Today I finally got to the Museum of Fine Arts, and it was divine. We were there for almost 5 hours, and no way did I see everything.
Among the many many highlights - I got to see the Pan Painter's vase showing Actaeon being nibbled to death by little dogs (a personal fav) and the kalyx krater with the Death of Agamemnon where he's got that weird net thing over him. FABBO!
Plus I got to see the original of my replica Egyptian cat statue. It's really small!
I managed to resist most of the temptations of the gift shop, except for a couple of small things for TRACY... :)
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Boston of Deliciousness
Boston is so beautiful! I was wandering the streets the other day, as I am unemployed and that is What We Do.
I ended up in the Prudential building area, rounded a corner, and found this awesome square! Wicked reflecting pool, bunches of huge buildings, NO PINK TILES. Take note, Taiwan. Take note.
This church is the headquarters of the Christian Scientists. Didn't know they were based in Boston - there you go, you learn something new every day. Isn't it beautiful?
Here's the side of it, and some of the reflecting pool.
Okay, I know this isn't really a pic of Boston. But it IS the most usual angle in which I get to see Quincy. Thing is, you aren't allowed to touch it. You'll get well clawed. How unfair is that?
Update on what I'm doing: well, I finally got a call from the temp place today. About bloody time! I'll be working tomorrow and Friday, at least.
I've been spending a lot of time in supermarkets, marvelling at the sheer variety of everything. And everything is packaged to the nines. It almost seems impossible to just buy a simple plain bag of anything. In fact, it pretty much is. It took me about 10 minutes to find brown rice that hadn't been put in a convenient boiling bag, parboiled, flavoured or in some way "improved" for my convenience.
Can't help thinking that food must get pretty boring, if the flavours are so tightly controlled. I'm going to resist convenience food and frozen meals for as long as I can.
What else? Well, today I'm going to go to the Museum of Fine Arts. I expect I'll have a good time...
I ended up in the Prudential building area, rounded a corner, and found this awesome square! Wicked reflecting pool, bunches of huge buildings, NO PINK TILES. Take note, Taiwan. Take note.
This church is the headquarters of the Christian Scientists. Didn't know they were based in Boston - there you go, you learn something new every day. Isn't it beautiful?
Here's the side of it, and some of the reflecting pool.
Okay, I know this isn't really a pic of Boston. But it IS the most usual angle in which I get to see Quincy. Thing is, you aren't allowed to touch it. You'll get well clawed. How unfair is that?
Update on what I'm doing: well, I finally got a call from the temp place today. About bloody time! I'll be working tomorrow and Friday, at least.
I've been spending a lot of time in supermarkets, marvelling at the sheer variety of everything. And everything is packaged to the nines. It almost seems impossible to just buy a simple plain bag of anything. In fact, it pretty much is. It took me about 10 minutes to find brown rice that hadn't been put in a convenient boiling bag, parboiled, flavoured or in some way "improved" for my convenience.
Can't help thinking that food must get pretty boring, if the flavours are so tightly controlled. I'm going to resist convenience food and frozen meals for as long as I can.
What else? Well, today I'm going to go to the Museum of Fine Arts. I expect I'll have a good time...
Friday, September 19, 2008
Chez Jody
Okay, I know they're not exactly inspirational photos or anything, but here's my new house.
This is my room... I'm standing by my closet, and pretty much everything you see here was swiped by me, for free. Huzzah!
This is the living room. It's tiny, but cosy. I'm not sure why Martha has futons instead of couches, but what do I care? They're comfy, and I can snooze while watching daytime television. That's what the unemployed do, you know.
This is the kitchen. I'm standing in the doorway of my room. Pretty cool, right? And there's a picnic table for me to turn into a daily office area!
This is Quincy, resident fluff beast. I know his tag says 'Boris' - there was quite a bit of indecision about his name, and somebody got him a tag prematurely. He's ok. No Ned of the Toddin, but he'll do in a pinch. Right now, he's manking up my bed, which he seems to think is only there for him to loll on.
Don't ask me why he's wearing a kerchief.
Nothing to do with the house - here's Stef! We went to Newport, and since I wanted to take a picture of this bizarre statue, I made her stand in the shot. I tried to get her to climb up and hold onto the feet, but she wouldn't. Boo!
This is my room... I'm standing by my closet, and pretty much everything you see here was swiped by me, for free. Huzzah!
This is the living room. It's tiny, but cosy. I'm not sure why Martha has futons instead of couches, but what do I care? They're comfy, and I can snooze while watching daytime television. That's what the unemployed do, you know.
This is the kitchen. I'm standing in the doorway of my room. Pretty cool, right? And there's a picnic table for me to turn into a daily office area!
This is Quincy, resident fluff beast. I know his tag says 'Boris' - there was quite a bit of indecision about his name, and somebody got him a tag prematurely. He's ok. No Ned of the Toddin, but he'll do in a pinch. Right now, he's manking up my bed, which he seems to think is only there for him to loll on.
Don't ask me why he's wearing a kerchief.
Nothing to do with the house - here's Stef! We went to Newport, and since I wanted to take a picture of this bizarre statue, I made her stand in the shot. I tried to get her to climb up and hold onto the feet, but she wouldn't. Boo!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
I'm Not Flaky, Honest!
So, apparently having 3 jobs in 3 years and living in 3 countries in 3 years is a little unstable. Who do these recruitment people think they are?
Achievements:
Scored a free bed.
Unpacked.
Bought some tasty cheese!
Schlepped downtown and DID NOT GET LOST. In your face, Taipei.
Attended 'Ultimate Frisbee' game.
Achievements:
Scored a free bed.
Unpacked.
Bought some tasty cheese!
Schlepped downtown and DID NOT GET LOST. In your face, Taipei.
Attended 'Ultimate Frisbee' game.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Home Sweet Home
I've moved into my new pad. Pictures to follow when I find the cord to my camera!
It's small, cute, the bottom floor of an old 3 storey house, and my room is pretty sweet. I've got a closet that's too narrow to put coat hangers in, two filthy windows that look out over nothing much, and my flatmate's cat Quincy permanently glued to my pillow. He seems to think I'm some sort of "cat person", and that I'll love having him sleep with me at night. Pffff! Who gave him that idea?
In other news, I've hurt my stupid back again. I can't stand up straight, and when I do, the blood supply to my left arm seems to be compromised, and it goes numb. Great. Thank goodness for Caroline and Roy, who helped me move all my stuff AND carried the bed by themselves. They're the best.
I have been exploring my new 'hood a bit, and it seems good. It's a very studenty area (I'm quite near Tufts University) so there are lots of stylish cafes and pubs. So far I have failed to find a supermarket, which might be a problem... Will The Jody have to get a car?? Watch this space.
It's small, cute, the bottom floor of an old 3 storey house, and my room is pretty sweet. I've got a closet that's too narrow to put coat hangers in, two filthy windows that look out over nothing much, and my flatmate's cat Quincy permanently glued to my pillow. He seems to think I'm some sort of "cat person", and that I'll love having him sleep with me at night. Pffff! Who gave him that idea?
In other news, I've hurt my stupid back again. I can't stand up straight, and when I do, the blood supply to my left arm seems to be compromised, and it goes numb. Great. Thank goodness for Caroline and Roy, who helped me move all my stuff AND carried the bed by themselves. They're the best.
I have been exploring my new 'hood a bit, and it seems good. It's a very studenty area (I'm quite near Tufts University) so there are lots of stylish cafes and pubs. So far I have failed to find a supermarket, which might be a problem... Will The Jody have to get a car?? Watch this space.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The First Pancake
Okay, so here's what happened with New York. At some point in the last lazy week, Caroline Rachel and I decided to go to New York. That's pretty much as far as our forward planning went.
We threw some clothes in our largest handbags, and set off for the train...
Only, Caroline read the timetable for weekdays instead of Saturday, so the train was an hour later than we were counting on. Gaaah! So we went out for some breakfast instead.
Finally got on the train, and transfered in Boston to the Lucky Star bus which is cheap as chips and full of dodgy looking people.
4 hours on the bus, and New York loomed over the horizon! It's AMAZING people. I felt like such a country bumpkin, staring out the window and getting excited about seeing the Statue of Liberty.
We got off in China-town, and commenced with the wandering around with our mouths open. We hadn't organised anywhere to sleep, so we found a coffee shop with internet access and started calling hostels.
Okay, here's where we really buggered this up. We totally forgot that it was Labor Day Weekend in the States, and EVERYWHERE in New York was booked solid. We must have called 10 different places before we started to get a little concerned.
No worries though, we've got back up plans, right? Hmm. Caroline's friend couldn't accommodate us because her place is tiny and she's currently sleeping on the floor as it is. Rachel's friend was moving out of her place and staying with a friend at that very moment, and couldn't take 3 guests either. My cousin (many times removed etc) Neville was out of town, and so was pretty much everyone he knew, which we know because he VERY kindly called about a million people to see if anyone could put us up.
It was getting dark.
We went to Times Square.
It's not square! What's up with that?
We had some dinner, and I was standing out on the street afterwards waiting for the other two, and I got approached by this tough guy with a thick NY accent, wearing an army uniform, and collecting money to buy blankets for homeless people. "What a coincidence!" sez I. "We've got nowhere to sleep tonight and and we might be needing some blankets!" He glared at me. "Are you tryin' ta be funny?" (no way, never.)
We managed to convince him we were serious, and he immediately frog-marched us around the corner to a fancy hotel and then demanded that the receptionist call around all the hotels she knew to see if anyone had rooms free.
2 did - at $750 and $500 a room! No bloody way.
In the end, we had a couple of beers in the west village, Rachel stayed with her friend, and Caroline and I had to take the last bus back to Boston.
Ah boo!
We got in at 3am, and stayed at Roy's house for 2 days instead.
What a lame NY experience. However, I'm feeling positive. The first pancake is always meh, and should be chucked away. So this is a nice taster of the Big Apple, and when I go back I'll have all my ducks in a row and it'll be much better!
We threw some clothes in our largest handbags, and set off for the train...
Only, Caroline read the timetable for weekdays instead of Saturday, so the train was an hour later than we were counting on. Gaaah! So we went out for some breakfast instead.
Finally got on the train, and transfered in Boston to the Lucky Star bus which is cheap as chips and full of dodgy looking people.
4 hours on the bus, and New York loomed over the horizon! It's AMAZING people. I felt like such a country bumpkin, staring out the window and getting excited about seeing the Statue of Liberty.
We got off in China-town, and commenced with the wandering around with our mouths open. We hadn't organised anywhere to sleep, so we found a coffee shop with internet access and started calling hostels.
Okay, here's where we really buggered this up. We totally forgot that it was Labor Day Weekend in the States, and EVERYWHERE in New York was booked solid. We must have called 10 different places before we started to get a little concerned.
No worries though, we've got back up plans, right? Hmm. Caroline's friend couldn't accommodate us because her place is tiny and she's currently sleeping on the floor as it is. Rachel's friend was moving out of her place and staying with a friend at that very moment, and couldn't take 3 guests either. My cousin (many times removed etc) Neville was out of town, and so was pretty much everyone he knew, which we know because he VERY kindly called about a million people to see if anyone could put us up.
It was getting dark.
We went to Times Square.
It's not square! What's up with that?
We had some dinner, and I was standing out on the street afterwards waiting for the other two, and I got approached by this tough guy with a thick NY accent, wearing an army uniform, and collecting money to buy blankets for homeless people. "What a coincidence!" sez I. "We've got nowhere to sleep tonight and and we might be needing some blankets!" He glared at me. "Are you tryin' ta be funny?" (no way, never.)
We managed to convince him we were serious, and he immediately frog-marched us around the corner to a fancy hotel and then demanded that the receptionist call around all the hotels she knew to see if anyone had rooms free.
2 did - at $750 and $500 a room! No bloody way.
In the end, we had a couple of beers in the west village, Rachel stayed with her friend, and Caroline and I had to take the last bus back to Boston.
Ah boo!
We got in at 3am, and stayed at Roy's house for 2 days instead.
What a lame NY experience. However, I'm feeling positive. The first pancake is always meh, and should be chucked away. So this is a nice taster of the Big Apple, and when I go back I'll have all my ducks in a row and it'll be much better!
Random Adventures
When we were in Japan, waiting for the plane to the States, I went off to find a coffee. Annie said that the coffee shop by our gate would take American cash, so I was confident of getting my caffeine fix.
I ordered a latte and handed her a $20. "EEEEEEEEE!" she shrieked! "Oh no no no! I do not have such change! Too big too big!" Humph.
I schlepped all the way back to the Bureau de Change, and got some yen. Then schlepped all the way back to the coffee shop.
There was an elderly American gentleman ahead of me in the queue, and he also had a $20 note. She did it again! "EEEEEEEEEE!" So I butted in and said that it was a hell of a hike to get change, and instead why didn't I just buy him a coffee? Well he graciously accepted, but the server woman blew a cutesy Japanese gasket!
"EEEEEEEEEEE! So nice! So nice!" She started bowing to me, and then she called over the other employee for a rapid Japanese effusion on what a lovely person I am. He listened in awe, and then also started bowing to me. Bloody hell!
Me and the old guy were relieved to get our coffees so we could escape.
I ordered a latte and handed her a $20. "EEEEEEEEE!" she shrieked! "Oh no no no! I do not have such change! Too big too big!" Humph.
I schlepped all the way back to the Bureau de Change, and got some yen. Then schlepped all the way back to the coffee shop.
There was an elderly American gentleman ahead of me in the queue, and he also had a $20 note. She did it again! "EEEEEEEEEE!" So I butted in and said that it was a hell of a hike to get change, and instead why didn't I just buy him a coffee? Well he graciously accepted, but the server woman blew a cutesy Japanese gasket!
"EEEEEEEEEEE! So nice! So nice!" She started bowing to me, and then she called over the other employee for a rapid Japanese effusion on what a lovely person I am. He listened in awe, and then also started bowing to me. Bloody hell!
Me and the old guy were relieved to get our coffees so we could escape.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Exploring the Cape
Hi Folks! Sorry it's been a while. You'd be shocked - shocked! at how much time it takes to veg out every day in one of the most beautiful parts of America. Poor me.
Here's a brief update with most of the details missing. I spent my last day in Taipei running around doing insane stuff, and traversing the city at least 4 times. I think I managed to take 6 taxis in one day. Among the many things I squeezed in, I had lunch with Morning at this awesome vegetarian Japanese restaurant. Here's me, eating some of the amazing dishes we got.
Then I went out for dinner with various friends, and THEN we went out for a drink. Just the one, mind you. After 4 or 5 "just one"s, I decided it would be a completely marvellous idea to skip the whole sleeping before getting up at 4:45am to catch the plane. So I just stayed out all night and caught a taxi to Annie's to pick up my suitcase with minutes to spare before she abandoned me and left by herself.
Here's us, with our exit stamps in our passports. I don't think I look tooooo bad, considering!
The flight was predictably tedious, but I actually wasn't too hungover so I coped. We slept most of the way to Texas.
Texas both sucked and blowed (well done, home of Bush) because the stupid plane to Boston "broke". As in, 1 of the 2 air conditioning units broke. The pilot said that we could fly with one, and we just needed to wait for maintenance to clear us. Well, an hour later he gets on the intercom and says "GREAT news everyone! We're changing planes! Please get all your belongings and proceed to the boarding area while we get everything sorted". I'm not sure about the other passengers, but I just couldn't figure out how this was good news.
So, another half hour sitting in the airport, and we were allowed onto our new plane. We taxied down the run-way. Then Mr. Perky got back on the intercom and cheerfully announced that we would be taking off super-shortly, as we were only 18th in the queue! WTF. So there was at least another half hour sitting on the tarmac, before we actually left.
Got to Boston 2 hours late, to find Rachel and Caroline huddled together and dissecting a blueberry muffin from Dunkin' Donuts. Boy was I glad to see them!
A long drive back to Essex (Caroline accidentally took the old and meandering highway) and I was finally able to stretch my legs and sleep.
Woke up to discover that she lives in this house. It's 300 years old, except for the top story which is a mere 200 years old. And there's a secret passageway. And there's a secret room behind the chimney which they think was probably used to hide people on the underground railroad. How bloody amazing is THAT???
Isn't it cute? Every building in New England is cute as a button, and there are far too many nice ones to post. So here's just a sample.
In some town. Don't ask me where.
Maybe in Essex? Who knows.
Okay, I know where this one is. Rockport, MA. We went for a drive around one day, and spent quite a bit of time here. It's gorgeous of course, and this place was for rent. If I decide to refocus my career to sell expensive jewelry made out of seashells, I'll be living here for sure.
Arty shot. You can kind of see the reflection of Rockport buildings in the bulb, right?
This old lady was hilarious! She was cruising around Rockport in her awesome Cadillac, with her crutches on the passenger seat, and a curly beehive hairdo atop her head. Not sure what she's doing here, parked up at the point, but I like to think she's checking out young men.
Caroline and Rachel in Rockport.
The 3 of us. We asked this man to take the photo, and just as he was about to oblige, Rachel squealed that it wasn't her good side and she had to swap with Caroline, and then Caroline was iffy about it because it wasn't her good side either, and the guy was rolling his eyes, and his wife was smirking, and I was saying "For gods sake sit down and shut up about your damn sides. All of you is ugly. Take the damn photo."
And that's about it so far. I'll do another post about my hilarious and random first trip to New York a bit later.
Here's a brief update with most of the details missing. I spent my last day in Taipei running around doing insane stuff, and traversing the city at least 4 times. I think I managed to take 6 taxis in one day. Among the many things I squeezed in, I had lunch with Morning at this awesome vegetarian Japanese restaurant. Here's me, eating some of the amazing dishes we got.
Then I went out for dinner with various friends, and THEN we went out for a drink. Just the one, mind you. After 4 or 5 "just one"s, I decided it would be a completely marvellous idea to skip the whole sleeping before getting up at 4:45am to catch the plane. So I just stayed out all night and caught a taxi to Annie's to pick up my suitcase with minutes to spare before she abandoned me and left by herself.
Here's us, with our exit stamps in our passports. I don't think I look tooooo bad, considering!
The flight was predictably tedious, but I actually wasn't too hungover so I coped. We slept most of the way to Texas.
Texas both sucked and blowed (well done, home of Bush) because the stupid plane to Boston "broke". As in, 1 of the 2 air conditioning units broke. The pilot said that we could fly with one, and we just needed to wait for maintenance to clear us. Well, an hour later he gets on the intercom and says "GREAT news everyone! We're changing planes! Please get all your belongings and proceed to the boarding area while we get everything sorted". I'm not sure about the other passengers, but I just couldn't figure out how this was good news.
So, another half hour sitting in the airport, and we were allowed onto our new plane. We taxied down the run-way. Then Mr. Perky got back on the intercom and cheerfully announced that we would be taking off super-shortly, as we were only 18th in the queue! WTF. So there was at least another half hour sitting on the tarmac, before we actually left.
Got to Boston 2 hours late, to find Rachel and Caroline huddled together and dissecting a blueberry muffin from Dunkin' Donuts. Boy was I glad to see them!
A long drive back to Essex (Caroline accidentally took the old and meandering highway) and I was finally able to stretch my legs and sleep.
Woke up to discover that she lives in this house. It's 300 years old, except for the top story which is a mere 200 years old. And there's a secret passageway. And there's a secret room behind the chimney which they think was probably used to hide people on the underground railroad. How bloody amazing is THAT???
Isn't it cute? Every building in New England is cute as a button, and there are far too many nice ones to post. So here's just a sample.
In some town. Don't ask me where.
Maybe in Essex? Who knows.
Okay, I know where this one is. Rockport, MA. We went for a drive around one day, and spent quite a bit of time here. It's gorgeous of course, and this place was for rent. If I decide to refocus my career to sell expensive jewelry made out of seashells, I'll be living here for sure.
Arty shot. You can kind of see the reflection of Rockport buildings in the bulb, right?
This old lady was hilarious! She was cruising around Rockport in her awesome Cadillac, with her crutches on the passenger seat, and a curly beehive hairdo atop her head. Not sure what she's doing here, parked up at the point, but I like to think she's checking out young men.
Caroline and Rachel in Rockport.
The 3 of us. We asked this man to take the photo, and just as he was about to oblige, Rachel squealed that it wasn't her good side and she had to swap with Caroline, and then Caroline was iffy about it because it wasn't her good side either, and the guy was rolling his eyes, and his wife was smirking, and I was saying "For gods sake sit down and shut up about your damn sides. All of you is ugly. Take the damn photo."
And that's about it so far. I'll do another post about my hilarious and random first trip to New York a bit later.
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