This and that

During his visit, my dad was amazed by the incredibly high percentage of buildings made of red brick. This building is across the street from my work.

And on a completely different subject:

Unfortunately, in a building mainly occupied by 20-year olds, beer cans and dixie cups aren't an unusual occurance in my hallway. I'm moving in two weeks - yay! More on that soon.
Look Dad: red brick, wrought iron, outer stairs leading up to the front door, but look at that sneaky side door!

My dad comes for a visit

I'm sorry I've been delinquent in blog upkeep. Gosh, it's been two full weeks since I posted anything. What have you been doing with your idle time, if not keeping up with my goings on?!? My apologies.

My dad came to visit last weekend, and we had a terrific time. I whittled two people's photos from the course of four days down to 52, which even then is too many for this medium. So I've put them here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/genoa76

I hope you'll take a look.

My First Week at Harvard Medical School

This place is great! My professors are cool and I already got to watch a surgery! Just kidding; I don't really "go" to Harvard Medical School, but I do go there! The job is going well. The people are great and it's less than two miles from my apartment. I readjusted to working life pretty well, I think. I can keep track of the days again, which is nice. There's a cafeteria for when I don't pack a lunch, and a blues band played in the quad one afternoon. It's the intellectual, stimulating environment I've been seeking, so I hope I can make something permanent out of it. There aren't any undergrads, and because of the research, there's much more at this location than classrooms. Harvard Medical School has around 17 affiliated hospitals in Boston. Click on the picture to see an enlargement. I love this building.

I can ride Mike the Bike to work, and lock him up in a cage for safe keeping. Look, he's official!
If you look closely, and if you've ever placed a bike in a rack, you might notice how upright Mike is. These racks somehow are more stable, so Mike doesn't fall over. My Harvard ID card was specially coded to allow me into the cages.
And I just like the blue Hydrangeas.
I didn't bike to work yesterday, because I met a new friend of mine for happy hour right after work. I took the train to meet her. The train/subway system in Boston is broken down (pardon the pun) into five connecting lines, each a different color. The final stop is the name of the train. Therefore, each line has two names, depending on which way you're heading. The orange line, for example, has Oak Grove at its northern end, and Forest Hills at its southern end. If you're heading north on the orange line, you're on the Oak Grove train. To meet my friend yesterday, I took the green line to the blue line. The last stop for the blue line in the direction I was heading is Wonderland. I delighted in hearing the announcer say, "Attention passengers: The next blue line train for Wonderland is now approaching." I envisioned something like Pleasure Island in Pinocchio!

Gainful (if temporary) employment!!!

It's only for a month, but I have a job! Starting Monday, I'll be working at the Harvard Medical Center. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm just glad to be working again. And this could lead to something else with the medical center, or at Harvard's main campus. I've been targeting universities in my job hunt, so this is definitely a step in the right direction. Mind you, it will be difficult to break my habit of sleeping until 8:30am, reading for awhile, then lounging with my laptop, but it's a welcome change. And Billy, that stinker, just sleeps all day, so he shouldn't miss me too much.

With a little Woolite and a lot of elbow grease

When my things arrived by truck, you may recall that several things were damaged. I finally got around to attempting to hand wash some of the grit out, and most of the clothing pieces were saved! This first shirt is still too stained to wear, but look at the improvement! Before:
Yikes! And after:
Yes, that's the same shirt (plus Billy). Impressed? I'm bummed I couldn't save it, but I sure gave it a good effort. There were 21 articles of clothing that were soiled, and I wasn't sure if it was greasy dirt, and how washable it all was. The dirt looked really ground in. But after what felt like hours of scrubbing and soaking, 16 of the 21 pieces are now clean and wearable again.
Pink skirt: saved! That huge black smudge is gone.
This sweater is another of the casualties. I got a lot of the dirt out, but it's still pretty stained, and it's torn in several places. It's clean now, though, so I suppose if I need to do any yard work or painting this fall when it's cooler, I have something perfect to wear!

Ah, cooler.

Whew, it finally cooled off! Yesterday it was fair, and today it's been cool and rainy. No lightning or thunder, but plenty of chilled rain. What relief. It's been up to 83.5 degrees and muggy in my apartment, and now it's just in the mid-70s. It may seem warm to you, but it's oh so pleasant to me.
Here's part of the harbor.

Ooh, the lightning and thunder came later tonight. It's 11pm and they both keep erupting from the skies. I love it!

Hidden Treasures

On an evening stroll last night, I wove between streets just a couple over from my own. I found rows of brick homes - row houses, brownstones; whatever you'd like to call them. They're lovely. Steep steps up to front doors, balconies, ornate architectural features I don't know the names of.

Large shade trees planted long ago between sidewalk and curb, but also in the middle of the street. There were several streets with a long island running the length in the middle, almost like a miniature version of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. There's a lane to drive in one direction, with parking on the right side, and with trees, flower beds, and the occasional small fountain on the left. On the other side of the trees, another lane of traffic, in the opposite direction. Above, a fountain and some people visiting on the stoop.
And the alleys - Susan you'd love them. Very similar to the movie Rear Window. Most people have back balconies. It's not clear how much the apartments have been divided. In my building, the apartments are quite small, so that there is a front apartment and a back one. But in these buildings, I get the impression that each floor may be its own apartment, from front to back.
The back balconies are primarily seen by your neighbors, rather than passers-by. They're filled with potted plants and flowers. There's additional parking back here, too (again, I'm so glad to be carless). There are rooftop trees and lounge chairs. And brick walks - no cement. It was quiet and calm, and so enjoyable to walk through these alleys and streets. And though I didn't get any good photos of it, there's also a neighborhood park in this area. There's a walking corridor that isn't on my maps. There's a sign for it on the main street, but it's tucked away nicely. There is a playground with a jungle gym and swings, basketball and tennis courts, a grassy area, an enclosed leash-free dog area, and several communal gardens. It's a perfect place for neighbors to come together, bring their kids, play with their dogs, and enjoy the summer evenings. I saw a man playing catch with his son, several old guys visiting on a stoop, a guy sitting with his baby daughter on a blanket. This area is well-used without being crowded. And for all of the people there, it wasn't loud. It was idyllic. They could film a movie here. In this very park. On this very street.