The line at Chacarero was not only out the door this afternoon, but it also about 6 people deep onto the sidewalk. The building across the street from it is being built at an incredible pace, and I took some time to take in the 5 million dollar units while I stood waiting for my 5 dollar sandwich. "45 Province Boston," or "Someplace I'll Never Live" According the web site, the building will boast (among other luxuries, of course!): four-season roof top pool spa treatments and a fitness center ...

Ever since Abercrombie & Fitch returned to Faneuil Hall, I'm transported back to junior high dances each time I exit through the back of our building. Our 7th and 8th grade dances were held each month in the gymnasium and were the social events of the year. Although there were no stated dress codes for these dances, both the boys and the girls all showed up wearing variations of the same outfit: Umbro shorts and t-shirts, which were preferably Umbro as well (although, Hypercolor and tie-dyed...

Tonight Team Eye and Ear is having our post Marathon party at the Union Oyster House. Freshman year in college, my friend and I had a disastrous double-date there on Valentine's Day, which led us both to end our respective relationships shortly thereafter. It's not that I hold a grudge against the restaurant, but this will be my first time back since February 1998. Marathon Monday has come and gone, but our team's fundraising efforts are still going strong until May 21st. To date, thanks to ...

Zingah! ...

I went running for the first time tonight since the marathon, and overall I felt pretty good. It was just a 4 mile loop around Castle Island, but a good start to post-marathon workouts. Nick and I are running Boston's Run to Remember over Memorial Day weekend, so I want to be ready for the half marathon. We've run the Run to Remember for the past 3 years, and have a tradition where we buy the photograph they take of you crossing the finish line even though we always look terrible. ...

I go to the Boloco on Congress Street at least once a week. Besides the actual food, one of the reasons I like going there is the staff. They're just extremely friendly and efficient, which makes them stand out from other places that may be just as quick, but definitely not as welcoming. I've been going to Boloco since 1997; this is when it was known as The Wrap. My roommates and I would go to the Cleveland Circle store when we wanted to escape BC's dining halls. In the 11 years I've been b...

Immediately outside of State T stop, there's a Roasted Nut vendor. I had gone to Viga in Pi Alley for lunch and as I was walking past the nut guy on my way back, I saw two of those Colonial tour guides greet the vendor with familiarity. One of the guides dips his hand into the copper bowl that holds the roasted nuts, scoops out a handful and keeps on walking. The vendor didn't even blink an eye, which made me think that this is a reoccuring event. If you're friends with the nut guy, do you g...

Despite leaving 20 minutes late, the Bolt Bus managed to get us to NYC at exactly 3:30, which was the scheduled arrival time. I didn't pack a lunch with me, since their web site states: On a longer trip (over three hours) we will typically make a quick comfort stop. This stop will be at a location with vending machines and public bathrooms. The driver was on a mission to get us to NY on time though, so we didn't end up stopping. I was sitting in the front seat, and noticed he had an interesting ...

We left 20 minutes late, but that's because the time was spent trying to help a passenger locate her confirmation number. I guess that's good customer service, but I am surprised they were willing to delay the trip like that. I bought my ticket online and it said C 05, so when I got to Terminal 21, I stood in the C line. There was an A,B and C line, and the A's boarded first, etc. I'm not sure how the letters were determined, but I'm guessing it has to do with when you bought the ticket. The ...

From Boston.com:Carmen 'The Cheeseman' DiNunzio indicted in Big Dig corruption sting Alternate headlines could be: "Someone's got a beef with the Cheese" "Cheeseman wants to be left aloam" "FBI Caught the CheeseBoss, His Mama Never Sleeps at Night" ...

If the Celtics win tonight, they'll advance to Round 2 of the 2008 NBA Playoffs; however, should they lose, the series will be tied 3-3 forcing a 7th game series tiebreaker. More importantly, if the series goes to a 7th game, I'll have a ride home from NYC Sunday morning with friends who have tickets to the game. I'm scheduled to take a 2:00 pm BoltBus back to Boston, but a car ride would be infinitely more comfortable. BoltBus does not offer any refunds or exchanges, but part of the beauty o...

Last night a button fell off my favorite leather jacket, but fortunately I heard it hit the sidewalk and safely stored it in my purse. The buttons are covered in the same leather the jacket is made out of, and it would be virtually impossible to find replacements. I toyed with the idea of sewing it back on myself; however, I am a terrible sewer and even when I try to sew a simple button, it looks like I used a stapler instead of a needle and thread. On my way into work I stopped at a dry clea...

While standing on the 9 Bus last night, a woman's bookmark caught my eye. The font and coloring made me think of Mary Engelbreit, and it read: A Woman is Like a Teabag, -and unfortunately, the woman's hand was covering the 2nd half of the seemingly ridiculous simile. The bus was crowded and I was desperate to see in what circumstance a woman could be compared to a teabag. It got to the point where I was practically resting my head on the lady's shoulder. In light of the "good touch/bad touch" aw...

Whenever I walk by "Casual Male" in Downtown Crossing, I usually put the "XL" from the sign in front of it, and read it as the Extra Large Casual Male, just because it sounds a lot more interesting than plain old "Casual Male." On my way to work this morning, I was reading in the Wall Street Journal how Casual Male's new spokesman is Matt Light and he'll be in TV commercials starting tomorrow. The article is pretty interesting and talks about how they want to broaden their sales to slightly less...

Over the past couple of months, I've been watching the former Curves gym on West Broadway being refurbished and re-branded as Regan's Motivated Fitness. I've lived in Southie since July 2002, and I'm not 100% certain, but I think the gym that occupied that space when I first moved there was not a Curves, but a locally owned gym. The Curves that I first remember being there closed and then reopened under new management. This eventually closed too and the building was empty for awhile until I s...

Today's Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's! To find a participating Scoop Shop, click here. Also, for a little dish of heaven, try the Cinnamon Bun flavor, which has chunks of cinnamon buns mixed into a vanilla-caramel ice cream. What's not to like about that? No caption needed- this flavor speaks for itself. ...

This morning when I was walking to work, a terrible, yet familiar smell flooded my nostrils. It took me a few minutes to place it, and then I realized that downtown Boston smelled like an overripe durian!I forgot about it until I just received an email from our facilities guy telling us that due to a water main break, there's been a gas leak and we may notice a gas odor in the air... For more info, you can also read about it on Boston.com. http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/04/m...

I've worn glasses since I was three years old, and thus, perhaps destined to be a librarian. My astigmatism is bad enough to prevent me from being able to wear soft contact lenses, so when I do wear contacts they're gas permeable. Unfortunately, gas perms aren't really suited for long term daily wear, so it's glasses by day and contacts by night. Boy, Bacardi must have had me in mind during this ad campaign...I don't particularly mind wearing my glasses; in a way, they allow people to remember y...

Happy 6 month anniversary to my wonderful husband, Nick! I love you! I really miss Hawaii ...

When I was coming home from work last night, I noticed how pretty the tree in front of our building looks now that it's in bloom. Spring is finally here! I hopped off the curb to take a picture, but I was struggling to find a place to stand so that I could get a decent shot. Suddenly, I realized why I was cramped for space... Parked cars lining Broadway At first I had been avoiding the inside lane because I thought those cars were in traffic, and then I realized that they were double parked. ...