#47 Boston - My Cabin at the Cheesecake Factory

The list of Petraisms has officially received two new entries – and that in one day!! Rick, Denise, Chris and I were shown to our seats at the Cheesecake Factory yesterday and when the hostess showed us to a booth I could not help but exclaim “Oh great, we have a cabin!”. I was immediately educated by my wonderfully knowledgeable friends and Native English speakers that this kind of seating arrangement is called a booth. Only the hostess was on my side, and told me that this was indeed my cabin or whatever else I wanted it to be. Main thing I ordered lots of food and give her a big tip.

I followed this Petraism with a small twist to the classic “it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop” by making it “it was so quiet you could hear a needle drop”, so there you have it. Add them to the list of language infractions.

The second slightly off quote was in the context of my describing the evening prior, when my boss Bruce and his wife Davi took me to see a spectacular performance at the Boston Symphony – the Yale School of Music, the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and the Yale Glee Club, accompanied by two children’s’ choirs (Trinity Church Boys and Girls Choirs and Elm City Girls Choir) and three fine soloists performed Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. The whole effort was in the hands of the very enthusiastic and superbly skilled Korean conductor Shinik Hahm. The War Requiem is not nessecarily the most accessible piece of music, and may prove difficult to appreciate at the first encounter. Composed by Benjamin Britten, a Brit (haha), who was a 20th century composer and who won three Grammys in 1963 for his work (all for the War Requiem) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Britten , it requires tremendous stamina on behalf of the choir and the soloists, which all handled the task with ease, in particular tenor James Taylor (the other one, not the one you know….), who we thought had the voice of an angel. The War Requiem itself is a combination of the Requiem Mass by Britten laced with words by English poet Wilfred Owen – the choir sings the mass in Latin, the soloists sing the poems in English. Wikipedia describes Owen’s work as “shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of trench and gas warfare…..in stark contrast to both the public perception of war at the time and to the confidently patriotic verse written earlier by war poets.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Owen.

I have been so busy this weekend it may make you dizzy just reading about it so hang tight. Even I was tired this morning, and pretty much comatose until after 10 AM, sleeping in - something I have not done in years. Saturday morning, Charles River Esplanade, Boston, Massachusetts: 100 exercise-hungry athletes showed up to run the 3rd Annual Back Bay 5 K. Mother Nature participated as well by giving us a wonderfully warm and sunny morning. Organized by the Chi Phi Fraternity and the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, this is a very nice low-key community event. The race bibs are printed on regular paper (none of that fancy schmancy road race stuff); the markers are drawn on the pavement with chalk; the frat boys provide water, record race time and invite you to a barbeque at their place a little later if you are nice. http://backbay5k.mit.edu/. But here comes the really good news, I reached my goal of beating 8:30 min / mile in a 5 K road race. With a finishing time of 26:21 I accomplished my goal I had set at the beginning of the year (pace 8:28 min/mile). I was so excited. PR!! Now of course I need to find a new running goal for the rest of the year, and I am sure my coaches Amy and Brian will come with an achievable accomplishment I could set my sight on.

After the post-race milling about, Barbara, Chris and I headed over to Cambridge to hook up with Denise and Rick for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (http://www.cheesecakefactory.com/) – the site of the cabin incident. We opted to share a cheesecake since each one of them has enough calories that would warrant running a marathon to counterbalance the influx of fat and sugar. Zipping home after lunch, I first met up with Elaine, who was checking out the bed that she is about to inherit from me, and then headed over to Renee’s to drop off my two red IKEA sofa chairs, to the delight of her two cats, who seemed excited about new places to snooze on. Renee and I then hoofed it back to my place to get all dolled up for the Rock the Boat gala event, a fundraiser for the Mattapan Health Center, a community medical facility here in the Boston area. My boss Bruce and his charming wife Davi have been big supporters of the MHC for years, and he was one of last year’s honorees. http://www.mattapanchc.org/rtb.htm In its initial years the fundraiser took place on the cruise ship Spirit of Boston (http://www.mattapanchc.org/rtb.htm), hence the Rock the Boat theme, but the event has outgrown the ship, and I for one am glad. Many of you know how see-unworthy I am, and being green in the face just does not go well with a ball gown.

What’s all this furniture business you may ask? Hah! I have purchased a new bed – wonderful dark maple, solid wood, a bit expensive, but soooo beautiful. Now where did you buy this gem of carpentry you ask? Hah! I went to Jordan’s my friends, which for those of you who don’t know and have never experienced it, is quite something – Jordans, I am not kidding you, is Disneyland for Furniture Shoppers – this place is unbelievable. There are trapeze artists and liquid fire displays, there is Jellybean Land (entirely made from Jellybeans), there is a Fuddruckers Burger Place (where I had my first ever ostrich burger) and I had not even gotten to the furniture yet. It took Steph and me quite some time to look at all the 90-some beds on display, but the decision was a little easier once we told salesman Bob, who at that point followed us like a little puppy, that we needed a little bit of privacy and time alone. We made our decision, and sealed the deal with the help not of salesman Bob (who shot us a bit of a look and a sheepish evil eye attempt), but of salesman Jim, who was a bit more on the socially adept side and knew his furniture business inside and out. Next stop was Linens and Things, which did not feature any shiny lights or clowns, actually the place seemed devoid of sales people altogether, but Stephanie and I did find some nice bedspreads and other accoutrements for Petra’s new dazzling bedroom.


Well, you saw the pictures from last Sunday’s hike up Mount Cardigan in New Hampshire, which happened to be a very nice outing indeed. The weather was spectacular, blue skies and all, but we had ignored the fact that there might be still snow left up there, and turns out there was. Knee-deep in snow we were and at some point I got stuck and had to dig myself out again. The views were spectacular, and it was just so nice to be in the mountains again. Mt Cardigan is known as “Old Baldy” for its completely bare summit at 3121 ft – the hike covered an elevation difference of almost 2000 feet, and we definitely got our workout in.


















Spring is sort of here, with a mix of rainy and sunny days, Monday I walked down Commonwealth Avenue, enjoyed the magnolia blossoms and it was hard to believe that just the day before I was playing in snow.
























I have to go now, Elaine and I are planning to go to Kappy’s Liquor Store in Medford to fill up the wine and whiskey rack – I have never been there, but apparently the selection of alcohol they offer is dizzying. Come and visit soon, the bar is stocked.

Until then.

Pet:)