City Sights - How Much Is That Thing In the Window?

I was walking down the street, and I literally had to stop and take a step back to realize what was going on in these window displays.  This happened twice...in two different areas of the city.

This new store in the neighborhood is a weird
combination of kitchy home decoration items and
used furniture.
A bunny cart, though? It's not even big enough to ride on.
A great addition to any Easter display..or something.
Allston, MA
March 2011

Sorry for the crap quality. But really, it was whatever
graffiti on the window that made it difficult to see.
In the window display of a Tibetian restaurant,
these are yaks!
Yakity Yak..don't talk back!
Cambridge, MA
March 2011

Mermaid Sighting - March 27, 2011, New York City

Mermaids on the Subway
Artwork in the New York Metro
Click on the image to see the detail.

Christmas Tree Mermaid
Artwork in a Window Display

City Sights - Ice and Clouds

I feel like I could take pictures of snow all day, especially on a snowy day like today.

But here's some other things I like noticing during the wintertime.

Wall of ice made from water droplets. 
Some of the icicles were reaching upwards!
Brighton, MA
February 2011

One restless night, I watched the clouds flit quickly through the sky.
So many clouds moving so fast.
Brighton, MA
February 2011

City Sights - All Lit Up

December 2010
Western Ave, Cambridge, MA
My friends and I debated whether it was about baseball,
or if there were actual bats.
We were all wrong:
Hacked Sign

December 2010
Winchester St, Brookline, MA
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen.
You even know Rudolph.
But did you know about Delphy the Christmas Dolphin?

City Sights - Fall Colors

These are a few of my favorite things about the fall.

October 2010
Warren St. T Stop, Brighton, MA
While I was waiting for the T, I just couldn't help but be in
awe of the gorgeous colors in the trees. 
It's amazing how the tops go red first.

November 2010
Brighton, MA
This is the view from our living room window. 
It's not the best.  But there are some beautiful sunset
colors that we get to witness. It's like the sky complements
the colors of the trees by taking care of the
other part of the spectrum.

City Sights - Just Plain Inappropriate

Now, I'm not necessarily an expert on moral behavior.  But there are just some things that just seem plain inappropriate.

May 2010
On the T (B-Green Line)
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were on the freakin' Love Train!
Seriously, the couple got on at the stop after the older woman and her friend/daughter/companion.  Before I took this picture, they were totally making out quite heavily!  I'm all for love, or whatever you want to call it.  But that PDA in such a tight space...I don't care who you are, but if you're riding the T, it's not your personal make out spot.
And to this guy, don't be an ass and just let your girl have the seat.

September 2010
Dance Studio in Lakeville, MA
O. M. G.
Really?
You also want to make sure that the boys know that you're a dancer...so bend over occasionally, buy some clear plastic heels, and get this t-shirt! Like, now!
Boys definitely like dancers...so slut it up, girls!

City Sights - Pleasant Eating Experiences

These are places I frequent, partially for some comforting food items and partially because of fond memories.

June 16, 2010Le's Pho RestaurantAllston, MA
I want to learn how to do that!
What a pleasant way to receive a jasmine limeade!

March 11, 2010
Twin Donuts
Allston, MA
Some days at work were really difficult.
But at the cafe across the street has this amazingly uplifting little napkin dispenser.
Who doesn't love googley eyes?

City Sights - Staying Cool

Holy moly, it's hot!

I don't know if it's really worth it yet to put the AC in, since there's a possibility of thunderstorms tonight.  At work, however, the AC is supposedly on.  How is it possible that I can barely feel the air in our office when it's so cold in the winter?

So, in an effort to stay cool, I wanted to post not hot photos from earlier this year.

January 2010
Brighton, MA
That is snow on the ground!
I just loved the way the clouds were hanging in the sky.

April 2010
Allston, MA
I love this picture.
A rainy day in Boston, and I mean pouring!
I was waiting at a bus stop, within a covered area.  
I looked up, and noticed that the water had collected 
on the glass roof of the bus cover area.

City Sights - Spring Cleaning

Man...I've been trying really hard to hold off on prematurely posting this.  I immediately snapped a picture of these sights.  In the first picture, I felt like I might have been the only one who thought it strange.  In the second picture, I wasn't alone, so I was able to share the strangeness of it all.

March 2010
Commonwealth Ave and Kelton St, Brighton, MA
Why yes, that is a chair among those bicycles.
I liked imagining that one of the folks with helmets would ride the chair down the hill.

 March 2010
Union Square, Somerville, MA
The type above says, "At yard sale ex. Kitchen ware, clothing, toys, blankets, small fans, small electronics"
I like that I have such a wide variety of options to choose from at this yard sale.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to check it out, but this ad was really tempting me.

City Sights - What the...?

These next two sights, though completely unrelated, made me feel just a little bit grossed out.  But, really, it was also just full of "What the &$%#?"

January 2010
On an apartment wall, Commonwealth Ave, Brighton, MA.
I mean, I get what they were going for...but maybe it turned into an artistic interpretation of a hermaphrodite?

February 2010
School Women's Restroom, Allston, MA
So, the way the stall works at the school I work in is that there's one stall with a lock, but the door to the restroom also locks.  There's also this wicker seat thing within the single stall.
This particular day, however, someone seemed to have misplaced their shower cap.  Where they were showering?  Um.....

City Sights - Makin' Me Nervous

One of the first things that popped into my head when I saw these sights was, "What the what???"

August 2007

Walking down Newbury Street in Boston

I know it's really hard to see, as I took this with my phone.

But I kid you not...her tattoo says, "AC Slater"

 January 2010

Huge abandoned hotel area on 3rd and Vermont Streets in Los Angeles.

What a completely strange use of this space.

It didn't help that when I was walking past it again, 

a group of men (young and old) were prepping for some sort of aim practice.

In the middle of the city, no less.

Planes, Trains, and Automo-buses

Remember when I said that "movement" was my word for the year?

Well, I really didn't know how true that was going to be at the time.

Here's what I've done in the past weekend:
February 5th - Chinatown Bus to New York City
February 6th - Chinatown Bus to Boston
February 7th - Flight to Los Angeles (til the 17th, when the boyfriend and I fly back to Boston on a red eye)

I know you're thinking, "Where's the train in all of that?"

I'd like you  to consider Boston's MBTA system, the T.  As the first active subway system in the U.S, I'd say it counts as the "train."

Seeing that it's really been one stressful couple of months, and with all the traveling I've been doing, I've really lacked a lot of sleeping in.  But, luckily, I'm one of those people who can easily knock out in a moving vehicle.  So, I've counted a lot on falling asleep during my travels just to keep my energy levels up.

Maybe it's from long drives around Los Angeles and California.  When my brother was a baby, we used to all get into a car just to lull my brother to sleep.  Apparently, it stuck with me as well.

I asked my psychiatrist auntie about whether there was a name for that phenomenon, and she told me it was motion sickness!  Not the worst version of motion sickness, considering that I could be throwing up all the time instead.

Even as I write this post, I'm feeling like I need to take a serious nap - which, after all the stress I've been encountering and all the traveling I've been doing, I'm gifting myself for all my hard work.  Napping is not something that I can do as easily for some reason.  Maybe I'll ask my sister to drive me around the block.  Maybe I'll just get cozy in the blanket my grandmother used.

So, I will leave you with some sights I've captured during my travels thus far.

Sunrise Over Logan

Clouds Over California

Live Music and Drugged Out College Kids at Park St. Station

City Sights - Strange Choices

I realized that people make some strange choices. And some of those choices need to be explored a little.  So I take pictures, and it's high time I shared them with others.

Going along the first post of City Sights, these folks made some interesting decisions about how to get around the city.  Mainly, it's a question of their style...but it does make me question the function as well.

Oktoberfest 2007

She's taking "going green" to a whole new level!

I would be worried about getting the fur stuck in the gears, stopping the pedals, and flipping the bike over.

...but that would probably only ever happen to me...

Summer 2009

Okay...I don't know if you can really see it...

But this car has this strange holographic purpley-pinky-rainbowy glaze over it!!!
I first noticed the car maybe 2 years ago, and I literally stopped walking and took off my sunglasses just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

I don't know how this person didn't get made fun of...

They're clearly trying to be all hardcore and tough....but the color choice just isn't helping...
But I must say that it's a show-stopper of some sort or another.

Travels: New Years

As 2009 turned into 2010, I was feeling hopeful, but I also knew that my vacation was nearing its end.

But I couldn't think of a better way to spend the transition than with my friends and family...in Los Angeles.

Here's two sights that would be part of my Los Angeles friends tour:

I know it's not the best quality....but yes, that's a tree that's been cut to look like a dog's head!

The famous Youngwood Court (aka The House of Davids)

You gotta love the Black Power Santa!

Celebrating
It's been at least 2 years since I've spent New Years with my family, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Happy New Year in my parents back yard

Lighting sparklers

Crazy lights

Mermaid tail?

C and V!

Starting 2010 at The Happiest Place on Earth
It's been years since I've been to Disneyland.  My boyfriend has only been to Tokyo Disney, which I've also been to and it completely pales in comparison.  This was also the first time for the both of us to go to California Adventure.

We arrived when Disneyland opened at 8am, and left the park at 11:30pm, a half hour before closing.

Walt and Mickey copycats

Aurora's/Sleeping Beauty's Castle

We were soaked! Thank goodness for a beautiful 70 degree day!

I kicked his butt...

 

Screaming...and laughing...and screaming...and laughing...

 

Cream cheese pretzels and Churros!!!

 

Jedi Training Academy is Ageist...My boyfriend so wanted to be chosen!

This kid was HILARIOUS!  He was so not listening to directions...

At California Adventure, on a "Hollywood Set"...I kept getting dizzy looking at the back drop!

 

Resting our feet on King Triton's Carousel 

 

Beautiful! But the ride was way too short!

Our footsies were exhausted!

Goodbye West Coast
We were so exhausted after Disneyland, but we still needed to pack.  Our flight was at 9:50am, but we knew that we needed to prepare for whatever LAX would be throwing our way.

Now, I'm sitting back in our living room, while the final Pats game is on.  The snow delayed our flight getting back, and there's still snow clouds hanging over the city.

It was great to sleep in our own bed.  But it's hard for me to not wish this was out my window instead.

Sunrise Over Downtown