Taking the Scenic Route

I brunched with a few girls this morning down at Masa on Tremont Street. The brunch was tasty, but the services wasn't so spectacular. Today's weather was perfect for a stroll, so I opted to leave the house early so I could get off at Park St Station and wander my way to the restaurant. I saw online that the walk wouldn't be too long and who wants to have to hop onto the Green line for just a few stops anyway?

After checking with Google Maps I saw that the walk should be easy and simple so I didn't bother to print the map or write anything down. Not the smartest move on my part. See, I decided that while strolling through the park I would chat with my grandmother. By the time I thought to check in with my surroundings I realized that I was on a street I wasn't planning on walking on and really had no idea where I was in relation to where I should be.

At this point, I would like to give a thank you shout out to the bell hop that pointed me back in the right direction, as I still managed with this detour to be the first one at the restaurant.

If anything this weekend has taught me I should be more diligent about printing maps or getting addresses of places I need to go. Friday night I had a similar experience in that when I finally found parking I realized I wasn't sure where the restaurant was that I was supposed to eat dinner at. Thanks to a friendly policeman, I again made it just in time. :)

Best Glutes Since Living on the Hill

For four years, I, and about 2800 students, worked daily on having some of the best glutes and calves in the nation. Living on one of the seven hills of Worcester provided a workout plan each every day as one walked from dorms to the math department to the dining hall and back. One time I counted the number of stairs that I climbed in a MORNING and it was well over 500. That is right, 500 stairs in just a few hours.

In those four years, I was toned. And I didn't really have to do much beyond going to class. Jealous? I am, those were the days...

Since graduation, I have been living in Boston and keeping to the flat lands (and streets). Walking to work each day has provided some good light exercise. Well, my new place is on the top of a hill. That light exercise has quickly become good old fashion workout each afternoon. Walking to the T and to work is easy. It is downhill. Walking back...well that involves climbing back up. I can feel the burn each and every day now. I'm guessing it will take about a month before I have the perfect butt. :) Wish me luck!

This Just In!! Breaking News

A biker actually obeyed the rules of the road and let me cross at the cross walk!

No seriously, I feel like I should submit this to the AP or something. I was bookingit around town after work yesterday (ok so by using the term yesterday, I know you just figured out that this is "just in" but I was busy and couldn't blog. deal) gathering materials for an awesome space costume and needed to get some aluminum foil. I was waiting patiently for cars to stop and let me cross so I could get to the grociery and purchase this last bit of material. Once both lanes of traffic saw me and stalled I went to make my move. Then, just like twice earlier this week, some b*tch biker wizzed right by so I had to jump back. I saw a dude biker right behind her so I figured we would all just have to hold tight to let this guy go by to, because after all red lights, stop signs and one way streets mean nothing to bikers out here. But then he did something I have never witnessed before...

HE STOPPED. Really stopped. Like put one of his feet onto the pavement.

One I crossed by he picked up his foot and continued on. The girl that he was with was waiting about a block downthe street. I liked that she could stop her travels for him, but not to let me cross the street. Grrrrrr - shakey fist...

Ok, so I have found the one biker that understands that he is a vehicle and needs to respect the pedistrian. I was going to include a section on bikers who have a lovely tendency to drive up one way streets the wrong way up the middle of the lane...but that is a whole other rant and I just don't have it in me right now.

PS - the picture at the top cues up the theme music for the flying monkeys from the wizard of oz...really first thing I thought of

We are friendly!

The people I meet who have been transplanted from the midwest/west coast, or the south to the Boston area all tell me that we north-easterners are not friendly. Well, before I thought that I might, not agree, but admit that we have our moments. Then today happened.

What happened today? Well, I will tell you... Since the weather is so nice I thought I would combat my slight hangover with a 2 hour walk. (weird, I know, but I did feel amazing by the end) First, I had to go up to my office to retrieve my iPod that I left there on accident last night. This turned out to be a blessing as I also had to use my emergency deodorant that I keep in my desk drawer -- I realized about half way to my office that I missed the deodorant step in the getting ready process and from my last post you must realize that is a no-no. From there I walked down to Harvard Sq, got a large iced coffee from DD and started my way to Central stopping in used bookstores along the way. After wandering around Mass Ave for a bit I completed the circle and headed home. Throughout these journeys I have countless people say hello to me as I walked by and at least 10 people (ok older men) complement me on my summer dress. People ARE friendly here. Everyone was smiling and waving. We just needed some sunshine.

IS

The thing is, that the winter wears us all down and we tend to retreat into our parkas. It's not mean/rude it's just that we don't want to use up the energy that could produce body heat to raise our arm and wave hello....

No Snow Day :(

I had to go to work today. No snow day for me. Everyone gets concerned about roads when we have snow storms...well what should really be thought about are the sidewalks.

Some people are really good about shoveling their portions of the sidewalk after a storm for us. Others not so much. So I was particularly thankful when I saw three men busying themselves in front of an apartment building this morning with salt, shovel and snow blower. Unfortunately for the men, the guy using the snow blower was unfamiliar with the rules of no throwing snow back into the street. He had the machine aimed outward away from the building. I would have done the same thing, otherwise it would have bounced off the wall back at hom. I doubht anyone else would have ever noticed or cared, I mean I was grateful that he was clearing the walk way. Unfortunately the police car that was driving by didn't see it my way and pulled over started honking and yelling. Ooooops.

At least the morning started out amusing.

Am I invisible?

I have found that for the last few days I have somehow I seem to have melted into the background as I will be walking down the sidewalk and a group of people three or four wide don't attempt to condense down at all and instead go to walk right into me. Tonight I was walking down Cambridge St and the sidewalk is pretty wide near near the GSD and a group came walking right at me. At first I thought oh, the woman will move in a bit so I can pass. (I was walking as far to the right as possible) Instead she looked up at me, looked back down and then continued to barrel down at me. I had to lean out of the way to avoid getting run over. Now, I know she saw me. I was wearing my f*** me boots that make me almost six feet tall. There is NO way she didn't see me. Seriously, what is wrong with people?!?!?!



<---- coolest new tights (by music legs). yes this time those are my legs. =) they are reversable (which i discovered when I finally used the bathroom at today at 4:50 pm -- we are not going to even begin discuss the fact that I suffer from severe dehydration on a fairly regular basis) and while they are clearly two different patterns in real life, it was hard to capture it with the photobooth function on my mac

Umbrellas are not just for Rain

The mbta trip finder informs me that if I wanted to take public transportation from my orange house to my 70s inspired office building it would take about 27 minutes. Of this 27 minute trip, 21 of them involve walking to and from various bus stops. This is not exactly worth having to wake up earlier than I currently am -- currently walking takes me about 15 minutes.

Anyway, I have found that winter weather walking is made bearable by two extra accessories: the second scarf and the umbrella.

The second scarf does wonders with the wind. First, a hippie scarf is worn close to the neck for instant warmth and help to my need for having at least two layers on each and every part of my body. Second, a knit scarf is wrapped around to help keep the hood of my coat up and to fight against the cool wind.

More importantly let us focus on the umbrella. The umbrella helps while walking through a snowglobe snow storm. Snow often blows right into your face which makes you constantly blink or if you are wearing glasses cause everything to get blurry and hard to see...it just causes the walk to become miserable. The constant pelting of snow in the face helps remind me that the world is getting covered in snow -- and not pretty snow, snow that is going to make driving miserable, snow that is going to sit on the sidewalk forever because people don't feel like shoveling their portion of the sidewalk, snow that is going to turn yellow or black in a few days making the world dirty...yeah snow in the face while walking to work at 8:30 sucks. The umbrella keeps those flakes a healthy distance from my face allowing for me to view the snow fall from just enough of a distance that I can pretend it's not really here...

So don't be afraid of usin the umbrella in the snow...at first I thought it was weird, now I rarely leave home without one...but then again, it was this kind of reasoning that began my addition to sunglasses. so maybe, for your own sanity you do want to just forget everything that i mentioned above. :)

My iPod had a Heart Attack

Honestly, it did. I was walking to my morning meeting in the square and all of a sudden my iPod just stopped. It had more than a 75% charge still in it, so there was no way it just burned through its battery. I tried turning it back on, thinking maybe some how i banged it in my pocket. The little guy tried so hard, but just a flash of the apple would show up nothing more. At this point I am freaking. I use that thing every day, what was I going to do... I didn't want its potential death to distract me from my upcoming interview so I needed a diagnosis and I needed one stat!!

As a side note I feel like I should let you know I am currently reading Well Enough Alone which is a memoir of a woman who is a hypochondriac, so my disease radar is way WAY up. And apparently it allows for me to attribute human disease to inanimate objects, go figure.

Back to the story --- Due to my inability to be late to anything, I was 30 minutes early for my meeting. I did have my iPod charger with me, as I had used it at the office the other day and had not emptied out my bag since. Once I was in the building, I found an outlet in the hallway that was slightly hidden behind a fake tree (I'm relatively certain it was fake) and figured giving the iPod a power boost was really the only thing I could do. Once he was plugged in, there was a click or two and he awoke! He just needed a pick me up. I don't know if it was too cold or what, but I have never had to jump start my iPod before, and now I am very concerned for his well being. Let's hope he can pull through this ordeal and keep me moving.

Walking in a Snow Globe

Walking is by far my preferred method of getting around out here, and is how I commute to work every day, get to friends houses, kickball games, bars, jazzfunk, etc. With the snow falling as consistently as it has this weekend, being a pedestrian has become quite risky. I am not going to even broach the topic of Massachusetts drivers in the winter, or God help me the plow men. (Last year i was almost hit by a plow...we are talking inches between me and that gigantic yellow monster) What I am simply going to address is my method of staying on my feet and off my ass.

Over the course of the last 7 or so years I have perfected my technique of successfully staying upright while moving over snow covered sidewalks. Four Worcester winters provided me with the practicals needed to increase my ability to survive slippery steps and slush covered hills.

In my opinion, the key to keeping from landing on one's ass is that one must take small controlled steps. If you're doing it right you will begin to "feel the burn" in the hip flexer area. (I use this muscular reaction as an reason for why I shouldn't need to feel guilty for staying away from the gym...we don't need to discuss the fact that I probably shouldn't get as much of a work out as i do from walking in the snow) I'm not sure why a smaller gait is better, but i feel like it has to do with the fact that your feet stay under your center of gravity more.

Since my steps are smaller they become quicker and I have been informed that I kind of look like a cartoon character that is zipping along the roads. Personally, I feel like I look more penquin-esk. I mean not only do I waddle while doing this, but my arms are always slightly away from the body in an attempt to keep me balanced. The arms come out a bit more when things look a little more icy, subconsciously they must be the equivlent of a tightrope-walker's pole.

The most amusing part of my winter walking has to be when I have to adjust my movement to allow for me to turn up a side street. Not only do my steps become absolutely minuscule and lightening fast, but my arms fly out to become almost parallel to the ground. The best place to see this action occur is to see me try and turn down Gorham Street near Davis Square, I have been told it is ridiculous.

For additional resources regarding this topic, you may wish to refer to the Globe. I enjoyed that they point out that part of a penguin's success to staying up is because of a huge claw that is on the bottom of their foot. Is the reporting hoping that I attach a nail to the bottom of my boot? Just wondering what the point of that comment is...maybe its to remind me that no matter how careful I am I will most likely end up sprawling out on the sidewalk at somepoint into a bush. I'm thinking that yak trax may be a better option...