One win for the Sox.
One come-from-behind win for the Sox.
One lame performance by Dice-K.
One game where J.D. Drew’s absence was felt (in a good way).
One game where Manny came through twice.
One game where Ellsbury made an awesome catch.
One crucial bunt by Pedroia.
One playing of “Shipping Up to Boston” to greet Pap.
One down, many more games to go. Woo hoo!!! Baseball’s back!
There’s something really odd about waking up early (early for me, anyway. I wasn’t going to wake up at 6am) to watch baseball being played live in Japan. But at the same time, I woke up just in time to see the Sox come back in sixth inning, and that was pretty cool. It was fun seeing Pedroia and Manny get big hits. Funny to see that Dice-K must have sucked if the team was losing when I turned on the TV (jeeeez, some things don’t ever change — even in his home country). And just good to see the team on the field, playing a close game (too close), that actually counts. All is right with the world again: baseball is back. And hey, it sure does beat watching V.B. and Kim Carrigan.
Oh my God, I totally spaced and forgot to wish y’all a Happy Dyngus Day. Thankfully, Keith Olbermann was there to remind me of this special occasion.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/23785615#23785615
If you’re reading this, there’s a very good chance you’ve come here from either UniversalHub.com or Boston.com, both of which have provided links to my site today.
UHub is linking to my graffiti post. The link on Boston.com (which is in the right-hand column, about halfway down the screen, under “New England Blogs”) directs you to my packing and purging post.
So if you’re new to my site, I just wanted to say “Welcome!” I hope you’ll come back often.
I’m just a few short days away from officially being a homeowner, and less than two weeks from moving into my new condo, so I figure it’s high time I made a real dent in my packing.
But first, some purging.
Lots and lots of purging.
It’ll definitely help the cause if I have less to pack. Continue reading
Farry and Barrah took me to a new brunch place this morning (at least, a new one to me), and all I can say is “mmmmmmm…” Mel’s Commonwealth Cafe is located on Rte. 30 as you’re going from Waltham to Natick, and man, is it ever worth the drive. It’s a nice place, and sure, it was Easter, but it wasn’t overly crowded at 11:30 on a Sunday morning. I wasn’t able to have what I wanted — Fried Dough French Toast, which sounded so good, because they’d just run out minutes earlier — so Plan B was a dish called Country Inn French Toast, which was a moist, sweet French Toast made with a cinnamon swirl bread. Mmmmmmm … I’d have shared it, but I just couldn’t bear to part with a single piece. Barry had a Philly Cheese Steak Omelette, and that too looked good, as did the Yogurt Waffle that Farrah had. (I mention what we all had not to rat anyone out, but to show some of the yummy options because two of these three are not on the online menu.) I’m definitely going back to Mel’s, and I hope I do so soon. It’s nice to have another great brunch option besides Johnny’s. Mmmmmmm …!!
Random graffiti of the day:
I saw this right off Gardner St., the street that runs parallel to Comm Ave. near Shaw’s, in Allston. It was on the wall behind the T-Mobile store.
Some neighborhoods have gang-related graffiti, others have large artwork. My neighborhood has film criticism. Hmmmmm …
Great news! After an extended absence, the flute playing next door has returned. So clearly, even though my neighbors were spoken to not once but twice by my building management company about their incessant, annoying violin playing, the message didn’t get through about how they should be practicing at their school and not in the building. As if I needed another reason to be happy that I’m moving in less than two weeks. I really hope these two girls in apartment 28 get a new neighbor who is less patient than I have been.
Just a short note to mark the passing of Anthony Minghella, who wrote and directed one of my all-time favorite movies, The Talented Mr. Ripley. Minghella also directed The English Patient and Cold Mountain, among other films, but for me, Ripley will stand as his greatest achievement. This film, alternately a thriller and a sad meditation on identity, always affects me when I see it. Matt Damon gives his best performance to date, and Minghella filmed it all beautifully, creating a virtual postcard of Italy that makes me long to visit. The ending is particularly well shot and edited nicely, and the score throughout is one of my favorites. If you’ve never seen Ripley, now is as good a time as any to rent or buy it. Do it as a tribute to Anthony Minghella, who will surely be missed.
As a soon-to-be homeowner, I certainly have a different way of reading real estate news and articles pertaining to the best neighborhoods, etc. For example, in yesterday’s Boston Globe Magazine I saw that my new zip code — 02467 — was listed as the third-best ZIP code in Massachusetts (within I-495, that is) because of the jump in single-family home prices and the abundance of retail stores. For me, that’s a jump from seventh place, where my current ZIP code is listed. Now, of course, I can’t claim any real personal investment in 02446 because currently I only rent, but it’s nice to know my choice of a new home is a step up in the right direction.
Martin's Musings 
