[Sept. 16 - Sept. 18] Boston/Cambridge.
Exposition
I took the Greyhound out of New York City at 9pm on Friday evening. I had originally planned on leaving around 7pm, but was stuck for a few more hours at work waiting for additional assignments that never came. I couldn't fall asleep on the bus, and worse, the lights didn't work so I had to sit there wide-eyed in the dark wondering how many pages I would've read. It was nice and cool outside when I arrived in Boston. Right then, Jina, my host for the weekend, called to tell me that some guy was coming over and that I would have to hang out with Naeun for a bit while she had "a talk" with the guy. Naeun, a 1L at Harvard Law, babysat me for a few hours. We walked around Harvard Square, and I looked for something to eat and drink. We learned that beer is not sold in Cambridge after 10:45pm. "Why not 11pm or 10:30?" Naeun wondered. We went to a CVS where I bought Lean Cuisine - macaroni and baked chicken. We went back to Naeun's dorm and I heated up my food. Jina soon arrived, red-faced from drinking, and disappointed that things hadn't gone the way she wanted with the guy at her place. I thanked Naeun and followed Jina to her dorm.
Snapshots
Friday night [9-16]
Jina's room in Conant was cozy and very reminiscent of her room in East Campus before she graduated last December. Notice the orange tower of stuffed dogs on the left side. I thought it was hilarious.
"Isn't it cute? I carried this all the way back from Korea," Jina said proudly of her cat bed. She generously let me sleep on her bed while she rolled out this extremely catty-themed sleeping mat for herself. Even the pillows had cats embroidered on them. "Don't you like dogs?" I asked. "Yeah, but these are so cute," she replied.
Saturday [9-17]
At Harvard Square, we decided to jumpstart the day with a meal. Jina recommended Pho Pasteur and we shared a delicious beef pho for 6 bucks. Jina was still a bit hungover from the previous night. Afterwards, I had a coffee craving so we checked out Finale, a beautiful cafe-bakery across the street. The coffee was strong and delicious and the decor was very clean yet elegant. I took the photo of their desserts from their website.
There was a book on CDOs that I wanted to borrow from Harvard's Business School library, so I asked Jina if she could borrow it for me. We took a walk to Baker Library, which had recently undergone renovations thanks to a generous alum who had succeeded in private equity. The high ceilings and wood finishes reminded me of Butler Library, except that everything was just nicer; someone ought to donate more money to Columbia and give our libraries a facelift.
This was the first time I visited Little Italy in Boston, and I definitely loved the narrow streets and "European" type feel the rows of stores gave me. Jina and I walked around, visiting a wine store (where I bought a nice Picpoul), and followed the Freedom Trail down to near the harbor. We took a break at Dom's Restaurant, a family style Italian restaurant. Jina told me more about her stay in Europe, where she worked at the CERN. Afterwards, we stopped by a small produce shop, whose sparse inventory and humble decor made me wonder how it sustained itself. We also walked through the food market, where Jina bought a bunch of fruits and cheeses for very low prices (six nectarines for $1!).
When we returned to Harvard, Jina had to meet up with a friend for dinner so I made my way to Harkness, the student center for Harvard Law School. Like Baker, it was another top-notch facility that had recently been renovated. I did some websurfing and writing on my laptop and fancied myself as a student again. A few hours later, Jina returned and I met her friend Simon, an analyst at Jefferies Co. The three of us drank wine and then decided to go to an Asian party in Boston at a club called Venu. The scene was so weak that an MK party would've been a welcomed sight. I met a bunch of Harvard Law School guys, mostly from the West Coast, and we all went to a Chinese joint nearby. Since alcohol is not allowed to be served in restaurants after a certain time (I think 10:45pm), we had to ask the waiter to serve us in teapots. It was hard not to compare the night's experience to New York, but I guess it's also unfair to make direct comparisons to a college town.
Last Thoughts
I woke up Sunday morning and headed for Harvard Square to catch the subway to the bus station. The weather was perfect - sunny and cool - and just like in movies, the Harvard view was all green and all red. I wondered how great it would have been to run into Louis Menand, and I even went as far as to formulate a question or two in my mind. Silly me. I sometimes wonder if I would ever move away from New York and try to live elsewhere. It's a scary thought, but it's something I've been thinking about more and more. And as much as I've appreciated my visits to Boston, I can't quite see myself living there -- but it doesn't hurt to have a favorite city to visit every once in a while.
