Somehow I did a dandy job of picking the coldest spot to work in Rotch Library. I mean, I have a nice view of building 11, and I'm surrounded by books about the National Parks and forestry and agriculture, but I also happen to be surrounded by vents that are spewing coldness.
Working in Simmons was not working, unfortunately. There were too many distractions: my ukulele, my friends, and my largely unread copy of Infinite Jest. So instead I packed up my stuff and trekked over to Rotch Library (a location I am wishing I had discovered sooner, except for this one section that is apparently an icebox) to buckle down and work on this chemistry p-set. It's not much better than Simmons, though. There are tons of books that I could spend hours perusing, and I'm sleepy. Also, with Thanksgiving a mere week away, and my flight home only four weeks away, I find myself missing home more than usual.
I'm not heading back to Oregon for Thanksgiving, though I do wish I was. You have no idea how badly I want to see friends and family and all the people that are honestly just too far away from me for my liking. You have no idea how badly I want a Kahlua Kicker from Dutch Bros (maybe MIT could develop the magic to transport hot coffee over long distances... Course 8 people, you guys should get on that), or pizza from American Dream (why is all of the pizza in Boston so terrible and greasy?!), or any of the myriad of other things Boston just fails at having. A quick peek at Expedia's prices for flights home next week makes it a bit easier to stay here for those four days, however; a roundtrip ticket is around $1000. So instead I'll be relaxing here in Boston, working on a paper, p-sets, a presentation, and starting the studying-for-finals marathon. Oh, and I'll be sleeping a lot. I'll also be working on getting over this lingering swine flu-y cough that just won't go away. Hopefully the sleep will help with that.
My last complaint of the evening: the latest Spoon EP (Got Nuffin) is not the greatest ever. Let me just say that Spoon is one of the bands that I will unconditionally love, no matter what they produce. But Got Nuffin pushes it. The title track is legitimately good, but of the four tracks (one of which is a remix), only two are actually enjoyable to listen to. Maybe I need to give it another listen, but I was definitely less than impressed upon first listen. I'm crossing my fingers that their upcoming album (due out January 26th) is better.
... YES. The vents of iciness that are all around me are no longer trying to freeze everything in the vicinity. I think I can finally get some work done, meaning I will stop complaining.
Coming soon: MIT's Obama-madness, why I'm switching majors (SURPRISE!), and probably a lot more complaining.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
19 November 2009
06 August 2009
A New Perspective on a Familiar Place
[Clearly I haven't blogged in a while... Summer's been full of fun and adventure! I'll be back at MIT in a little less than a month, so the fun and adventure will be coming to an end and will turn to fun, adventure and p-sets. As such, I'll be blogging more. I promise.]
I'd been to San Francisco before. Twice: once to visit Stanford back in the days of college decisions, and once to spend Christmas in a (slightly) warmer climate. As a result, I'd seen the Golden Gate Bridge, Haight-Ashbury, the Exploratorium and Fisherman's wharf a couple of times. Basically, both typical family vacations.
My friend Natalie wants to be a filmmaker (that doesn't really do much justice to what she wants to do... but I tried) and is looking at transferring to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and when she suggested we head down there for a visit, I couldn't have been more excited. A trip to a great city with one of my best friends in the summer? Definitely a win.
Rather than bore you with my usual "And then we did this, and then this, and then..." I'll just tell you about some of the awesome places we went. Also, our trip was July 6-12, so clearly some of the information here could have changed since. I also may have forgotten details since...
The Hotel
Four out of five of the nights of the trip were spent at the Gaylord Suites hotel in the Union Square area of San Francisco (the first night was spent at the Econolodge in Ashland, OR on our way south). The hotel was in a perfect location for walking around downtown, and was within walking distance of the SoMa district. There were several parking garages within a couple of blocks, and a lot of restaurants. There was also a Walgreen's drug store nearby, which came in handy. The only complaint I had about location was that it was literally a block away from the Tenderloin district. The Tenderloin... not the best place ever. It seemed okay-ish during the day (though we definitely didn't pass through there unless we were in a car), but at night it was incredibly noisy. The room was really nice - all ikea furniture, clean, and even had a flat-screen TV. For the location and amenities, the price was more than reasonable (check Expedia for reservations!) and I'd definitely stay there again.
The Food
One of my favorite things to do is find good restaurants to eat at. To be perfectly honest, I want to go back to San Francisco just to eat at all the restaurants that looked amazing. Unfortunately, I forget a lot of the places that we ate at... The one place that sticks out the most in my mind, however, is the Crepe House. We ate at the Gough Street location, but I'm sure the other locations are just as good. I had the chicken pesto crepe, and it was amazing. The crepe was perfect, the potatoes that came with it were perfect, and they have Orangina. Perfect. The only other place I remember having exceptional food was the restaurant/cafe in the Museum of Modern Art - definitely a great place to eat after a trip through the museum.
I can also safely say that most of the Starbucks we went to were flawless in service and quality... Except they rarely spelled my name correctly. (Really?! Every time it was spelled wrong, it was some weird spelling of Kelsey. Seriously. Just go with the most common spelling - it's not that hard.) What would a trip be to San Francisco without copious amounts of coffee?
The Places
We went to some pretty amazing places while in the Bay area. Probably because I'm a huge nerd, the Exploratorium was one of my favorites. Granted, the Exploratorium is my favorite science museum after OMSI. Anyway. It was awesome. Also awesome: the Museum of Modern Art. They had a Robert Frank exhibit and a joint exhibit featuring works by Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keeffe. Being the photography nerd that I am, I was running around (well, almost... we didn't have much time before the museum closed) in love with a million different photographs. Definitely worth it. Prior to this trip, San Francisco was the furthest south I had ever been in California. That changed after our trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. While I was practically hyperventilating over contact sheets at MoMA, Natalie was dying with sheer joy at the aquarium. But understandably. It was an awesome aquarium. The exhibits were fantastic, and they filmed part of the fourth Star Trek movie there (yeah, we were excited about that). The sea horse exhibit was amazing, and the best part of the sea otter exhibit was the video screens featuring John Cleese.
Okay, so I'm just going to post a few pictures. Lame, I know, but they're probably better than the tales of us walking all over downtown San Francisco looking for coffee, food, and the Academy of Art.
The Palace of Fine Arts outside of the Exploratorium
Part of the Exploratorium (a.k.a. nerd heaven)
Part of the Yerba Buena gardens, and a view of the SoMA district. MoMA is the building with the weird disk on top.
I'd been to San Francisco before. Twice: once to visit Stanford back in the days of college decisions, and once to spend Christmas in a (slightly) warmer climate. As a result, I'd seen the Golden Gate Bridge, Haight-Ashbury, the Exploratorium and Fisherman's wharf a couple of times. Basically, both typical family vacations.
My friend Natalie wants to be a filmmaker (that doesn't really do much justice to what she wants to do... but I tried) and is looking at transferring to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and when she suggested we head down there for a visit, I couldn't have been more excited. A trip to a great city with one of my best friends in the summer? Definitely a win.
Rather than bore you with my usual "And then we did this, and then this, and then..." I'll just tell you about some of the awesome places we went. Also, our trip was July 6-12, so clearly some of the information here could have changed since. I also may have forgotten details since...
The Hotel
Four out of five of the nights of the trip were spent at the Gaylord Suites hotel in the Union Square area of San Francisco (the first night was spent at the Econolodge in Ashland, OR on our way south). The hotel was in a perfect location for walking around downtown, and was within walking distance of the SoMa district. There were several parking garages within a couple of blocks, and a lot of restaurants. There was also a Walgreen's drug store nearby, which came in handy. The only complaint I had about location was that it was literally a block away from the Tenderloin district. The Tenderloin... not the best place ever. It seemed okay-ish during the day (though we definitely didn't pass through there unless we were in a car), but at night it was incredibly noisy. The room was really nice - all ikea furniture, clean, and even had a flat-screen TV. For the location and amenities, the price was more than reasonable (check Expedia for reservations!) and I'd definitely stay there again.
The FoodOne of my favorite things to do is find good restaurants to eat at. To be perfectly honest, I want to go back to San Francisco just to eat at all the restaurants that looked amazing. Unfortunately, I forget a lot of the places that we ate at... The one place that sticks out the most in my mind, however, is the Crepe House. We ate at the Gough Street location, but I'm sure the other locations are just as good. I had the chicken pesto crepe, and it was amazing. The crepe was perfect, the potatoes that came with it were perfect, and they have Orangina. Perfect. The only other place I remember having exceptional food was the restaurant/cafe in the Museum of Modern Art - definitely a great place to eat after a trip through the museum.
I can also safely say that most of the Starbucks we went to were flawless in service and quality... Except they rarely spelled my name correctly. (Really?! Every time it was spelled wrong, it was some weird spelling of Kelsey. Seriously. Just go with the most common spelling - it's not that hard.) What would a trip be to San Francisco without copious amounts of coffee?
The Places
We went to some pretty amazing places while in the Bay area. Probably because I'm a huge nerd, the Exploratorium was one of my favorites. Granted, the Exploratorium is my favorite science museum after OMSI. Anyway. It was awesome. Also awesome: the Museum of Modern Art. They had a Robert Frank exhibit and a joint exhibit featuring works by Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keeffe. Being the photography nerd that I am, I was running around (well, almost... we didn't have much time before the museum closed) in love with a million different photographs. Definitely worth it. Prior to this trip, San Francisco was the furthest south I had ever been in California. That changed after our trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. While I was practically hyperventilating over contact sheets at MoMA, Natalie was dying with sheer joy at the aquarium. But understandably. It was an awesome aquarium. The exhibits were fantastic, and they filmed part of the fourth Star Trek movie there (yeah, we were excited about that). The sea horse exhibit was amazing, and the best part of the sea otter exhibit was the video screens featuring John Cleese.
Okay, so I'm just going to post a few pictures. Lame, I know, but they're probably better than the tales of us walking all over downtown San Francisco looking for coffee, food, and the Academy of Art.
The Palace of Fine Arts outside of the Exploratorium
Part of the Exploratorium (a.k.a. nerd heaven)
Part of the Yerba Buena gardens, and a view of the SoMA district. MoMA is the building with the weird disk on top.25 July 2009
The Same Old Excuses
No, I haven't dropped off the face of the planet, I promise. I just need to actually sit down and blog...
Coming soon:
This summer, despite things for Berkeley falling through, has been one big adventure with my friends and family. As such, there's been little time to sit down and chronicle it for you all. Sorry about that! I will definitely be making a bit more time to blog, so stay tuned!
Coming soon:
- My adventures in San Francisco with my friend Natalie
- Music goodness
- Tales of a treasure hunt in which technology was no help (a.k.a. a recent geocaching/hiking trip)
- A cell phone review for the ages
- The latest addition to my family (hint: it has a tail)
- Why I'm the worst sister in the world (and an exploration of molasses consumption)
- Just how behind I am in Infinite Jest
This summer, despite things for Berkeley falling through, has been one big adventure with my friends and family. As such, there's been little time to sit down and chronicle it for you all. Sorry about that! I will definitely be making a bit more time to blog, so stay tuned!
17 October 2008
T-minus 15 Hours
In 15 hours I'll be on a plane headed toward Indianapolis!
YEA!
It's going to be amazing! I am really excited for National Convention this year. I think it'll be a good change of pace, and Nationals always gets me really motivated (which I could really use right now).
Okay, I really need to pack.... And I hate packing. :(
YEA!
It's going to be amazing! I am really excited for National Convention this year. I think it'll be a good change of pace, and Nationals always gets me really motivated (which I could really use right now).
Okay, I really need to pack.... And I hate packing. :(
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