Beantown

So I spent M-W of last week in Boston visiting BU.  The admittedly small portion of Boston I saw was not what I expected.  The people were nice though.

This is the route I walked on Tuesday.  From the hotel to the School of Theology is 0.8 miles.

I was sober as I walked, it's just that my skills in MS Paint aren't those of an artist.

It's roughly 10 miles.  My shins hurt so bad on Wednesday.

I arrived at the airport on Monday at 3:30pm.  Tricky airline goers have figured out that baggage fees can be avoided if you just wait for the flight attendant at the gate to tell you that your bag is too big to be a carry on -- when they do that they just "gate check" your bag to your final destination and you save $35 or whatever ridiculous fee your airline usually assesses.  For those of us who are conscientious of baggage rules this means that there isn't room on the plane for our appropriately sized bags (the contents of which we've agonized over to ensure everything we need takes up the minimum amount of space) and our bags too must be gate checked.  So I had to wait at the baggage claim for my bag to show up.  I was at the T stop (subway) at 4 and thanks to a very nice man named Ron who was on his way to a Bruce Springsteen concert was at the hotel by 5.  Dinner was at 6:30 in the law building.  I ended up having dinner with the dean, who was very nice.

Tuesday I walked from the hotel to the SoT, had two sessions, wandered all the way around campus, got back to the SoT only to turn around and walk to Theology House (one of the on campus housing options) at the far end of campus, and then back to the SoT.  Then after a rehearsal with the Seminary Singers (somehow I ended up being wrangled -- wrangled is really too strong a word -- into singing with them for chapel the next day) we walked to the dean's house for dinner and then to a wannabe-pub for talking with some of the students.  Finally...back to the hotel.  Hello 10+ miles.  Nice to meet my shins.

Wednesday after breakfast was chapel, where we sang the hymns of up-and-coming-progressive-menonite-hymn-writer Adam Tice.  None of those are words I ever expected to put together.  Then we had lunch, then there was visit time, and then there was farewell time.  Then I got on a plane where I again fought the battle of carryon luggage (and where once again I was defeated).  Fortunately I had purchased Tina Fey's new book so I had excellent reading material for the flight -- if you can get past some of the language it was HILARIOUS.

So, all in all it was a good trip.  The staff, faculty, and students were all nice.  Boston appears to be a clean city with lots of cultural opportunities.  Public transportation there is fabulous, especially in comparison to Springfield's...attempt...at public transit.  The school has a great reputation and fantastic resources.  If I were 100% sure I wanted to continue on and get a doctorate then there's no question that that's where I'd go, alas...  I should probably take the leap and go there anyway.  When am I going to hear from Ohio?

Next week I'm going to KC on a brief up and back day trip.  No mother, you cannot go with me.  But if I go to Boston, as a consolation prize, you can have my car.

Apparently there's a market for '94 Buicks, or so the note someone left on my car window would indicate.  No perfect stranger, I do not want to sell my car and I will not be calling you.  Please try whatever scam you're trying to pull on some other schmuck.  This schmuck is full up.

Even now, I'm in high demand.  :P