streets like a jungle, so call the police

Avoiding All Work, ‘Cause There’s None Available
My new office looks down on the ceiling of a nearby parking garage. Every afternoon, between 2:30 and 3:00, a woman drives her SUV up to the top level. She lets out a small dog and then begins idling her vehicle in a slow circle around the [...]

when you laugh and run free with the thought, pull the line in and try to see what you caught

When I’m not reading books or watching movies about Hating America by America Haters that promise to teach me How to Hate America Better*, I’m getting some writing done.
In an ideal week, I stick to the following:Write one hour a night, two nights a week. This produces between 1500-2000 words each night.
Write one or [...]

with mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage

I talk a lot about the premium that I pay to live in an artsy city like Boston. This weekend I took advantage, seeing two plays produced in part by friends of mine.
after the quake: Simple and engaging. Two stories from Haruki Murakami’s critically acclaimed collection of the same name have been woven [...]

back with another one a’them block-rockin’ beats

I like ImprovBoston’s new space partly because of its key location (right in Central Square) and partly because of its awesome size. But I love it because of the bar. On any given Saturday when I have nothing else to do, I can show up at the IB bar and see at least [...]

her folks had said our life together sure was gonna be rough

“This must be the infamous Perich,” the woman said, shaking my hand as Fraley introduced us. That introduction has never borne good fruit for me, but this was Fraley and Melissa’s rehearsal dinner. The woman speaking was the Liberty Hotel’s wedding coordinator, Michelle.
Quick recap for the tourists: the Liberty Hotel was once the [...]

all just a little bit of history repeating

Thursday was Fraley’s bachelor party. I caught up with the crew at Smith & Wollensky’s downtown. They had just completed a few laps at F1 Racing and had sped here to make the 7:00 dinner reservation. The order of arrival at Boston’s best steakhouse had nothing to do with who won the [...]

nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed me by

I found a new karaoke spot on Friday: the bar beneath the Charles Playhouse in Boston’s theatre district. Small turnout for a Friday, though Memorial Day weekend might have contributed to that.
A few friends had turned out for Dave C’s twenty-ninth birthday. “I wanted one last big bash,” he said. “I’ve noticed [...]

revelations 21:4

“Did that guy just check you out?”
“Who?” I asked. It was a cool Saturday – high 60s, sunny, not much breeze – and we were lounging on a park bench in Boston’s Public Garden.
“That guy that just walked by.”
The gentleman in question: early fifties, Mediterranean complexion, expensive gray suit and a fat wristwatch. [...]

wet bus stop; she’s waiting; his car is warm and dry

Those of you who don’t follow sensational crime stories, or who live outside of New England, might not have heard that a Boston University medical student was arrested for robbing and killing prostitutes found on Craigslist earlier this week.
I don’t intend to speculate on the suspect’s guilt or innocence in this post. The man [...]

the city’s a flood and our love turns to rust

I’m a city boy at heart. I always will be.
# # #
Go to Mike’s Pastry in Boston’s North End before 7:30 and you beat the evening rush. You’ll still have to shoulder your way through a mob thirty deep – Back Bay couples with gray temples, suede and camelhair; pudgy college parents wearing [...]