BACK IN JAMAICA PLAIN

October 24, 2017 in USA

I was very happy to be back in my neighborhood this summer.

SUMMER IN BOSTON: PART 5

December 06, 2016 in USA

This city has a certain vibe which although not my exact ideal, has a weird to charm to it.

Bostonians aren't warm and friendly immediately -- but if you do chip away at our frozen (from years of shoveling out our cars in January) social exterior, you'll probably end up meeting all of our friends from high school and getting invited to the family Cape house for 4th of July. All of our bars may look exactly the same (dark wood, vaguely Irish) but I truly appreciate that there's a Dunkin Donuts on almost every corner that's frequented by people in every tax bracket.

P.S. The Simpsons actually did an episode this summer where they went on a "hate-cation" to Boston and it's wonderfully spot on. "It's like heaven for people who don't believe in heaven!"

SUMMER IN BOSTON: PART 4

November 07, 2016 in USA

Bits of summer (from my phone).

Basil making sure his Jesse gets out the door okay.

SUMMER IN BOSTON: PART 3

November 05, 2016 in USA

Jesse (my new friend and roommate) and Scott, prepping a lobster dinner. — Jesse (my new friend and roommate) and Scott, prepping a lobster dinner.

This summer in Jamaica Plain included many day trips out, dinners in and a surprising amount of new dog friends for someone who doesn't own a dog.

SUMMER IN BOSTON: PART 2

November 04, 2016 in USA

In May, we scored a great sublet in Jamaica Plain (it's now my fourth apartment in that neighborhood) and settled in for a summer in the city.

Commonwealth Cold Brew at the JP Farmers Market.

Scott appreciating American portion sizes.

Wanting to re-create the magic that was biking around Newcastle, Perth and Singapore, we bought bikes and declared ourselves a two-man bike gang, cruising around everywhere: commuting to a co-working space downtown, to farmers markets in the North End, through Chinatown, Castle Island in South Boston, over the Charles River to Cambridge and yoga in Brookline.

P.S. I bought my sky blue Linus bike at Superb Bicycle on Beacon Street and now it's now become one of the top 3 items I wholeheartedly recommend to people (...the other 2 being a Spotify account and an electric toothbrush -- all 3 will elevate your quality of life enormously). If you want a bike that's super comfortable, easy to ride -- and (let's be real here) hella cute -- I deeply recommend a Linus.

HOME

July 09, 2015 in USA

I'm back in Massachusetts and it is SUMMERRRRR.

Kevin + Nora had a heart meltingly sweet wedding in June.

Being back home in Sudbury/JP/Hamilton Beach with family and friends has been sunny and lovely and full of beach days, dance floor nights and ice cream. I've been doing some freelance work here and there but mostly living off what I saved while working in NZ and it's definitely strange being back in my normal environment without a normal 9-5. Even when I'm good and comfortable, there's always that nagging feeling that I could be doing more, could be making and saving more money.

It actually makes me think of one my favorite little tales, "The Fisherman and The Businessman":

There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village.
As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish.

The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?”
The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”
“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished.
“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.
The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”
The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”

The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
“I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”

The fisherman continues, “And after that?”

The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”

The fisherman asks, “And after that?”

The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”

...this is obviously a simplified version of the eternal struggle of the work/life balance (is this fisherman planning on paying his kids college tuition with fish?) but it's a good reminder, nonetheless. For me, unfortunately, this whole lazy summery lifestyle won't be able to last for too too long -- but I'm certainly not complaining at the moment.

LAST OF JP

September 05, 2014 in USA

After four and half years and two apartments, I said goodbye to darling Jamaica Plain. I'll miss the runs around Jamaica Pond, lazy Sunday brunches on Centre Street, soy cappuccinos at Ula Cafe, reading on our treehouse of a porch and running into friends at City Feed. And of course, my lovely roommates in apartment #3.

+ Keep clicking the photo above for a few more photos.