Tone Parsons

Today is my last full day in bean-town.  It started rather damn early today, as the fire alarm in the hotel went off at 4:00 am, followed by a request to vacate the building via the PA (there’s a speaker in every room).

We all got dressed and assembled outside (where it was damn cold).

30 minutes later, the fire department gave an “all clear” and we were allowed back in (it was a malfunction with the fire detection system).

*groan*

I did manage to finally fall back to sleep around 5:30am so I got another hour and a half of sleep.  I guess it wouldn’t have been so bad if I wasn’t up until midnight working on my laptop.

I left it connected to the hotels network during the day.  Apparently, I had a share open with full privileges (for a co-worker to dump files into).  Someone else using the hotel’s wi-fi must have a damn dirty PC, because when I came back, teaTimer (a little utility I have installed that warns you when  something is trying to modify the registry) was going nuts.

It took a while to get it off my laptop (and yes… that share is now closed).

I also created a new account on my laptop that has very few rights on the system (basically… it can run Firefox, Cisco VPN, and Outlook).  That’s going to be my account of choice from now on when I travel.

No big plans for tonight.  I’ll probably head to the  Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner (I went there last night and it was OMG fantastic!!).  I had the tenderloin, stuffed with roasted garlic and served with white cheddar mashed potatoes and green beans.  Tonight, I’m having the “Texas Fire steak”.  They have good beer too.  The Northstar Amber was fantastic (the IPA and Stout were less so).

If anything exciting happens today, I’ll post it, but the highlight of my day will be cramming everything I bought on the trip into my suitcases with everything I brought with me.  It’s gonna be a tight fit! 🙂

Today is day 6 of my 8 day stay (technically, it really should only count as 7, since I have to be at the airport at 5:30am on day 8).

As per the previous post, I discovered that Blue Man Group was here and playing about 2 blocks from my hotel (I’m right in the middle of the theatre district). I walked over at 11:00am when the ticket counter opened and managed to snag a great seat that was pretty close to the stage (but not so close that I had to cover myself with plastic… more on that in a minute).

I really had no idea what to expect when I went there. I did, however, notice a large number of people who brought their children to the show… some of them quite young (they provided booster seats for them).

To give you an idea of the size of the Charles Playhouse, think small (If you live in Spokane, think The Met). There are no bad seats in the house. I was 20 feet back with a full view of everything.

The staff handed out 4 foot pieces of toilet paper and everyone started tying it around their heads (like a sweat band). I have no idea why, but like the sheep I am, I ran with it (I still have no idea why we did this).

The show started with some LED signs in the corners by the stage scrolling funny stuff… talking about special guests in the audience and asking them to stand and be recognized for various things (winning the Pulitzer prize, mapping the human genome, etc). The must have pulled peoples names from the credit card sales, they would stand, we would yell whatever the LED sign told us to, then they would sit down again.

When the Blue Man Group took to the stage, it was a mixture of music, comedy, and pure bizarre behavior. I found my self laughing even at the odd and uncomfortable circumstances they placed themselves in.

They beat on drums that they kept pouriing colored liquid on (which is why those up front need to cover with plastic), threw things at each other, and played their wacky PVC insturments.

Oh… and if you ever go to see these guys… be warned: there WILL BE audience participation. They jump off the sage, grab you, and you can expect to spend a while up there why they do the odd things they do. It’s quite entertaining! Also… don’t be late to the show…. they were about 10 minutes into it and suddenly the musis stopped, the screen behind them announced a late arrival, and a spotlight followed a couple in. The Blue Man Group just stared at them until they were seated, then continued the show.

The show ended with the biggest toilet paper frenzy I’ve ever seen. I was buried in it… it flowed like a river over me and toward the stage. You can’t help but laugh as your grabbing the veritable wave of paper that comes from behind your and pushing it onto the row in front of you (eventually it all ends up on the stage)… all the while the music is blasting, strobe lights are flashing, and the Blue Man Group is dancing.

It was most cool! 🙂

Oh… and here’s a few more pictures of my walk today (mostly around Boston Common, and not as many as yesterday, but damn it… my legs are still tired).

I spent all of yesterday walking around and playing tourist.

I walked the “heritage trail”, which I highly recommend if you’ve never been here before. Basically, it’s a line set into the sidewalk (made of brick) that you follow around town. It takes you to all the famous landmarks in the city.

Here’s a photo gallery (sorry… there aren’t any descriptions on the pics).

I did get to see some neat things, and I’ve basically ruined my legs (it was a long damn walk).

Today’s plan of attack: I found out that Blue Man Group is in town. I walked to the Charles Playhouse to see if I could get tickets. I did! So…. I’ll be rockin’ out with one of the most unusual acts out there at 2:00 today 🙂

I’ve wanted to see these guys for forever…. so I’m slightly more than excited!

Oh… and one more thing: I’d like to apologize to my mother-in-law. I was talking to my wife on the phone and she was watching my webcam, so I mooned her (as anyone who’s ever watched it for any amount of time knows I do). Apparently, my mother-in-law was also watching the cam.

I’m sorry I showed you my ass 🙂

*groan*

I went back out last night, found a nice pub (a place called The Intermission), and decided that I was goning to have a good time. I actually did 🙂

A couple who happen to be from Seattle sat down next to me. We talked a little, tried to decide what was in these huge clear jars on the bar (I guessed embalming fluid and pepperjack cheese…. apparently it was vodka and pineapple, my bad). Next thing I know, we were drinking car bombs (take half a glass of Guinness and drop a shot glass of irish whiskey and baley’s irish cream into it). While they taste very, VERY good… they make your whole world turn upside down after you consume 4 or so of them.

While my world wasn’t exactly upside down, it was most definitely leaning to one side pretty severely.

This morning I woke up early (because Mr. Stupid Head forgot to turn off the alarm clock in his room as well as the one he programmed into his cell phone), and decided that I better do something besides lay in the hotel room all day (which is truely what I wanted to do when I work up… bad Guinness…. BAD!!). So, I got up, walked down to McDonalds, got some greasy food in my belly, and prepared for my day.

I took the train (which is a subway downtown) out to the Boston Brewing Company and did a tour of the place.

It’s not quite what I expected.

They don’t actually brew the beer you drink there, it’s more of an experimental brewery where they try new things. The beer you buy in stores is brewed in one of many huge breweries located all over the US.

When I got there, I was the only one there for the tour (well… I was early). About 20 minutes later, 4 more people showed up. It was looking like it was going to be a quite tour with just the five of us. That’s when the tour bus rolled into the lot. Out of it came about 50 people from some motorcycle club. They were loud, they were obnoxious, and they were kinda funny.

We did the tour (I only took a few pictures… they’re here)

After the tour was over, they gave us some free beer (this made the tour group even louder and more obnoxious) and then I hit the gift shop. I got myself a t-shirt and nifty bottle opener, and picked up a tap handle for my friend Jess (it’s a real one…. not some cheap piece of crap). I’m hoping he likes it…. if not, I’ll beat him with it.

Then, I spent the day wandering around boston… but that’s another post (which I’ll write in a while).