TheMerrillShow

Wow, is it quiet in here…

In the time between grad school and finding full-time employment (fine, during grad school, too), I did a lot of online reading - and wow do I miss it.  Nowadays I get home from work, say hi to the family, do a few things, and then am tired enough to just go to bed… I find it strange that lately I just do not spend much time online.  And I find it a little saddening.

Granted, most of my time would be watching Google TechTalks, TED Talks, and see what’s new on PopURLs, but in doing so, I’d learn so much, tasting what’s fresh in new and exciting fields, or walking away with a neat tool I would eventually use.  There is just so much happening out there that not allotting time for browsing feels like a loss of… connection.

…and quiet is good.

This is why I enjoy Sundays - reading online is my version of reading the Sunday paper.  I guess in this sense, things don’t really change, but take on a different form.  I think I’ll formalize this as part of a weekly sabbatical custom.  Hopefully, it doesn’t always occur at the office, like today.

Quoting Obama at the Office

I was recently in a meeting where I gave an impromptu presentation of my research into the use of one of our databases with a rather unfriendly schema.  (I also got to show off the department wiki I made.  Her name is Viki.)  The goal was obtaining better ways of providing metrics.  When asked how this task was coming along, I said, “The database is not perfect, but it can be perfected.”

It was surprising to note the smiles and strangely comforted sighs… and especially where they were coming from.

Holy Crepe!

I recently discovered the Arrow Street Creperie between Harvard Square and Central Square on Mass Ave.  One of the reasons we moved to the BackBay was Le Marche at the Pru (now P. F. Chang’s), so it was a loss when it closed, and I’ve been looking for good sweet crepes since.  I had their “Extraordinaire”, which is fresh strawberries, fresh bananas, and either nutella or dark chocolate, and holy crepe am I going back there again.  Many times.

It’s a cute little location bordering Guffey Park… a little triangular sliver of land between Mass Ave. and Arrow street… there’s a smoothie place on the other side, some bookstores selling rare books, a church across the street, and every seating area seems to have its own character, but I guess it comes with the territory when it’s a tiny place to begin with.

They do savory & sweet crepes, and most are between $7 and $11, which may seem a little steep, but the ambiance and freshness make it well worth the cost.  They have a fan in me.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 8th, 2009 at 1:02 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.