desperate housewife

My Eee PC is broken and all I've got left to write from is my boyfriend's N900 (awesome gadget, by the way). And since he still has not installed cyrillic, and I still feel like writing (man, this thing's keyboard rules the world), this seems to be the right place to pour it out.

Suddenly it seems my life has hit a straight rail track that leads me I don't know where. It's like I've lost control over it somehow and just let myself be dragged by the stream. (mainstream?) I worry about stuff like what we're going to have for dinner and what color the walls of my new bedroom should be and what kind of shitter I should buy. I don't take pictures, I don't write and I don't ride planes anymore. I hardly do any of the things I love, telling myself that this is temporary, and that things will get better. And maybe they will. Maybe I'll finally have the cash and take the time - for a camera, for Italy, and for my abandoned online confessionals. In any case, there is something that I'm thankful for - that I am not alone in the whole mess. That after I do pick out the goddamn colors, there's someone, who will help me paint the walls.

Thanks, this does feel better.

Flights,

lights,

I'm

high

Drinks,

winks,

it's

me

Skies,

smiles,

he's

nice

Fears,

tears,

we're

free.

For all the words I never said,
For all the moments that I never had,
For all the things that I could have packed,

I take no more than a moment.
Then never look back

That was yesterday

Walking around the old neighborhood, and walking into another time. I meet some of the old neighbors and they ask me how I am. I say that I am doing fine, working and living the life in the big city. I don't say much but you can't really cram a few years into a 5 minute conversation.

I have coffee with a friend I grew up with, who is visiting from Denmark. Her parents still live in our old building though, and mine moved to another place. She looks good and doesn't think about coming back for more than visits and vacations, and I understand.

After that I decide to walk to my old school, just for kicks.

The paths that I walk seem strange and familiar, like I've been there but in another life. Like I have amnesia and don't really know where I am going but still know how to get there. I walk past the small smoke-filled cafes that Toni and I used to spend so much time in before and after school. We talked about what we were going to do once we were out of high school and the places that we would visit and the bar we would open on the beach. I don't remember what the name of that bar was but we were going to have live music at night. For sure.

I moved to another city and she moved to another country. Come to think of it, many of my friends did. My sister did too.

My old school doesn't look as old. They've done some work on it. It's totally empty because it's a Sunday. I curse at myself a little for not going there on Thursday or Friday. But maybe I've had enough trips down memory lane for me to meet my old teachers as well. Maybe next time.

As I stroll back to my parents' apartment I start counting. It's been almost 8 years since I graduated and, effectively, moved away. Tomorrow is my birthday, and I will spend it in another town. I will be 27 years old. But that's tomorrow.

10 Places... Boston

I figured that if I can't go to trips, I can at least start writing about the trips again. Getting back to the summer memories kinda makes winter more bearable.

Mariya and I visited Boston in September, 2007. That was her second work trip to our Boston office and my first one. Since then I've visited again in 2008 and 2009 - enough to become a big fan of the town, its people, its places and the Boston Bruins.

Boston has a weird mixture of people and cultures and the unmistakable atmosphere of a college town. It also has some of the most fascinating architecture I've seen in my life. People are usually smiling and chatty, but I guess that is just something an Eastern European like me would find as unusual.

We've had some great times with colleagues from our Boston office, some of which unfortunately don't work there anymore. Yes, Ian, you sunbathing-in-Nicaragua-bastaad :P And thanks to their hospitality and good knowledge of the best drinking places, the work trips were well worth the long flights over the Atlantic. Side-note: the weirdest thing about Boston 'drinking' places is that depending on the time of day it can be either a restaurant, a pub, or a club. Point and case: The Purple Shamrock.

So here are some spots you might want to check out if you are in Beantown:

1. The Public Garden

Lots of green in the heart of town - you can go for a picnic, a read, or just a roll in the grass. Beware of the dogs and the squirrels.

2. Beacon Hill

A beautiful and quiet part of town that may as well be a museum of old houses, were it not for the parked Ferrari's and price tags of above a million. Otherwise makes for a very pleasant walk.

3. Harvard Square (Cambridge)

This has to be one of my favorite places not just in Boston but ... ever. It has everything you need - the cutest cafes, a Newbury Comics store (which I visit every single time), and a pub or two in which I've left my daily wage.

4. Central Wharf

One of the most 'feel-good' places in Boston - you can sit and stare at the water and the downtown Boston skyline from the same place. If you have the chance, also check out the New England Aquarium.

Oh, and that was the most boats I've seen in a single place. I want a boat!

5. Museum of Science

If you're in Boston in the winter and have some time to spare but no intention to skate on a frozen pond ( a well-embraced local activity for the really crazy people), please go and check it out. You can spend hours there, and I guarantee that even if you spend an entire day you won't be able to go through all the weirdly wonderful exhibits and insane devices you can find there. If you by any chance do not share my geekness or love of science you can always go the Museum of Fine arts.

That town is always a pleasure to come back to; I'd say definitely my favorite US city.

Most of the photos in this post are Mariya's.