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.