In Sight, April/May 2008

I haven't been writing, but I have been taking photos. Here are some:


Travis is wicked cute.


Shopping for books in Downtown Crossing at one of New England's oldest bookstores.


On Beacon Street, the day before the marathon.


About 25,000 people ran the Boston Marathon this year.






Springtime in Boston is absolutely beautiful. ("Did you know there are actually four distinct seasons?" asked the man from Florida, where the two seasons are "Miserably Hot" and "January.")


And, of course, the random Beacon Hill street shot.

The silence is broken

Hello again, journal. No, don't back away. You remember me, right? You could you forget the drivel with which I once prodigiously lined your pages ... Right, you don't technically have pages … but you're picking up what I'm throwing down.

Let me fill you in on what's been going on.

Right now, my apartment is an unholy mess as I condense my life into modular, stackable cubes. Yes, I'm moving. In five days.




Clean and neat, before the move.


Jacked up. It's much, much worse now.

There is good news. For one, I'm not moving far:


View Larger Map


The front of the building.


The building's entrance is to the left; the subway's elevated tracks, where the Red Line enters the Beacon Hill tunnel after crossing the Charles River, is visible at the end of the block.

And, second, the apartment is great: two bedrooms at the flat of Beacon Hill; a century-old building with good closet space and exposed brick walls; around the corner from bustling Charles Street and dozens of restaurants, bakeries, and shops; across the street from the Charles/MGH subway stop. And the rent is only $100 more than I'm paying now. Considering all the other two-bedroom units on I saw were shoebox-sized, fifth-floor walkups that were at least $2,200 a month, I'm happy with the deal I got.

I'm not happy about moving, though. I don't have a car (solution: Zip Car Truck). I'm here by myself (solution: my brother Andrew is coming to help me move/visit. Yes, he's that awesome.) I live on a tiny, one-way street that makes moving a hellish experience (solution: there is none).

Oh, and I have to move Saturday night after work, around 9 p.m. Don't ask.

Whatev. On the bright side, if Andrew and I hurry and finish moving my stuff, we'll have more time to hang out and see Boston. It's not like I have too much stuff, anyway; I've divested myself from quite a bit in anticipation of JENN'S ARRIVAL.

Before June is out, we'll be a whole family again: Jenn, Robert, Abbey, Travis. That which I've daydreamed about for a year — summer picnics on the Common, strolls down Newbury Street, lazy evenings on the Esplanade, getting lost in the North End — is about to come to fruition. I don't need to explain how excited I am.

And then, the hitchin'. Everything is ready, save for small details. We've lit the fuses of the fireworks show; now we just wait for them to burn down. Then it's off to Mexico, and then back to Boston … and the rest of our lives.

The job has been going quite well, and I'm quite proud of the work that I've been doing. You can see some of it here. And starting tomorrow, I'm on a new schedule, too: 1 to 9 p.m. If I keep this up, I'll have daytime hours before too long. Man, that would be great.

Lastly, my boss, the design director, asked me if I'd be interested in going to the Society of News Design's annual conference in Las Vegas from Sept. 7-9. Uh, yeah? Sure, it's more traveling in the most travel-heavy year of my life, but there's no way I'm going to pass up that opportunity. ... You know, to play blackjack on the company dime. I meant ... I meant to say "to learn from the industry's shining stars and pioneers." Or something like that.

So, journal, that's the scoop for now. I hope our next meeting isn't three months from now.

In Sight, April 10

Beacon Hill.


Midtown Boston.

In Sight, March 16

St. Patrick's Day Parade in South Boston, which drew almost 850,000 people in years past.

In Sight, March 6

Myrtle and Garden streets in Beacon Hill.

In Sight, March 3

Providence, R.I.

In Sight, Feb. 25

The bridge over the frozen duck pond in the Public Gardens.


Boylston Street.

Can you tell I like the Public Gardens? I should probably move on, now that I finally got good, clean tripod-stablized RAW shots with the DSLR.

Look for a trip down Commonwealth Avenue soon.

A few random things

Travis sits in the window as snow falls outside.

First thing's first: T-Rav is now with me in Boston. I brought her up a couple weeks ago, and she seems to be happy. I know I am. I'd forgotten how nice it is to curl up on the couch with a cat.

* * *

I was slightly disappointed that "There Will be Blood" did not win Best Picture. Although I loved "No Country … " I liked the other film better. Also, why didn't "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" win the cinematography award? Related subquestion: When did they allow the Academy to start smoking crack?

* * *

I wanted to go to New York today, just for the hell of it, but I misjudged the Fung Wah bus' popularity: They were all booked in the morning, and taking an afternoon bus to NYC wouldn't have made any sense. LESSON LEARNED: Buy tickets ahead of time. (Maybe I'll go next week.)

* * *


Winchester, Mass.

I took the train up to Winchester to visit The Griffin Museum of Photography. I wanted to see Stephen Wilkes' "Ghosts of Freedom" exhibit. Wilkes photographed a long-abandoned hospital complex on Ellis Island, and he produced some truly striking images, like the one below.



To see more, go here, or come to Winchester.

* * *

I've been hunting for two-bedroom apartments in the North End and Beacon Hill. The BH apartments I'm interested in all feature roof decks, which is an awesome bonus; the North End apartments are smaller, but, hey, it's the North End, where there are more than 100 eateries in a 1/3-square-mile neighborhood. I hope this apartment we find will be our last, and Jenn and I can buy one next year in the South End. We'll see.

* * *

In this week's New York Times Magazine (which has a terrific cover story on Afghanistan), I noticed this ad. Now, is it just me, or does this guy:



… look kind of like:



… a chubby Kurt Vonnegut?

* * *

More later, possibly.

Where can I get a cup of coffee around here?

I haven't decided if this map of the number of Dunkin' Donuts in a 5-mile radius of downtown Boston is scary or awesome.

Paging Mr. Davis

I finally updated my News Page Designer portfolio. Check out what fun I'm having in Boston!

Hey, I remember you ...

No, this blog isn't dead; it's just been sleeping. Winter hibernation, if you will.

I normally work from 1 to 9 p.m. on Saturday — we have early deadlines so the press room can handle the 630,000-paper run — but my schedule was changed to 3 to 11 p.m. So instead of using these extra two hours to do something productive, like work on wedding-related stuff or buy beer (don't judge me), I've decided to write a blog entry. This poor blog; I seem to write in it sporadically and then, after leaving cab fare on the nightstand and promising to call, depart for several weeks. Whatever. If it didn't like this treatment, it would've left a long time ago.

The Super Bowl is tomorrow, and I admit that I'm quietly rooting for the Patriots to lose. It's only for selfish, personal reasons. (It would actually be really cool if they won because, given the Celtics record and performance, Boston is likely to have champions of all three major sports in one year.) Here's why I want them to lose: They're planning a victory parade on Tuesday, which, if you've been following the news, is the same day 22 states go to the polls for presidential primaries.

So in addition to our Super Tuesday special section, we'll have to do a Pats victory special section. We're calling in 20 copy editors, six slots, four layout people, two designers ... and every top editor. (They're actually worried about having enough computers on the news desk.) And with the contest in California, our reporters will be updating and rewriting all the way through 4th edition (3:30 a.m.) ... so it's going to be a very long, very late night. But if the Pats lose ... no special section. Go Giants! :D (No, seriously, it will be fun. Tough, but fun.)

* * *

Right, so I've taken on a second job: Wedding invitation designer. I've made six so far, but I think Jenn and I have decided on one:



Simple, elegant … it says everything we need it to say.

Although some of the designs borrow heavily from ones I had looked at, most were complete originals. They won't win any awards, but it was fun designing something other than news pages.

Now, to get them printed. Perhaps I'll use Boston-based Crane Paper Co., which supplies the paper for US currency. In that case, I will design the invitations to look like $100 bills — and then use them to fund the wedding! Brilliant!

* * *

Mmm ... tiny new laptop ... is it Christmas yet?







* * *

Right now, my neighbor from across the street is hanging out of his window, toying with the weather insulation around the window. If he falls, that will be my In Sight picture for today.



Computer included in foreground for sense of place.

Because the streets are so narrow in Beacon Hill (this one has to be about 30 feet), we all look in each other's windows. One of my neighbors reads the Sunday Times in a chair by the window every week; another watches the late airing of the Daily Show almost every day. Another, a man, likes to walk around in a sweater and boxers. Me? I'm normal.

Maybe when it warms up, I'll start a game of catch, or maybe a Nerf war, from my fire-escape-that-goes-nowhere, aka the flower escape.

Now, it just needs to warm up.

* * *

I'm heading to Jax Vegas next week, and I'm looking forward to seeing Jenn and my friends and family. And the best news of all: I'm bringing someone home with me. TRAVIS! Yes, my dear, sweet cat has been spending the past seven months with my pre-wife, and I've missed her terribly. But, soon, we'll be reunited. I just need to spread the word that Travis is coming to Boston. The people here will be wicked stoked.

RANDOM STUFF

• In order to see "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" last week, I had to go to this theater in Cambridge, the directions to which included "Go through the lobby of the Marriot Hotel to Broadway" then "walk down Broadway until you pass over the train tracks." Clearly, it wasn't the easiest place to find.

• This coffee creamer I've lately been using comes in two varieties: fat free or sugar free. Why can't they tinker with the formula and produce creamer that is both fat free and sugar free? Why do they make me have to choose?

• Cat Power's new covers album "Jukebox" is terrific. It's an extension of the soulful sound she achieved on "The Greatest," which was one of my favorite albums of 2006. Funny, the first time I heard Cat Power on "Moon Pix," I didn't really like her; many of the songs were so sparse and slow. The newer stuff has so much more feeling and many more layers. You should buy this album.

Speaking of Cat Power, I have to add her to the list of Concerts Robert Would Be Able to Attend If He Had a Daytime Job:

Cat Power *NEW!*
The National
Voxtrot
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!
The New Pornographers
Spoon

Let's just hope The Magnetic Fields and Radiohead don't make it on to that list.

TRAVEL PLANS

Jacksonville, Fla., as it's seen today.

• I'm returning to Jax Vegas in early February, to see my wife-elect and get my fix of friends and family. There might even be some Pearlage thrown in for good measure. Plus, it will be nice to escape the chill.


A bustling street in New York City, 2008.

• I feel like getting out of Boston this weekend, so I think I'll go to New York to see Chris and hang out in the (even bigger) city. That reminds me: New Yorkers who refer to Manhattan as "The City" regardless of where they are in the country annoy the hell out of me. Like "Are you going to go into The City or stay in Boston for New Year's Eve?" Um ... I kinda thought Boston was a city ... but ... oh, right ... it isn't The City. New York, I love you. Just not your snobby residents.


A modern-day Periodickal of Current Eventf in Bofton-Town.

See? British soldiers don't massacre* people in just any old town. Take that, New York!

* Only seven people died, but, hey, we needed a reason to get pissed off!

In Sight, Jan. 14

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

*sigh* Snow is still magical to me.

It's expected to snow about 10 inches today, with more on the way during the next week. So this is what winter is like?



In the Common. Traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, was light today because school and work were canceled for many people.



In the Common. Boston is a beautiful city to begin with, but I think it looks gorgeous under a coat of fresh snow.



In the Public Gardens.



In the Public Gardens.



Louisburg Square In Beacon Hill.



Mt. Vernon Street in Beacon Hill.