Is it just a coincidence...

...that the day I feel like I have the most energy and have taken Hailey for the longest walks is also the rainiest day I've had in Boston thus far? Hmm... I guess there's still some Seattle left in me yet :) But I'm going to have to buy an umbrella. I rarely used one in Seattle (only if I was dressed nicely) and it always seemed to work out that I was outside during a break in the rain, but on the 3 walks Hailey and I have done so far today, we've been in a downpour each and every time!

No rain here. A good day to be on the water.

Anyway... I also never once rode the "Ducks" in Seattle (a tour on old amphibious WWII vehicles) but I already have in Boston. I thought it would be a good way to get an overall feel of the city. The picture above is of the city from the Charles River. It was a fun tour - though I think I'm a little bit afraid that I got all the answers to the drivers cheesy jokes (either that or they're aimed at entertaining 7-year old kids and I should expect to have got them!) But the funniest part of the tour was passing the exotic meat shop, next to the animal hospital, next to the attorney's office. Now from that tour, I've got a huge list of things to do in the city (chances are I'll never get to them all, but it'll be fun to try :) Also, I liked that the driver explained that the color of the river was due to all the tannins from the leaves falling in during autumn. I guess people swimming in the river should watch their mineral status if they swallow too much river water (I'm such a nutrition dork :)

On a completely different topic, I'm also wondering who is in charge of designing microwaves. My kitchen didn't have one, so I bought one from Target. It seemed nice, but if you stood too close (like close enought to punch in a cook time) you couldn't actually see the LCD screen unless it was at eye level. Not very handy for a "countertop" microwave. The angle made all the numbers look like 8's so you had no idea what number you actually pushed (or if you had even pushed one). Useless. So I took it back and bought one from Sears. Well, this one is better, but the LCD is recessed so that when you're punching in numbers you can't quite see the very top (so 7's look like 1's). Stupid. Do people really get paid to make stuff like this? What's the point of a countertop microwave that can't actually be used on the countertop? Maybe all microwave designers are 4'7" tall.

And what's the deal with people on the East coast loving rubber bands? Everything is secured with a rubber band. I've already collected a ton of them. Whole Foods is the worst offender. Do they do this everywhere? (Carol?) I don't remember it in WA. Buy some eggs? Better keep the carton shut with a rubber band. Some berries? Ditto. Really, they seem to think anything with a package might fly open at any second, so best to keep it safe with a rubber band. I think everyone is just a little over the top on this one. Let it go people... the carton will stay shut, you can save the rubber band for another day.

Oh, and finally, I have a new idea for my career. Most of you know that my dream job has always been to be a Metro bus driver in Seattle. Now, add to the list a driver for the T here in Boston... but not the driver for the front train - I want to be in the back train. I don't know why they're there really - they just seem to open doors. I think I could do that :)

Or, I think I want to be a traffic engineer here. I've already commented that I think the pedestrians crossing against the walk signs are a big part of the traffic problem, but I don't think you can blame them. I've been trying to be a good Seattle ped and crossing only with the walk sign, but you actually can't do it. They don't let you walk with the green light. Most intersections seem to let all the cars go and then have a special "just peds" time where you can cross. But you can't cross the entire street before the cars get to go. So essentially, you have to wait at the corner for all the lights to cycle. Cross half way. Wait for the lights again. Cross the rest of the way. So what do people do? Ignore the cross signs. So anyway, I think it would be a fun job - it seems there's a whole lot that could be done just with light timing (either that or god forbid, actually putting in a left turn lane, but that's another story altogether :)

Now, time for dinner... what to eat...