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I had wanted to continue my archive concert summaries today, rolling June and July together, but I've been busy today editing a paper and now I don't have enough time left to get that done. So the rest of the 2010 concert reviews/summaries will probably be pushed into next week, with the new year's weekend upon me.
Instead, I'll write a bit about my Christmas vacation. Despite going into it with a cold, I ended up having a very enjoyable trip home. My flights there and back were miraculously smooth and trouble-free, which was really nice. And my cold cleared up within the first couple days, so I never felt really miserable. I did not get to spend as much time in Boston as I wanted to, but I did have a nice brunch at a restaurant in a part of Boston I've never really spent time in before, so that was good, and I did get to make my obligatory pilgrimage to Pizzeria Regina, which was satisfying as always. I also didn't get to see as many friends as I wanted to, though I didn't even try contacting some of them just because I knew the holidays are such a busy time for everyone, and because I had a cold at first; however, I did get to have that brunch with my new KEXP friend Sarah "from Boston", and despite the weather's efforts to thwart me, I did get to hang out with two of my oldest and closest friends, Scott and Doug. I enjoyed visiting my parents, hanging out with my younger brother and seeing his new place, and seeing my older sister and other relatives on Christmas (well, the day after, actually) as well as talking to my younger sister and her partner via Skype.
I finally tried my hand at running a game of "Dungeon World", based on Vincent Baker's Apocalypse World, and although I could see right away where I need more practice at running it, I felt it went very well for my first time and I enjoyed it a lot. I also finally finished reading Apocalypse World, which gave me some ideas on further customizing parts of it for "Dungeon World", and made me more eager to get back to finishing the character class I've been working on as well as preparing an adventure to run for people here in Seattle.
On the topic of spending time in Boston: people occasionally ask me if I ever miss New England, and I usually say no, although I do still love it, I'm very happy here in Seattle and don't intend to leave. However, for some reason on this trip, I found myself feeling a bit homesick for Boston while I was there visiting it. I know it so well, and yet at the same time there are parts of it like the South End that I've rarely visited or spent any time in, so I'd still love to spend time exploring it as well as simply hanging out in the parts that are familiar to me. And I have to say, Boston has so much character and beauty that Seattle rarely if ever comes close to, not just because it's so much older but also because it developed over time with distinctive styles. Too much of Seattle strikes me as bland and modern and similar, and Seattle could really conform to its terrain a lot more, with the resulting interestingly-shaped buildings and neighborhoods, instead of having the grid mercilessly imposed on top of everything. I could probably rant at further length on this topic, but I'm just about out of time for now. In any case, though I do miss Boston and do feel Seattle has some shortcomings in comparison, I'm still happy to be back here and to call Seattle home.
Instead, I'll write a bit about my Christmas vacation. Despite going into it with a cold, I ended up having a very enjoyable trip home. My flights there and back were miraculously smooth and trouble-free, which was really nice. And my cold cleared up within the first couple days, so I never felt really miserable. I did not get to spend as much time in Boston as I wanted to, but I did have a nice brunch at a restaurant in a part of Boston I've never really spent time in before, so that was good, and I did get to make my obligatory pilgrimage to Pizzeria Regina, which was satisfying as always. I also didn't get to see as many friends as I wanted to, though I didn't even try contacting some of them just because I knew the holidays are such a busy time for everyone, and because I had a cold at first; however, I did get to have that brunch with my new KEXP friend Sarah "from Boston", and despite the weather's efforts to thwart me, I did get to hang out with two of my oldest and closest friends, Scott and Doug. I enjoyed visiting my parents, hanging out with my younger brother and seeing his new place, and seeing my older sister and other relatives on Christmas (well, the day after, actually) as well as talking to my younger sister and her partner via Skype.
I finally tried my hand at running a game of "Dungeon World", based on Vincent Baker's Apocalypse World, and although I could see right away where I need more practice at running it, I felt it went very well for my first time and I enjoyed it a lot. I also finally finished reading Apocalypse World, which gave me some ideas on further customizing parts of it for "Dungeon World", and made me more eager to get back to finishing the character class I've been working on as well as preparing an adventure to run for people here in Seattle.
On the topic of spending time in Boston: people occasionally ask me if I ever miss New England, and I usually say no, although I do still love it, I'm very happy here in Seattle and don't intend to leave. However, for some reason on this trip, I found myself feeling a bit homesick for Boston while I was there visiting it. I know it so well, and yet at the same time there are parts of it like the South End that I've rarely visited or spent any time in, so I'd still love to spend time exploring it as well as simply hanging out in the parts that are familiar to me. And I have to say, Boston has so much character and beauty that Seattle rarely if ever comes close to, not just because it's so much older but also because it developed over time with distinctive styles. Too much of Seattle strikes me as bland and modern and similar, and Seattle could really conform to its terrain a lot more, with the resulting interestingly-shaped buildings and neighborhoods, instead of having the grid mercilessly imposed on top of everything. I could probably rant at further length on this topic, but I'm just about out of time for now. In any case, though I do miss Boston and do feel Seattle has some shortcomings in comparison, I'm still happy to be back here and to call Seattle home.
