Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life - Unknown

I woke up got out of bed... dragged a comb across my head ....

Yeah well, if my Monday morning was anything like a Beatles song... it would have been an improvement. Even if it was like Revolution #9.

I went out into the damp, bitter spring weather and trudged across the street to wait for the bus. The commute wasn't too bad, the first train I boarded became instantly disabled, and all of the passengers had to disembark and cross the platform to a newly arrived train. To try and make up for it the T ran express from Malden Center to Community College. I'm not certain it saved much time. I still ended up getting to Central Square ten minutes late.

When I arrived at work I reached for my side and muttered under my breath when I grabbed the nothingness where my work badge should have been. I went around the building to the front entrance and found the receptionist. I proclaimed in shame "It's Monday, and I forgot my badge". "It happens" she responded. Yes, I thought "it" does happen "it happens more often than I'd like".

The rest of my day was filled with the wonders of work.. the post work errands.. gym... and beginning to piece together what I'll need for my trip to London this weekend. It is work related, and despite only having one free day to myself there, after jet lag, I am pretty excited.

Anyway, now I think I'll watch an episode of 30-rock or two before going to bed.

Last Weekend of March 09

And like that 1/4 of 2009 is gone.

I didn't have any big plans this weekend, and with the increased trips to the gym, until I can figure out how to work out in the morning before work, my schedule will remain pretty booked. Friday night Kate and I were to meet at Borders at Downtown Crossing in Boston, and then head to Regina's Pizza at Wellington Station.

I made it to Borders a bit early and bought myself a book. I just finished Richard Russo's "Bridge of Sighs" which was nothing short of excellent. I found that Matthew Pearl has a new book out called "The Last Dickens". It is brand new and only available in hard cover, but much to my surprise I found "The Poe Shadow" in paperback which I also have not read. This book is a mystery around Edgar Allan Poe's death and takes place in Baltimore in 1849. The book by Pearl which I have read is "The Dante Club" which took place in Boston, also set in the 1800s and based around a set of serial killings that were based on Dante's Inferno. I look forward to starting The Poe Shadow, and eventually getting around to "The Last Dickens" as well.

After completing my purchase I headed outside, sat down on the bench in the lovely 50°F weather and watched people while listening to my mp3 player. And suddenly I see my friend Mike Caprio walk by. He was just heading to Borders himself, and we chat for a while. While we exchanged some banter, suddenly a noisy group of probably 50 cyclists (do I exaggerate?) heads down Washington St towards government center. The bikers are shouting and suddenly when the head from the pedestrian zone into the traffic you can hear the disgruntled honking of horns that ensues. I made some sarcastic comment about what the economy has driven people to, and we watch the strange spectacle in awe. It must have been some sort of biking club, it definitely did not appear to be a sanctioned race or event.

Suddenly I notice Kate through the window, she must have slipped by while I was distracted by the noise. Mike and I head in and we say goodbye.

Kate and I were disappointed when we arrived at Regina's. There was a 40 minute wait, and in the past we had not encountered this sort of problem there. We decide that we don't want Regina's that bad, mainly because I wanted to go to the gym, and Kate had a TV show that she wanted to catch. So we to Melrose and pick up some take out from Andrea's which I must say has finally climbed its way to the top of the take out pizza joints (aside from the center house in Wakefield which makes a damn good Sicilian pizza). After 2 slices and bread sticks I head off to the gym and tell Kate I'll see her in a couple of hours. On the way back from the gym, I pick up a cake (chocolate cream cake) for a late night snack. Kate and I have some small pieces, and head off to bed not long after.

On Saturday Kate heads off to do her errands, and I as well have a full day of laundry, the gym, some errands, and some general apartment cleaning etc. Kate comes over for supper, and I've made chicken cordon bleu from a recipe I found on the Internet. I made plenty, and will probably be eating left overs for much of the week. I think that it came out pretty good.

Sunday, we head over to Watertown and go to Deluxe Town Diner, which I must say was a keeper. Kate had an omelet, and I had a burger. The burger was absolutely heavenly. I haven't had a hamburger in what seems like a month, and it was just so good.... I think I almost cried.

Afterwards Kate and I played a game off candlepin bowling at Lanes & games in Cambridge. If you add both of our scores together we broke 100. As I drove Kate home there was a down pour and I ended up taking a wrong turn in Watertown making our trip a little longer than I had anticipated.

All in all, it was a busy, yet fun weekend.

The Ides of March

Kate and I spent one of the lingering afternoons of the 2009 winter frolicking about the Fells reserve in Melrose and Malden. It is essentially at my doorstep and is one of the many perks of living in Melrose. We headed over to a fairly impressive series of small waterfalls located off of Washington St. where I our hike began.

The second shot shows "The cascade" from the base, however it really does not do justice to the series of falls. In the photo there is actually a person standing on top of the falls to give a better idea of the actual size of the hill they descend.

Kate is perched on a rock near the top of the cascade with water circling her.

The next picture is a side view of some of the cascades. Snow is still clinging to the rocks where it is sheltered from the sun.

Here I am, there is water rushing behind me, however it isn't readily apparent from this photo.

Here is Kate heading out on the next leg of our hike, the "Rock Circuit Trail" This brings us to the top of some steep ledge and cliffs which look out over Melrose. My apartment building is down there somewhere, obscured by the bare trees. In the last shot that faces Malden, you can just make out the Boston skyline.

Who am I kidding...

I really would like to go to the gym tomorrow morning before work. I made it tonight, and I felt great after I got out. The funny thing was that it was one of those evenings where I really didn't want to go, but once I was there I was thankful.

Still don't have a ton to report.
The market has been up lately, hopefully it isn't just a blip, we'll see.
Work has been busy....
Been a little warmer out....
Yup.

Anyway I saw this great article which is essentially an obituary, and no, I'm not at the stage in my life where I start browsing obituaries... but then again I don't get a paper, just the Internet.

Steve Bernard, 61; free spirit founded Cape Cod Potato Chips
A short life, but it sounds like it was a very full one. It is a nice read, the type of story that really leaves you impressed. Those potato chips are decadent, a couple times a year I'll have a bag. I have fond memories of having some with an Italian Sandwich at the beach as a child.

The state of happiness....

Utah, Hawaii, Wyoming top ‘happiness’ poll

I enjoyed my time in Wyoming, however it perhaps was not a good representation since I was in school. I can see where it would be a pleasant lifestyle as long as you are OK with an easy pace, and a friend of the outdoors. I think a good word to describe my perception of the state would be "refreshing". If not for the wide open spaces and sunny skies, than for the friendly people that call the state home.

OJ and left over crock pot chicken

Those are the items I'm hoping will nourish me back to health.

I stayed home with a cold today. I slept most of the day, and hopefully now I can also manage to sleep most of the night.

I don't have much to write about, and it seems I've been busy with one thing or another lately and the blog has suffered.

I suspect I will soon resume writing per usual.

Anyway, here's to hoping for a mild spring!

The Food in Spain

The Galicia region of Spain to be exact.

I haven't elaborated much about my trip to Spain, largely because it was a business trip, and initially I was unsure of what if anything I could get away with blogging about. My fears were largely over blown, so now I think I will start with arguably one of the most important things in life... food.

Ah yes sustenance.

Now I ended up working like mad much of the time I was in Spain, and was admittedly a bit intimidated when it came to going into a restaurant by myself. So as you can see, a meal at Burger King is much the same as it is anywhere. Actually I think Burger King is better in Europe than it is in the United States, I feel it has really gone down hill here... and one might argue it was never really that good to begin with. But this Whopper and fries definitely hit the spot.

This trip came upon me rather suddenly, and so I was really unprepared in the communications department, and I found myself in a region where English was not broadly spoken.

The cafeteria at the place I was working did provide some excellent meals which were practically home cooked. Included amongst these was an excellent Spanish rice dish called paella, several fish entrees and roasted chicken. I also had a lentil soup, which was surprisingly delicious, as well as a local vegetable soup (which I think was made with chicken stock... not a lot of vegetarians in Spain). The meal at work was very filling, and I definitely filled up because much of the time I did not get home early enough, or have the energy or brain capacity to go out to eat. Spain does not have very many "take-out" or fast food options either, further limiting my selection.

This advertisement is seen out front of a chain restaurant located in the train station in Santiago de Compestela, an old historic city that I took a day trip to on my one day off. The food pictured is what amounts to a bacon sandwich. It was hands down the saltiest sandwich I have ever eaten. The bread was great, but the bacon was smoked rather than pan fried, giving it a very rubber like texture. I made the mistake of eating in doors here which may have taken a year or two off of my life. Smoking is not outlawed yet in Spanish establishments, and in this joint, pretty much everyone was smoking, I think even the staff was lighting up. It was gorgeous outside and I was kicking my self afterward for not bagging up the goods and finding myself a nice park bench in the sun.
The next photo was room service at the hotel. I intended to order a peperoni pizza, however I pointed to a "gourmet" option by mistake. What I got was a pizza that had a layer of tuna, cheese, anchovies, pineapple, and Spain's version of peperoni which was essentially "Canadian Bacon" with peppercorns in it. In another moment for NaCl, this was the saltiest pizza I have ever had. It wasn't what I wanted at the time, but I was eating this around 10:00 pm and I was starved so 3 quarters of the pie made acquaintance with my digestive system.

Next, On another night after returning home late, I managed to find a small grocery store/ deli. My late night snack here was to be a few cookies and a coke. Not the most nutritious meal, but overall most of my Spanish meals were probably fairly healthy, and appropriately sized portions. This cookie meal, and perhaps my other room service meal were the two exceptions. I didn't eat the whole box in one sitting by the way, just in case you were wondering.

CHICKEN FINGERS!!! (with a vintage "Coke Light") Ah yes, it doesn't get much more unadventurous than that. I could have had a nice Galician Ox Tail soup... but no, I went for the chicken fingers, and damn they were good. The fries were a total surprise, and a pleasant one at that. It came with a great mustard dip, which probably would have passed as a gourmet mayonnaise in the United States, but it was a nice dipping sauce regardless. No ketchup provided, I used the mustard dip and found it to be just as good.

One other night I had purchased some more snacks at a bigger grocery store I had found. I got myself some orange juice, which tasted like liquid centrum vitamins (it was infused with vitamins) and some soda and popcorn. I got home as late as 11:30 a couple nights and was in no mood to eat anything heavy.

On my final night in Spain, some associates took me out for a couple glasses of the local wine. It was very nice, and I wish I had more time to sample some of the finer tastes of Spain. They were headed out to supper after the wine, (Spanish restaurants open around 8-9:00 pm for dinner... different eh?) but I had to be up for 4:30 am for an early return flight. Oh well.