I have really awesome parents. Even as kids, my parents were adament about being fair to my sister and I. For Christmas, our gifts were always of the same dollar value, making sure that one wasn’t cheated.

As adults, it’s not such a big deal. Well, to us it’s not, but to them it still is.

When I was moving into this place, I asked my parents for some help financially to pay for the movers. They didn’t blink. My dad responded that they’re always having my sister over for dinner and that they’re always spending money on Sarah, so helping pay for my move wasn’t a big deal to them. I hate asking my parents for money. I won’t ask my mom. For some reason, I always ask my dad.

The other night, I was talking to my dad on the phone and he said that he was going to be sending me a check. My sister just bought a house and needed to buy a new refrigerator. Well, my mom wanted a new refrigerator that has ice and water on the door, even though hers is only about three years old. They decided to buy themselves a new one and give the “old” one to my sister. My dad said that the check would be for about half of what the refrigerator cost.  Being honest, I told my dad that I didn’t expect a check but I totally appreciated it. I hadn’t given it much thought beyond that.

Zoom in on this morning and I checked my bank account balance and had a bit of a panic attack. I made a mistake of some type and found my balance to be FAR below what it should be. I called my landlord and told him not to cash the rent check just yet because it would bounce. That would suck. I still have to figure out what’s wrong with the account and will probably have to beg the bank manager to refund a few overdraft fees. At least I’m not going to starve this week.

When I checked my mail this afternoon, there was a check from my parents. It was twice as much as what my dad told me it would be. The timing was flawless. I’ll be able to pay my rent as planned, pay down a credit card, and still buy Reggie some treats.

Parents have a funny way of doing things with perfect timing.

FedEx loves me today. I got two packages. The first package contains my meds. Those came from Orlando via Indianapolis. That doesn’t make sense to me since FedEx has a hub in Newark, NJ. But whatever. I got them.

The second one is a little better. It’s my coffee from Green Mountain. This order has their Peruvian Select and Mexican Select.

I just found this in an old entry. It was a logo I had used for my site a while back. I like it.

Every one of those pictures has a story. They’re all from sometime in 1999 or 2000. My favorite is in the center, the day Sarah was born. The top left was in NYC, top center in Philly, top right in San Francisco. The whole center row was in Pittsburgh(ish). Bottom left is in London, bottom center at my parents’ house, and the bottom right in Philly. Wow, what a quick jaunt down memory lane.

I needed to get out and do SOMETHING today. I drove to the south end for some lunch. That was a big start, and it was good. I also dropped off some dry cleaning and then talked to some people at the dog park who had pugs. I wish Reggie had been with me.

Then I jumped on the T and took it to my new place to see how my daily commute is going to be. My results were mixed. After overcoming the disorientation of being at a completely unknown location, I found my way through Day Square and then to my new place. The walk will be about fifteen minutes. The worst part will be navigating the crosswalks. I did find myself walking past a barbershop with an incredibly hot man coming out of it with a cut similar to mine. His beard was better, though. What can I say… I know what I like. More on that in a bit.

On my return back toward the T station, I realized this is what I’m going to see every morning on my way to the T station. Once again, my inner aviation geek had a big boner going on.

That’s the Boston tower with a jet taking off behind it. That sight will probably never get old. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a very clear day or the photo could have been much better.

Once I got back to the T station (Wood Island), I started musing just how poorly Boston’s MBTA is run. Look at this train and tell me if it looks like it’s being properly maintained. I suspect that it is not.

On my trip outbound, the trek through State Street Station was painful. The place is a dump and I was curious if there was another route through the T system that would make more sense. I found myself navigating the green line and the red line and realized that going directly from the blue line to the orange line makes the most sense.

If you’re not familiar with Boston’s MBTA system, my new place is near the Wood Island stop on the Blue Line, and my office is near the Union Park stop on the Silver Line. Walking from Back Bay or NE Medical on the Orange Line is a possibility.

If you’re not from Boston, the MBTA (better known as “The T”) is our transit system here. It’s not a bad system, but it is VERY poorly run.  The current management seems to think that busses are the solution to all that ails Boston. The fact of the matter is that people don’t like riding busses. We like riding things that run on tracks, not pavement. The Silver Line was meant to replace the old Elevated Orange Line that ran along Washington Street in Roxbury and the South End. It was promised to provide rapid bus transit, and it has failed. That’s why I find this sign (taken at South Station) so appropriate.

Anyway, that’s my rant about the T for today.

Yesterday, I went to see Elvis, my barber. He’s pretty awesome. Unfortunately, I’m less than thrilled with what he did with my beard. Maybe it’s because I have so much gray in the beard that it looks really light. The haircut is perfect, and if we turned the beard into a goatee, it’d be great.

Anyway… Today’s little excursion has worn me out a bit and I need to take a nap. This is going to be a quiet evening at home, I think. Perhaps a trip to IKEA is in order. Eh, maybe not.

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