Well Boston was a hoot. On the way to the airport though, I ran across a cat, just outside my hotel room. This cat was special because I’m pretty sure I recognize that cat from a business trip earlier this year. Way to go, little guy.
I’ve developed a newfound appreciation for direct flights. Most all of my travel is direct anyways, but it’s really nice for long hauls as well, since there’s just so much delay involved. To get from San Jose to Boston ended up involving roughly 17 hours of transit. The major contributor to this delay were the airport shuttles. I hopped on, then thought I saw the rental car center pass us by, figured I’d missed my stop, and hopped off. Walking back a ways I discovered that what I’d thought was a sign labeling the rental center was really labeling the road to the rental center, which was still a ways off. So I waited ~15 minutes for the next bus, only for it to arrive completely packed. Had to wait another 15 minutes to board, then in an excessively long line at the rental counter, then in excessively bad traffic, finally falling asleep in my hotel room at 2am.
It turned out though that renting a car in Boston was a big mistake. Much more of a liability than a help, since it cost more to park it than to rent it, and I could get everywhere I needed easily via public transportation. Ah well, lesson learned.
Another reason it was a mistake renting a car was that driving in downtown Boston is terrifying. Cars merge every which-a-way, and bicyclists are first-class citizens on the road, so gotta pay extra careful attention to them. By the same token though, biking in Boston is terrifyingly awesome. Weaving through traffic is just so much fun.
After the first day of work we all went out to an Italian place. Dinner was at 6:30, and I’d planned on being at Libby’s place at 8. Shouldn’t be a problem. However it turned out to be one of those experience things, where they serve you alcohol and appetizers for like an hour before actually taking your order. Had to ask them to just put some spaghetti in a to-go box so I could jet. Scarfed it on the way, and I gotta say it wasn’t nearly as good without the restaurant’s atmosphere.
Biked to Libby’s apartment, rode the janky elevator up, and had a real fun time with her and her friends playing Hanoi and Jackbox. Caught the train back – wasn’t in the mood for another half-hour bike ride – and wandered around Quincy Market for a while. There was a bar with the BYU-Utah game on, watched as much of that as I could before the bartender kicked me out.
Love the cobblestones everywhere. 
A well-worn hand. 
This is just a joke, since no one does it. 
Friday morning I left my car at the hotel and just biked to work. Met Libby at the entrance and brought her up to enjoy the rooftop garden and breakfast at the café.
After work I wandered off to explore the MIT campus. I’m convinced that the university in Big Hero Six is based off MIT If I had toured the campus before deciding on BYU, I might have had a very different college career.
A giant binary computer powered by pool balls. 
I wandered through the buildings, looking very much like a student with my backpack. Made it in to a few buildings after-hours by following students through. But eventually I felt like my luck was being pushed a bit too far; looked up from a bench to see a lady in a black suit staring intently at me. As I got up she started talking into her cell phone. I decided that was the point for me to make my exit.
From MIT I made my way back to Quincy Market and enjoyed some street food and music.
Saturday morning I met Libby at a park, saving her from some stranger who’d been chatting her up and made sure I was aware that I had a gorgeous cousin. Umm, thanks.
We went gift shopping, then walked the “Freedom Trail”, marked out by a narrow strip of bricks that led the way between historical sites.
Said our good-byes, drove back to the airport, and learned that no I wasn’t just having a bad day with the shuttles when I arrived, they really are just stupid. I boarded a shuttle from the rental center to get to terminal A. Zoned out for a bit, then saw the shuttle stop at terminal B, then C. Figured I’d missed terminal A, but it was fine cause I’d arrived in plenty of time. Stayed on for one extra round, and then found out that no, the shuttle just didn’t go to terminal A; I had to hop off and wait for 15 minutes to get on the right one.
Aside from that it was one smooth operation from Boston to SLC. Perfectly timed with Steve & Lauren, who were returning their rental car after having driven back from the Cabin. Hearing about their adventures made me second-guess my decision to go in person to the Boston summit. But ah well, next year.
Saw Steve & Lauren’s place for the first time, then headed back home, unpacked, and watched some BSG with Dad. I’d end up watching quite a bit of BSG with dad this trip back.
Sunday morning I took Scout on a walk to church, and Dad was kind enough to pick him up. During Sunday School I was bothered by the amount of whispering going on, could hardly focus on the lesson. Since I wasn’t a member of the ward I figured I could get away with shushing them, and did so with good effect, earning myself some thank-yous from neighbors.
Walked back from church, enjoying the sights of Alpine. Hung around until the big cousin get-together that evening, which was a blast.
Monday was a BBQ at Aunt Lisa’s, picking Chessie up from the vet, chillaxing in a park, watching the first half of a Bollywood film with Mom & Dad, and binging a whole buncha BSG; topped it off with my first episode of Longmire.
Flight back was pretty but uneventful.
Date night to the Seattle Art Museum on Thursday:
Had two farewell parties this weekend. One was just me, her, and Mary, and we chatted and watched Firefly. She wasn’t interested in a big scene. The other was a much bigger thing, ice cream and games. The Name Game has really taken root here, and I think it’s now a crowd favorite.
On Saturday night Mary and I babysitted her sister’s kids. Things were winding down, when over 1,200 lightning strikes started striking. It was dang cool.
So now I’m just hurriedly prepping for the recruiting trip to BYU this week, putting slides together and arranging food and logistics. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!