Thank God for Lifejackets

Where to begin? Time seems to be travelling so fast right now. This morning, while engrossed in my book, I almost missed my subway stop. Sometime earlier in the ride I realised that I had forgotten to take a transfer–my proof of payment for the later change to streetcar. Rush, rush, rush.

It’s a rush in all senses of the word. I’m enjoying this whirlwind adventure that is my life immensely. All day people have been saying, “It’s sink or swim!”

I’m not just treading water. I’m really swimming.

Since I last left you, I finished my exams and hopped on that seedy night route from Toronto to Boston. I almost didn’t get on the right bus in Toronto that brought me to Buffalo, NY where I had to make the crucial transfer to the long-haul bus that made stops in Rocherster, Syracuse, Albany, Springfield and finally, Boston. Unlike on the posh “first class super VIP” buses I rode around peninsular Malaysia, I had trouble sleeping on a regular Greyhound coach. Though it was mostly the fact that the seats were predictably uncomfortable, my inability to get into REM sleep might have been related to the Gonazalez-style driving of the self-proclaimed “motorcoach operator”, D.W, a round lady who sported a tough attitude and a uniform grey skull cap.

Other than the exhaustion and attendant crabbiness, I made it down to Boston’s South Station without much incident. While the overall circumstances that forced me into taking the night bus still warrant complaining, there’s no point in complaining. Besides, I’d do just about anything for a reunion with my man. Aside from my heart wanting to leap out of my chest in anticipation of the first glimpse of Dave in the station and that first tight embrace, the only other exciting thing that happened was me connecting with an Uzbekistani farmer who had first approached me with a classic query: “Excuse me, are you from China?”

Good thing this guy got his story out really quickly or else I would have left him with one of my death stares. 😛 I was absolutely fascinated by everything that he had to say about finding American and Dutch contacts who were willing to engage in amazing international exchanges. Don’t knock the power of the Internet.

Anyway, cultivator of fruit, vegetables, and very soon flowers, is the poster for the entrepreneurial spirit. He was so open with bits of his life story and let me bombard him with questions about when and how he saved the money to buy his land right after the Soviet Union fell etc. etc.

Since he was looking into learning new flower cultivating techniques from the aforementioned Dutch and Americans, he invited them over to his farm in Uzbekistan. They enjoyed their visit and eventually returned the favour. The American leg of his learning tour is 8 months in total. He was on the same bus as me because he had sold the car he had bought (on the Internet, of course) and used during his stay outside of Rochester, NY and was on his way to New Hampshire to another farm where he would pick up other skills and knowledge related to his new floral adventure. Totally fascinating stuff.

Boston, of course, was a blast. This time, we did actually spend a lot of time in Boston. Dave and I were really riding high on this stolen weekend together. We always have fun together, but we really hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. It was like a dream. Exploring areas of the city we had never visited before; strolling through the beautiful blooming commons; munching on the most delectable of treats; snuggling in the middle of a dark cinema; laughing too loudly at each other’s stupid jokes and so much more.

One afternoon when Tina and Dave were both busy at their respective nerd labs, I pored over the beads at the Cambridge location of Beadworks. I spent just enough for enough. It’s obviously not cheap to shop at this kind of bead shop, but I allowed myself a few indulgences in my heady post-exam love high. Plus I got to pat myself on the back for any bulk bargains I got on marvelous gemstones in Asia. 😀

Honestly, I can’t wait to get started on the 1000s of projects swirling around in my head. The creative juices are coursing through my veins, baby. Woo! Beading, painting and knitting are on the agenda!

If only I could find the time for these things! The past few days of work and training have been exhilirating and exhausting. My little Boston jaunt tired me out; but work has really beaten me. And it’s only been two days! Eep! It’s going to take a bit of adjustment; but if anything, I’m adaptable.

Take the commute for example: ~1.5 hours each way on public transit. My antidote? Fantastic fiction. I don’t care what you all think, but I just finished The Time Traveler’s Wife and it pierced through my too-full heart. Good gracious, that was a fine book. The love story is as beautiful as the prose, but the references really slayed me! Punk rock, art history, literature, aristology and opera? Please sir, I want some more. I had just ran my fingers over Dave’s copy of Rilke poetry given to him by his mentor and them bam! there were Rilke’s words leaping off my pages. And the snippets from a book that I studied in high school and adored, A.S. Byatt’s Possession were perfect! I don’t care what my friend Wilson said last night in the parking lot before we sadly parted after a rare meeting, the book was damn fine. Mainstream book club material or not!

I’m not sure what tomorrow’s reading will be. I think that Martin Sloane is calling my name. I am artsy fartsy lovesick masochist.

If I’m lucky, I won’t have a chance to continue this rambling tomorrow for I will be spreading my social butterfly wings after another long day at work. I’ll just have to remember to tell you about the shoes next time. Oh, the glorious shoes. I can’t resist a hint: St. John stilettos. Okay, that’s more than enough. The shoes are important, but changing the world is more important. I need sleep to do that.



5 Responses:


  1. gnome G Says:

    Yay for stolen weekends with your loved one and i LOVED LOVED LOVED The Time Traveler’s Wife (made me cry, hard!). I hope you get to dabble in all sorts of creative fun soon (yay for finals being over!).


  2. Reese Says:

    aw sounds like a lovely weeekend in boston with your man. i’m sure every minute spent with your man is worth it (of course it is). sorry i missed you this time. i totally understand that you need to max the special time with your boy though. so work is good? you’ll settle into it in no time!


  3. mintchoco Says:

    Hey you, did I spot you at the cummer gym this Saturday for aerobics class???


  4. red wings Says:

    yay for no more finals and for man-time! hahaha.

    i’ve had my creative juices flowing as well recently. finished my sneakers and hemming my pants into shorts and then blazer into tote bag. crazy!

    and you must show off this beadwork! and the shoes!!!! you can’t just leave me hanging like that! SHOES!!!!


  5. gino888 Says:

    I used to work almost directly across the street from South Station!