Holy Bartender!

well, shit. it's been a while, huh? guess i could blame it on writer's block, but it's more like...broken leg and dislocated ankle. most everybody knows what happened (hell, most of you were there), but for those in the dark on this one...

i had an accident on new year's. slipped, fell, dislocated my ankle, broke my leg, broke my hall tree, almost killed my dog. that's the short of it. i had to have surgery to repair myself, twice. once to install some wicked hardware, once to remove some of it. all in all, i was delayed getting to boston by about six weeks. but i'm here now...

two weeks ago today i landed at logan international, and began what has thus far been an astoundingly COLD new life at Emmanuel College. Yes, the nighttime lows this week have averaged aroun five below with the wind chill. Days are not much better. i love the cold, but this is ridiculous. i'll quit bitching about it now. i know that's all i've done since i got here, but i haven't really had much else to talk about.

my job is fantastic, and actually (fingers crossed) seems like it will be pretty easy. it's basically everything i've been doing for nearly the last three years, but not as intense. and i get paid a shitload more to do it. about 3.75 shitloads more, to be exact. there are some things i'm having to learn to deal with, but they are not too terribly bad. i will now offer up a list of things that are "different" about this place (read...not as good as back home, but not bad enough to make me hate it):
1. Laundry costs three bucks a load, and not all of the dryers in my building work.
2. The "rubbish chute" in my building is almost always overflowing.
3. Because of #2, we have mice that live in our building, and eat our food.
4. People drive like crazed assholes, making crosswalks as hazardous as
basejumping...without a parachute.
5. Draft beer, at the cheapest, is four dollars a pint.
6. Cigarettes are $5.75 a pack, which has been the most effective stop-smoking tool i have ever used (still working on it, but i've almost completely quit).
7. There is actually no true authentic mexican food.

And, to counter, here are seen things that i absolutely LOVE about living in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, MA:

1. I can see Fenway Park from right outside my building.
2. Everything is within walking distance. EVERYTHING.
3. If I don't feel like walking, there are 57 (actual number) restaurants in the neighborhood that deliver right to the lobby of my building. The food selection is more numerous than anything in Little Rock. Greek, Thai, Indian, Persian, Middle Eastern, ICE CREAM, Sushi, Mediterranean. There are 13 restaurants specializing in calzones. and of course, all the regular stuff, too. oh yeah, it's all online, too. check it out here: www.campusfood.com.
4. My staff ID functions as a debit card that works at five other colleges (bookstores, cafeterias, laundry services, etc). They've given me $500 already, and i can recharge that from my checking account online. It also works at many local restaurants, dry cleaners, and tanning salons!
5. The Avalon Ballroom is two blocks away. Just so you have an idea of what that might mean...i'm going to see Martin Sexton there on April 7. check out the schedule.
6. i bought my own little fold-up shopping cart that i can wheel down to the store, or best buy, or bed bath & beyond...
7. Dunkin Donuts. i haven't decided how they stackup against krispy kreme yet, but they're damn good.

Lastly, a quick story from my third day on the job. Last wednesday, my student activities organization, CASE (campus activities and student events) sponsored a band, Pie Boys Flat, in the student union. a trio of fantastic new yorkers, they were both talented and kind. until they closed their set with "Fuck Her Gently" by Tenacious D. Yes, this was a crowd pleaser, and yes, i too, knew all of the lyrics, and even the chords. however, with this being a conservative Catholic school, i was a bit concerned. luckily, no students complained, and none of the administration were present. SO, i got to keep my job. that's just the sort of thing that happens to me. you know, like breaking my leg a week before i'm supposed to move to boston.

That's about it for now. All my kids have been on Spring Break this week, so it's been pretty quiet. Once things start to heat up, literally and figuratively, i'll have more to write about.