so when we last left our hero (that'd be me), i was having my arm twisted into staying another night in Seattle. ow! uncle!

it was very much worth it. not only did i get to enjoy my super swanky hotel (which i otherwise would have had to leave less than 24 hours after checking in) and avoid the feeling of being rushed, but i also got to celebrate Miss Evan's birthday. sometimes, well, quite frequently actually, time is worth more than money.

i spent the day wandering around town some more. that was definitely the theme of my Seattle party. lots of relaxing strolls. ate a fabulous dinner of eel, buffalo and some fish at Earth and Ocean. then wandered upstairs to enjoy Evan's party for hours on end, which included finally meeting the infamous Jennarator.

Kaer attempted to convince me to let her drive me to the airport the next morning but i tricked her by calling her just before i left and telling her to go back to bed. crafty!

and then it was off to Boston...

arrived at Logan around 10pm, feeling the trip was awful short despite the hour and a half layover in Chicago. Ciji was waiting just outside the security gates. we gave each other big hugs and she made a comment on my hair. "thank gawd you warned me!" she said. we collected the bags and grabbed a cab, gabbing the whole time. i instantly realized (or re-realized) what an extra special friendship we have -- it was as if no time had passed since i last saw her when really it'd been nearly four years.

our cab ride home was amusing to say the least, due to our slightly insane cab driver. at first we thought he was just eccentric: singing along to the music, answering us in the third person. but as we got closer to home and the directions became more complex, he tipped the scales towards outright nutso. "she said turn left. left, left, left, always left," he mumbled quite audibly. "she says go through the stop. i will make a stop, but not a full park." he wasn't talking to us. i guess he had brought along the voices in his head to keep himself company on slow nights.

anyways, at her place, we decided against going out and instead rounded up a delicious pizza and chilled on the couch. now, i've heard for years how much better pizza is on the east coast and rolled my eyes every time. but, now, i'm converted. you have much better pizza. our pizza sucks. are you happy?

we walked around Newbury and the Commons, enjoying a very sunny day. April, you said? bought some pants.

that night, we dressed up swanky and headed out to Ciji's Make-a-Wish benefit party. met up with Lindsay (hi, you're cute like no tomorrow) and trekked off to start our evening at Whiskey Park. dimly lit (that's "properly" lit to some of us), well decorated and OVERPRICED. who wants to pay $9 for a $5 drink? not me. but the atmosphere made up for it and i settled in to chat with Ciji and her friends.

at the benefit, we snacked on the itty-bitty buffet (read: cheese and crackers), drank, and danced. it was a sea of little black dresses. thank goodness for Ciji in her beautiful orange dress. she was a bright spot in amongst the tide. someone mention that i was the best dressed man there but i think she was just hitting on me.

afterwards, and after a brief stop at some pub around the corner, we walked all over town trying to find a cab. something about the impending Boston Marathon had made them scarce. once we captured one, Ciji complained that we should have just asked the bellman at the hotel to call us one. we all groaned in that realization.

back at the house, Ciji and i ate two different pizzas and a healthy portion of mac'n'cheez. what? we hadn't eaten dinner!

um ... did nothing. bailed on a party. recovered from the night before. ate something. we think. neither of us can remember what we did for dinner.

Marathon Day. walked around the crowded streets for a few hours and then headed up to Lindsay's office which overlooked mile 26 and the finish line. i was grouchy because of all the people: crowds make me tired. Ciji saw her friend Leon and Lindsay her friend from work. we all cheered them plus a few thousand strangers on and i started to dream of racing again. two years? i think i can marathon by then.

with the race close to over, we dropped by a party for five minutes just to say "hi" then headed over to the Bell in Hand, the oldest pub in the country. enjoyed repeated Guinnesses, various drunk but friendly Boston hoodlums, and a pair of new Australian friends. Ciji and Lindsay later involved themselves in a domestic dispute between a homeless couple while i was off elsewhere. ballsy gals.

woke up mid-morning and wandered down to the New England Aquarium with Ciji. while there, we learned a valuable lesson: read first, then ask questions. i commented on a flock of baby penguins only to have Ciji read aloud the sign next to them: "THESE AREN'T BABIES!" then, later, while looking at a school of fish, Ciji asked, "why do fish school?" i turned and read the sign next to us, titled, "WHY DO FISH SCHOOL?" so, yes, read first, then ask questions.

Ciji showed that her aversion to sea creatures extends beyond just the cooked ones. especially the sharks. and the one with the grandma teeth that seemed intent on stalking us.

93 DEGREES! ouch. i had to buy shorts since, y'know, it's April and i didn't expect it to be actually hot so i didn't pack any hot weather clothes. we decided it was the perfect day to sit in the Commons, read, and watch all the new babies with their moms. thought briefly about getting an ice cream but decided it was too much trouble to get up.

Lindsay met us for dinner and we headed over to Legal Seafood which i had really been looking forward to. after the meal, though, i decided that the only thing i really like there is the clam chowder. but seeing as the clam chowder was delicious, i couldn't complain too much.

Leon was supposed to meet us but stood us up because he injured his achilles. how did he injure his achilles? playing basketball a mere two days after running a marathon. chame, chame, chame! (i began to question his existence since i had yet to see his face, a picture, or any other actual evidence of him.)

went in search of the Museum of Useful Things in Cambridge, which Ciji had heard about on some TV program. found it. discovered that it was just barely a museum and mostly a store to buy semi-useful things. bought Ciji a bell. regretted it the whole way home. ("bing!") met up with Lindsay and Leon that night at a southwestern grill place with 5000 beers. yes, 5000. or was it 500? in any case, a lot. ate, drank, were merry. wandered over to the White Horse Tavern (the first of two on the trip) and instantly won a crappy Coors Light tshirt.

my birthday. that's right, i'm 28 now. bow down to my age and wisdom. or my senility and grey hair. whichever.

Ciji wasn't feeling well so we stayed in most of the day and watched the Game Show Network. thank gawd we had that bell! *ding* she swears she'll never watch game shows again but i know she secretly loved it.

packed up for the trip to New York and made plans with Lindsay to meet up at the Greyhound bus station. dragged our stuff all the way down to South Station and then decided we should have just taken Lindsay's car. called Lindsay. dragged our stuff all the way back home, waited for her to show up with the car, and remarked on our brilliantly poor planning.

drove to New York thanks to Ciji's friend Yaz's brilliant directions. an easy as pie three-hour drive. arrived at our hotel on 54th and Broadway, down the street from Studio 54, around the corner from the David Letterman Show. swanky, swanky
lobby. not so swanky hallways. semi-swanky room. just fine for the price and location. unpacked a bit, changed, ate some pizza around the corner, realized how fucking big everything is in New York (of course, we were mere blocks from Times Square), and then headed out to meet up with Lindsay's friends at the second White Horse Tavern. apparently, it had the mystique of being a bar where several famous poets and authors had drunk themselves to death. it lost all that mystique upon arrival but we enjoyed a beer or two in the warm New York night before heading home and getting to bed at a relatively decent hour.

woke up and thought about getting half-priced tickets to a play but realized it would have killed half our day to do so. instead, we wandered over to the box office of a play Ciji had really wanted to see and ended up getting good tickets for a decent price. go us!

we walked around and bit then headed over to the MOMA and met up with Lindsay's friend. saw Lichtensteins and Van Goghs, among others, for days. went through room after room of Richters until i thought my eyes were going to fall out. spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around 5th Avenue, Central Park and the like.

that night, after eating yummy thai food that came a mere two minutes and change after ordering, we went to our play: Proof with Jennifer Jason Leigh. excellent! great! wonderful! kudos to Ciji for the suggestion. it was one of the better plays i've seen in a long time.

headed out to Beauty Bar near Union Square afterwards. it's an old beauty salon with old hairdryers and barbers chairs as decor. you could even have your nails done while you sip your
cosmo. i thought this was a unique, creative idea until someone told me there's something just like it in San Francisco.

left around 2am and headed out to Groove in the Village to hear a funk cover band. danced, drank, talked with a guy about shoes while waiting for the bathroom. left at four and ate pizza across the street. headed back to the hotel for a regroup wherein Ciji called an old annoying ex (Ciji's drunk dialing is very amusing) and we all fell asleep.

woke up relatively lacking in fuzz despite the late night and found our way downtown via the subway. went to Battery Park and saw the World Trade Center monument. saw the Statue of Liberty from a distance. walked around the World Trade Center site quietly. it was difficult for me to get any perspective having never seen the towers when they were up but the little remnants of that day still left standing were moving enough.

headed back uptown to visit the Empire State Building. after
waiting in line after line, saw the city from some height. it seemed small and orderly from up there. hardly the jumbled commotion it was at ground level.

Lindsay went off to go say goodbye to Kelly while Ciji, her friends and i sat in a diner and relaxed until it caught on fire. bought the requisite "I HEART NEW YORK" tshirt. got in the car and drove home. thanks, New York!

Ciji went back to work. no more full-time playmate. talked with Leon about investing. met up with Ciji for lunch. wandered around a bit then took a nap. went out to the Washington Square Tavern for the best meal all trip. yum!

had lunch with Lindsay and wandered around town. the realization that i have to go home gave me mixed feelings. on one hand, i was looking forward to being back in my own space, not living out of a suitcase. on the other, i was falling for Boston. i'd really felt at home this trip.

went out to the North End for dinner with Ciji and Yaz. talked politics with our french waitress. met up with Lindsay later and headed out to a great irish pub. got a good teasing from the bartender when i drank slowly (my belly was full!) and made quite a few new bar friends.

my last day in Boston. slept in until noon to celebrate. ate at
Zaftig's -- yum! then wandered downtown with Lindsay and caught a Duck Tour. a Duck Tour? think of climbing into the back of an amphibious vehicle for a tour of Boston accompanied by the incessant yapping of the driver who points out various points of interest centered mostly around war and crime. but at least when you drive by fun-loving Bostonians they quack at you and you quack back. "quack, quack!"

came back home and vegged in front of the TV. ordered yummy
Vietnamese food and went out to the store for pie and ice cream. said goodbye to Lindsay. had a long, animated, but ultimately productive chat with Ciji before heading off to bed.

packed, said goodbye and thank you to Ciji, got on a plane and slept most of the way home.