I met a traveller from an antique land

So, It’s been a while since we blogged. It’s Wednesday evening and Rob has gone to his meditation class with the good people of the FWBO Cambridge which happens to be in the same building as the Social Security office. We keep returning to the magic Social Security number as it seems to open doors. It means work can pay me, that I can apply for finance on a new car and that we can get things like electricity and cable set up at the apartment. Before it came through last Friday we were shadowy underworld figures shambling around the dimly lit streets of Kendall Square.

Did I mention the freight train that goes past at night? Rob thinks I’ve become some kind of trainspotter, but the sound of the train crossing down the end of the street with its slow horn going and the quiet street brought to a halt I find captivating as I’m lying in bed, the rain coming down. It’s goods trains going from the depot past the Frank Gehry building and across the river, moving fruit to the market and trains back to the sheds.

We’re getting stuff together for the move to the flat. The removals men are coming on Friday morning to unpack; we’ve been measuring up the rooms as the guy from the building let us in the other day and I made a fuss about one of the windows that needs looking at. We’ve also been exploring furniture in Crate & Barrel, CB2, online and in the inevitable Ikea. So far, Ikea sucks as nothing is in stock. So I’m tempted to buy everything online and just trust that things are delivered in one piece. Somewhat laughably, so far, the only thing we have bought is one of these lamps. No, I can’t think of a good excuse as to why either.

I’ve also been on the phone this evening to the car dealership who are trying to sort us out with a lease on a VW. I think it’s all going to happen, but there’s been much unneccessary shenanigans including them wanting a phone bill for a phone I no longer use with an address of a flat I no longer live in to reassure VW central that I won’t do a runner, or at least if I do they can call up everyone on the itemised bill and say ‘Is he there? Where’ve you hidden him?’

Because all of this organisational stuff has been getting in the way of just being, we’ve been trying to explore the city as well. So far it’s been about culture and food. We’ve been to the Museum of Fine Arts twice (the room full of golden Buddhas is lovely), the Institute of Contemporary Art on the bay and De Cordova museum and sculpture park which is beautiful and overlooks a frozen lake in Lincoln Mass. That’s where the sculpture’s from in the photo.

I had a meeting this afternoon just down from Madison Square Gardens and the Empire State building. Neither of them really have the kerb appeal that their names suggest.

These past few days in New York have been frantic. Essentially, a conference about the future of publishing took me there and it was worthwhile, but what stays in the memory, apart from the Greek and Cuban restaurants we went to, is being on a Spinning exercise bike in the hotel gym at 6:50 a.m. overlooking Times Square from the 23rd floor. The bike was so hi-tech that if you plugged your headphones in you could follow a personal video coach saying “you’re a champion” and “feel the burn” as I pedalled up the virtual hills. But I got more of a buzz from looking out the window.

And now I’m glad to be heading back to Boston. I managed to book tickets to see David Sedaris read new material at the Symphony Hall, have somehow agreed to join a book club and karaoke collective called Book Group 1492, and am about to sign Rob and myself up for a 100 mile charity cycle ride from Boston to Cape Cod.

I haven’t been to a rehearsal yet with the Chorus, but once I do I think we can say that the assimilation is complete. For now at least. Tomorrow means a trip to apply for my Social Security number.

View from the office

I drove to the office on my own for the first time this morning. There’s lots of snow on the ground, but the roads are clear. The satnav took me over the bridge to Boston for a bit of a detour, but once I got onto the 93, all was fine.

PS – Driving an automatic is weird! I keep on expecting it to stall. In fact, so far our whole journey to Boston has gone right.

Part of the Family

Today we gave away Charlie. This has been the hardest part of the move without a doubt. Everything else has been about organisation and planning and preparation, but this was about giving up our little companion who has been with us since he was seven weeks old. We didn’t want him to go, but with Robin likely back and forth to the UK, me travelling a lot on business and being unable to find a place to rent that would let us bring the dog, we couldn’t see another way.

Lots of people wanted to have him off us, but they all fell through. It even got to the point where he went on a trial weekend with the person we thought would be his new owner, but she had a family crisis and backed out at the last minute. So, he’s gone to a shelter and they have promised us they have families lined up who will look after him. We were there over an hour and they asked us loads of questions about his temperament and what he loves to do. He was so excited and wanted to go and meet the other dogs.

And now we’re back home and his bed’s still here and his bowls and his toys and I can picture him running over the fields now and diving into a river. Goodbye, fella.