Yet another trip to Boston (with pictures)

If you are wondering why I haven't been writing much over the past week, then it's because I have been caught up with a lot of things. Last weekend was good fun with friends who drove up here for a visit. We drove up to a couple of places close to school and spent the Memorial Day in Boston. I had wanted to blog about it. But I have been lazy. So I will just mention a few bullet points of things to do if you visit Boston/Cambridge :

1. Boston Common: You can see the state house at one end of the park, or just laze around in the park. During the winter, you can skate on the icy frog pond!

2. Harvard & MIT : Walk around and see the hallowed portals of these two great schools.

3. Charles River: MUST take a walk down the Charles River and marvel at the Boston skyline and watch the yachts sail by. This river forms the border between downtown Boston and Cambrige and Charlestown.

4. Quincy market: Browse through the shops, pick up something to eat and sit by the harbor and watch the ships come and go.

5. Prudential Center: If you are a shopaholic, then you'll love this place. But before you drown yourself in the pleasure of shopping, enjoy the skywalk at the top of the hub. You get a bird's eye view of Boston and a quick brief on the history of one of the oldest cities of US!

And if you are one of those uber-enthusiastic tourists, then you will enjoy walking the Freedom trail - the red brick path that will guide you through the streets of Boston to the most historical sites. I think the easiest way to get around the city is to buy a day-pass and use the T (subway). There are also those 'hop-on hop-off' buses that conduct guided tours. Oh by the way, the first subway line in the United States was inaugurated in Boston!

One of the many marvelous views from the top floor of Prudential Center

Picture of Charles River taken from the subway

Quincy market

Charles River again!

At the Prudential Tower

Outside the gates of Harvard

Statue of the three lies at Harvard:
FIRST LIE: This is not John Harvard! Who is it?
SECOND LIE: John Harvard was not the founder of Harvard.Who was he?

THIRD LIE: Harvard was not founded in 1638. When was it founded?

BONUS QUESTION: What do Harvard Students and tourists do to the statue for luck?
(Answers at the end of the post)

At the Boston Common
State house at Boston

Answers to the Harvard trivia quiz:

1. A 19th-century Harvard student
2. An early financial contributor
3. 1636
4. Rub its shoe

P.S The things-to-do list is not at all comprehensive. Boston has a lot more to offer: museums, art, sports (Red Sox!), nightlife et al!
P.P.S I am sorry I don't have a picture of MIT from this trip 'cos we didn't have the time to go there. But here's a picture from my last trip there!

My sister at MIT

Frog Pond at the Boston Common during winter is open for ice-skating!

Charles River : Frozen!

Make love, not war!

Something reminded of this quote today:

"We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person. "
-W. Somerset Maugham

I wish people didn't fight. It makes me feel horrible. It's like you are torn between two extremes:
On one end is your unwillingness to give up your ego and hope that the other person will apologize and on the other end is the willingness to forgive and forget. It's a fight between the angel and demon within you. It's a fight between your left brain and right brain. It's the fight between your mind and heart. It's like the toss of a coin - equal probabilities of landing heads/tail up!

So dear readers, think before you decide which end of the bridge you want to be on.
Sometimes, in order to win the battle, you lose the war!
And sometimes, in order to win the war, you have to lose a battle!

P.S. Guys, don't be misled by the language and choice of words. I am really not a violent person.

Sunday

Good morning world!

You must be wondering what's wrong with this woman to be up at an unearthly hour on a Sunday (its 6:45 AM as I write this, and I woke up at 5:00 AM). A couple of friends are driving up to visit me and I am going to play the host, tour guide, et al. So here I am just waiting for them to arrive!

Anyway, so one of my friends had this as his status message on Facebook and I quite liked it, so I thought of sharing it with you all:

Doing something useful on a Sunday is an insult to the calendrical institution it upholds. The other days would make fun of it...and call it names (Mondays can be a real bitch sometimes..hah) ..be human..be kind...waste the day away..give it the respect it deserves...I'm doing my bit right now... :)

So guys, give Sunday it's due respect! Enjoy the long weekend !!

P.S I have never been too fond of Sundays. Mostly because it makes me feel sad that the weekend is over and that I have to go to work/school tomorrow. Does that mean I won't hate it anymore if I am not working/studying? Time will tell baby!

A beautiful day!

I am almost done with my spring term (I can't believe that I have been here three terms already!). I have just a couple of more weeks of classes and an exam to go and then am off to NY for my summer internship. Anyway, so today we had our end-of-the-year picnic at one of our Professor's house. Despite the forecasted rain, we decided to go ahead with our plans . It was worth it. The house looked like it was straight out of a story book...or rather one of those amazing vacation homes that I have seen on Travel and Living shows! The living room was so cosy that I just wanted to settle into the rocking chair in the corner (with a book of course!). But the deck was so much more prettier! And there was a HUGE dog outside. Now I am not really a dog person and I don't really go around playing with every other dog. But this one was really harmless and cute. And there was a cat. I forget his name. But he clearly bosses over the dog. Anyway, so the house was by the side of a lake. We had a good time playing around - frisbee, baseball... (atleast we tried!). We canoed. It was my first time! And it was so much fun. Mr. Professor and Mrs. Professor didn't have too much faith in us and were sure that we would topple over. But we did pretty well. Now all this activity obviously made us hungry. There was SO much food. I don't think I have ever eaten so much in a span of six hours (or maybe I have!). So the menu was:

1. Samosas with chutney
2. Naan
3. Dal (Mrs. Professor had taken the pains to cook it herself!)
4. Rice
5. Veg Burger
6. Salad
7. Fruits (strawberries!)
8. Cookies

(there was some chicken curry and beef burger which is not something I would have, so I didn't bother to add it to the list)

We ended the day by warming ourselves up around a fire and eating s'mores (roasted marshmallows and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between a pair of crackers). So that was the end of an 'awesomely' beautiful day! (...and the day of a couple of firsts : canoeing, s'mores!)

P.S See the pictures below! :)

Back to blogosphere!

Hello readers!

I am back from my blogging hiatus. A very long one at that. And I thought the best way to get back to it would be to start afresh. And hence the new blog! Obviously much has happened since my old blog was abandoned. Here's a gist...

1. Completed my bachelor's.
2. Half-way through my master's!
3. Had my heart broken.
4. Found someone who patched it together again! :)
5. Moved cities...countries!
6. Broken friendships. Renewed friendships. Brand new friendships.
7. Got the taste of paychecks.
8. Went from 'hate cooking' to 'love cooking'!
9. Lost some weight.
10. Put on lots more since then!
11. Grew my hair to a length I would have never imagined on myself.
12. Cut it all over again!
13. Traveled more than I have traveled all my life.
14. ...and spent some quality time with family!

...so trivial as it may sound to you in the above list, my life has been pretty eventful from my perspective. And I thought the best way to sum it up would be to say it's been a mixed-bag-of-emotions and thus the new blog was born! Stay tuned as it grows and blossoms into a wonderful err...blog-being?