Before going to bed... Some fun...

The Onion continues to do their funny work. This video with the "MacBook Wheel" is quite funny

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary

Good night!

Done for the day

I'm heading to Davis square. Today was a productive day. But I think I  might still do a bit of work when I get to my room. But first, dinner!!

Kudos to Kalil!!

Just accessed the Stone Middle School site and saw that Kalil was featured there for having finished 2nd in the Math competition (http://stone.ms.brevard.k12.fl.us/html/index.html). Nice!! I see that the guy that got 1st place is twice the size of Kalil....  so he should have answered twice more questions! (lol)

Anyway, keep up the good work. Next time shoot higher and answer all 25!!

It stopped: finally!!

It stopped snowing. It was about time!! The forecast is for 2 days without any flock of snow. I hope they clear the sidewalks. It's hard to walk anywhere with this accumulation.

On a different note. Kalil, our Fortaleza won the first game of the year. 4x1. Very good result given the team is very young (avg. 22 years of age).

Fortaleza Esporte Clube

The state soccer tournament in Fortaleza just started. I'm happy because it is one thing that I can do from here... that is, I can follow my soccer team. Fortaleza is playing now and we are  winning 1x0. Earlier today the juniors under-18 and under-15 won't their matches in the national league. Bora Leão!!!!!!

(update: We won 4x1!!)

O Quatrilho

While eating my chicken gumbo soup with wheat bread I finished watching the movie called "O Quatrilho". Very good movie. I recommend. The soup was okay, not as good as yesterday's (Moroccan tomato with lentils).

And the snow keeps falling....

Lunch Time

I have to go eat something. This cold weather is making me hungry. 

I just called my father-in-law and spoke to Marcos André. Everything is fine. He explained somethings that Sarah had already told me but it is nice to call. In this way, my father-in-law get to know that I'm worried as well. I'm happy they are going to move to an apartment. In Fortaleza one cannot live in a house... it just to dangerous. 

Heading to NEU

The Apple store here is huge. Got my laptop sleeve. Now work.

Snow

Wow! It was hard to get here to Davis square station. At this time of  the day only a few people cleaned their sidewalks. In fact, as I walked I saw some of the homeowners doing this. Can you imagine having to do this during the whole Winter? I'm not even doing it and I  already miss Florida.

Off to the Apple store

We had quite a bit of snow last night. Now it's back to work but first
I have to swing by the Apple store to see if I can find a laptop
sleeve.

Good night

That's it. Had my beer. Two to be precise. Now I'm going home
(whatever that means). Tomorrow I have more work to do.

John Harvard brew house

Ok I got a beer but I had to come to a place at Harvard square that I
knew. Sarah, you may remember this place. It's the same place I came
with you and the kids. The funny thing is that the guy next to me is
already trying to make conversation but he doesn't know he got the
wrong guy for this kind of thing. Anyway. I'll see if they have
something to eat in this place.

Littlest is indeed little

Just left work to find the littlest bar (Irish) in Boston. However the
number 47 did not exist on Province street. This is the second time
the guide I have failed me. The Result of this was that I had to walk
on a snowy night to get no beer :(. The only option now is to go to
Harvard square and find another bar. Now I want a beer. BTW my first
here.

Saturday Morning

First Saturday here. And yesterday was the first Friday I haven't had
a glass of wine in years! Am I already changing into a New Englander
concious of health, environment, etc. Am I less red-neck just by
moving here? Look at me now. I'm riding the T and blogging at the same
time!! Wow!! I *am* changing and I hope is for the best. lol

This morning I woke up and called Sarah to get some info about her
father. Then I spoke to Adele who told me she scratched her knee but
it only bled because mommy touched it! She (Adele) is something else!
Kalil is in school doing his research project.

I called Neto and was happy to find out that my father-in-law was out
of the surgery room and everything was fine.

I'm almost at the downtown crossing station where I change trains to
go to NEU. I'm going to work on a Saturday morning!!! Today is going
to be a good day!

Altan Concert (Harvard Square)

I just came back from a concert at Harvard in the Sanders Theatre. The theatre is incredible. Here is a picture. The theatre is located inside the Memorial Hall. When I visited Harvard with Sarah, Kalil and Adele we were not able to go in the theatre. Without a doubt, I'd pay half of what I've paid to hear Altan (around $20) just to see this theatre. The picture on the left is nice because it shows also the location I was sitting. I was on the aisle, two rows in front of the column on the left hand side of the picture. 

The concert was okay. Not amazing because honestly speaking, Irish music sound the same to me after 3 or so songs. I sometimes think they are tricking us and playing the same song again and again. They might be actually, not many people would notice! I went to the concert because Altan plays Irish music from Co. Donegal, and we lived in Co. Donegal, more specifically in Buncrana. So it was nice to remember that year we spent in Ireland. But the most important reason for me to go was that I had nothing better to do; the Jazz season has not yet started here in Boston. 

If you like Irish music and can actually hear it again and again without getting bored, Altan is a nice option. For Irish music they are pretty good. (lol).

First Day

Today (yesterday actually) I woke up quite early. I thought it was around 10am but was surprised to find out it was 7:50. I then had a quick shower (quick because I don't want to spend a lot of time in that bathroom) and off went to Northeastern University (NEU). 

At Davis Square there is a T station (T is how they call the underground/metro here, don't ask me why it is T!!). There I bought my monthly pass ($59 bucks) and went to NEU. It is quite a trip, around 40 minutes. But in very Bostonian style I put my iPod on the max volume and sat there looking through people: eye contact is a rare thing here. After living in small cities for some time you forget how impersonal these large-crowd places can be. 

At NEU I was very well received by Prof. B. secretary (Prof B. is going to be his name here since I don't want to use real names). Well Ms. A (the secretary) arranged everything I needed: keys for the office, power cords, and most importantly showed me how to use the expresso machine!! Expresso!!!!! (lol).

I've forgotten how important it is to work without distraction. From 10am to around 6pm I've managed to do the work of 1 week. Amazing! I missed that (a bit). At 6pm I had a chance to say hi to Prof B... by that time I was already calling him Jesus to Sarah and Eraldo.. You know, Jesus, you may think he exist but you never see him! Anyway, I saw Jesus at 6pm. He seem to be a nice guy. Monday we'll have meetings.... more work.

Davis Square

The first positive thing is that the house is close to Davis Square, a lively place during the day. In the evenings, the place is okay but the crowd looks a bit rough compared to other places in Boston such as Harvard Square. Davis Square has most things one may need: pharmacy, bars, restaurants, convenience stores, and Starbucks!! :)

In my first night here I went to an Indian restaurant at Davis Square and that was the second positive thing in this trip. The restaurant is without a doubt the best Indian restaurant I've been in my life... and I've been to quite a few. It is called: Diva Indian Bistro on 246 Elm Street. I had a Chicken Korma with a Basil Naan Bread. Excellent food!

90 College Av

Seriously, can this really be real?! After a long trip and the wait in the airport I was hoping my worst fears about the room I rented wouldn't come true. Well, I was wrong again. My room is actually okay but the rest of the house is a mess. Holes on the wall with wiring that has to be illegal, real wood floors that make more noise than a train, and the worst, the bathrooms. I've been to public bathrooms that are better than these. I must take a picture at some point... but I need to get a camera first. I can bet a lot of money that the bathrooms have not been cleaned in years. I'm not talking about months.... but YEARS!!! I'm seriously looking forward getting my university (NEU) card, in that way I should be able to shower there. 

As I said, my room is okay, but it is okay now. When I got here it was very dusty. I had to go to the store and bought a bunch of cleaning products and a broom. I spent about 2 hours just trying to make this room livable. I'm not quite there yet, but at least I have a bed and nice sheets (thanks to Sarah!). Sunday, I intend to use disinfecting on the entire floor. 

Anyway... these are going to be the longest 6 months of my life.

Arrival

After getting to Orlando with enough time to spare, I learned that my flight had been delayed from 11am to 1pm. Thankfully I had been upgraded to 1st class!! What a difference! Delta immediately found me an alternate flight via Atlanta. A bit of a hassle but better than the wait. When I got to Boston I noticed that my original flight was cancelled, so the decision of taking the flight via Atlanta sounded even better. 

But since not all can be good, one of my bags did not arrive. So, I had to stay in the airport to wait for the next flight from Atlanta and get my bag. Yes, I could have asked them to deliver but at that point I didn't even know if the room I rented actually existed. Finally, after 2 hours of wait in the airport the bag arrived and I was on my way to 90 College Av., Unit 3.