Hesitantly hopeful
I'm home from Boston...actually, in my mind, that phrase makes no sense. That would be like coming home from home. Regardless, I'm back in New York. And it's raining.
I love rain. I love the feeling of water moving, in tiny forceful bits, over all of our "important" structures, including ourselves. It's humbling as looking at the ocean. The only peaceful thing in New York is the sound of the rain pelting each building's edifice, trying to undo all that we've stacked upon these scattered islands.
Enough of my morose ramblings...
I had a splendid Friday. After accompanying Chelsea to work--the everydayness of which made me feel so close to both Chelsea and Boston that I practically wept--I procured a breakfast sandwich and boarded the red line, traveling south. UMass Boston isn't Dorchester, nor is it South Boston, but it's not far off. It [seemingly] floats on a placid, tidy landmass which juts into Boston Harbor. From JFK/UMass station, you can take a free (yes, free) shuttle to the campus. And the shuttles run every 3-6 minutes throughout the day. To quote the oracular Magic 8 Ball, all signs point to yes.
My first stop was Campus Center, a structure which houses the office of undergraduate admissions, the bookstore, a slew of classrooms, a large common area for the students, a cafe (which serves Peet's Coffee, not Starbucks)...I could go on, but you get the point. Besides its readily available amenities, Campus Center also happens to look like a museum. For a campus without student housing, UMass Boston has made a remarkably welcoming and homey atmosphere just on architectural basis.
Even though I showed up for my appointment two hours ahead of schedule, I was able to speak to an admissions counselor. Not only was this woman thorough--we spoke for forty-five minutes--but also knowledgeable. She was able to answer all my questions and actually encouraged me to try for scholarships even though I'm no longer a MA resident. For once, I felt as if I was speaking to a university staff member who was as prepared as I am.
Well-stocked with information, I set out to explore the rest of the campus. The bookstore looks like a mall (in the accommodating, rather than overbearing way), and the library like a dream. The main stacks (which take up three of the 7+ floors of the library) have spiral staircases linking each floor. There are small study rooms which students can reserve for privacy. And the view...from eight stories up, you can see the harbor, the ocean, and the slowly dwindling land that recedes back into the horizon. The windows bring in the light in such a way that it glows like a misty fog.
I never wanted to leave this library.
But Randolph's bus was scheduled to arrive in South Station at noon. So I walked back through the elevated pedestrian walkways (each building on campus is linked to the others...it's beautiful) and boarded the bus which left promptly, taking me back to JFK/UMass station. The train arrived shortly thereafter and I met Randolph which made me nostalgic for New Year's Eve, 2004, when he moved up to Cambridge to live with me and our life, as we currently know it, began.
After ambling about, we procured a coconut soybos (that's a rooibos latte with soy milk and a shot of coconut...caffeine-free nutty goodness) from Espresso Royale and wound our way to the North End. We looked at an apartment. I firmly believe that the less said before an "important" event, the better. Call it superstition, call it OCD, but I'm just going to say that we liked the apartment and I want all of you to think good thoughts that everything goes smoothly during the application process and our job searches so that we can live in this nice place.
Seriously. Think good thoughts.
After the apartment, Randolph was nervous about his art show, so I forced him to eat something. We went to Anna's Taqueria and while it was still good, it wasn't as good as the burritos we have started making since we could no longer go to Anna's (it's a Bostonian chain). I suppose that's a good thing.
Randolph's art opening (reception-thingTM) went swimmingly. Tammy and Ehren were in town for WAM! (Women Across Media), so it was like having a pleasant slice of Brooklyn up in Boston. Nicole and Liam were able to make it and I feel like we haven't seen them in forever (it's actually two years next month), so it was lovely having them there. Tim and Emma also came and Jesse Farrell, Boy Genius, whose presence makes every Bostonian event truly complete.
Randolph had a great time and I'm exceedingly proud of him. He got to talk about his work and about photography in general and there were accolades passed his way, which he deserves in spades.
Thereafter, it was just a lot of staying up late and then the bus back, but an ice cream meeting with Chelsea and Kevin, followed by a midnight dinner with Jesse, Tim, and Emma made those hours pleasantly whip by.
Yesterday was Lady Robin's birthday...so we were in Brooklyn for that, but lack of sleep made that a short trip and now I'm avoiding schoolwork. But I should return to it. Soon. Soon...
I miss all of you. Leave me some notes to let me know how you're doing.
I love rain. I love the feeling of water moving, in tiny forceful bits, over all of our "important" structures, including ourselves. It's humbling as looking at the ocean. The only peaceful thing in New York is the sound of the rain pelting each building's edifice, trying to undo all that we've stacked upon these scattered islands.
Enough of my morose ramblings...
I had a splendid Friday. After accompanying Chelsea to work--the everydayness of which made me feel so close to both Chelsea and Boston that I practically wept--I procured a breakfast sandwich and boarded the red line, traveling south. UMass Boston isn't Dorchester, nor is it South Boston, but it's not far off. It [seemingly] floats on a placid, tidy landmass which juts into Boston Harbor. From JFK/UMass station, you can take a free (yes, free) shuttle to the campus. And the shuttles run every 3-6 minutes throughout the day. To quote the oracular Magic 8 Ball, all signs point to yes.
My first stop was Campus Center, a structure which houses the office of undergraduate admissions, the bookstore, a slew of classrooms, a large common area for the students, a cafe (which serves Peet's Coffee, not Starbucks)...I could go on, but you get the point. Besides its readily available amenities, Campus Center also happens to look like a museum. For a campus without student housing, UMass Boston has made a remarkably welcoming and homey atmosphere just on architectural basis.
Even though I showed up for my appointment two hours ahead of schedule, I was able to speak to an admissions counselor. Not only was this woman thorough--we spoke for forty-five minutes--but also knowledgeable. She was able to answer all my questions and actually encouraged me to try for scholarships even though I'm no longer a MA resident. For once, I felt as if I was speaking to a university staff member who was as prepared as I am.
Well-stocked with information, I set out to explore the rest of the campus. The bookstore looks like a mall (in the accommodating, rather than overbearing way), and the library like a dream. The main stacks (which take up three of the 7+ floors of the library) have spiral staircases linking each floor. There are small study rooms which students can reserve for privacy. And the view...from eight stories up, you can see the harbor, the ocean, and the slowly dwindling land that recedes back into the horizon. The windows bring in the light in such a way that it glows like a misty fog.
I never wanted to leave this library.
But Randolph's bus was scheduled to arrive in South Station at noon. So I walked back through the elevated pedestrian walkways (each building on campus is linked to the others...it's beautiful) and boarded the bus which left promptly, taking me back to JFK/UMass station. The train arrived shortly thereafter and I met Randolph which made me nostalgic for New Year's Eve, 2004, when he moved up to Cambridge to live with me and our life, as we currently know it, began.
After ambling about, we procured a coconut soybos (that's a rooibos latte with soy milk and a shot of coconut...caffeine-free nutty goodness) from Espresso Royale and wound our way to the North End. We looked at an apartment. I firmly believe that the less said before an "important" event, the better. Call it superstition, call it OCD, but I'm just going to say that we liked the apartment and I want all of you to think good thoughts that everything goes smoothly during the application process and our job searches so that we can live in this nice place.
Seriously. Think good thoughts.
After the apartment, Randolph was nervous about his art show, so I forced him to eat something. We went to Anna's Taqueria and while it was still good, it wasn't as good as the burritos we have started making since we could no longer go to Anna's (it's a Bostonian chain). I suppose that's a good thing.
Randolph's art opening (reception-thingTM) went swimmingly. Tammy and Ehren were in town for WAM! (Women Across Media), so it was like having a pleasant slice of Brooklyn up in Boston. Nicole and Liam were able to make it and I feel like we haven't seen them in forever (it's actually two years next month), so it was lovely having them there. Tim and Emma also came and Jesse Farrell, Boy Genius, whose presence makes every Bostonian event truly complete.
Randolph had a great time and I'm exceedingly proud of him. He got to talk about his work and about photography in general and there were accolades passed his way, which he deserves in spades.
Thereafter, it was just a lot of staying up late and then the bus back, but an ice cream meeting with Chelsea and Kevin, followed by a midnight dinner with Jesse, Tim, and Emma made those hours pleasantly whip by.
Yesterday was Lady Robin's birthday...so we were in Brooklyn for that, but lack of sleep made that a short trip and now I'm avoiding schoolwork. But I should return to it. Soon. Soon...
I miss all of you. Leave me some notes to let me know how you're doing.