End of an era / Taking a train is not easy / Great new CD / Daily crono

The only interesting answers are those that destroy the questions. Susan Sontag

End of an era

Long time ago, when I was young and vulnerable, I was a fan of the police series "Hill Street Blues". In one episode, one of the cops is trying to get a degree from some college or similar. He fails to turn in a paper and tries to talk his way out and get a grade. The teacher says "It is not enough to be promising, one has to prove oneself by delivering" (or something to that effect). The reply got imprinted in my mind, and looking back, I think I have been trying to prove myself ever since, to avoid others from calling my bluff. It has been tiring at times, fun at others. But now, I assume I can now relax, as I have proved myself and can take it a bit easier from now on.
Thus, my forthcoming (if accepted) PhD-studies are not about proving myself, they are about saving the world. I claim that is a nobler cause.

Taking a train is not easy

I walked to the South Station and naively expected, that it would be easy to take a train to some nearby town. Not so in Boston. First of all, there are no maps of nearby towns, or Massachusetts in general, in the station. The WiFi-network costs about $7 per hour, which is about the price of a good map in a bookstore. So, I could not figure where the towns mentioned in the timetable are in reality. Not that it would have made a big difference, as no trains were leaving in the next 45 minutes. No train adventure today.
Disappointed, I decide to take the red line T to Ashmont. From there, I took a small tram to Mattapan, being the only not grossly overweight in the tram. It felt good! Back to Boston by taking a bus to the Ruggless-station. I also visited Oak Grove, which was the last T-terminal I had not visited earlier. Now I have covered the whole system.

Great new CD

The simplest way to celebrate any academic achievement is to first have "Latte Mocha" in the Trident Bookstore and Cafe (reading some great book), and then buy a new CD from Newbury comics. So I did on Friday, I bought For the Season by Gris Gris. Gris Gris is simply ingenious mixture of free jazz, 60's pop, tivoli sounds, and Sonic Youth guitarwalls. Absolutely psycho, my current favorite band for sure.

Daily crono

For the record, for me. On Friday, my celebration in the Muddy Charles was a bit an anti-climax as none of my class-mates turned up. Fortunately I had a good book with me - how could I feel lonely when reading? Later, the above, then listening to it at home. On Saturday, casting our votes in the Finnish presidential election. Lunch with S at Pho Pasteur, coffee with Kumar at Trident's, then smoking some smuggled Cuban cigars in the Esplanade Park, and having some beer at Crossroads. Way to go, or party at least. But that was not all: sushi-dinner with S at Sinosushi, and as they do not serve any sake, visiting the local liquor shop for a bottle of sake. Celebration my way: drugs, food, friends, books, music.
Today I am about to have a late lunch in the Chinatown Eatery, then to take some train from here to somewhere and back, while reading books, NY Times, and just enjoying my time. Tomorrow, I will start writing one or two books and a few articles. Being somewhat hypo-manic, there is no way I could just idle for days. I need to get on something.

Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs January to February 2006".