My week in the Hub

OK, some down-time and the mood strikes...

So a few weeks back, on my 31st birthday, I traveled up to Boston, a stopover on the way to my eventual destination of Maine (more on that later) and a great excuse to visit Lisa and hang out in my favorite city! As Lisa wrote, it was an awesome time and a much-needed girl-time fix!

Highlights that stick in my mind are:

-- delicious Indian food for my b-day dinner (see Lisa's blog and picture of me with lots of food)

-- trying out two new yoga studios -- one of which was my first "HOT" yoga experience, an intense practice at 110 degrees (with a big thermometer there to remind you), I've never sweat so much in my life!!

-- sunbathing on the docks by the Charles River (note the guy striking a pose)


-- WALKING EVERYWHERE -- YAY! Here's a cool tree right by Lisa's apt


-- hanging out and catching up (at all times)


-- oh yes and Preacher Jack! This outing was spurred by the fact that my high school friends were all going to be in Boston the night before we were to head to Maine, and one of them discovered that their favorite performer, Preacher Jack, was scheduled to play at this bar out in Revere, MA. So we decided it would be a great opportunity to get together for a drink! I checked out Preacher Jack on myspace, and let's just say I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it sounded fun! We got lost a bit on the way to the suburb of Revere (Boston signage is horrendous!) but finally made our way to Reardon's Lounge, where Preacher Jack apparently performs regularly. When we walked in, we thought he must have cancelled, since the bar looked fairly empty and we couldn't hear any piano... But lo! we were directed to another room (this place was HUGE!) to find this aging hippie guy jammin' on the piano and telling rambling tales of his life in music, the people he'd met, etc... all to an audience that consisted of one table of 3 people. The single claps -- can you see it? I don't think I'm painting this picture well enough, but really it was a bit of an odd "destination" for a group of friends to go hand out. Anyway, we settle in a the bar and ended up enjoying our night in the burbs. Preacher Jack stepped it up after we arrived and started busting out some Jerry Lee Lewis-esque tunes -- by the end of the night we were thick as thieves, I tells ya!


Anyway, more important than any of the details of Boston is the general feel I have about the city, which I was reminded of last March when I passed through for the first time in years. There's an energy in the city that just clicks with me -- I don't know how to describe it. In short, I feel like I belong there, which is a strange and tangible feeling that's noticeably absent in Atlanta. I've been in Atlanta going on 8 years now, and of course it has come to be my home and there are lots of things I like about it, but juxtaposed to being in Boston, I just don't feel like I belong here -- and I didn't even realize it until I went there! Interestingly, I also don't feel like I belong in NJ when I go back, which is where I spent the first 18 years of my life... (How strange to not feel at home where you grew up!) Anyway, the feeling was only reinforced by my recent visit, and my resolve is ever stronger to move up there within 2 years. The older I get, the more sensitive I am to perceiving the "pull" of certain things... The reasons are still beyond me, but I'm more and more apt to just let the gravity do its thing. On vera bien!