Career change?

After I spilled out myriad suggestions for daydrinking and brunching around Boston on very little notice...

Dana: Oh my God. You should write a book

me: I so would. Quit this job. Eat and drink (and run to keep from getting obese) for a living.

Dana: You should pitch it to the Travel Channel

Dana: You'd be way better than stupid Samantha Brown
me: Loud Jewish girl with a penchant for patios, gin cocktails, and french fries.

You know you'd DVR that. Maybe watch it with the volume kept low? :)

My agenda for tomorrow's sunny Friday forecast--a brunch and drinking adventure around Boston and Cambridge with one visiting Swede. Stay tuned for tweets and mini-blog posts, and maybe brainstorming on a travel show pitch?

Cities: Always keeping me guessing.

Today's "new place": a soul food spot in the basement of a bookstore. Jway Cafe is down a flight of stairs from Jamaicaway Books, and today, with my pulled pork sandwich, I even got to hear part of a lecture on the Harlem art renaissance. This was not part of the initial plan, but hey, I'll take a bonus! The lecture was given by the woman who served me my sandwich, and was on an old-school slide projector! Totally not what I was expecting, but was both delicious and educational--go figure. I'd go back for sure....and maybe try the sweet potato pie. We obviously also went to Gadgets (of the kitchen sort) and Boing (fantastic toy store). I don't think bouncy balls and weird kitchen utensils will ever lose their appeal to me. I obviously bought random little things at both places--planning on wheat muffins in my nice cheap muffin cups and hours of cubicle fun from the Bucky Balls I'd been dyingggg to buy for ages.

I love that the city has little unexpected things for me, even after 5 and a half years of living here. I always think I have a good handle on it, but then I find new places, meet new people, realize how many jobs and projects are out there that I've never even considered. Boston also continues to be the biggest small world ever for me. Running into NU people, friends of friends, old coworkers--sometimes I like it, sometimes it makes me want to run away, but at least friendly faces are always nice? I don't think I'll be in Boston much longer than 2011 before peacing out (where? Stay tuned, I'm starting to come up with ideas...) but at least I'm never bored here.

On a less people-note--with our apartment's fit kick (Sarah's kicking my ass, but I have biceps now!!) also comes a renewed obsession with walking everywhere. Even when it's raining or snowing. I love somehow always spotting new things on walks I've done a thousand times--tiny colorful houses, signage, storefronts. Great thing I noticed spraypainted on the Harvard St. sidewalk today: the 35' safety boundaries surrounding the space that will soon be a women's health clinic down the street from me. Walking, as opposed to public transportation or the passenger seat of Sarah's car, lets me pet puppies, find out the name of adorable babies, and take detours that the 39 or 66 won't really be in the mood for--and the busses don't drive around Jamaica Pond! Counting down til summer when walks will be accompanied by flipflops, sunglasses, and a towel and book for spontaneous sunning...

New York City in two weeks!
San Francisco in 6 weeks!
Warm weather...can't come soon enough.

Not quite a 365 project, but....

More like a 52 project.

I usually hate New Year's resolutions. There's nothing original to resolve, and everyone poops out on plans to save more money, go to the gym more often, or keep in touch with friends better.

However.

Sam and I came to the conclusion that the best kind of resolution was to just do something that made us happy--we agreed to make our best efforts to visit one new place a week in Boston, every week, for a year. Places could include restaurants, bars, parks, museums, other attractions, but the ultimate goal was to escape the rut and routine of going to the same places over and over again, when we live in a city of so many options!

So far, so good. I'm behind on keeping note, so this post will be a little excessive, but I'm also hoping that updating with a new place a week will galvanize me to write more frequently.

Week 1: Brunch at the Friendly Toast
The Friendly Toast, in Kendall Square, is a new outpost of the original Friendly Toast in Portsmouth, NH. The Boston iteration lacks the 24-hour convenience of the former, but what it lacks in hours it makes up in kitschy charm and delicious toast. Boston needs more 24-hour places, as far as I'm concerned. South Station Diner is great, but its a little remote from most neighborhoods, and it's too tiny to take a whole crowd at 4 am. Anyway.

Sam and I caught up on all the New Year's Eve gossip over basic and delicious eggs/toast/homefries/bacon, and made friends with a great couple sitting next to us. They overheard us bemoaning all of a sudden being grownups, and piped in with some of their expert suggestions: not to worry too much, and to avoid credit cards. I love talking to strangers--I think my mom bred it into me to talk to people in all sorts of environments, and while I know it surprises friends I'm with sometimes, meeting people enhances any experience, even if it's a single-serving experience, a la Fight Club.

Week 2: Dinner at Teranga
Flaking on other plans, I met Sam, Vilvaraja (referred to as V in the future) and Jake at Teranga, a tiny Senegalese restaurant that opened recently at the corner of Washington and Mass Ave, right next door to the fabulous Mike's Diner. We were lucky enough to have the owner as our waitress! I love Ethiopian food, but wasn't sure quite what to expect at Teranga. I ordered a spicy fish dish (I rhyme, fantastic), but wasn't expecting a WHOLE fish, eyes, mouth and all, to end up on my plate. I tried to avoid eye contact, then picked the skeleton clean.

Week 3: Vietnamese Food in Chinatown (can't remember the name of the place!!)
Sam taught English in Vietnam last year, and a friend she met there was in town visiting with his cousin. My friend Will is also Vietnamese, so when we decided to go to Chinatown for authentic Vietnamese food, I dragged him along too. When we got there, the...gringas? is there a similar word for non-Asians? among us boycotted the menu and asked our Vietnamese friends to order us the best of the best. For less than $10 a person, including tip, we feasted on soups, noodles, rolls, and other delicious things I don't know the name of. I'll definitely be going back.

Week 4: Drinks and Snacks at Regal Beagle
Coolidge Corner has some wonderful restaurants, but lacks a true bar scene. Regal Beagle is still more of a restaurant, but Sam and I snagged bar stools in the back, with a good view of both parts of the long, skinny space. I ordered sweet potato fries--which turned out to be whole fried sweet potatoes! Cocktails were strong, but tasty, and named after things from the show Three's Company--a little before my time, but cute concept. We also loved whoever's writing is on the chalkboard detailing the rotating menu line-up. The place is super busy because it just opened recently, but I'm hoping it turns into more of a low-key neighborhood hangout...

Week 5: Publick House for dinner
I cheated a little, I'd been there once before, but Sam and our mutual friend Lisa hadn't. Publick House is famous for three things: beer, mac and cheese and mussels. We skipped the mussels in favor of mac and cheese this time, and gossip over food and beer. One thing I'm loving about our plan to try a new place a week is that it's a great excuse to invite people along. I took classes with Lisa senior year, but don't think I'd seen her since graduation!

Week 6: New Place Jackpot!
Sam and I marked off 3 in one day! (four for Sam!) We headed to Metropolis in the South End for brunch and people-watching, a gallery space for an indoor Valentine's-themed arts market, topped off with South End Buttery for a snack on the way home. I spotted possibly the cutest child I've ever seen in my entire life at the Buttery, so we loitered and watched him run around the coffee shop. Sam went into the Boston Public Library for the first time waiting for me to get to Copley to walk to the South End--I can't believe she'd never been in there! She discovered the wonderful courtyard, and I recommended the Russian section for quiet study space since she's taking night classes.

The quest to try new places continues! We'd love recommendations. A personal favorite, something off the beaten path or in a neighborhood we might not be familiar with, a brand-new spot...and if you want in, just let me know! The more the merrier. Stay tuned...

On Being Employed!

Exciting news! I negotiated my way into a full-time position at my temp job. This means the following:

• I can stop trolling craiglist (NOT the adult section, thankyouverymuch)
• I will have real health benefits!
• I will get paid more!
• And the best part: I know what I will be doing for the next year or so, and can make other plans accordingly.

When I was looking for jobs, it was hard to turn that part off and do anything else. I had no central basis for coordinating other things I wanted to do, and was constantly thinking about applications, resumes, and references. Even at my temp job, I had a difficult time wanting to make more solid relationships with my coworkers, because I didn't know how long I was going to be there, and I felt insecure suggesting changes or speaking up. My new job extends me new responsibilities, opportunities for professional development, the comfort to strengthen relationships with coworkers, and the security to flex my muscles in my everyday duties, as well as the ability to enjoy the rest of my other time and ambitions in the near future outside of the 9-5 window.

Now that I can take a mental deep breath, I'm signing up for a real gym membership, applying to be a Big Sister (they ask that you have a secure lifestyle for the foreseeable year to even apply!), plotting more networking and community involvement, and spending weekday afternoons reading and going to the movies instead of writing cover letters. The chunk of actual and subconscious time taken up with the job search and stress is out the window for the time being, and truth be told, I won't miss it a tiny bit. Now I can just giggle at the Missed Connections part of craigslist, instead of the marketing/PR and nonprofit sections of the job posts.

Since I'm working in development (read: bringing in the $$ bills, y'all) at Mass General, I'm hoping to learn enough useful things to contribute skills (and my free time) to nonprofits that need an extra hand--a big perk of learning and working at a large and stable organization. Listservs like Young Non-profit Professionals Network (YNPN) disseminate work, volunteer, and networking opportunities in the Boston area--check it out if you're in the field. There are some great programs going on at Mass General too, like the Home Base Program, which provides crucial psychological services to veterans returning from deployment with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and I'm excited to volunteer at more events.

I plan to use any comp time I get on the job to travel on the weekends. Places on the itinerary are DC and NYC for starters, but I'm always looking for new places/people to visit, and saving up time to make it out to California to see my brother, my cousin, and maybe Leif and Stivers if they're lucky!

On a slight tangent, a friend on Twitter mentioned a great program that doesn't seem to have a general group in Boston: Dining For Women. Once a month, women (don't see why men couldn't be included too) meet for a potluck dinner, donating the funds they would have spent going out to dinner to women in need. I'd seriously love to set up a chapter, any takers? Check out the site and the mission statement below!

Mission Statement:
Changing the world one dinner at a time
DFW empowers women living in extreme poverty by funding programs fostering good health, education, and economic self-sufficiency, and cultivates educational dinner circles inspiring individuals to make a difference through the power of collective giving.

I spy, with my little eye...

I really like people. And watching them. And listening. And asking questions. And figuring out how they all interact with one another. Lots of good ways to do all of those things.

Favorite experience today: watching a pair of deaf men signing at dinner in the South End tonight. Between their amazingly expressive faces, rapid and energetic signs, and the clear chemistry and rapport between them (couldn't tell if they were in a platonic or romantic relationship), I could barely keep myself from staring at their fantastic conversation.

Next to them was a large table of about a dozen men (not to stereotype, but we were at Francesca's, on Tremont, on a Friday night, most likely a gay crowd), whose appearances ranged from preppy to gauged ears to fauxhawks to trenchcoats. They were laughing and flirting and carrying on, didn't care how big a scene they made.

I wonder what I looked like to the surroundings tonight. At the open studios we went to, we were fairly obvious in our checking-out of the artists and the crowds, and openly commenting, sometimes knowledgably, sometimes not, about lots of pieces. I know plenty about jewelry and nothing about paintings, Kate's been checking out more galleries lately. At dinner, Kate and I rambled through a bizarre range of topics, texting and googling things. I knew one of the waiters, so he gave me a backrub, demonstrated the latest dance he'd learned, and fawned over us. We ate all sorts of random things, topped off with take-out containers of cake. Lots of laughing, but also lots of getting really worked up about a few subjects. Wonder if anyone watching thought we were students or professionals, silly or smart, interesting or vapid, pretty or plain, boring or invested.

I think I learn a lot about myself and my community by actively observing--how else can you get such a good sense of people's behavior, especially when they're not always aware of being watched?

Cheap and Chic in the City

Everyone I know is on a bit of a shoestring budget. And if they're not, they probably should be, myself included.

Living in the city and scrimping is a pain though: there's so much to do, and see, and eat, and wear.

My suggestion? The Hershey's Kisses solution to dieting, applied to city life. Instead of holding off on any and all junk food/spending, you find a small solution that satisfies your stomach or lifestyle urges. It keeps you from eventually binging on an entire chocolate cake or $500 purchase, and curbs the desire to spend or eat improperly.

Danielle (Being a Beginner/The Novice Palate) and I, along with a group of other financially challenged college kids/young professionals, are maintaining a public Google Calendar (see bottom of this blog) at Super Fun Things to Do In Boston. [note: yes, the title needs some polishing...]. We've been adding free or cheap things to check out when we've got free time or a few bucks.

Options include:

• wine tastings (Federal downtown, Best Cellars on Boylston, etc)
• Radical Movie Nights at Lucy Parsons Community Bookstore in the South End
• live jazz every night of the week at Wally's Cafe on Mass Ave
• 10 or 20 cent wing nights all over the city --Whiskey's, Red Hat
• Trivia nights--the most original being Sex and Drugs Trivia at The Savant Project on Sunday nights
  
• I'm currently posting some of the best options from this Boston Globe article on recession deals at some amazing restaurants all over the city
• [suggestion from Delia Cheap Ways to Enjoy the Arts in Boston
  
• Free movies at the Mugar Omni Theater at the Museum of Science

Some of my favorite cheap things lately: the Museum of Fine Arts, free with NU ID, Wally's on a Monday night, 50 cent tapas at Masa in the South End, and checking out free concerts at Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory.

Check out the calendar, go to a few events, and comment if you'd like to be added as an editor so you can add free and cheap events you've found!