MBTA - the finale

It has been brought to my attention that I over-address New England, Boston and the Pats in this, my blog. Perhaps this is indicative of just how much is going on in my life. I could talk about another day spent folding, stamping, addressing and mailing flyers; or about fellowship applications on genocide research. I fear that would not hold interest for too long..So, to the critics I say: can one really talk about a great city and a fantastic football team too often?? Of course not!

This morning was a comedy of errors: I woke up way too late, had to run, sans coffee, to catch the train because I didn't leave the house until 6 minutes before the train departed (instead of the more manageable 15), then got on the wrong train at South Station and ended up in North Adams instead of Downtown Crossing. Get off train, get back on train; train gets stuck, lights go out. Waiting. There are problems ahead, says the conductor, slurring his words. Once at DC I made my way to the nearest Starbucks and ordered my usual "caramel macchiato, two shots, sauce not syrup" and threw the baristas in for a loop. This was an impossible drink to make, I was told. The gentleman taking the order and his barista proceeded to ask me five times if this was what I wanted, as they discussed the merits (demerits?) of the drink, all the while holding up the busy I-work-in-the-financial-district line. Finally, I say "just give me a cappucino, ok?" He says "no, you'll get what you want" and then turns to his barista and says "make the lady her drink." Alright. I wait. 15 minutes elapse. The barista notices me standing there and asks me what I had ordered. I tell him the drink that was causing all the confusion. Turns out he made it and gave it to someone else. What was it that I wanted again? I left with a caramel latte. It was simpler. Moral of the story: get a good travel mug and make your coffee at home.

The second season of LOST begins tomorrow...it is officially my new favorite TV show. Don't worry ER, I still care for you...just not the same way; we will still be friends. The Daily Show, of course, belongs in a different category, so Jon need not worry. Boy am I glad regular TV is back. My life has been so, well, blase. Yes, I am a TV junkie, and I'm proud of it! Scoff, if you like.

I sense this blog is leaning more and more towards self-indulgence and away from substance of any kind. Sigh.

BTW - the wallet was found, intact.

Raindrops keep falling on my head

Its been a while. I'm discovering that my six year, many-thousands-of-dollars education has left me with no skills that will get me hired. I have spent the last two weeks as a volunteer with an org that I love and am deeply committed to, but I am responsible for tasks that could safely occupy a much less educated and experienced high school student. Not to mention, no "potential" employers have deemed my application good enough to call. Grumble.

It never rains...Yesterday, I left my wallet with all my cards, and all my identification on the train. Then my friend and I, who had planned a fun day trip to the outlet malls, instead spent the day driving around the great state of Massachusetts, first to Worcester and then back downtown. Angry at mass transit right now. Not only do they not communicate with each other, but I might as well have been speaking to recorded messages, on the phone and in person, all day. What does it say about the world in which we live if "normal" people cannot call up enough compassion to help, or even speak to, an obviously worried person.

Time is running out, and the much advised "optimistic outlook" is increasingly difficult to maintain. Something is very wrong, I feel. Gripe, gripe. I know.

There are bagpipes playing outside. Interesting.

Tom Brady has throwing issues. Specifically, he is still overthrowing his long passes. The Pats have penalty issues. Specifically, they accumulate too many. Pats v. Cats is not yet a thrilling game.

The weather's cloudy, but for the first time in five days, its not raining. Fall colors are starting to appear.

Football :)

Yes, Football Season is finally upon us! "Men hitting each other" - as some refer to it. Pats jerseys abound on Thursday as the locals prepare for another year with their beloveds. Only when game time arrived the New Kids in Town had to fight for TV time; as you would have it, the ever popular Red Sox were playing as well. An exhilirating, yet trying and late-ending game has left me with this: Brady needs to decompress, and perhaps work on less exuberance on his long passes; the team cannot continue with so many penalties; Miller had a blocked punt and Vinateri missed a FG. Good God its like they want to lose! 30-20 in the end, so its all good. It is fun to finally be following the "local" team though:) Football Sunday has been uneventful thus far, only the Steelers look frightening. Chiefs looked good, Jets terrible; SF won! Bledsoe is a "Cowboy". Colts can't score today. Tampa Bay uniforms are ugly; though perhaps not as ugly as those orange Dolphins unifs. Hmm..
Still unemployed. Beginning to wonder what is wrong. Hanging out with college students makes me feel old. When I left my sisters and her friends in downtown Boston at 11 last night they were planning to go out dancing. My college buddy and I fell asleep on the train back. Sigh. Also cannot remember what fall weather is really like: was fooled by the 80 degree daytime heat and was stranded in the 45 degree city last night with only a t-shirt and linen pants...Brrr. Some exuberant trees have broken into fall colors early. Little do they know that that will only make them leafless early. Still catches me off guard how quickly the weather turns here, once it finally gets going.
Tomorrow, I go back to pretending I'm a commuter.

Fall

There are many reasons for moving to New England; in the months of September and October, weather is the most compelling. After four months of unbearable heat and humidity in Houston, I arrived in Boston to an early glimpse into fall. The weather here has been stunning: blue skies, cool air, warm sunshine, and crisp nights. Suddenly, the torture of summer heat has lifted. New Englanders appreciate the good weather too, if only because they know that in a few short weeks the unending winter will be upon us. And with fall, of course, comes school. For the first time in 20 years, I am not heading back to school this fall. This leaves me with a sense of, well, insecurity. I feel I should be doing something - reading, perhaps. I did relive the college experience this weekend, though, as I moved my sister into college. She didn't choose my alma mater (sigh) but is attending someplace pretty similar that shall remain unnamed. Did anyone know that all college dorms smell the same?? Yeah, they do, though not in a bad way. And the moving, and unpacking, and stressing about classes and reading assignments - that's all the same too. There are some aspects of school I don't miss. Let's just say I would like to go back in time and go to college, not return to school now. I do miss living with my girls though, and the general lack of worry about "life after". There are times I don't like this growing up bit. So scary!
OK. Back to good things. This fabulous city. So accessible: for the first time in two years I can get around town without a car. I can even walk the entire city if I want; and, so pretty with the old colonial homes surrounded by maple and oak trees, and red brick buildings downtown. If I didn't have to spend my day time looking for a job I would just hang out at the park, or by the river, all day long! I can't wait until I have paid vacation!!
Paid vacation = Full-time job, free nights and weekends, and benefits. On that note, I should go get ready for my big meeting tomorrow.

Finally...Boston!

Part one of the move is now complete - I have finally arrived in Boston! It is much cooler here, despite what the locals say. Friday night arrived and I missed my usual comrades (they know who they are!) So, I read. Newly liberated from graduate school, I have rediscovered my passion for reading. I am currently revisiting "A Tale of Two Cities", and I have a hypothesis: I think we read the 'classics' far too early in life to fully appreciate their literary, cultural and social value. Dickens, I need not say, is a master descriptor. This book is going in my imaginary class on the French Revolution. I also just finished reading "Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War" by Peter Maass. Fantastic. More on that later.
When not reading, or emailing old, lost friends, I have been watching the news. How can one not? I don't know what I am more alarmed at: the sheer, devastating power of nature, the structural problems in government-based assistance that has slowed the process of recovery, or the tenous nature of our civil society - at all times. This is a fascination of sorts right now, but I am increasingly drawn to the pessimistic theorists of society: it seems at times that Thomas Hobbes was not far wrong. Not that I am suggesting an inherent 'evil' in human nature - I would never argue that. Still, our civil [civilized?] society has all the trappings of permanence, but turns out to be precariously balanced, repeatedly. Systemic problems in society (poverty, race/class division, lack of public funds) are to blame for the violence and unrest, to be sure. It is ironic though, that if we did not already know better, we might have more easily believed the scenes from New Orleans belonged somewhere in the "third"/less developed/less technologically advanced/less modern world. Feel free to insert your adjective of choice - I don't stand by these labels, they are standard usage for natural and man-made disasters occuring anywhere outside of North America and Western Europe. There is a danger here - I might just get on my soapbox...
Back to point: after we have picked up, recovered and moved on from this crisis; when images of stranded, starving refugees from New Orleans are no longer being flashed on our TV screens; perhaps then, we will be more careful in drawing the stark boundaries between us-the modern, and them-the not quite modern. Boundaries that cause more problems, and solve none. There are no "civilizations", there are only societies with more or less functional institutions. Civil society is fragile, and dependent on much more than ideology and rhetoric. This brings me back to my earlier, much less impassioned discussion of good literature. Another good read: William Golding's "Lord of the Flies". A very effective professor once made me write a paper discussing Golding's novel in relation to Hobbes's "Leviathan". Some lessons stick longer than others.
We've come full-circle. I'm tired and really should go to bed lest I ramble on all night. I'll address less weighty concerns next time, I promise.