And then there was fun...

I abandoned the very nice and amusing acute care therapists and hung out with the rehab therapists. Good decision. I drank a few beers. Started with Guinness, went on to something like "Long Path" or something like that, landed on a Blueberry beer that made me crave pancakes.

And I had a good time with the folks. I didn't feel like an outsider for long. I laughed. I had fun. It was a good evening.

The acute care folks make me laugh, but they don't go out. Or, if they do, they don't invite travelers. I'm heading out Saturday wiht the rehab folks, if tonight is any indication. Time to be social in Boston! Just when I was running out of tourist things to do-- finally some fun. :-)

Boston is fun. I miss my friends in Baltimore. I miss my friends from College (the talk of games is making me homesick and also making me consider how expensive a flight would be. It wouldn't be SOOO bad. If someone could pick me up at the airport.) I miss visiting my brother and his family (wife and nephews). But I'm seeing things. That's why I'm doing this- to see and experience and become not shy and learn. Most of all to learn.

An older SLP watched me do an MBSS today. I was a bit nervous-- I invite med students and family members of patients all the time, but another SLP is intimidating. But it was fine- I know what I'm doing in radiology. I know how to read a swallow. It's not rocket science, but it is based on experience. The SLP seemed complimentary. It shouldn't matter, but it made me feel a bit more secure. Who knows- I might actually be good at this job afterall. :-) i love being an SLP. Never a dull moment. Maybe I'll learn a little of FEES from him. That would be grand.

Okay, enough work talk. Good night. Pictures to come. I have pictures of Chinatown, Touristy places, and....I'll try to take it on a walk tomorrow and take pictures of some cool places I pass by every once an awhile.

Cnidophobia

Why, why, why, why, WHY was there a large mean looking nasty hornet like thing crawling on my curtain just as I was relaxing into sleep? While I'm in a creepy old house with NO BUG SPRAY.

I had to go to WAR. You know, pants, socks, hard shoes, long sleeves, Fantastik cleaner (the lysol didn't work- just pissed it off). My heart is pumping and it's midnight. And I have to get up for work. And I'm going to dream about the carcass of that dang wasp-buzzy-hornet thing crawling out of my toilet and flying around me. This is not cool. I need bug spray.

After spending way too much time trying to find a site that would tell me not to be afraid of this thing, I finally found this picture:


I think it's a giant resin bee, but I'm not sure. I mean, the picture is of a Giant Resin Bee, and it looks like what I flushed-- but it could also be a hornet. Problem is, the site says they don't fly toward people and I know that thing was aiming for me-- even before I tried to Lysol it. And I watered flowers on the porch last weekend and several of these things flew towards me. If they aren't agressive, then why are they picking on me?

goodnight. Why can't I be afraid of needles? Needles don't crawl on your curtains at night. Not without proper drinking to elicit that particular hallucination.

Gym time

Joined a gym. Tonight I took a class in sword fighting. I kept imagining a mysterious intruder that I'm going to knock the crap out of. I should sleep a little more secure tonight. Now I just need to go get a sword for my creepy apartment.

I had a lobster roll last night from some place called SkipJack's or something like that. It was disappointing. It was cold, and tasted like frozen and thawed shrimp-- even though it clear LOOKED like lobster. Tonight I cooked my own dinner, and it was massively better tasting and less expensive. And there's leftovers. Still eating the corn. I have 3 more ears to eat.

It's funny. Today I went to work, went the gym, then ate dinner, and I'm ready for bed. Am I getting old?

HayMarket

Read about it online and went this morning. Check this out:

7 ears of corn- $1
1 tomato- .25
Califlower head- $1
Blueberry quart- $1
3 apples- $1
Dubliner cheese and sharp chedder- 2/$5
Sandwich rolls- $1

Cool, huh?

The meat was more expensive- ground beef was $4, 4 chicken breasts $5, 1 lb shrimp $5.

People yell at you, and you can't pick your own out of the pile, so it's got a downside. But it was fun. And darn inexpensive-- I landed up with some decent veggies (except the tomato-- i'll have to eat it today cause it's a bit bumped up.)

I'm not sure what I'll do with 7 ears of corn. I could have bought a crate of corn for $5, but I resisted.

Chow'da II

Haven't had any yet. (Chow'da) Heard I REALLY need to eat a "lobster roll".

Haven't found the grocery store yet!

But I found the local ice cream shop with homemade ice cream and free wifi. Yippeee! Because, well, the girl I'm subletting from is very friendly and said I could use her wifi-- but she can't remember her password. So I needed to download the user manual for airport express from the internet. To fix the internet. Do you see the problem?

My commute is awesome- 30-40 minutes from door to door-- not bad for boston. I ate in a place called Masa last night with some of the staff. $5 sangrias help you talk to strangers...

The hospital is lovely- the nurses seem to give a rat's bottom and I've already utilized interpretive services X3-- there's such a range of nationalities. This week I have treated a spanish speaker, a lady with a stroke who only speaks Greek, an unfortunate fellow with a major cerebral bleed who only speaks vietnamese, and a alzheimer's patient who only speaks Manderine. Interpretive services and I are gonna be good friends.

My apartment is a 3 story walkup in an old house. Kind of spooky-- I'm sleeping with a maglight under my pillow so I can bang any intruders over the head. The house shakes when the trains go by. But it's a beautiful place and the bed is comfy.

Tonight I visited an independent bookstore with a sign proclaiming "Free Wifi" (See, I tried to stay away from the ice cream!) And I quickly made friends with Ed, who's worked there for 3 years, used to work with special ed kids, burned out from that, and doesn't know if there's a plug for the wifi. Apparently, they have also forgotten their passwords. I heard Ed's whole life story and he involved the other two random customers in the shop, Mike and Lisa, into the discussion. Mike likes art films and Lisa is a touring actor in a series of short plays-- just here for a month. I hope it continues to be easy to meet people! Gida also let me sit at her table cause I was out of laptop power and needed to plug in-- so far friendliness reigns. Friendship? Who knows. But now I have a list of things to do and see in Boston from Ed the talkative bookseller!

I'm extremely jealous that the elmstreet crowd is meeting. I miss y'all. The first few weeks on assignment are the loneliest- but I usually have my brother to fall back on. He's too far away for a quick trip right now. So I'll just sit, be jealous, and call people randomly. :-)