Day 70: The charm of the Thirsty Ear

This is the day when the idea of putting on a play with friends this summer became real, rather than just (very) wishful thinking!  After going back and forth with S. (who will act as director), it finally came to light that everything seemed a go with running the play in Georgetown, MA, where the Georgetown Theater Workshop S. has long been affiliated with is located, rather than somewhere in Cambridge. Pros: real lights and sets and things; cons: no AC, 45 min away; guess which won out?  As we had no prospects in Cambridge, it was quite easy to decide that Georgetown was a winner and that we had better act fast (groaning here; this one's for Ed) if this were to happen.  And after I finally got my hands on a copy of the script (Rumors, by Neil Simon) and read it through -- I was sold.

After work I planned to head to the Thirsty Ear to read through the script quietly.  [Aside: I tend to give the Thirsty more of a bad rap than I should, as it's a perfectly lovely venue to gather and has great beers.  This is pretty much only because my affinity lies with the only other MIT on-campus pub.  I like the more ruffian-looking crew gathered at the much more charming Muddy Charles, which has the additional perks of being both located in beautiful Morss hall on the Charles River and also the primary drinking site of the illustrious Straw Dogs.] However, the whole reason for choosing the Thirsty for this quiet evening was that a friend of mine was working tonight at the door.  It being much more fun to sit with him than on my own, and him being much more obliging than most, I was given the pleasure of reading the play in its entirety aloud to him at the door.  Our conclusion was that Neil Simon is a farcical genius and that this play must absolutely happen.

Day 64: Close Encounters of the Veggie Kind

Truth be told, I have put great efforts into discovery of the best grilled cheese and the best cheeseburger in Cambridge, but not until recently did I come to believe that a similar quest for veggie burgers might be in order.  Mostly because I feel like veggie burgers are usually crumbly bundles of poorly cohered beans and tofu - not so appealing, right?  Well, I stand corrected.

In addition to providing an edgy yet very Cantabrigian environment (complete with the fixture of a periodic table of burgers and other foods chalked onto its back wall and serving as the menu), the Miracle of Science also serves up a damn good veggie burger.  Saved by the grace of not being a vegan burger, some magical creamy sauce saves the day, and it's delicious.  I stopped by with a friend after our choir practice in the Back Bay, and at first we thought we could get away with splitting one... which turned quickly into two (and I'm pretty convinced he could have gone further if we'd have let him).

After a long day of work, softball (we came thisclose to not losing...), and singing some masterful pieces from a piecemeal mass (more on that later), Miracle was the perfect end to the day.

Day 57: The 'Snake

Tuesdays are serious days this summer.  In addition to Calliope (choir), which has always been on Tuesdays, the Straw Dogs softball games are also on Tuesdays this summer, meaning that I dash from the Fresh Pond area down to MIT around 4:30 and don't get home until 10p at the earliest, after Calliope.  Today was the first of such days, so I suppose I shouldn't be speaking in generics quite yet. However, I have a fairly certain feeling that getting home at 10pm on Tuesdays is not going to be the norm, due to the presence of a nice little place we like to affectionately call the 'Snake (the Rattlesnake, located on Boylston St. in Back Bay; pic above taken around the corner on Newbury St.).

It's just around the block from where the choir practices (at Emmanuel Episcopalian, a really pretty church which is beautiful on the inside... the kind of place I used to fantasize about as a kid who wished she went to boarding school; yes, weird).  And it's got some tasty stuff.  D., who just joined the choir after I pestered for a while, was fairly disgusted by my zest for the macaroni and cheese, which, in addition to being basically the antithesis of all things vegan, includes (along! with bacon) Taza chocolate.  Sound gross?  Maybe, but I find it almost as delicious as the peanut butter burgers at both Bukowski's.

Yay softball!  Yay choir!  And yay for adding more chocolate and peanut butter to the world. :-/?

Day 50: Straw Dogs

It's that time again.  Straw Dogs time.

What are Straw Dogs, you might ask?  The answer is honestly: I don't know. I always assumed that a straw dog was something like a straw man... here's the quote from the Tao Te Ching which references Straw Dogs:

    Heaven and Earth are heartless / treating creatures like straw dogs

Well, we unleashed those dogs on our rival softball team today, the Base Pairs (get it? ...yeah).  Except, turns out those Base Pairs were pretty well paired, and were heartless in treating us like straw dogs.

But it was great to be back on the softball fields at MIT!  Really cool view of Simmons, a dorm with quite interesting geometric architecture, from the field.  After, I had other plans so was unable to go drink with the Dogs and so-called "Dog Handlers" -- but bluegrass at Cantab did not disappoint.  The band was called Tricky Britches, and they were pretty darn good (I got super-duper happy when they played "Uncle Penn", a cover of a Ricky Skaggs song that my dad played all the time when I was a kid).

Next week -- revenge of the Dogs.