Journey to the Past

So I am clearly SOOOO behind in blog posts, as in, it’s been over a week since I last posted. Oh my, so much to write about. Let’s see…

Last Wednesday I met Dani and Leora again for dinner, and ended up leaving MUCH later than I needed to to get to the arena. To sum it up, the show started at 7pm and I was still on the subway at 6:46…fortunately for me I made it in the nick of time. That’s definitely NEVER happening again.

Thursday I had rehearsal all day for the clown gag for next years show, and ended up missing the preview concert of the BSO that I had planned on going to. So instead I walked up to the Museum of Science. When I got there and saw the ticket price, I promptly left haha and I ended up going to the Museum of Fine Art, which was incredible. There are so many art pieces on display, and a whole Monet room, which I absolutely loved. I’ll have a separate post with all my pictures from the museum ☺

Front of the museum

That evening I met my friend Brian who goes to law school at BC at a place called the Border Café. All the food was delicious, and it was no too expensive at all! Definitely a great place to go to, and it was close to the train since it was in Harvard Square.

Friday after we presented next year’s clown gag we went to Fanuille Hall and ate lunch at Wagamamas, which was delicious! There are only Wagamamas in Boston and England, and I remember going to one in Oxford three summers ago and it being really good. Afterwards, I caught the matinee performance of the Yo-Yo Ma concert with the BSO. They played a Cello Concerto by Dvorak and it was incredible. The second piece they played was a one-act ballet called The Wooden Prince by Bartok. It was just alright, not my favorite piece, and I could tell the audience felt the same way.

Quincy Market

My view of the stage in Symphony Hall

Saturday I explored the North End of Boston. We tried to eat at a place called the Union Oyster House, which is really well-known, but it was packed and we didn’t have time to wait. So we ended up going next door to the Bell in Hand Tavern, which is the oldest tavern in the country. All three of us (me, Ian, and Andrew) got the lobster grilled cheese, and I got eggplant fries, all of which was delicious. Later that day I met Leora and we went to Mike’s Pastry, where I got one of the biggest cannolis I have ever seen (it was delicious as well). The line for the place was out the door and around the corner, but the local trick that Leora taught me is that you sit at one of the tables inside and a waitress will come over and serve you, so no long line!

The Union Oyster House

Bell in Hand Tavern

On Sunday we ate at a tiny Italian place called The Daily Catch, or the Calamari Café. My food was EXCELLENT. I got the pasta aglio olio, which was black pasta (meaning it was hand-made and used squid ink to give it it’s black color) sautéed with oil, garlic, and chopped up calamari. Such a good dish, I highly recommend this hole-in-the-wall place. They also make calamari meatballs, which were also delicious.

My pasta dish! It looks gross but it was reallyyyyy good!

Ian got the calamari platter

Well I got to end this post for today. After this will come by journey to Bridegport, Connecticut, and my stay in New York City for a couple days! More to come soon!

The Years Are Passing By

We made it to Boston on Tuesday! I've been so busy that I haven't really been able to update, and I don't have much time right now, so I'll try and get through as much as I can.

Tuesday I took the subway to downtown Boston and spent the afternoon walking around. It was sunny and gorgeous and I got some nice shots:

View of Boston from the train!

Downtown Boston

Boston Ballet

Orpheum Theatre!

The old City Hall

Statue of Benjamin Franklin

Donkey!

Old chapel next to old City Hall

The graveyard. On the other side of the fence there is a restaurant and they were roasting a pig on a stake haha

Actual City Hall (building is ugly as sin). That white tent is a touring production of the play Peter Pan that is done in the round and uses video screens on the ceiling! Looks pretty cool.

City Hall. Ugh.

TD Garden where we are performing!

So this cafe/bookstore is where I got breakfast on Newbury Street almost exactly a year ago when I came to visit Leora and Dani and I was working Cohoes. So weird, it feels like last week I was there...

The Prudential Center!

On Massachusetts Ave, I have a picture of this building from a year ago too.

Later that afternoon I met up with Leora and Dani in one of the practice rooms at Boco, and while Dani went to a lesson Leora showed me her apartment, which is really very nice :) Afterwards Leora had to run so Dani and I got dinner at this awesome Thai restaurant. I got the chicken pad thai and it was really good, and it was also a HUGE serving of it! Of course I ate the whole thing though haha.

After that Dani had to go and I was walking around and I happened to stumble upon Symphony Hall, and a performance was going to start in about 45 minutes. So I got in line, bought a ticket, and heard the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform! They were absolutely incredible, and the hall is huge!

My view of the stage from my second balcony seat, for only $30!

Across the floor at the other side. I love the statues and windows.

The back of the hall.

The front of Symphony Hall

They played the interludes from Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten, a Prokofiev piano concerto, and a symphony by Finnish composer Sibelius. All the pieces were incredible, and the conductor was awesome.

Afterwards I got a text from Ian and I met him and Andrew at Wally's Jazz Club and we listened to a group of Berkeley students play some awesome jazz. It was a very busy but awesome day :)

I have to run for now but I'll have more up soon hopefully!

In honor of being in Boston and by Berkeley, I'm posting more Jane Monheit :)

Shanti, Shanti and Om

So because of lack of time and wifi, I haven’t updated in a couple of days. In fact, I’m currently in my room and don’t have wifi, so I came up with the brilliant idea to draft this post in Word and then transfer it to my blog. I’m a genius :p

So Saturday was pretty uneventful since I had three shows to play. However before the last show, Ian, Andrew and I went to a place called the Armsby Abbey. Everything there is farm fresh and grown locally (kind of like The Farmhouse in Burlington) and they have a huge selection of beers and a unique cocktail list. I got the pumpkin and sausage pizza, and it was delicious. It also had caramelized onions and gouda, and they sprinkled sea salt so every once in a while I got a nice salty bite.

Yum!

Ian enjoying his sandwich haha (Look Ian, you made the blog!)

Andrew doesn't look amused

I’ve also been working more on my crocheting and practicing the different kinds of stitches, and I’ve gotten SO much better from my first practice swatch; it’s actually laughable.

My finished half double stitch practice swatch!

I'm currently working on the double stitch

Sunday I played two shows and then I went to the Olive Garden with LaRena, Taylor, Barney, Oscar, Christina, Lauren, and Emily. We had a great dinner, I got an Italian margarita (which was really good, especially when you pour in the Amaretto), and we had lots of laughs. Afterwards LaRena and I stopped at Walmart, and I got season one of Will and Grace! Check one off the list!

Today we had one show in the morning, and then me and Andrew and Ian walked to a nearby shopping center, and I was FINALLY able to get a yoga mat! I was able to get some resistance bands and some Pilates DVDs too some I’m going to give those all a try. I’ve really been enjoying my workout with the weighted ball, and I already feel stronger in my legs and more definition.

I also thought of a couple other things I want to do while I’m on tour. I want to get a ukulele and teach myself how to play it. It’s small and easy to carry, and I hear fairly easy to learn, so I think it could be fun. I also want to teach myself how to speak Italian, so maybe I’ll try out a Rosetta Stone. I think all of this is a better use of my time than just watching TV series on DVD or wasting time on the internet. Thoughts about my new endeavors?

P.S. In honor of finding a yoga mat, I thought this song was appropriate ☺

Substitutiary Locomotion

So yesterday after rehearsal for the clown gag next year, Adam, one of the guys who watches and takes care of the elephants, took me to see them and to tell me all about them!

Elephants! Apparently there are more muscles in an elephant's trunk than our entire body!

Baby elephant!

The other baby! This one's name is Rocky, he's the only male

These two are half sisters.

Not an elephant but I didn't get a picture of him last time haha

We have nine elephants in the show, and they are all part of the Elephant Conservation Program. These are all asian elephants as opposed to african elephants: they have less wrinkles, one finger in their trunk instead of two, four toenails in front and five in the back, and as they get older they go through de-pigmentation. Watching them play and interact was really fascinating, and Adam was explaining all their different personalities. They really are amazing creatures :)

And I've been practicing my crochet more! As opposed to what I posted last time, this is what my work looks like now:

It started out so good...haha at least the stitches are MUCH better

I've now moved on to the half double crochet stitch, we'll see how it goes.

P.S. The library JUST announced that they are showing the movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks for free downstairs starting at 2pm! LOVE!

Music, Crochet, and Tatting

So I've been practicing my crocheting! I need a lot more practice haha but I'm enjoying it.

My practice chain! About two feet long haha.

My first attempt at the single crochet stitch...not that bad haha

After the show yesterday I went to Unos with some of the clowns and two older clowns who happen to be in the area. They were all telling stories about doing PR at different venues and some stories about PETA and how dumb and misinformed they are. Today I've just been relaxing at the library and I have rehearsal for the clowns at 3pm, so I gotta run, but before I do, just a couple pictures of the DCU Arena in Worcester:

Sorry for the really bright light.

This is by far the smallest venue yet.

Now if I just learn tatting, I know Jennyanydots would be very proud :p



P.S. Tatting: A technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops.

Oil and Gold

So yesterday after leaving the library I took off and walked around Worcester. There sure are a heck of a lot of churches, which consists of the majority of pictures I took. I headed up north and after grabbing a sandwich went to the Worcester Art Museum, which is across from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. I made the decision to miss the 3pm bus back to the train and decided on seeing the museum and walking home.

The museum was a decent size with several nice pieces on display, but it cost $12 for admission, and that's WITH my student discount (I'm so glad I still carry around my Geneseo ID). I paid the fee and took a walk around. At most museums usually I feel a sense of calm, but since there were not too many people there, and they had a lot of security on staff, I felt very uneasy and felt the eyes of all the guards following me. Usually I would have taken more pictures (if allowed) but I didn't feel right in doing so. I did however take a picture of...one of Monet's Waterlilies paintings! I have found another one! After my disappointment in Kansas City it was such a surprise to stumble upon one. That's one more I can cross off my checklist!

A church

The Hanover Theatre

Small courtyard across the street

Other side of the courtyard

Back side of City Hall

Another church haha

Worcester Art Museum, and that is NOT the front door, which I discovered after attempting to enter haha

Water Lilies!

Kind of dark but some nice houses on the street.

After visiting the museum I walked home, which was kind of farther than I thought (it ended up being around 3.5 miles) but I knew it would be good to stretch out my legs from working them out the day before. I stopped at Walmart to see if they had restocked their exercise section, and unfortunately did not. I really need to get a yoga mat, and then only had two left, a purple one with flowers and a pink one with flowers. I don't need a mat THAT badly...yet.

Today we open in Worcester at 7pm. I need to head out back to the arena to do sound check, but I wanted to share this: I still get Notes from the Universe from my email every day, and I used to share them in my blog, especially ones that inspired me or happen to really touch on my life that day. Well this was my one for today:

ADVENTURERS WARNING:

Sometimes, being your true radiant self, living in the moment, glad for all you already have and who you already are, Chris, isn't always easy.

Nope, such conditions create the precise moment in one's life when the floodgates of physical abundance swing open the farthest, giving rise to that persistent, nagging "issue of the ages": where to put it all.

Really -
The Universe

Thanks Universe.