Mmmmmmmm.

Hello again, apologies to the vegetarians for the above picture of the glorious pastrami sandwich I had the other day. Em opted for the artery clogging grilled cheese, very nice.

Anyway busy week, snow and ice are slowly melting as the temperature rises above freezing for the first time in what seems like a month or so. It's bright, it's sunny, it's lovely today. We've both been feeling a little down most of this week for various reasons but mainly because of work, not enough in my case and too much in Em's case. However into another weekend we head and a trip to New York City so we're perking up a little and plan to enjoy our last trip to NYC for some time.

Last night I attended a Graphic Artists Guild seminar on e-mail promotions and sending out newsletters which was all very interesting. However I was more excited by seeing the illustration I did for the event promo postcard. Which you can see by clicking here. They also printed the gorilla onto a 6 foot banner which was pretty cool to see. I got chatting with some other illustrators who also discussed a lack of work at the moment. So I guess it was nice to hear I'm not the only one, if a little disheartening with regards to my chosen career. Oh well.

Plans for the summer holiday are in full flow and frankly the credit cards taking a beating. We're planning to fly to Seattle for a couple of days then down to San Francisco, again for a couple of days. Then jump on the train to Monterey, for another couple of nights, then back on the train down the coast to Los Angeles. Em's found a delightfully kitsch hotel near the Sunset Strip, so she can find the old hang outs of Motley Crew and Poison in an attempt to relive her 80’s hair metal youth. From LA we had hoped to go to Joshua Tree National Park and possibly stay in the same hotel as U2 did, then onto San Diego for a night or two before moving on to the Grand Canyon, then fly back to Boston for the 4th July and home on the 5th. Which as I write sounds too much to do in a week. So sadly San Diego's been dropped, which is a shame but we want to enjoy this trip and not just move from hotel to hotel. The best and quickest way for us to visit the Grand Canyon looks like taking a trip from Las Vegas, flying over the canyon and being dropped off to have a walk round. So our updated plan is to take the bus from LA to Joshua Tree via Palm Springs, stay there for a couple of nights then fly to Vegas from Palm Springs to do the Grand Canyon, maybe play a slot machine or two in Vegas and finally fly from Vegas back to Boston. We're thinking of rounding off the whole thing by coming full circle and spend our last night in America in the hotel we spent our first. It sounds allot we know but we feel we deserve it, I especially think Em does.

You're only here once.

I need to go stir the chilli, have a good weekend.

Cheers.

That seal wants it's coat back

Let's get the weather out of the way. The snow or should I say some snow finally fell in Boston this week. Closely followed by a bit of rain then a little more snow. Lets not forget the sub zero temperatures too, turning Boston into a massive ice rink. It's treacherous outside. The safest way is to avoid the paths and walk across the tightly compacted snow to the side, which makes you feel like you weigh nothing, leaving the smallest imprints with each step. To walk on the paths is like walking on broken glass. Not much fun, with the wind trying to blow you over. It's been hard getting around, and so cold. So we've not ventured further than down Boylston for a brew the past few days.

Whilst walking about in our 20 layers we've noticed an older generation still opt for the fur off a seals back to keep warm. At least that's what we think it is, there may have been a racoon or two draped over a few shoulders. We counted about 10 women wearing fur coats and resisted the temptation to hit them with baseball bats. It would appear there are still people around for the fur market although as noted they are of a certain age and wealth. I'm happy with my Columbia 3 in 1 which keeps me warm enough, although the 18 layers underneath may have something to do with that.

Spring is only 32 day away and our return in the summer is drawing ever nearer. We've begun to plan things, feels like two weeks ago we we're planning to move here to Boston. Before we do come home we're hoping to explore the country a little more. Em bought a map which has been stuck to the wall and destinations for the ultimate summer holiday have been chosen. The only problem is time. There's so many places we want to go, Seattle, LA, San Francisco, San Diego and lets not forget Vegas. We have to go there. As you can probably tell from those destinations we're planning to travel down the west coast using trains, planes and automobiles. Well a bus or two, we don't fancy driving ourselves. It's going to be the holiday of a lifetime because we know we may never get the chance to do something like this again. So I think we're going to go for it. The 18th June is the provisional start date, returning home on the 6th July. It would be rude not to spend another 4th July back here in Boston, which was such a great experience last year. The only fear is we try and cram too much in and have no time to relax and enjoy the journey. However if we don't get a good tax refund we may just be flying home. Which although disappointing will be one of the best parts of the whole trip anyway.

Cheers for reading, have a good weekend and keep warm.

To be honest...

...we haven't done much this week apart from work, so this could be a short one. We watched the Colts beat the Bears in Superbowl XLI, that's 41 for those like me who are unfamiliar with the old Roman numerals. At least that's what they say it is. Of course there were loads of breaks and the game lasted for over 4 hours, but it flew by. Em bought some plastic cups to drink our beer from, cause that's what your supposed to do. It was a good game, although as I've mentioned before Em wasn't too impressed with it all. Prince was the half time entertainment and made us laugh as he was silhouetted into some phallic poses stroking his guitar. Absolute genius after all the fuss about Janet Jackson revealing her boob a couple of years back, and not many seemed to pick up on it in the news. Maybe Prince is a little disappointed by that.

We've been getting asked for id at some new pubs and bars we've been to lately. You also need to prove your identity when you buy booze from the supermarkets and liquor stores. Most of the time our federal issued resident card is good enough but lately places have been rejecting them and asking us to show our passports. We don't carry those around with us and don't plan to in future so reluctantly have signed up for 'Liquor id's.' I find it crazy that a federal issued identification is not accepted in the Bay State. Not to mention I'm 32. I may not look it, but I do look older than 21. My dad had to show his id, which caught him a little off guard. You don't want to come between my dad and his bottle of whisky Massachusetts. What did my dad have to prove? he's obviously over 21 years of age, and what does a state issued id card do that our federal one doesn't? Apart from cost $25. I don't know the answers but we can hopefully buy a bottle of wine for our Sunday tea with a little less hassle now.

Still no snow in Boston, only had 1.8" so far this year. The average is about 25" or something. It has however been extremely cold. I don't think it's been above freezing this week. We're getting a little tired of wearing all the layers to keep warm. I guess it will soon be Spring, March is approaching fast. I think the colds the reason we haven't been out anywhere this week. Sadly keeping warm in front of the TV has been far more attractive proposition than venturing out. We'll try and do better next week. Hopefully England will too when they play again.

Cheers.

Calm down.

Up until Wednesday I didn't really have much to write about this week, Then the shit hit the fan sort of speak. Suspicious devices were found around the city, near T stations and bridges setting off a full scale terrorist alert shutting down the city. You may have heard about it back home in England, The BBC and Guardian covered it on their websites. So you no doubt know it was all a hoax and the 'supposed' suspicious devices were no more than electronic boards featuring a character from a Cartoon Network series. All part of a 'guerrilla marketing' campaign for the show and a future movie version. The campaign also happened in about 9 other cities including New York, Philadelphia and Seattle, but only Boston fell into what I saw as total paranoia and fear from a cartoon character giving passers by the finger. Maybe I'm a little naive but if I had seen one of the alleged suspicious devices I don't think I would have thought anything of it. Apparently some of the devices had been there for up to two weeks without any cause for concern. The news stations went to work, feeding the frenzy and in my opinion spreading fear through the city while many teens and fans of the show found the whole thing hilarious. Two guys have been arrested for placing the devices and continue not to take the whole matter seriously to the annoyance of Boston's older generations. I myself couldn't believe how it was blown out of all proportion, I mean I'm no bomb squad but you just have to look at the devices. Anyway we still love you Boston even if you’re probably the most paranoid city in America, still at least we know your prepared if somebody leaves a suspicious 'Elmo' rucksack lying around.

Have a good weekend.