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It’s Not a Cold

13 Jan

All week I’ve been trying to stave off a cold. Or at least what I thought was a cold. But it turns out I may just have winter allergies, which I’m learning are more common than I thought. After all, if the only symptoms are sneezing, runny nose, and occasional watery eyes, and I’m not feeling run down and I don’t have a sore throat, etc. then it has to be allergies, right? Especially with the way the temperatures here in Boston have been fluctuating, I’m sure there are all kinds of irritants in the air. And I mean, when you go to CVS and you look at all the cold remedies, the ones that treat my symptoms are all labeled “allergy” medication. And Claritin-D seems to be working so well today. And, this would partly explain why the Zicam didn’t do squat all week. So, I’m making a self-diagnosis. I don’t have a cold, I have allergies. Phew!

Winter Wonderland?

21 Dec

Thought I’d post a couple photos I took this morning in the ‘hood. They’re not quite wonder-ful, but they are snowy. What a fun weekend this is going to be, digging out my car tomorrow (finally) and seeing a lot of this snow get washed away on Sunday when it rains.

Down Goes Santa Claus!

16 Dec

It’s that kind of lazy Sunday here in Brookline. I slept in, I’ve made some French Toast, I’m watching the Patriots beat up on the Jets (again), I’ve done some apartment cleaning, I’m avoiding cleaning off my car because there’s no real need for me to drive anywhere for at least five days, I’ve got a couple new DVDs to watch after the football game, I called some friends to catch up, I’m debating baking a cake, the bed’s not made, I haven’t showered … and it’s good that I did my laundry yesterday so I don’t have to fight for the machines today, which means I don’t have to leave my apartment at all, and life is pretty good. This was a well-timed snow — or rain or sleet or whatever it’s doing outside — day.

(And btw, that photo came from Boston.com, though I sort of wish I had taken it.)

Hello, Winter

4 Dec

Because I have nothing better to do, I’ve been doing a bit of thinking lately trying to decide what the worst thing about winter is.

Is it the bitter cold temperatures, and the winds that seem to make it even colder, and the fact that it seems to become cold right away without a slow drop in temperature?

Is it the iced up sidewalks that taunt me and almost dare me to walk on them and not fall? I include the parking lot outside my building, which I have no choice but to cross every day if I want to go somewhere; half of it is a sheet of ice right now.

Is it the over-crowded and less frequent T cars? Every year, same old story.

Is it dangling on the edge of being sick, and trying ever-so-hard not to catch a cold from everyone around me who seems to have something already.

Is it the fact that everyone’s so bundled up that they look almost unfriendly and unapproachable?

Is it not wanting to go outside to do stuff because it’s so much nicer on my couch in my warm apartment?

It may actually be a tie between all of those things. Winter just really sucks. There’s absolutely nothing good about this time of year (other than the holidays, of course). Brrrrrrrrrr…!

Falling All Over

28 Oct

Some days just scream out to be photographed. Today is a great example. Perfect blue sky, colorful leaves in trees … awesome. Thank God I had my camera handy. This pic has desktop written all over it (if you have a Mac, that is).

Is Summer Over Already?

19 Aug

Everyone has their favorite way of marking when seasons change. For example, does summer end on Labor Day? On September 1? On September 21? On Rosh Hashannah? When baseball season ends? When the Red Sox’ season ends? When football season begins? When the new TV season begins? Well, if you look around, you may see signs that summer is coming to a close are all around.

One of the biggest is that the gate to the parking lot at the Allston Shaw’s on Comm Ave. is now closed and you need to get a ticket before entering. When the college kids leave town, Shaw’s opens the gate permanently and laxes the restrictions on parking in the lot. But the gate going down means the students are returning. And sure enough, there were plenty of them all over Shaw’s Sunday night. Ugh. It means do your grocery shopping earlier (by all means, before 4pm on Sundays). It means the streets and the T are going to get more crowded. It means … summer is ending soon.

Another is my annual excursion with Dave and Scott (and their families) to Rye Playland and T.G.I. Friday’s. We started doing it back in 1992 before we (and five other friends) left for college, and we’ve made it a tradition to go sometime in August every year. This past Saturday we rode the Dragon Coaster and all the other rides for the 16th straight year. (Sixteen!) Amazing, I thought, that we’ve been going there that long and the park is basically exactly the same as it was when we first started going. It means people still enjoy an old-fashioned good time. It means Dave, Scott, and I are all still in touch. And it also means … summer is ending soon.

And then there’s the whole moving thing. My apartment building is emptying out. It’s largely because of the excessive increase in rent, and I’ve heard that come September 1, the place will only be about half full. That’s crazy. My across-the-hall neighbor is gone (bummer). My next-door neighbor (the loud one I don’t like) is gone (woo hoo!). Who knows who’s moving in (or when I’ll be moving out as well), but it means the place is going to be quieter for a little while. It means I have a better chance of doing my laundry whenever I want (for at least a couple weeks). It means soon there may be new people moving in — here and in other buildings all across the city. It means … summer is ending soon.

But living in Boston, I choose to go with the Head of the Charles as my marker for the end of summer. After all, the season starts late so it should end late too, and while the temperatures do get cooler in late September and early October, there’s always at least one weekend where we get a last gasp of warm weather. It means there’s still plenty to look forward to. It means there’s no need to worry. It means … summer isn’t ending just yet.

Love Them Summer Girls

24 May

Is it just me, or do people get better looking when the weather gets warmer? I’m serious (sort of). Walking around the city today, both on the way in to the office and just now at lunch, it felt like the number of attractive people had doubled. Where were these people during the winter? Were they hibernating? Or have we imported a truckload or two from down south? Maybe it’s all the young interns. Maybe it’s the lighter clothing. Maybe it’s none of these things, and if not, then is it just the weather — or spring fever — that is making it seem this way? And by extension, does this mean I am better looking in the summer? It’s an odd phenomenon. I love summer. And I love summer in Boston. And maybe this is why.

Yeah, That’s City Life

21 Apr

As Lily Allen sings, “Sun is in the sky, oh why oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?”

Simply stated: This weather today is awesome.

Hmmmmm …

20 Apr

Here are some questions I’m asking on this sunny, very nice Friday afternoon:

* Will anything ever take up residence where Zathmary’s used to be?

* Will the weather actually be as nice as predicted this weekend, and will it stay that way until the fall? Does this mean winter is really over?

* Can Dice-K beat the Yankees on Sunday, or will he have the same lame result as his last two games, where it looks alright but he still loses? Is he really the worst starter on the team??

* If a crowded T train on the morning commute is bad, then is there much worse than having to be stuck next to a guy who reeks of cigarette smoke?

* Is there a funnier show on TV right now than 30 Rock?

* Indians didn’t even like Sanjaya. So aside from the 13-year-olds, who did?

* I’m a third of the way to my WalkAmerica fundraising goal. Will you help me go all the way?

Making Change

22 Feb

It seems my blogging power has untold reach. First, on the way home, I saw that the stretch of sidewalk I wrote about earlier today had been cleared. Now I know it wasn’t all my doing; Universal Hub linked to it and drove a lot of traffic to my post. And of course, I didn’t physically do the shoveling. But still, I’d like to think I had at least something to do with it finally being cleared.

And then my girl Haley Scarnato wasn’t voted off American Idol, which means you all must have read my post about her and called in to vote. Good for y’all. I mean, she wasn’t the best singer this week, and she certainly looks a little out of place next to some of the other women, and I actually felt bad for her during that Tears for Fears song they all sang, but hey … that’s not the point.

The point is that in my own warped little world, my demented sense of reality tells me that my two posts made change happen today. Behold! I am the change maker.

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