Back to Actual Posting.
It was a bit of reader mail that inspired this one. A certain person I used to cavort with in San Francisco wrote me today letting me know that after 3 or 4 years (how long has it been Chelsea???) she has been reading my blog. I was flattered as I had no idea. Actually, now that I think about it, my blog has been serving a really good purpose in the way of friendships. My other really great friend Chris reads from Portland on a regular basis as does Dave from Davis, CA, a buddy I used to fly with and well, I once buzzed his farm (and no folks, that ain't a euphemism). So I have decided now that the semester craziness is over, and I no longer have to read 3 novels a week and work 20 hours at my part time job, that what I can do with my spare time is something productive. Like continuing to bore you all with my weird and haphazard academic, free spirited poetic life in western Massachusetts.
Yay!!!!
So for starters, I'll give you the run down of my weekend. Fridays are my days off from my part time campus job (writing and researching grants and "developing" web pages (like simple html and whatnot)). So my high school friend in Boston pinged me on Google:
Her: "Hey Oedipa, what's up?"
Me: "Nothing, organizing my tax papers for next year. Picking the dust balls off my floor. And wondering where I can score some good heroin. Do you know?"
Her: "Wow. You should come visit sometime, the kids always ask about you. Now that you actually have a Massachusetts driver's license, you can drive to our place too, instead of us picking you up from the Greyhound station like usual."
Me: "Oh! So what are you doing tonight and tomorrow?"
Her: "Ummm....."
Me: "Great, I'll be there in 3 hrs!"
To sum it up, I went to their suburban home. We drank many Mojitos and watched 3 hrs of Battlestar Gallactica (which, even though it is set in space (Katra will agree), it still sexy and vibrant enough for those of us who despise Star Trek).
Then we went to bed and the next day I rescued my friend from her two small children and we let her man take care of things. And we went to Boston. I wanted to see the Museum of Fine Art. And so we did. It's a nice museum, and it's big, but between you and me, once you've been to the Metroplitan in NYC there's no turning back. But the collection of Revolutionary American art was spectacular.
Then we went outside to the Japanese raked gravel gardens (pics to follow soon). I was polite and finished my cigarette before we went in. Once inside we sat in the 85 degree heat and admired the raked gravel. I snapped a few shots. A woman came in and sat near us for a bit. Then suddenly my cell rang.
Now I often will simply turn my cell off when it's interfering with a conversation or when it's inappropriate. But shit, we were outside. And there was only one other person there. And frankly, she seemed fairly checked out. Long story short...I answered the damn thing, talked for a few minutes only to be confronted by a museum guard screaming at me to leave the rock garden as it was a place of meditation.
My walk out of there was indeed the walk of shame. My cell phone held at my hip with my friend still yelling over the line "HELLO? ARE YOU THERE?" and the museum guard giving me the evil eye.
Other than that, the only other entertaining thing was I got to see Ben Franklin's grave and a homeless guy asked me in all sincerity for $50 so he could find the car he parked "somewhere, I can't remember quite where" last night. I actually had to brief him on how to find an easier mark.
And he and I actually parted with a hug. I have a way with people I guess.
Still, it was a much needed therapeutic weekend away.
But now that I'm home, I'm finding that, yes folks, Western Mass is GROWING on me. Unbelievable. Perhaps it's because the temps aren't -20 below in June. It's really beautiful here too.
Anyway, a totally random post with no direction. Who cares. It's fucking summer and I'm enjoying it.
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