One last one....

[mangosteen]

Questions from rekling:

1. Why stories?
No matter how odd the medium, or incongruous the scale, the urge to communicate exists. One of the easiest ways for me to relate to a smallish crowd of people (who I may or may not know) is to tell stories. People interact with me, I get to understand them through their responses, and it's within my comfort zone. I have enough confidence to know that I'm a semi-decent storyteller, so "go with what you know" tends to work pretty well. Keep in mind that even when relating the same facts, the difference between an interesting life and a boring one is often in the telling.

2. What's your favorite place to live?
Well, hm. I've only really lived in three places, those being Long Island, Manhattan, and Boston/Cambridge. Of those, I don't expect I'd ever move back to either of the first two, and I expect that I'll be in the Boston area for the forseeable. I love this town. To answer it another way, I want to be where I don't need a car, where I can be in close proximity to my friends, such that spur-of-the-moment gatherings are not only possible, but common, and where I feel that I have a real community. Boston satisfies those requirements and many more. Manhattan is proof that you can stick 2 million people on a not-too-big island, and have all of them feel intensely lonely.

3. What's the best way to travel?
I confess to be one of those masochists known as "a big guy who likes flying". I find being in a plane simultaneously absurd and relaxing. Obviously, if I could teleport, that would win, but that's not likely for the forseeable. So yeah, planes all the way, except for the northeast corridor. Now that I have what looks to be a reliable car, I expect I'll be driving down to NYC (and parking on LI), as opposed to taking the Delta Shuttle. Driving is slightly cheaper than the Chinatown Bus, and I'm on my own schedule.

4. How does your life as it is right now compare to where you thought you'd be at this time, seven years ago?
I had no idea where I'd be, so I couldn't really tell you. I had very few expectations when I moved up to Boston. The only possible exceptions were that I thought I'd own property by this point, and I wanted to be established in my field. The former hasn't happened (although maybe in 2 years or so), but the latter is progressing fairly well. There was a time about a year after I moved up to Boston that I was seriously contemplating moving to Seattle. Every now and then, I still wonder what would have happened if I did that.

5. What's a cool thing to do in Boston?
Wake up in the morning (around 9am) on a Saturday, get a few friends together, have a really good breakfast, hang out for a bit, and then head over to Boston Billiard Club when they open (around noon), and have the place (and the jukebox) to yourselves for about 4-5 hours at really cheap rates for one of the nicest tables on the main floor. That's cool, but not really a Boston thing. Hm. Ah. Yes. Mayday. Sunrise. Footbridge near Harvard Square. Do that.