Premature

I found out today that a friend's dad died a few days ago of complications from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
He was a wonderful man and I don't think that I ever met anybody who didn't like him. Even the guy he ran against for mayor ended up as his friend. I keep wondering why such a great person had to suffer so much and have his life cut short.

I really want to be there for my friend, but it forces me to unearth a lot of pain that I have worked very hard to deal with so that I can remain a functioning person on a day-to-day basis, as it brings back a flood of memories and emotions surrounding the death of my own father (he died in January 2002 from cancer). Life can be so unfair sometimes.

Tags: death, father, Lou gehrig's disease, ALS, sickness, pain

Furry visitor

We have a mouse. Not a welcome visitor. Management company says they will send someone tomorrow morning. Keeping fingers crossed.

I used to like the Zen-syle of my bedroom, featuring a matress on the floor (very college, but very comfy). Not so much anymore.

Tags: mice, animal, city life

Boston Eats: Tasca

Tasca is great for an intimate dinner or for a meal with a group of friends. Sharing small plates and good wine- the place just screams Date Spot.

The one annoying thing about eating with groups here is that they won't seat you until everyone in your party is present. Umm.. it's a tapas restaurant- doesn't this mean small plates for sharing? Do you really need all members of a party to do that?

Food is good- I'm getting hungry for their fritata just writing this. Sangria is some of the best around. If I remembered the names of any more dishes I'd gladly expand upon them, but those details escape me right now.

Parking can be VERY tough to find. Try to take the T (Green Line) if you can. (I don't believe in paying $$ for valet parking, which they were charging for last time I went there) .

Tags: Boston, food, eating, dinner, dining, restaurant, tapas

Boston Eats: Bella Luna

Inconsistent service and quality on my different visits to Bella Luna in JP.

My first visit was with 5 other people and they handled our varied requests well (we had two veggies and a semi-veggie among us that night). The place is kind of small and I felt like we scored by snagging a large, round table.

I'm not sure it deserves to call the stuff on it's menu JP's Best Calamari- it was actually kind of greasy, chewy and soggy. Entrees have been decent. The drinks are good, but I once had to wait until the bar opened downstairs, which was kind of odd, since it was on a Saturday around 6pm or something.

Still, it's a nice option that has a parking lot (which can be full sometimes).

After your dinner, you can hit the Milky Way downstairs for more good drinks and maybe some bowling or live music.

Tags: JP, Boston, food, restaurant, dining, eating

Boston Eats: Zocalo

A Friday night visit to Zocalo in Brighton.

What a pleasant first experience at a restaurant. The table side ceviche was so yummy. Not the tableside show I had anticipated, but I still highly recommend it. The tuna was mixed with lime juice (a predominant flavor, make sure you like lime) and tossed with fresh mango, avocado, onion, and tomatoes.

The mango sangria was great- not too fruity and not too alcohol-flavored. The freshly made guac came in a cool, and huge, bowl and was filled with fresh tomatoes. The chicken burrito was very good and reminded me of the ones at Fresh City, but with fresher and juicier chicken.

The service was all over the map- I wish the server had been a little quicker to come over and get the check, but it was a busy Friday night. Overall, the staff did seem genuinely concerned that we enjoyed our meal.

Zocalo gets points for finding me a table for 2 on a Friday night within 15 minutes or so of my calling to make a reservation.

Tags: food, eating, Boston, Brighton, restaurant

Tom Petty & the Hip-breakers

This is the nickname a co-worker of mine gave Tom Petty's back up band.

I saw Trey Anastasio, Tom Petty and surprise guest Stevie Nicks last night at the Tweeter Center. Great concert. The hits were played. Stevie had a tambourine solo. (I am not making that up. I didn't even know that there was such a thing (I mean, I suppose there is, by you know... how often do you see one in real life).

The drunken high school and college students were annoying, but entertaining. One kid, who was obviously on something, was tossing clumps of grass up into the air and trying to catch them on his tongue. Some BU frat guys got rather unruly while in line next to me for beer (hint- don't act like assholes while yelling the name of your school). I was very tempted to tell them their behavior is the reason they probably didn't get laid enough.

When the concert was over my friend and I realized that we were faced with every concertgoer's worst nightmare. We lost the car. In our pre-concert excitement, neither of us caught a glimpse of what parking lot we were in (the Tweeter Center has 17 in total). This lead to much aimless wandering while looking for a small sports car lost amid a sea of SUV's. Eventually we found it. Now I have an idea of what my people went through wandering in the desert for 40 years.

I got home at like 2 a.m. And then got up at 7 a.m. and went to work.

Tags: Tom Petty, Trey Anastasio, Stevie Nicks, music, concert, summer

Go Whalers

The team formerly known as the Hartford Whalers has finally won a Stanley Cup.

I wonder how bad the rioting will be in Edmonton after their loss?

Tags: hockey, NHL, Whalers, Conncticut, Edmonton, Stanley Cup

No apology necessary

Something I've observed at social gatherings that puzzles me- I, as a female, wander up to a boyfriend, or, in some cases, even a male friend, who happens to be chatting with a woman. I greet them, if necessary introduce myself ("Hi, I'm Lyss"). The woman almost immediately apologizes to me for chatting with my boyfriend (or the man she presumes to be my boyfriend). A similar scenario can occur when I'm chatting with a guy and my boyfriend or male friend walks up and Chatty Guy apologizes to him for talking to me.

A variation on the theme above can also go something like this- Chatty Guy says something to my boyfriend/friend like "Oh, I'm sorry, I hope you don't mind me talking to Lyss." Do I look like the little lady who needs approval from her Man to talk to someone at a party? Get with it and realize that this is 2006, not 1906.

I'm not sure I understand why some people feel that they have to apologize for having a conversation. I'm not so insecure that I think you're going to steal my partner away from me. And if it's a male friend, well, then there's really no reason to apologize.

Tags: dating, relationships, love, social habits

Dangers of smoking

Great headline, courtesy of Channel 7:



Homeowner: I woke up, lit a cigarette and the entire house blew up

(via Fark)

Tags: smoking, danger, hot, fire, alarm clock, Long Island

Blog as self defense

BPD News, the blog of the Boston Police Department, is one place they chose to write out a timeline of events, relating to media inquiries about the timing of police response to a homicide.

Tags: media, police, crime, Boston, blog

Park(ing) Plaza

I wonder how many cars would fit on the wide concrete expanse that is Boston's City Hall Plaza, if it were officially to be used as a parking lot? (Perhaps it might help ease some of the parking trouble in that area.....)

Tags: Boston, Government Center, concrete, urban jungle, city life, ugly

A wonderful bureaucrat

It's not an urban legend! City government can work.

My name was spelled wrong on my voter registration for the state of Massachusetts. I was unsure how to proceed, I Googled "Massachusetts voter registration" and emailed the people in some city office describing my problem and asking what immense amount of forms I had to fill out to change things.

I was absolutely floored when I got a prompt email back, saying that if I could send him my correctly spelled name the wonderful city of Boston worker would try to get it fixed for me and save me from the red tape. I got an official letter a few days ago telling me that my misspelled name had been corrected.

Thank you effective city employee!

Tags: Boston, city life, voting, civic duty, red tape

Sharing the road

Share the road.

The mantra of bicyclists. However, some of them don't seem to
understand that sharing the road means not sideswiping cars. Many
mornings I see a guy riding down VFW Parkway in his recumbent bike,
complete with safety gadgets and side mirrors. Well, this morning he
sideswiped my car while I was stopped at a light. A few minutes later,
I saw him do this to another car (I'd since changed lanes). I don't
imagine that he'd like it if the driver of a car did that to him.

Sharing the road means respecting the other cars,
which I know can be a hard concept for people in Massachusetts to
grasp sometimes, even if they're not piloting something with four
wheels.

Where are the Serta sheep when I need them?

I've been having a bought of insomnia lately. Oddly, it has also made me more productive. Things I've done lately because I couldn't sleep:

• reorganized bedroom closet
• organized new dresser
• cleaned kitchen counters
• cleaned all excess papers off kitchen table, putting things in two neat pile- one for me, one for roommate

In fact, I kind of feel as though I'm blogging about this now so that I can feel productive since the kitchen table is all clean and I can't vacuum at midnight (because I'm a good neighbor).

Tags: sleep, insomnia, stress, life

Taking 'pride' in your appearance

Stuff@Night is trying to save gays and lesbians from making any fashion faux pas during this year's Pride Week. How Queer Eye of them.

Tags: fashion, gay, lesbian, Boston, pride

BostonEats: Bristol Lounge

Yes, the $17 burger at the Bristol Lounge is worth it. Take it from me-- I'm a total carnivore and burger-lover. The appetizer was some sort of cool lobster dish with saffron and Gorgonzola foam (yes, foam) whose name escapes me right now. it was amazing.

The only time I had something questionable there involved the buttermilk chicken fingers-- they were a little on the burnt side (and I was too hungry to bother to send them back to the kitchen).

Not too out of the normal price range to keep me away when I have something special to celebrate. (As long as you don't go overboard and order the steak and lobster at the same time).

Drinks are yummy and creative. The service was impeccable. I've never had so many details seen to-- from making sure I had enough water, to cleaning crumbs off the table before dessert-- nothing was overlooked.

The setting was perfect for that winter night, as there are plush couches and fireplaces to take away the chill. I've had the good fortune of being able to stay in the fab Four Seasons and was not kicked out of the Bristol Lounge (no one was wasted, just having a fun time chatting with friends) until way after they stopped serving.

Tags: food, eating, yummy, Boston, restaurant, good eats

Stanley Cup screen

Being able to watch the Stanley Cup finals on an HDTV kicks ass!

(Just thought I'd share that).

Tags: hockey, Canada, TV, HDTV, technology