First impressions of Boston

(Started 08.01.2012, completed 11.03.2012)

Mark Twain wrote once, that when you go to New York people ask how much money you have, when you go to Philadelphia they ask who your family is, and when you go to Boston they ask how much you know. He also wrote a few diary-like entries on his first impressions of Boston. In a shameless effort to steal his idea, and hoping no one notices it, I decided to write my own notes on my first impressions of the city.

I got to Boston on a Sunday (much like Twain), but I did so at dusk. It was the middle of the winter, and since I was coming from Montreal, I thought the weather would be far nicer than that to what I had gotten used to during my recent Canadian adventures. I ventured out of the airport with just a sweatshirt, and headed to the metro thinking the weather wasn’t so bad. After a few minutes of waiting at the metro station I realized that the weather was colder than I expected, and it wasn’t pleasant at all to wait at the station since it was not under ground, nor did it provide much protection from the wind. I had to unpack my gloves and hat to stay warm. Luckily the train didn’t take much to arrive.

It took me a few minutes when I got out at State Station to figure out my way to the hotel. There were a few people still wandering the streets, many of them Latin American. I had also seen quite a few Latin Americans in the metro. I thought it was funny, since apparently there were not many of them in the city (or at least that’s what the statistics on the internet had shown a few days before). The hotel suite was quite nice. It had a glass wall to separate the shower from the bedroom, which was kind of cool but made me think the hotel’s main purpose was not to host working travelers.

I had left my mom alone in my apartment in Montreal. Down here, there was no snow, but the wind blew strong and cold, and there was not many people wandering the streets. The buildings looked cold and indifferent. I put myself together and ventured out in search of a wifi spot. Perhaps, if I could find a Starbucks café and get one of the mugs I collected, the whole trip would have been worth it. I didn’t know how the following day’s interview would go. I could only hope for the best, but to tell the truth, some strange feeling of loneliness haunted me that evening.

The following day was quite better. The people at the company were kind. I had two tests, out of which I managed to do well in one and not so well in the other one. The interview parts went quite well though. Over lunch, I was asked if Mexican coke tasted different than American coke. Apparently they sell the Mexican one in the States, and they advertise it as special. It is special in a way: it has more calories.

After a rushed trip back to the airport, I barely made it on time for my flight. I was relieved to fly back. I was happy I’d been there. Maybe I would land the job.

First Week's Drinks

I wrote the next paragraphs after my first week here, back when there was no internet at my place. I read through them now and notice they're kind of rushed,  but oh well, I'll get better with some practice. 

Now that I think of it... a lot of good stories begin with some drinking (a lot of my stories do at least). It kind of sets the mood. 

Cheers!

09.03.2012

It’s been a bit more than a week now that I’m in Boston. My ‘First Impressions of Boston’ gig is long past due. I should hurry and finish it before the novelty wears off. But I don’t really need to start telling my story (or the stories I encounter while here) in chronological order… If there’s one profession that requires little structure, is that of the writer (even less that of the writer-wannabe. Will I be able to keep this diary going? It seems pretty possible. For the first time in quite a lot of time I find myself with free time at the end of the day on a more or less regular basis (Not having internet or TV also helps).

Yesterday was quite an awesome day. There’s a once-a-month cinc-a-sept gathering in my office. A few of the colleagues went to a nearby liquor store (a very nice one) and bought a bunch of nice assorted beers. They were all St. Patrick’s day themed. They also got a bunch of green cupcakes to go with. It’s taken me a bit to get used to my colleagues. They are very nice, but I tend to be shy when I meet too many new people. A bit of alcohol lubricates my social skills quite well. A bit too much destroys them. I think I had just a good amount.

After work, I rushed to Harvard Square to meet Daniel (my Swiss connection). He gave me the most rushed tour of the city: in about two minutes we went through the bookstore, the souvenir store, and he pointed the direction to a lot of bars and restaurants and cool things we would not get to see. We met with his lab buddies and went to John Harvard’s to get some chicken tenders and nachos and calamari (everything was very very nice) and beer (of course). On the table I met four post-docs and two graduate students (PhD). These guys are fond of google phones. I guess there’s a little revolutionary inside us all that gets worn out with time.

The night with the Harvard bunch was cool. We had huge shared drinks (served on a bowl called  the scorpion) at a Chinese bar that’s also a restaurant on the first floor (not sketchy at all). I had to rush back home before the trains stopped working for the night. After a long and nice talk over the phone, I fell deeply asleep.

A New First Entry

Hey y'all (whoever reads this) my bolg is back! This is the third time I start it over. The first time it got quite popular (if you can call popular a piece of work that's only noticed by friends and relatives), but then it got too angry, too opinionated, too much. So I had to kill my year-old blog. A few months after, while intensively looking for a job I had a great idea (or so I thought) 'reinvent my blog as an engineering blog, so that my digital footprint seems somehow more professional when potential employers look me up'. It didn't work. I didn't have much to say about engineering. I guess starting a project for the wrong reason dooms the project from the start. Will I get it right this time? I do hope so. I should be able to keep it up at least through this new chapter in my life:

Last time we saw our hero he was stuck in Canada: his student visa expired, and yet with another semester to go through to get graduated. He was trying hard to find a job. He was running low on cash. Being part of psychological studies and what not helped a bit. The only gig he could get was for a non-profit that couldn't actually pay him at the time. He had to endure a good amount of months before he was actually able to get his stuff in order. Yet, things started happening just at the right time. He traveled to the States a bit after new year's eve. He had a job interview in Boston. Even though he was nervous and didn't manage to do well in a few bits of the day-long screening event, he felt happy about it. Eventually a job offer came by post. Without delay h timee accepted, and two months and some bureaucratic struggle after, he left his beloved Canada and said "Hello America, wazup (wazup homie, don't you know me? - simón - aint you the brother of the más pingón - straight up)".

So I've been here for a bit more than a month, and things have been going quite well. I started writing a few things ever since I came for the job interview, but I hadn't decided whether to post them or not. I guess I should (as my attorney, I recommend myself to publish them). This blog, newly re-designed by the marketing team, will contain diary-like entries, the best posts of that first personal blog I destroyed long ago (I'm sorry old blog, I should have known how to treat you right and make you feel special), maybe even short stories and what-not. So be prepared, I'm going to make you laugh and cry and scream, all at the same time (Minoru, this last sentence was written thinking of you (oh yeah)).

 Now, I do realize I'm quite the hipster dude by doing this. So before going any further, I think it's important to post a few memes to get past this stage:

So that's all the hipster kitty memes I found that apply. I'd seen one that said I don't live my life, I blog it but I couldn't find it anymore when I was preparing this entry (like an hour ago).  I guess that's about it for today. I'm glad I'm back at this thing.

Peace.