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October 17, 2001
Been a while...
... yeah, I know. I get out of the habit. Plus, I have digital cable. And there are Buffy reruns on FX every night. You see how it is.
Let's see... three weeks ago, Claire and Josh came to Boston to visit me. They were supposed to visit in September, but I came down with the flu the night before, and spent that weekend in bed with a fever, chills, and general misery instead. Fun! So, they rescheduled the visit for October, and made me get up early on a Saturday to go in and meet them in the city. I got there mad early -- I had planned on the T being slower on a weekend -- so I wandered around Downtown Crossing and shopped a bit beforehand. In one store, I called a security guard an idiot -- she had been standing in the doorway hurling insults at a group of people walking around carrying signs and handing out leaflets about vegetarianism. I'm a carnivore, myself, but I have no problem with people spreading the word about something they believe in. It's not like they were hurling rocks at people or anything. But the security guard thought it was the height of fun to taunt them and make fun of them, which pissed me off, so as I walked out of the store I paused, looked at her, and, smiling sweetly, said "You're an idiot." She gaped at me as I walked away.
Claire and Josh were late (I could have slept later!) so I bought a couple of CDs (it was their fault) and then sat on the steps of the Park Street Church and people-watched for a while. It started pouring very suddenly, torrents of rain, so I ducked under a balcony and watched pedestrians scrambling for cabs and subway entrances. Josh and Claire showed up just as the downpour tapered off, and we set off in search of lunch. (J. and C., incidentally, are a terribly cute couple -- and I take full credit for it! I played yenta for them in 3WA chat, you see. I'm fully expecting them to return the favor for me one day soon.)
I had agreed to let the two of them feed me sushi, as they both love it. It was still drizzling when we got to Boylston Street, so we ducked into the first sushi restaurant we saw -- it was downstairs, accessible by tile stairs. Tile stairs that, when rained on, get very very slippery. This resulted in my wiping out on my ass and falling gracelessly down the stairs. I should have sued, or demanded free lunch, or something. We sat down (me nursing my bruised bum) and ordered, and I soon learned an important thing: I don't like sushi. I like the little rolls, the kind that have a great big hunk or rice in seaweed with a little smidge of fish in the middle. Those I could eat at every meal. The big chunks of fish? No. No no no. Intimidating, and I couldn't get past the texture. I did worry down one piece, and it tasted good, but the texture... no no no. Can't do the sushi. I felt bad -- I wanted to like it!
After lunch, we went to the top of the Prudential Building and wandered around the Observatory. I hadn't known it was still open -- I hadn't been there in years. The Pru is my favorite building, so it was much fun. As we walked in, the sun was coming out, and there was a rainbow arching over the city -- Claire got a picture of it. Very pretty. After the Pru, we bought candy (jelly beans!) and wandered back outside. After a stop at the Boston Public Library's booksale (many cheap books, and rude staff! Woo!) we headed to Faneuil Hall, where I got some food (the sushi didn't last long) and Claire got cheesecake, and we poked around in many shops -- Claire and I were continually distracted by bright shiny things. At around 6, we headed off to MIT, where we were meeting Lee, Patrick, and MuppetGirl at a talk given by Harlan Ellison, Peter David, and Neil Gaiman. I was excited, being a great big slobbering Neil Gaiman fan. He's all cute and British... ahem. The talk was fun -- even though it was mostly Harlan Ellison calling the audience idiots. Neil read an excellent poem, and an even more excellent story. Then I got a migraine (I think I'm allergic to online journallers -- I always get migraines around them) and had to go lie down on a bench near the bathrooms, and then we all left. That bit is hazy -- I couldn't see very well, and the medication makes me woozy. Josh and Claire headed off to the T, to go get their car (I felt bad about not being in a better state to see them off) and Patrick and Lee and I went to get some food. Then, I went home and collapsed into bed.
This past weekend, I went to Vermont to see my mom... but as it's now 11:20, and I promised myself I would get to bed before 11 tonight, you'll just have to wait for that...
Posted by Mary Ellen at October 17, 2001 10:37 PM