The Long and the Short of IT

Well ... it has certainly taken me a while to actually put the blogging into action :) Suffice it to say, I love, LOVE Boston! Jonathan and I have a lovely apartment, right in the thick of a lot of Cambridge-type action, and hope you will all come visit. Here are just a few highlights:

*Poetry Slams Abound: Who knew that there were still hipsters out there who snap their fingers instead of applaud, and interject "nice" and "yeah man" over the top of performers soliloquies?! We live right across the street from a place called the Lizard Lounge, a subterranean hang that hosts poetry slams every Sunday night. As a newbie, you are instantly singled out by Jeff Robinson, the ultra-hip emcee and saxophonist, to serve as a judge for the evening's activities. Generally speaking, a half dozen or so poets sign up to compete, and over the course of 3 rounds a winner is chosen and awarded $40 in gift certificates to the LL and the Cambridge Common (the bar/restaurant upstairs). Jeff's trio (bass, drums, sax) then accompanies a featured poet set - an enjoyable experience that, for the uninitiated, recalls Mike Meyers's poetics from So I Married and Axe Murderer. On the flip side, we have also gone down to Central Square's Cantab Lounge, which also hosts a slam on Wednesday nights, with the same kind of upstairs bar & cover band, downstairs poetry divide. However, the downstairs area has been consistently packed to the gills standing room only, with a collection of aspiring poets who, for the most part, overfloweth with angst. Don't get me wrong, there are a few diamonds in the rough, but the cynical side of me dies a little inside each time (and there are many) someone stands up to the mic to profess the deep profundity of their love, pain, and despair. These are the things of therapy sessions and diary entries, not for posing as poetry in public. I am by no means a poetry expert, but I can't help myself from wanting to hear just one thing rhyme ... is there an equivalent of dues paying or wood shedding in poetry?

*Not-So-Happy-Hour: Apparently, the state of Massachusetts forbids the sale of discounted alcohol, so in its place you see signs for "Snack Hour" = bars and restaurants can sell half-price appetizers and what not, but no 2-for-one martinis ... sigh. Good ol' Puritan roots :(

*Haircut: I searched the Internet for salons that did not involve "Super" in the title, and came upon "Hair Connections." This particular establishment was convenient for two reasons: 1.) Located 4 blocks away from my apartment; and 2.) Open on a Sunday. FYI: It is also a Massachusetts law that anyone who works on a Sunday gets paid time and a half. Thus, few hair salons are open on the Sabbath. Anyhow, the only woman working there is an older Italian woman named Carmella, and she instantly took it upon herself to educate me about all things related to hair in a very authoritative yet endearing sort of a way. She also informed me that she set up Freakonomics author Steven Levitt and his wife over 12 years ago:
[http://getsomehairapy.wordpress.com/2007/09/04/more-than-just-a-haircut-from-the-freakonomics-blog/]
With equal fervor and excitement, Carmella jumped between recommendations of North Side Italian neighborhoods and restaurants that I must visit, and explanations of how my hair isn't conducive layered styles. Overall, the experience was strangely comforting.

*Cutting the Cheese: A plethora of reasons recently led me to seek employment at our local Whole Foods Market. For the past 3 weeks, I have been working full-time in the Specialty Department (responsible for cheese, olives, chocolate, and gourmet pasta, spreads, sauces, etc.). While I really enjoy the relative ease of the job (heavy lifting instead of heavy thinking), and have been reaping the benefits of the 20% in-store discount, I failed to realize that 40 hours a week not dissertating is, well, not really helping my "get out of school quick" plan. I mentioned this fact to my "Team Leader" (aka supervisor/boss), and for whatever reason he has met my needs and then some! Beginning this week, I will have reduced hours (3 days a week), a set schedule (hours between 6:30am and 5pm, i.e. no closing shifts!), and the designation of "value-add" point person. As the "value-add" person, I am in charge of collaborating with our in-house culinary expert to create exciting treats using WFM products. Example = raspberry and chocolate goat cheese truffles, or fancy looking nicoise salads. It is considerably more creative than cutting, wrapping, and stocking cheese, and Jonathan has willingly volunteered to sample any projects I bring home :)

*Baseball: The next time you find yourself conversing with a New Englander on the topic of America's great pastime, just remember to pledge your allegiance to the Red Sox, and nobody gets hurt ...

More to come later ...