Boston

before last monday, heading up to boston for this seminar on comparative effectiveness research was a good educational move for my work with the committee. but after an unexpected call from the senior senator from minnesota that afternoon, having the committee pay for my trip seemed a little selfish as i would no longer impart my knowledge for their benefit. but after making sure my office was still okay sending me (probably as a reward for the past year and half of health reform), i happily booked my tickets and hotel room for a few days outside the diamond confines of dc.

so under the guise of this seminar, i escaped dc for a few days to visit boston (where i have never been). and i'm glad i went. the conference itself was uneventful and i was definitely out of my comfort zone of policy and politics as this was a scientific methods discussion and i gave up my scientist-card the moment i barely passed o-chem. but the true purpose was simply to walk around a new town, eat some food, catch some sights, and enjoy a relaxing few days...and that i did.

as tempted as i was to stroll through boston common wearing my purple and gold, i fear that i would've been mugged in broad daylight and the police would've encouraged it. so i refrained from my gloating and just enjoyed the city on its own. and i must say, it is a beautiful city. walking down commonweath, you'd be hard pressed to find a more serene street anywhere else. with red brick row houses facing a park-like divider lined with plush green trees, with a george washington statue at its helm before opening up to the public garden and boston common.

staying in the south end, i was privy to the "new money boston" as it was put to me by a tour guide. i was definitely pleased to have been recommended some wonderful gastronomic pleasures and wish i could have taken advantage of all of them. but i will highlight my first non-conference dining experience at b&g oysters. nestled into a corner of tremont st, it definitely held its own amongst the numerous dining choices available to me on those stretch of blocks.

and of course, what would a trip to boston be without visiting harvard. as much grief as we give our cambridge friends, i was still anxious to stroll along the campus and hopefully soak up some ivy league intelligence. and i must say, the campus is exactly as you imagine it to be (though not necessarily full of tourists gawking about)...with its large brick buildings, large shaded quad, and historical influence exuding from its grounds. i made sure to sit there for a while and let osmosis do its work...i instantly felt my iq jump a few points.

overall, though my time was short, i truly enjoyed myself. and i thought about how close i was to having gone to school at boston university and how different my life would be if i had. it seems that i've been having a lot of those "grass is greener" moments recently...and at the end of the day, i just have to enjoy and focus on the patch of lawn that i am sitting on now.