visiting hours are over

So, after a whirlwind tour, Judeslav and Serene made their way back to AA. And a whirlwind tour it was - after the prerequisite Boston Common - Chinatown - North End walk, we took the whole day to explore the historic suburbs. We started off at the Walden Pond, where we parked next to a gray shed. I made some kind of a wisecrack, like "Hey, say 'hi' to Thoreau!", and guess what - it was actually a replica of his house. Well.

After taking a stroll on the pond (frozen, clearly), we took a detour to the North Bridge in Concord, where the "shot heard around the world" was fired. In reverse chronological order (since the British actually started in Lexington), we finally made our way to the Battle Green. It's certainly convenient when history is located so close by ;)

visitors from AA

Jude and Serene are in Boston, weeeeeeee!

So far, we haven't had a chance to do much, besides walking around the MIT campus and inducing hypothermia in Serene - but, we have a few days to make up for it!

mr. car, meet mr. truck

My friend, Kenny, really loved his car, a Passat V8. Unfortunately, the love affair lasted only until his car met a jackknifed truck on the iced-over I-93...

Kenny's OK, a couple of bruises, but the wreck looks spectacular from every angle. Check out the front axle of the truck in front of his car:

Drive carefully, aight?

keyless entry

So the other morning, Susan asked me to get some milk from a store downstairs. No problem, right? The store is only a couple of steps away. I threw a jacket over my pajamas, grabbed some change, and headed out into the cold unknown.

As soon as I shut the front door of the apartment, I realized - uh oh - that I didn't have my keys with me. Tugging at the door handle did not change the situation for the better.

I still had my mission in front of me, so I went to the store to get the milk. I had some coins left over, so I figured I'd walk down to the nearest phone and call Susan to open the door.

It's been a while since I used one of those payphone things. It didn't help that at that point I was shivering, and probably looked very homeless with my pajama pants and a jug of milk. Needless to say, I dialed the wrong number, and the payphone happily ate my $0.50.

I reassessed the situation. Our apartment is on the third floor, so any attempts at climbing through the window / throwing objects at said window / yelling would probably be fruitless. I figured I'd count my remaining change, and give the telecommunications option one more try. 48 cents. Close, but no cigar.

I went back to the store, and stole two pennies from the change plate. Score. Then I traded my loose change for two quarters, thanks to some old lady who took pity on a disheveled Russian. Back to the payphone. Drop the quarters in, dial my parents, the only number I still remember by heart.

At that point, the phone had the audacity to inform me that I had to add $0.55. Fifty five cents! I clearly could not afford this long-distance business. With hypothermia setting in, things were not looking good for ol' Stan.

Thankfully, when I went back to the back entrance, some kind soul left it open, or otherwise this story would have a very different ending. One thing for sure, I'm never leaving the place without my cellphone / keys / wallet. Ah the shackles of modern life.

McCloud, eh?

All the geeks at my company, rejoice: Scott McCloud, the comics guy, is coming for a presentation. I know nothing about comics, but hey, I'll check it out.

not so good

I clearly have no love for basketball, but losing 16 games in a row is something that's tough for any team to pull off. Well, the Celtics did just that, and their streak is not looking like it's gonna end any time soon. Go Boston.