obviously never went to middle school.
Layer 8: Getting Older
Age you hope to be married: Whenever I'm ready
Number of children: Not sure I want them
Describe your dream wedding: The only things I'm sure of are that I want my immediate family there and I want my grandfather to play the organ. Everything else is negotiable.
Layer 9: In a Girl/Guy
Best eye color: Deep blues and greens are very striking, but I'm also partial to very dark browns. :)
Best hair color: Anything natural
Short or long hair: Short
Height: Taller than me, but not more than about a head taller
Type of clothing: I'd veto goth and Steve Urkel attire, but most everything else in between is fine by me.
Layer 10: In the Numbers
Number of people I can trust: A number I'm comfortable with
Number of CD's I own: I dunno... maybe 100?
Number of piercings: One in each ear. Not interested in additional ones.
Number of tattoos: None. Not interested. (Exception: If I ever participated in the Olympics, I would get the Olympic rings tattooed on my ankle.)
Number of times I've been on TV: None that I know of, but I would love to be on TV someday.
Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Several times, but just in the local papers when I was in high school sports. Oh, and I guess in a handful of photo credits in The Tech.
Number of scars on my body: My body's pretty good at healing scars, but there are two that I'll be stuck with forever: the scar on my right wrist from getting a ganglion cyst removed, and the scar on my forehead from its collision with the wooden armrest on our couch during a rowdy game of Ring Around the Rosy.
Number of big things in my past that I regret: I try to live my life so that I have no regrets. There is one thing... but it's shaped my life in so many ways that I can't imagine where I'd be if I could go back and change it. And I like my life now, who and where I am, so maybe it's not a regret.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Honesty
Yesterday I walked to the Boston Public Library to get a new library card and check out some books. I was browsing through the new books section, which is located around a bunch of tables where people can sit and read, when I overheard two guys talking to each other in voices a little louder than is probably appropriate for the library. While a few of us in the room probably grumbled internally about it, one woman, several tables over, stood up and shouted, "It'd be nice if you would shut the hell up so people can read!"
Ah, honesty. It's something that seems to get lost when people are separated by the walls of their cars and yards, but in my limited experience, it's more alive in a city like Boston where people are crowded together by the shared experience of public transportation and walking; a place where you can never be completely alone. Later, after I left the library and was back to walking the crowded streets in Back Bay, I passed a man who glanced over at me and said, "I like your hair." I rolled my eyes in a reflex reaction, but then I realized it wasn't a come-on or a fake compliment followed by, "spare some change?" Just plain words.
Often people say that residents of big cities are rude or unfriendly - they don't look at you when you pass them on the street, much less offer any kind of greeting. People in customer service-type jobs here are also less likely to give you a bright smile when you approach the register or ask a question. Yes, there are a few that are rude, but the majority are just being honest in their attitude - no fake enthusiasm.
It's funny how you can feel totally alone in a place where you're completely surrounded by people. Everyone's doing their own thing, living their own life; there's no need to interact with the strangers you encounter every day. But I think there's still a sense of comraderie - we're doing everything separately, but there are still those moments when you laugh with a complete stranger on the subway or when someone hands you the dollar bill that you just dropped on the street, and the conversation somehow seems more intimate, as though without all the normal small talk or big smile, you're getting a better glimpse of who that person actually is.
Ah, honesty. It's something that seems to get lost when people are separated by the walls of their cars and yards, but in my limited experience, it's more alive in a city like Boston where people are crowded together by the shared experience of public transportation and walking; a place where you can never be completely alone. Later, after I left the library and was back to walking the crowded streets in Back Bay, I passed a man who glanced over at me and said, "I like your hair." I rolled my eyes in a reflex reaction, but then I realized it wasn't a come-on or a fake compliment followed by, "spare some change?" Just plain words.
Often people say that residents of big cities are rude or unfriendly - they don't look at you when you pass them on the street, much less offer any kind of greeting. People in customer service-type jobs here are also less likely to give you a bright smile when you approach the register or ask a question. Yes, there are a few that are rude, but the majority are just being honest in their attitude - no fake enthusiasm.
It's funny how you can feel totally alone in a place where you're completely surrounded by people. Everyone's doing their own thing, living their own life; there's no need to interact with the strangers you encounter every day. But I think there's still a sense of comraderie - we're doing everything separately, but there are still those moments when you laugh with a complete stranger on the subway or when someone hands you the dollar bill that you just dropped on the street, and the conversation somehow seems more intimate, as though without all the normal small talk or big smile, you're getting a better glimpse of who that person actually is.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Mid-lane collision
During my run yesterday afternoon, I was on a treadmill overlooking the pool in the Z Center. The middle lane had three or four people in it, and they were circle swimming, meaning that instead of splitting the lane in half and staying on one side, everyone swam laps counterclockwise, swimming down on one side of the lane and back on the other.
That is, everyone except one guy. This dude, in flippers, either didn't know that everyone else in his lane was circle swimming, or maybe he had pulled out to the left to pass someone else...? In any case, he was splashing along, completely unaware that he was headed directly toward another swimmer in the left side of the lane. They were both doing the freestyle, so they were only looking sideways instead of in front of themselves.
I could see how this was going to end when they were still 25 meters apart. Yup - they got closer and closer and then - boom! Both reached out for another stroke, whacked each other on the shoulders, and bonked heads. Flipper guy popped up and looked utterly confused, but the other guy just looked mad. They seemed to exchange a few words, then the mad guy plowed on and the flipper guy swam hurriedly into the right side of the lane. Once he reached the end, he got out, seemingly too embarrassed to keep swimming.
I know this must have been painful and frustrating for the two swimmers, but for us upstairs, it was kind of like watching an episode of America's Funniest Home Videos.
That is, everyone except one guy. This dude, in flippers, either didn't know that everyone else in his lane was circle swimming, or maybe he had pulled out to the left to pass someone else...? In any case, he was splashing along, completely unaware that he was headed directly toward another swimmer in the left side of the lane. They were both doing the freestyle, so they were only looking sideways instead of in front of themselves.
I could see how this was going to end when they were still 25 meters apart. Yup - they got closer and closer and then - boom! Both reached out for another stroke, whacked each other on the shoulders, and bonked heads. Flipper guy popped up and looked utterly confused, but the other guy just looked mad. They seemed to exchange a few words, then the mad guy plowed on and the flipper guy swam hurriedly into the right side of the lane. Once he reached the end, he got out, seemingly too embarrassed to keep swimming.
I know this must have been painful and frustrating for the two swimmers, but for us upstairs, it was kind of like watching an episode of America's Funniest Home Videos.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Happy new year!
Wow, it's finally 2006. My guess is that it'll take me at least two months before I stop writing 2005 on all my checks.
I had a fantastic break this year. Spent 10 days at home in Michigan, then came back to Boston on the 29th to celebrate New Year's with Josh. We didn't really make any plans to do anything special for New Year's Eve, but after looking around online to see what Beantown does to celebrate, we discovered First Night, which is basically a day-long event with a bunch of art displays, concerts, museum exhibits, puppet shows, etc. all around Boston. We made it to a few of the evening events, mainly admiring ice sculptures in Boston Commons and Copley Square.
This one is a sculpture of the number 30, not of "BO" (just in case you were wondering, like a few of people out that night). Anyway, there were some local TV personalities broadcasting live from Copley, so we stayed there for the big countdown. The whole thing was a lot of fun - you could tell that Boston was making a real effort to offer a family event; otherwise the city would have turned into pool of drunk twenty-somethings running around and screaming at midnight. However, amidst all the ridiculous hats and assorted junk food, street vendors were also selling these long horns that were like plastic versions of those long bugels you see in any Disney movie featuring a princess. Motivated, I suppose, by the same force that persuades people to wear oversized clown hats and giant 2006 glasses covered in glitter, a ton of people bought these horns. And they were really loud, like a horribly disorganized and out-of-tune orchestra of car horns.
But I digress. New Year's was a blast. :) Oh, and on the way out of the throngs of people in Copley Square after midnight, we passed a couple that had just gotten engaged!
So now it's back to real life... Josh has gone home, and I'm back to going to work every day. But at least classes won't start for another month. :)
I had a fantastic break this year. Spent 10 days at home in Michigan, then came back to Boston on the 29th to celebrate New Year's with Josh. We didn't really make any plans to do anything special for New Year's Eve, but after looking around online to see what Beantown does to celebrate, we discovered First Night, which is basically a day-long event with a bunch of art displays, concerts, museum exhibits, puppet shows, etc. all around Boston. We made it to a few of the evening events, mainly admiring ice sculptures in Boston Commons and Copley Square.
This one is a sculpture of the number 30, not of "BO" (just in case you were wondering, like a few of people out that night). Anyway, there were some local TV personalities broadcasting live from Copley, so we stayed there for the big countdown. The whole thing was a lot of fun - you could tell that Boston was making a real effort to offer a family event; otherwise the city would have turned into pool of drunk twenty-somethings running around and screaming at midnight. However, amidst all the ridiculous hats and assorted junk food, street vendors were also selling these long horns that were like plastic versions of those long bugels you see in any Disney movie featuring a princess. Motivated, I suppose, by the same force that persuades people to wear oversized clown hats and giant 2006 glasses covered in glitter, a ton of people bought these horns. And they were really loud, like a horribly disorganized and out-of-tune orchestra of car horns.
But I digress. New Year's was a blast. :) Oh, and on the way out of the throngs of people in Copley Square after midnight, we passed a couple that had just gotten engaged!
So now it's back to real life... Josh has gone home, and I'm back to going to work every day. But at least classes won't start for another month. :)
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