A typical day at the office involves me doing absolutely nothing, and plotting ways to commit suicide so that I will no longer have to lead this relentlessly soporific existence of staring at the computer (an existence which involves pretending to work and spending a few minutes on eye exercises so I don't go blind from staring at the computer for 10 hours a day).
Today, however, I finally found something to do. Having put off organizing the "logistical nightmare" of my college visiting holiday that will be appendaged to my family ski/do nothing holiday, I decided to make more efficient use of my time. I overcame my fear of puzzling public transportation in a foreign country (where, at least and mercifully, the spoken language is English) and looked through schedules to come up with a college visiting plan that Clara and I might actually find remotely viable. I found Amtrak, which didn't give me trouble as long as I didn't want to go to Poughkeepsie. I suppose I can't blame Amtrak. Poughkeepsie has Vassar, and that's it. All I remember of Poughkeepsie was this 50's diner I had breakfast in when I was 12 and had gigantic pancakes/bagels/scoops of ice cream that did much in the way of elucidating the root of the American obesity epidemic for me. Anyway, so I plotted a kind of route that may allow us to visit NYU, Columbia, Yale, Brown and Amherst over the weekend(Juliet, are you cheering!), with some time in between to have fun in Boston and New York City.
Now, I have to tackle the financial nightmare that is this trip, because train tickets/accomodation are a bitch. Really. We're hoping to lodge with some kind person in NY because even hostels are pricey and safety is dicey (yes, I rhymed on purpose to make you groan), and skip around town visiting museums. Clara is quite appalled that, unlike the museums in London, you actually have to pay to gain admission into museums in New York. The Whitney and the Met seem to have exhibitions worth seeing (I suppose for the Met, that's a given). I will somehow find a way to go to Woodbury Commons, shopping mecca I can remember even 6 years on from my first grand tour of New England. Hey, I am a blatant consumer. I need to get my fix at least once during this part of my total US trip.
And, more than being an activity that has consumed the second half of my day, this trip planning of mine (that may eventually fall through entirely anyway, since its contingent on so many flimsy factors) has also served one more very useful purpose : it has been my comfortable distraction from the fact that on Friday ... I will die.
Today, however, I finally found something to do. Having put off organizing the "logistical nightmare" of my college visiting holiday that will be appendaged to my family ski/do nothing holiday, I decided to make more efficient use of my time. I overcame my fear of puzzling public transportation in a foreign country (where, at least and mercifully, the spoken language is English) and looked through schedules to come up with a college visiting plan that Clara and I might actually find remotely viable. I found Amtrak, which didn't give me trouble as long as I didn't want to go to Poughkeepsie. I suppose I can't blame Amtrak. Poughkeepsie has Vassar, and that's it. All I remember of Poughkeepsie was this 50's diner I had breakfast in when I was 12 and had gigantic pancakes/bagels/scoops of ice cream that did much in the way of elucidating the root of the American obesity epidemic for me. Anyway, so I plotted a kind of route that may allow us to visit NYU, Columbia, Yale, Brown and Amherst over the weekend(Juliet, are you cheering!), with some time in between to have fun in Boston and New York City.
Now, I have to tackle the financial nightmare that is this trip, because train tickets/accomodation are a bitch. Really. We're hoping to lodge with some kind person in NY because even hostels are pricey and safety is dicey (yes, I rhymed on purpose to make you groan), and skip around town visiting museums. Clara is quite appalled that, unlike the museums in London, you actually have to pay to gain admission into museums in New York. The Whitney and the Met seem to have exhibitions worth seeing (I suppose for the Met, that's a given). I will somehow find a way to go to Woodbury Commons, shopping mecca I can remember even 6 years on from my first grand tour of New England. Hey, I am a blatant consumer. I need to get my fix at least once during this part of my total US trip.
And, more than being an activity that has consumed the second half of my day, this trip planning of mine (that may eventually fall through entirely anyway, since its contingent on so many flimsy factors) has also served one more very useful purpose : it has been my comfortable distraction from the fact that on Friday ... I will die.
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