Day 82: The 1

This is it -- I've found him!

Just kidding.  The title actually refers to a freaking bus.  However, this freaking bus is pretty useful.  But back to the beginning...

My friend J. has been out of town for the last three weeks in Bolivia for a research field experience (how cool is that?).  Incidentally, he was with my former adviser at MIT and another lab member who was there for nearly all of my tenure in the lab.  They are doing some very cool work on number in cultures who a) are isolated and b) speak languages with pretty unique properties (or absence of properties).  The work basically began in Piraha villages in Brazil, but they wanted a control group where the language wasn't so different, but where the culture was isolated and kids were matched for (lack of) education, that sort of thing. Pretty darn cool stuff.  They needed a Spanish translator, and that's where J. comes in.  So it's basically double translation -- from the local language to (poor) Spanish relayed to J., to English.  Sweet gig, eh?

So J. is back, and I somehow managed to convince him to come with me to a party in the South End (K.'s house).  First we had MoS veggie burgers with another friend who opted to stay back in Cambridge.  Then we were griping about having to take the T... (well at least I was gripey about it) and realized that the 1 would save us.  It's pretty much the only bus in Cambridge that I will agree to ride on a somewhat regular basis.  Mostly because figuring out bus schedules is a pain -- although riding on a bus is typically not as much of a pain as my brain conceives it to be, and honestly, the 1 might be the most pain-in-the-ass bus route in the area (mostly 'coz it's freaking. packed. always. with. crazies -- but that's why we love Cambridge :)).

At any rate, the 1 took us into Boston toward the South End [see goofy picture of us above], and we left just early enough to catch it back into Cambridge.  In between, we chatted with the most business-y of my friends, admired their red, white, and blue, attire, and drank patriotic Budweisers (the KING of beer!).

1 is the loneliest number that you'll ever do... 2 can be as bad as 1, it's the loneliest number since the number 1, hey...

Day 54: City-hopping

Each day I drive around this area, I find myself adding more pieces to the jigsaw puzzle in my brain that encompasses Cambridge. It took me long enough even to connect Harvard Square to Porter -- you can imagine my difficulty in trying to connect Powderhouse Square to Medford, for instance.

Well, today was a treat for my mental representation of said puzzle and pieces, for it took me to six different cities in the Boston/Cambridge area -- all so very accessible with my little Corolla.  I'll abbreviate as much as I can, but it was such a fun day that I might indulge in description just a little.  Hemingway was never my favorite author anyhow.

First, back to Fresh Pond (in Cambridge) for a little work in Building 19 (see previous post).  The original plan was to pick up B., pick up a gift, and head with her to an anniversary barbecue (note: it was raining. all. day.).  Then she was thinking of going to another birthday party later in the day. And now, for what actually happened. [Note: skip the next paragraph if you don't to read tedium about a missing phone.]

Last night, I realized when I got home that my phone was no longer in my bag (which, admittedly, was a slouchy, open bag with no zipper/etc.).  I retraced some of my steps but forgot to check at Zuzu (probably the easiest place to lose track of stuff in Central, given that people are always setting their bags on tables in order to dance -- precisely what I did).  So after work, I decided to go there first in order to see if they had miraculously found it, and if not, to at least leave my email address.  Zuzu didn't have the phone but took my info and directed me to the box office at the Middle East where the main lost and found is located for the entire Zuzu/Middle East/Upstairs/Downstairs/Corner Bar complex (yes, 5 entities!).  There I was told that they only had soft stuff like clothes/etc., and that the valuables were kept in the manager's office at the Corner Bar.  So, I was a "barfly" (except for the drinking part) for a bit while the Corner Bar bartenders hunted down the manager from his lair so he could check for me.  No phone was found, but on the plus side I was a) asked if I was a songwriter for a They Might Be Giants song (I was singing a few bars of "Whistling in the Dark"--there was a reason but I'll spare a *few* details) and b) I didn't get a parking ticket even though my hazards were on / my meter runneth empty.

Next stop was to pick up B. from a party she was going to in Somerville -- a so-called "Brew-off", where 7 different amateur brewers allowed their friends to rate their (anonymous) beers.  Pretty cool concept. Ended up staying for a bit to chat and taste beers 6, 7, and 4 (my favorite), and then we headed onward to pick a present for the fifteenth anniversary of two of our friends.  B. noted that the anniversary was the "crystal" gift year, so she first suggested Cristal... when I vetoed this and asked for another gimmicky "crystal" idea, she brilliantly voted for "Crystal Light", and we ended up bringing a nice bottle of vodka and some powder-y lemonade sugar-y goodness in a yellow bottle, with a bright yellow bow I had picked up earlier in the day adorning the booze.

Stop with B. #2 was in Boston, in the South End -- the anniversary barbecue. Rain or no rain, those boys were outside grilling.  Lots of good people there, including E. and his brother and dad.  When I asked about his mom, E.'s dad replied that she was still at home in Waltham, on "baby duty" -- E.'s middle brother and wife were expecting TWINS and the doctor had said it could be any time (though they had scheduled her for several weeks down the line).  An hour or so later, E. got a phone call -- and if you haven't guessed where this is going, you have under-estimated the epic-ness of this city-hopping night.  The twins were coming!

After lots of jumping and hugging and the exodus of all family members related to said twins, B. and I also departed from Boston, and made for destination #3 together: Arlington, where a friend was having his birthday party at B.'s brother's house.  Lots of delicious food, a fun party game, and then B. and I were again departing for our (almost) final destination -- Belmont, where most of the clan was hanging out, waiting for news from the hospital, with E'.s brother's older child (he's 15 months and was sleeping when we got there).

First, a pit stop at a 7-11 for coffee, ice cream, and other midnight-baby-waiting essentials.  And when we walked in the door at stop, #4, Belmont -- they had ARRIVED. Phone calls were happening just then (in a lovely mixture of English and Spanish) and there is now even more beauty in the world.

Stop #5 for B. and me was to take the boys (read: E. and his brother) back to Medford, beautiful Medford, with a sing-a-long to Robert Plant and Allison Krauss along the way.  A beautiful end to a beautiful, rainy day, when two beautiful little girls came into the world.  Cheers to June 2!