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Well, like I said, I was exaggerating for effect. Sure, driving in Boston is kind of crazy, but I've pretty much gotten used to the chaotic roads you people have. (Is all this a New England thing, or am I the weird one for expecting that one lane of a road will not randomly wander off, and that intersections are supposed to have traffic lights and street signs? Say what you will about Alaska; at least our road system is simple.) And if I still hate roundabouts and the way Boston seems to like them better than proper intersections, at least I've gotten some practice now and know how to use them.
Now, if I didn't have a GPS, I wouldn't have even attempted Boston. Then again, if I didn't have a GPS, I'd probably be curled up in an alley in Portland right now, muttering strange mad ravings to myself. But the GPS makes even Boston tolerable because, even if all the other drivers are crazy, at least I know I'm heading in the direction I want to be.
All in all, Boston driving is both better and worse than I expected. Now, as for what Boston itself is like . . . um, I don't know yet. I didn't get to get out and look. That's what the weekend is for. I don't know where I'll end up staying, or leaving the car. (If the Alewife was full on a Thursday, it doesn't seem to me that Friday or Saturday would be better.)
I'm wondering whether any of the towns connected to the T would have decent hotels (read: not trashy motels) that accept cash--Cambridge didn't, but isn't that part of the Boston metropolitan area? What about the rest of them? Worcester? Newburyport? Plymouth?
I'm also wondering if there's any kind of adequate parking at or near the Hynes Convention Center so I don't have to worry about stashing my car somewhere before I go. Anyone know?
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Alaska's roads weren't laid out by the wanderings of cattle trails
I'd offer my couch but I'm about to leave for work and I don't expect to get back before midnight, so I have no idea how that could be arranged O_o I don't know anything about the surrounding towns so I can't help out there either. My 3oclock Saturday may have been cancelled (haven't confirmed with roommate yet), so if there's any afternoon stuff I mayyyy be able to hang out. And now I'm late! Hope that was coherent!
Posts: 3636 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Actually, it will be better on a Friday and a Saturday. It's full because everyone is commuting in to work. You ought be able to find parking there at least on Saturday.
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That's kind of surprising. I thought it would be worse on the weekend because everyone's going out to have fun.
That's academic now, though, because it turns out I won't need to park at the station itself; I'm now at a hotel within walking distance of it. So now I have a place to leave the car, and a place to come back to after tonight's gathering. Now I can finally get out there and see what Boston is like when you aren't just trying to survive the roads.
quote:Alaska's roads weren't laid out by the wanderings of cattle trails
Maybe not, but would it kill you to modify those cattle trails with some traffic lights? Great googly-moogly! How can you have two major roads connecting right with each other and not have any way to regulate when anyone gets to go through? Maybe when people have grown up with it they're just used to it and don't give it a second thought. But I'd be very curious to see what Boston's traffic accident rate is. Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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"That's kind of surprising. I thought it would be worse on the weekend because everyone's going out to have fun."
There are about 600,000 residents of boston. There are about 2.1 million jobs within the city of boston. Its definetely worse during the week Posts: 4112 | Registered: May 2001
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Mike lives in San Francisco now, and I have had no luck with tracking down Suneuns phone number or email address. I wish the Providence-Boston crowd were around more often! Alas and alack.
Posts: 3636 | Registered: Oct 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Bokonon: 6:30 is probably good [. . .], I recommend meeting outside of the main Harvard Square T exit, by the info booth
quote:Originally posted by SenojRetep: So, I'm planning on meeting Verily, Bok and Myr at the info booth outside the Harvard T station at 6:30 on Saturday.
quote:Originally posted by Verily the Younger: So the plan, as of right now, is for us to meet up at the info booth at the T station in Harvard Square at 6:30 on Saturday.
So, I was at the info booth at the Harvard Square T station at 6:30. Where was everyone else?
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Bok, Myr, and Peter (and myself until I went home to put kids to bed) were also there at the Harvard T station info booth, and waited for quite a while.
Right now, they're all at Lanes and Games, a bowling alley near Alewife. If you're near there, you can probably catch them there (they were on their way as of 9:30 or so to bowl). Just ask at the desk of your hotel and I'm sure they'll be able to point you to it (and it's probably in walking distance).
Peter is wearing a red polo shirt with possibly a beige sweater overtop and blue jeans. Good luck!
edit: I just got off the phone with Peter again, and they're on their way to Lanes and Games right now so they should be there in 10 minutes or so.
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Gah! So sorry Verily! I was the guy reading and looking around at the info booth. We shouted "Verily" a couple times, and asked some people, but they said they were waiting for other people.
If you want, we could try and meet for breakfast tomorrow. You name the place, and I'll be there. Hopefully that'll make it easier to meet.
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I'm so sorry we missed you!!! I have no idea how that happened!! Someone asked us where John Harvards was and I'm worried it was you, since that means we talked to you and didn't know it! In any case, I gave the poor guy a funny look trying to figure that out. I'd totally be up for a breakfast meetup too, Bok and I could tell you where to check out in Rhode Island Again, so so sorry we missed you, Bok tried to ask every guy standing around if they were looking for us. They all just kind of gave him funny looks.
Posts: 3636 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Going to bed now. Email me at hatrack (at) mikec (dot) 123mail (dot) org if you read this tomorrow morning, Verily. I will check in between 9 and 10.
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Also - I can't find the thread, but Senoj is officially Real! And he's awesome because he carries a harmonica in his pocket.
Posts: 3636 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I guess I don't understand where the lines got crossed. I arrived at the Harvard Square station, three stops from Alewife on the red line, a couple of minutes before 6:30. I went up the stairs toward the exit, and saw an info booth on the left. So I stood near it and waited. After an hour or so of nobody coming by who looked like they were waiting for anyone, I gave up and left. I saw no one reading. I heard no one calling "Verily". And the only people who asked me anything was one woman who asked if I worked there, and another who asked if I had found the Lord.
If there is another Harvard Square station, or if there are two info booths, then I can only plead ignorance of this city in my defense for being in the wrong place. I followed the directions exactly as I understood them.
I'd be up for a breakfast meeting. But again, I don't know the area, so it's hard to name a place. I was lucky to find the Hynes Convention Center after getting off at the Hynes Convention Center station. The way this week has been going, I can't even find my own kneecaps without using the GPS. So I sure as heck don't know where a good spot to get some breakfast would be.
The only thing I can think to do is have anyone who wants to meet me in the lobby of my hotel. I'm at the Best Western Hotel Tria, just down the street from Alewife Station. I'll be in the lobby at 10:30. I'll be the short fellow with a goatee, reading a book about Genghis Khan. (It just happens to be the book I'm reading right now, and it seemed like a pretty good distinguishing characteristic. If I see another short goateed fellow with a book about Genghis Khan just sitting around the lobby, I will dispose of him.)
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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I can meet you at 10:30 in the lobby. I know where it is. I also think I know where we got crossed. The info booth I was talking about is outside of the station proper. I'm guessing you stayed inside the station? If not, I apologize for not recognozing you.
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Hey Myr, if you read this, I'll meet Verily and then we'll head to Davis Square to a place called Johnny D's Uptown. They have a good brunch. to get there take the T to Davis (of course) and leave through the Holland St. exit. Once outside, cross the street, and urn left. Walk down the street a little ways, and Johnny D's is on the right. I'll be leaving my house in 15 minutes.
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Shoulda checked this before I drove over to the Tria. Cami and I were there from 10:35-11:00 or so, then we went for a walk over at the Mt Auburn cemetary (still a little early for full blossom, but at least the magnolias are starting to come out). Anyway, hope everyone had fun at breakfast.
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Hey Verily, what book about Genghis Khan are you reading? I'm in the middle of a great one by Jack Weatherford for one of my history classes...
Posts: 3420 | Registered: Jun 2002
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Oh, it's a shame you couldn't come to breakfast, Senoj. I'm sorry we didn't get to meet each other this time. It turns out I was at the wrong exit. I thought I had the T all figured out, but it seems there was some nuance that had eluded me. Still, it sounds like you all had fun last night, and I know I had fun today. So all in all, it turned out pretty well.
And since Bokonon and MyrddinFyre were both there this morning, I am now officially real!
quote:Hey Verily, what book about Genghis Khan are you reading? I'm in the middle of a great one by Jack Weatherford for one of my history classes...
It might be the same one. It's called Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, by that very author.
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
The second game occurred past my bedtime. Plus I didn't bring my own shoes and balls.
Yeah, that's it.
BTW, for all you lurkers, or virtual Hatrackers, Verily continues the streak of "Hatrackers who are not maniacal ax murders" that I have met. Just in case you guys worry about such things when a gathering is being arranged in your neck of the woods.
posted
What can I say, I do my best work unintentionally. My subconscious must be really peeved that it's so much smarter than my conscious mind though.
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Well, I came back home while Hatrack was down. Despite a number of disasters and setbacks, overall I had a delightful trip. I want to thank everyone who submitted suggestions, and I especially want to thank Bok and Myr for making me a real boy.
Unfortunately I didn't get to do nearly everything I wanted to. But I did still get to do some pretty cool stuff. I spent seven hours on the Freedom Trail, and really came to fall in love with the Greater Boston area. I hope to move to somewhere near there some day. I still couldn't live in Boston, because the driving and parking situation there is just crazy. But I could easily see myself living in a place like Concord or Plymouth, and it would be easy to get to Boston whenever I felt like it from there.
I did eventually find the Kancamagus Highway. Once I chanced to see a sign giving me the correct spelling, it was much easier to find. And I'm glad I did. It really was a very lovely drive. And I saw it in April of a year with a delayed spring. I can only imagine how gorgeous the area must look in the autumn.
There's still much that I wanted to see that I didn't get the chance to. Hopefully I can rectify some of that next year. I absolutely love New England, and I am aching to return. Even if the people are kind of impatient and don't know how to build a road system ( ), I nevertheless found them, in my limited experience, to be friendlier and more helpful than Alaskans. And though I'm no stranger to beautiful scenery, I was struck by how New England stays beautiful even when you go into a city. It is truly the home of wonderful architecture, especially in its downtowns. In an age when major cities are always made of concrete and steel, the fact that Boston is still made largely of brick made a real impression on me. Though I'd rather remove my own kidneys with a can opener than try to drive in downtown Boston ever again, there's still real pleasure in going there by T and just walking and looking around. I can't wait to go back! Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote: Well, I came back home while Hatrack was down. Despite a number of disasters and setbacks, overall I had a delightful trip. I want to thank everyone who submitted suggestions, and I especially want to thank Bok and Myr for making me a real boy.
quote: Unfortunately I didn't get to do nearly everything I wanted to. But I did still get to do some pretty cool stuff. I spent seven hours on the Freedom Trail, and really came to fall in love with the Greater Boston area. I hope to move to somewhere near there some day. I still couldn't live in Boston, because the driving and parking situation there is just crazy. But I could easily see myself living in a place like Concord or Plymouth, and it would be easy to get to Boston whenever I felt like it from there.
Sadly it isn't quite as easy from those places. However, it is quite possible to live without a car, and then you never need to learn streets, just subway and bus routes.
quote: I did eventually find the Kancamagus Highway. Once I chanced to see a sign giving me the correct spelling, it was much easier to find. And I'm glad I did. It really was a very lovely drive. And I saw it in April of a year with a delayed spring. I can only imagine how gorgeous the area must look in the autumn.
There's still much that I wanted to see that I didn't get the chance to. Hopefully I can rectify some of that next year. I absolutely love New England, and I am aching to return. Even if the people are kind of impatient and don't know how to build a road system ( ), I nevertheless found them, in my limited experience, to be friendlier and more helpful than Alaskans. And though I'm no stranger to beautiful scenery, I was struck by how New England stays beautiful even when you go into a city. It is truly the home of wonderful architecture, especially in its downtowns. In an age when major cities are always made of concrete and steel, the fact that Boston is still made largely of brick made a real impression on me. Though I'd rather remove my own kidneys with a can opener than try to drive in downtown Boston ever again, there's still real pleasure in going there by T and just walking and looking around. I can't wait to go back!
Glad you had a blast! We'll have a larger clump this year with the new students, so hopefully it'll be a bigger bash next time.
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Still, it sounds like you all had fun last night, and I know I had fun today. So all in all, it turned out pretty well.![[The Wave]](graemlins/thewave.gif)
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), I nevertheless found them, in my limited experience, to be friendlier and more helpful than Alaskans. And though I'm no stranger to beautiful scenery, I was struck by how New England stays beautiful even when you go into a city. It is truly the home of wonderful architecture, especially in its downtowns. In an age when major cities are always made of concrete and steel, the fact that Boston is still made largely of brick made a real impression on me. Though I'd rather remove my own kidneys with a can opener than try to drive in downtown Boston ever again, there's still real pleasure in going there by T and just walking and looking around. I can't wait to go back! 
