We Blog

I hate to forget my impressions of things. I find initial feelings eventually get warped by bias, external factors and memory lapse, so I want to jot a few quick notes on Boston (which I was seeing for the “first” time, having forgotten any strong or continuous memories from childhood trips).

• The city looks clean and well-kept … very polished (at least the areas we saw).
• The T is nice, but it’s not convenient for travel over short distances.
• There seemed to be an inordinate amount of angry people. We overheard a lot of yelling matches while there. Odd observation, yes.
• They have the most charming alleys ever. The streets downtown are all crooked and winding, and it makes for some corridors that look like they haven’t been touched in centuries. Broken cobblestone, wide brick faces, street lamps and a dark, shrouded mystique.
• Locals are easy to spot and hear. In New York, the tourists are especially easy to pick out. In Boston, it’s the Bostonians who stand out. The accents are awesome.
• The history is inescapable, pervasive and is completely fused with the modern elements. The historic sites aren’t isolated within the city, they’re peppered in with all the rest of the buildings like there’s literally no room to break the past from the present.
• It’s a great walking city. It’s flat, central and seamless from one area to the next.
• There are Dunkin’ Donuts everywhere.
• Lots of homeless downtown.
• Lots of young people.

Overall we really enjoyed our visit. It was nice to have a weekend of dry heat, a welcome reprieve from this oppressive humidity. We also ate a ton of seafood, all of which was spectacular. We’re slowly making our way through our insanely long list of things to do and places to visit. Next? Hopefully Chicago.

Being a chic and trendy couple, Curtis and I jumped on the green bandwagon today and replaced (almost) every lightbulb in our apartment with EnergyStar-approved energy-saving bulbs. Our conservation efforts should mean we can afford to run the air conditioner longer, ha. And taking mass transit is a joy — that’s almost five months here and I still like it, people.

And for once, I’m going to make a list entirely about Curtis, detailing all the awesome handiwork he did today:

• swapped more than a dozen lightbulbs
• assembled two lamps that previously were not working
• cleaned the shmutz off floor and ceiling fans
• installed a new bar on our towel rack
• extended the chain on our vanity lightswitch
• vacuumed
• put away the laundry
• made iced coffee

A note on transportation:

Last week, during my NYC-LA-SD-Catalina-Ensenada-LA-NYC trip, I traveled by:

subway, car service, airplane, car (passenger and driver), cruise ship, tender boat, taxi

Today, running errands in Manhattan, I rode the:

F, 6, 7, W trains.

Stop snickering, I know I’m not that impressive.

It was strange being back in L.A., and while my reflections are all cliche and dull, I want to write them down so I don’t forget.

I understand now why East Coasters associate West Coasters with the beach (“You’re from California? Cool, do you surf?”). Driving around Santa Monica and Venice, everyone looks like they’re going to or from the beach. The style is so casual and laid back, flip flops and sunglasses abound, everyone is super tan and showing as much skin as they can get away with.

Aside from looks, everyone’s driving, there’s nowhere to park, there’s traffic. The houses and shops are all fresh and new looking. They’re SO short, and stuccoed in neutral shades. For the first time, I pegged roofs as the most defining characteristic of L.A. buildings, with their tile and gravel, tapered and flat. I don’t know what a single NYC roof looks like. NYC buildings stand out because of the material they’re made of — shiny metal, red brick. They look worn, tall and pretentious.

But the biggest difference I noticed was the air. California air is cool, brisk and clean feeling. It blows off the ocean with a refreshing burst. The breeze in New York, if you can call it that, is thick and sticky in the summer. Its only cooling effect is to blow the immediate heat off your skin with a warm smack. I’m glad I went to the beach every week that I lived in L.A., that way I can’t look back and feel like I took it completely for granted.

P.S. I’m happy to be back in New York, no really.