bleepless in Boston

Well, truth be told, it should be cleepless in Cambridge but that wasn't nearly as funny. So I took a little bit of license with my location.

4:22AM in Harvard Square and I can't sleep. In the morning...well, later in the morning, I will be beginning a class at the Harvard School of Education. One week of continuing ed which will, no doubt, reinforce my long standing belief that grad school is useless unless your ultimate goal is to stay out of the workforce.

So I'm sitting around in the hotel's famously uncomfortable bathrobe (why are the sleeves so short). There is a sign that says if I like the robe I can keep it and pay $48. Really? I can? Gosh, lucky me. If you have a pair of pants that itches and rides up, I'd love the opportunity to pay you $67 to keep it.

I have the Police running on Youtube in the background and have been thinking about bands which consistently impress me. Not the classic bands, but more contemporary ones. Which groups keep putting out songs that join the pantheon of classics instead of being flashes in the pan or one/two hit wonders. I mean, no offense to the Georgie Satellites or Katrina and the Waves but they didn't have either the longevity or consistency that I'm talking about.

It strikes me that post-Tom Petty, I can name only the Foo Fighters and Weezer as groups that fit the bill. Maybe the Black-Eyed Peas. You know what I'm talking about -- when you hear a new song that you like and find that it is yet another song by a well established band and you say "holy crap...these guys just don't miss."

The drive up was uneventful. I did see a Maserati with the Massachusetts license plate "Aeros" so I wonder if that was Steven Tyler or something, but as he was driving a sports car and I was in a beat up Honda minivan, and it was raining heavily and he was going 80 in an area with speed traps every 3 miles, I chose not to try and keep up and find out. So Mr. Tyler (or Mr. Perry, if it was you) feel free to send me a line to let me know that you saw me on 84 east yesterday afternoon. We'll share a drink and reminisce about traffic and laugh about how you haven't put out a good song since you kicked the drugs.

The room here at the Charles hotel? Pretty standard. A square with a bed, TV and other assorted furniture. The bars of soap have ingredients like oatmeal, seaweed and coconut. I might as well rub lunch on my face. The fancy bit? A TV built into the bathroom mirror. I'm not sure exactly why but there you have it. The wireless connection is weak and the AC is blowing on the back of my neck. No view to speak of, except in the mirror. I walked through Harvard Square to get my bearings. As unimpressive as I remember it. Too many stores selling me stuff which has as its major selling point that I bought it in Harvard Square. Sure, you can get fancy chocolates or high priced jams but where do you go to buy staples for the food pantry which don't need a certificate of authenticity? There is also no shortage of homeless people. If I'm homeless, I guess there are worse places to panhandle. I gave a guy a dollar. He said "god bless you." At first I thanked him but then I thought about it. If he really had the power to confer god's blessing on me, wouldn't he use that power to get himself a job or a house? Just wondering.