Thursday, April 18, 2013

Boston.


I've not always had the nicest things to say about Boston. Then on Monday, my heart broke. Marlana wrote a great blog post about her feelings about the tragedy that struck our former city, which you can read here! I left the following comment:

I spent five years in Boston. When I left, I was glad to be getting the hell out and returning to my favorite place in the world: Pittsburgh. But, in the end, Boston served me well. It was a test-run at adulthood. It was a crash-course in falling in love and getting my heart broken. It was five years when I lived life to its fullest possible extent. It was where I met Marlana!
Here are my five favorite Boston things/people/places/stuff that I sometimes find myself missing:
1. GREAT SCOTT, Friday nights. I danced my face off, sweated through t-shirts in the summer, and drank so many vodka red bulls. Dancing with all my friends at my last Great Scott as a resident of Boston was a chart-topping life moment.
2. The Pizza Ark aka Beaconsfield Park. This is a park tucked away in Brookline between the C and D line and Coolidge Corner and Cleveland Circle. It had a couple ballfields, a playground, and some tennis courts. It also had a nice sloped hill, which was a great place to recover from hangovers, picnic with friends, or sleep…at night. I only managed this twice (friends foiled a third attempt…in the wintertime), but both times were kind of awesome.
3. Biking along the Charles. Boston is where I bought my bike, and it’s where I started riding a lot. I went up and down the Charles for hours when the weather agreed.
4. Walking EVERYWHERE. I walked so much in Boston. It’s so walkable, it’s almost a crime not to. On nice evenings I would walk the four miles from Copley Square to Brighton. I did the Walk for Hunger a few times. I made my parents walk so much during a visit that they each had to buy new shoes when they got home cause all the walking I made them do wore them out!
5. The friends that came out of nowhere. I went to Boston knowing one person. I left Boston knowing a bunch of incredibly awesome ones. There is a core group of people I will never forget. There are inside jokes I will never stop laughing at. When I moved, I wanted to bring them all with me. I hope one day for a grand reunion over PBRs and free popcorn at the Silhouette.
Boston was super good for me. The city nurtured my interests and helped me develop talents I didn't know were hiding. I sold my soul for a few years working sales for a textbook publisher, but the bonus checks helped fund awesome purchases (guitar, DSLR camera, bike) and adventures (I have been to every Canadian province and am an honorary Newfoundlander). I met awesome people, who I would stay up with for all hours of the night laughing until we cried. We used to have these crazy friend sleepovers when it was too late and everyone was too drunk to go home. Thinking about Boston so much in the past four days has made me uber-nostalgic for those times we had. Boston was like a different life I got to lead, and it will always be special to me.

The Public Garden - many walks taken through here with the best boss I've ever had (hi, Stephen!) cause we shared a love of soft-serve ice cream from the truck.

Apple-picking, an annual activity with Mullen and Erin. Often followed by a trip to the Topsfield Fair.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB. Most. Delicious. Pancakes. And those toasted blueberry muffins. My friend Jack and I took this for a breakfast blog we wanted to start, but we could never get enough of Breakfast Club (or Zaftigs).

Boston is a town that gets the fall. I will love Pittsburgh forever, but I'll always miss Boston in the fall.

This is from Salem, not Boston. But the Pirate Museum in Salem is NOT to be missed.

The Silhouette. Pitchers of PBR and free popcorn. I loved this place.

Taken during Head of the Charles.

I lived walking distance from the Reservoir in Cleveland Circle.

Fall.

Boston's Holocaust Memorial

Boston's Afghanistan War Memorial

Cambridge and Boston, from atop the tower in the Mount Auburn Cemetery

9 Egremont Road, Apt 10: The morning after an epic Halloween party.

From atop the Bunker Hill Monument.

Hanging out with the seals outside of the New England Aquarium.

When I left Boston, I wanted to leave something of me behind. I gave my friends a mix I had made of all the songs that would forever remind me of the five years prior. Here's the list of what's on there. As I listen to it tonight, I can't help but miss the crap out of Beantown.

1. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
2. The xx - VCR
3. Loney Dear - I Was Only Going Out
4. Lemonheads - Into Your Arms
5. Georgie James - Cheap Champagne
6. Stars - 14 Forever
7. M83 - Graveyard Girl
8. Passion Pit - Moth's Wings
9. Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire
10. Rocky Votolato - Before You Were Born
11. Josh Ritter - Monster Ballads
12. Noah and the Whale - Blue Skies
13. Bon Iver - re: Stacks
14. AA Bondy - There's A Reason
15. The Weakerthans - Left and Leaving
16. Slow Club - When I Go
17. Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats
18. New Order - Run Wild

In a goodbye letter I received, I was told I would always be a Bostonian. I'd like to think that nearly three years later that still applies. Be strong, Boston.

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