Winging it in... Boston

We'd like to be unhappy, but, We never do have the time

This weekend has seemed to be another of those weekends- I have so many at the minute- in which I can rattle off a list of jobs and places I have been to, yet I don’t actually feel that I have accomplished very much or achieved a huge amount.

Possibly some of this is due to being caught up in work and an online course- which is interesting, if not a little time consuming. This weekend I think I have seen about five hours disappear to it, some of which was an online discussion and some just paperwork. I ma starting to wonder just how useful the internet actually is… in theory it is a great tool, it should be able to let people from all over the world video chat in a virtual classroom. In practice, a good proportion of the two hours was spent trying to resolve technical difficulties. The software was designed to work in Google chrome, and the word documents to open on a mac- none of the participants have this information beforehand, and to be honest, even if I had known I’m not entirely sure I would have wanted a new browser. Last time I used Google chrome I had issues with other applications. Again it is a case of should be fantastic, if only there was limited choice. Too much choice is not only overwhelming but also totally impractical. Or maybe people (myself included) need to bring their expectations of technology in line with personal and practical limitations. Just because something IS possible does not mean it is possible for you in your situation.

I have also, finally, gotten round to getting my hair cut. I’m not sure why I get so excited about this, as it looks exactly the same as it did two days ago, just an inch shorter. I also spent 15 minutes talking to a nun, only to realize that she wasn’t a nun, just an old lady with a towel on her head. In retrospect I was in a hair salon so this should have dawned on me earlier. It would actually make quite a good joke, but it is unfortunately true.

In an attempt to be social I did attend a charity party. I have to say I failed miserably on the social front, and ended up having a long and interesting conversation with people I already knew. It was very nice to catch up with them, but didn’t really do much to widen my social circle. I was also a bit bad at the getting involved for charity aspect. I didn’t really get into the whole tetherball tournament, or the bingo thing- but (in my defense) I did leave my donation for the events, and I am quite sure that the charity really doesn’t care whether I participated in the tetherball or not, as long as they get my money. Victoria, thank you for all the effort you went to tho, and I am terribly sorry I was antisocial at your party. Here is the link to the web page that it was all for. http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/HyannisT11/vrenfro#My-Fundraising-Page

I have also finally managed to get to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum too, this week. This is something else that has been on my to do list for about a year now, and I have just been too lazy to walk the mile down the road and actually manage to fit it in. Isabella Gardner was born in 1840, died and 1924 and was left a huge fortune by her father in 1891. She used this money to travel, collect objects and to plan and build a house in which to keep them. In her will she stipulated that the galleries should be left in the same general arrangement that she had created, and while it is very eclectic it is a bit like visiting the store room in an old library. There is stuff everywhere.

I did absolutely love the house- it was a real mix of Italian/ Spanish style, all built around what should have been an open courtyard, containing Byzantinesque mosaics and Moorish tiles. Covering three floors the museum has a very idiosyncratic style, including European Modern art (Degas, Manet, Matisse), Tapestries etchings and a slightly less than perfect Seventeenth Century European collection. This collection sports ten empty frames representing ten pieces of work (including two Rembrandts and a Vermeer) that were stolen in 1990. Given Isabella Gardner’s will, that everything remain as she left it, or be shipped to Paris, auctioned and the profits donated to Harvard, the empty frames are a way of ensuring that, despite the theft, the museum trustees have not altered anything, and so they are able to keep the collection.

Isabella Gardner does seem to have had somewhat of an affinity for religious paintings, statues, crucifixes, alter pieces, and candlesticks. In fact she has an entire chapel on display, including Italian stained glass- it was a somewhat strange experience, not entirely sure if I wanted to discuss her arrangement as a work of art, or if I should revere it in church like silence. I am still a little un-decided, I think I’m coming down on the side of reverence.

Winging it in... Boston

Why don't we remember a God damn thing from last night?

I do actually know the answer to that question! It was down to alcohol, copious and vast amounts of alcohol, or in my case- because I am pathetic when it comes to these sorts of things, it was down to two martinis, and half a bourbon- but they were quite large.

Needless to say, I do remember nearly everything from last night, I might be missing a couple of points… but I am fairly certain the bruise on my back came from leaning against a chair, and the stick neck from sleeping at a funny angle.

Now, there is nothing new in me not being able to handle alcohol well- but please can someone tell me when I reached the age that waking up in the morning required a careful opening of one eye to test for light aversion, sitting slowly before leaving the bed, and realizing that the room was still going round faster than the carousel ride at Six Flags. I am sure that somewhere around the age of seventeen/ eighteen (and I have only heard tell of this, never done it myself Mom and Dad) I was able to stay out all night, drink til dawn and manage a day in a Saturday job.

Anyway- Saturday night saw a trip to Top of the Hub. It really did have impressive views of the city skyline, and great a food, if the service was a little slow. I should say that their “refined club-like atmosphere” was a bit lacking. Not just because of me, but also because of the lawyer at the table behind. I know, it is not good manners to listen in on other people’s conversations- but I am passing this one off as being a concerned citizen, although in retrospect 22-year-old boys (even those who need to yank their jeans up to cover their underwear) can probably take care of themselves. Anyway, the old guy sat behind decided to pay for their meals and drinks in exchange for their email addresses and concerned extended contact. He felt that they had “the lights on”. I feel that it is a little freaky and more than a little creepy when a 65-year-old man (totally supposition on my part) tried to buy email contact for 22-year-old boys. Just a personal thought.

So, Top of the Hub- great, free, and two floors higher than the observation deck which you have to pay $13.00 to visit. Why Top of the Hub: Boston is the Hub of the Universe, or at least it used to be referred to as such when it came to trade and politics. The phrase was first coined by writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, who actually referred to the State House as the hub of the solar system- although I’m not sure it was entirely complimentary.

Sunday saw the long talked about visit to the MFA. Conveniently located so close to my apartment I have to say, I really wish I had managed to do it sooner, because they have some great talks and lectures and programs you can sign up for. Then again I have done that before- got excited, signed up, jumped in; and two weeks later decided I need a new hobby.

It really is a huge a sprawling building- which provides me with a challenge to start with! I think I managed to miss the entire section on colonial portraits and landscapes, whilst seeing the Japanese room on at least five separate occasions. One of the guards tried to be helpful by showing me a “You Are Here” board, which only served to confuse further, he then gave me a map- it wasn’t going to happen! The only reason I discovered the far side of the rotunda was because I was looking for a restroom- at this point I was beyond “Night in the Museum” and wondering if I could find some emergency flairs and call 911. I would say that getting lost in places like this is how you find the real treasures- I found myself in a supply closet!

Geek alert for the day- I did love the Roman gallery, and was beyond myself with excitement at finding a mosaic floor from Turkey. When I was at Uni I wrote a paper on this floor, I know everything there is to know about this floor, I dreamed about this floor before my final exams… and for the first time ever it is on display to the public and it is in Boston! This fact meant that my day was made, the $20.00 entry fee was more than worth it, and bounced around the room with priceless Roman artifacts in until I was glared at by the guard, and told there was a queue of other people waiting to see some of things too.

I would love to be able to say something sharp and witty and insightful about the rest of the “painting” art, but a lot of the Dutch Old Masters and religious symbolism all looks fairly generic to me. I am sure plenty of people love them- like I did the floor- and I am certain I haven’t seen that exact painting before, but I have seen so many representations of the same story in European collections that they all start to merge. I think that is actually the sign of a good picture- can I tell which part of which story is being represented? Can I retell the story? Does it matter who painted it? Were the masses of uneducated peasants there to appreciate art or to learn from the church? Now, three hundred years later, I can still tell the stories, I can still pin point the important saints and important religious messages, I haven’t got a clue who painted it- but the Church must be ecstatic that they have had 300 years worth of advertising and talking points for their one off payment. I have no doubt that Nike are silently offering up their own prayers that their advertising came as cheap, lasted for so long and yielded such high turnovers and profits.

Winging it in... Boston

I just want to know one thing - when do I get to become an islander?

This weekend has been another fairly busy one, I’d say today excluded but I have been busy, just not sightseeing. Unfortunately along with all the play comes a little bit of work, and today was the work side. I was contemplating putting the whole blog thing on hold this weekend, but I only have six more Boston Blogs to go, and I am a little OCD about making sure everything is done in the right order so this week will be a bit of a whistle stop factual tour of the weekend. You have been warned…

Friday night got the weekend off to a sporting start with a trip to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox play. I would love to say, to see the Red Sox win, but that would be pushing the realms of possibility a bit too far! I think by Friday they had only managed to win 15 games in the season, and I watched the 17^th loss- this time to the Minnesota Twins who wracked up 9 Home Runs to the Red Sox 2.

I have to say, it wasn’t so much the score line that disappointed me- everyone is entitled to a few bad games, and let’s face it, while I’m all about supporting the home team (it’s a shame if they lose) I’m not a die hard Red Sox fan. I’m not even a Blue Jays fan- the first team I saw play, but I will admit to being a bit of a Houston Astros fan based on the fact that is where I actually developed any sort of affinity for the sport, and that may be what is coloring my judgment here. Again, the Astros are not the best team in the world- far from it- but they do know how to put on a show.

The players all have their own chants, and theme songs to be played as they take up a position, they had set pieces to rally the crowd at certain crucial game changing moments, they had kiss cam and hummer racing, they had words to the 7^th inning stretch, and most importantly they had clapping to Deep in the Heart of Texas. Maybe I spent too long down in the Lone Star State and forgot how the real world worked, but all of these things I enjoyed. The Red Sox were all too focused on the game and missed the experience of being there; even the funnel cake was frozen. If you are playing well, be all about the game, but in this case- pick it up a notch. The twins were the ones loading the bases and controlling the play.

Saturday was the big trip of the weekend, and a lucky escape from the Boston weather. I had been planning on heading out to Martha’s Vineyard for the day before the season really got started and the roads to the Cape began to get clogged up. The weather channel nearly out me off but declaring clouds, rain and storms for the majority of the day, but I figured I’d just have to suck it up, I’m not made of sugar and I won’t melt. Turns out it was a great decision! The weather in Boston may have been stormy and cloudy as evidenced on the way home, but out at the Cape and on the island it was glorious. Blue skies and high 60s made for a near perfect day. Even the wind, a little chilly in Falmouth, dropped to ensure a perfect spring day for walking around, eating ice cream and fudge and generally promoting a holiday like feeling.

Generally it was a really cute and quaint little island. It has a few claims to fame- most notably being the famous people connections. The Clintons, the Obamas and Ulysses S. Grant all vacationed there. Jackie Onassis Kennedy owned a house there until her death in 1994, and it was the island off which John F. Kennedy Jr crashed in 1999. John Belushi is apparently buried there and of course the movie Jaws was filmed there, with island native playing some of the roles in the movie.

I was thinking how much I would like a summer house there, but having learned that property prices are 96% more expensive than on the mainland, and that the summer resident numbers increase from a sleepy 15,000 to a much more bustling and intrusive 100,000+ I am now rethinking this option. Maybe I can work with sleepy Kentucky, and a porch with a swing after all.