Adventures in Gastronomy

I got together with my friend, Jen, last night for dinner. Three years ago when I first moved to the North End (wow – has it been that long?), I vowed to keep trying new restaurants until I’ve exhausted them all and found a favorite. Being the unimaginative man-of-routine that I am, I’ve probably eaten at only about 20 and have simply become a repeat customer at many (Il Panino Express, Artu, Monica’s, Pizzeria Regina, Mother Anna’s, Cafe Florentine).

However, Jen keeps me on my toes and we tend to try new places together. Last night we ate at L’Osteria (spelling?) on Salem Street. It was pretty darn good. I had ziti with shrimp in a garlic and white wine sauce. She had some sort of chicken with mushrooms concoction.

After dinner, and despite the cold temperatures, we headed over to the Gelateria for, well, gelato. I mixed pear and chocolate for a yummy little treat. We then walked along the street and froze our asses off. It wasn’t all that cold (upper 40’s, perhaps) but it was windy. And carrying cold gelato in your hands while being bombarded by the sea breeze was anything but a pleasant experience.

As always, something stupid led us into an uncontrollable laughing spree – resulting in stares from the passers-by. Ah, good times.

I’m really going to miss living in the North End someday.

Oh – and YAY New Jersey! CNN’s website had a map yesterday that showed the states with full same-sex marriage rights (Massachusetts only…possibly New Jersey in 180 days), civil unions (Vermont, Connecticut), Domestic Partnership rights (Maine, Rhode Island, California, Illinois, and others I can’t recall) and it reminded me of this map from the previous election:

October 26th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 5 Comments

For the first time in my condo search, I saw a property that I might consider worthwhile. True, there were some cosmetic issues that would need addressing. But it seems that in my price range, new construction isn’t really an option.

The place is 900 square feet and has 2 bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, an eat-in kitchen, a pantry (big enough to use as an office with built-in desk), laundry and storage in the basement, pretty (small) gardens in front and in back, is within a 5 minute walk of Davis Square and less than 2 minutes to Mass Ave in Cambridge. It’s on the first floor, but because the site is on a hill, the windows in front are practically at the second floor level.

It’s literally twice the size of most of the places I’ve looked at so far…and of better quality than over half of the units I’ve seen so far. I’ve provided my broker with a list of questions (age of roof, are the washer/dryer included?, etc…)

Anyway, since a picture is worth a thousand words, please give me a thousand words (or at least a few sentences with your opinions) in the comments section. I value your input!

 All right – I need opinions!

October 25th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 21 Comments

While on the Cape this weekend I pulled out some of my parents’ old photo albums. My mom wanted to learn how to scan photos (weddings, etc…) into her computer so Randy was kind enough to show her. While they were busy doing that, I started flipping through albums with pictures of my Mom as a child after the Hurricane of 1938, and on vacations to various places.

Then I stumbled upon a black and white photo from the 1950’s of a slender “handsome” woman with her arm wrapped around another woman. There were other photos of her by herself (in a bikini top in a pool, standing next to a tree) but this one photo made my gaydar go off.

I asked my mother who it was and she said it was a cousin of hers…who was openly gay…back in the 1940’s and 1950’s! The woman with her was her lover of many years. And this was apparently fine with the extended family who would pack up their kids and go and spend vacations with her and her lover down in Florida.

It made me happy to hear that. Although, I have no idea what the family said behind her back (if anything)…but I was relieved to hear of such tolerance in the family even 60 years ago (and also happy to find out I’m not the only one in the family).

When my mother wasn’t looking, I swiped the photo of her with her arm wrapped around her lover and stuck it in my wallet. Maybe I’ll try scanning it tonight (it’s a bit dark, unfortunately) and try to post it here tomorrow.

In other news, Mike popped by last night to finally pick up the art he purchased in Provincetown over the summer (I’d picked it up for him in September when I went down). Anyway, he arrived and we chatted for a while when I suddenly realized that his shirt looked familiar. That’s beacuse it was MINE! It must have gotten mixed up while doing laundry in Paris and it ended up in his luggage. It was just a coincidence that he wore it the same day he popped by my place unexpectedly. I made him take it off and give it to me right then and there (I’m such a bitch) and gave him one of my $.077 Old navy t-shirts from this past weekend.

It was a nice Zara shirt – I wanted it back!

October 24th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 5 Comments

I went down to the Cape this weekend and had a great time. My father flew out to Chicago to visit a dying uncle (by marriage, who I’ve met only a handful of times and couldn’t recognize him if I saw him) so I agreed to come home for the weekend and keep my mother company. Aside from some surgery my Dad had 20 years ago, this is the first time that my Mom has ever been home alone without my father. Actually, when I think about it, 20 years ago my brother and I were still living at home so she actually has NEVER been alone at home without him. To make matters worse, this “deathbed” uncle of mine (who my father was guilted into going to see) seems to be doing fine. Hell, he picked my father up at the airport and drove him home himself. It looks like this trip wasn’t “necessary.”

Anyway, I arrived on the Cape on Saturday morning around 11:30AM. I did the requisite introductions (Randy met my Mom and Dusty). We then headed out to show Randy the village where I was raised: Osterville. He brought his camera since he’s such a great photographer and took the photos you’ll see at the bottom.

That night, Randy and I headed to the Cape Cod Mall to do some shopping. We managed to find the most amazing deals. He bought two pairs of jeans and Macy’s, then a leather jacket at Wilson’s (I bought winter gloves on sale). But the best deals came when we headed over to Old Navy. There was a rack near the front of print t-shirts for $6.99 each. I found a few I liked, then walked back into the store and found some long sleeve/collared pull-over shirts originally priced at $19.99. Further back we found the ringer-tee section (for only $0.97 each!)

We both tried things on and I ended up bringing 9 shirts (various types) to the counter. Randy brought 7 shirts plus an apron (for a party he’s having Friday night). The cashier started correcting the price on everything we bought and changed EVERYTHING to $0.77 – even the long sleeve shirts. In the end with 16 shirts and an apron (which was half price at $8.25), the total bill came to $20.00! I love a good deal – and now I’m all ready for summer.

Later that evening the three of us played Rummy (mom won, then Randy in second place). I blame my poor gaming skills on Randy closing the trunk of his car on my face. It’s true! I was putting my purchases into the trunk and I was arranging them in a way that they wouldn’t tip over and spill the contents all over the place as we drove home….when all of a sudden he pushed the trunk door down onto my forehead (above my left eye). Fortunately, there was no bloodshed (though that would have increased the guilt potential).

On Sunday, we went out for breakfast together then drove back to Boston. That night, we got together with Randy’s friends, Chris and Pete, to have dinner, dessert and cards. All in all, a great weekend!

Now, onto the photos. All of these photos (aside from the last one) are from the village where I was raised: Osterville. Randy took all of them since I was too lazy to pull out my camera. I was raised in a TINY 3 bedroom/1 bathroom house designed/built by a boat builder from Crosby’s Boat Yard at the end of our street (West Bay Road). These were my neighbors down the street. No wonder my self-esteem is so low.

And here we find Mom and me at the end of the street.

…and Randy at the same place.

There were massive piles of shells washed up on shore at Osterville Dowse’s Beach.

This last photo is actually Hyannisport (same town, different village).

So there you have it…my hometown (home-village).

October 23rd, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 7 Comments

Despite my frustrations with the condo search, I may have found a silver lining: As a result of applying for mortgage pre-approval, I was given the results of their credit check and, for the first time, I finally received a copy of my credit score.*

On a scale of 300 (horrible) to 850 (perfect), I came out as 808. Well, that was through Expirian. Apparently, the other credit company, Trans-whatever-it’s-called, only gave me a 791 (which is still quite good). Oddly enough, despite the fact that I don’t have a single penny of outstanding debt (no loans, no credit card debt – nada) both reports listed me as having oustanding balances that are considered too high. Go figure. Theose issues apparently didn’t hurt too much since I still scored quite high…but I can’t imagine what they’re talking about.

In other news, did anybody else out there watch the debate last night (for the next governor)? I caught that last 40 minutes or so and it was quite interesting. A few comments (in the order in which they appeared on screen, left to right):

Grace Ross (Green/Rainbow party) – she actually did quite well and seemed quite logical and intelligent. I disagreed with her proposal to DOUBLE the minimum wage (though I agree it should be raised a lot), but I seemed to like her approach. And how many other states have openly lesbian candidates running for Governor?

Christy Mihos (Independent) – this man kicks ass. He doesn’t hesitate to go off on Healey with facts about her political past (and alliances) and it’s so refreshing. I can understand why she doesn’t want him at debates anymore. That said, I wish there was a better chance of him winning…I kinda’ like the guy.

Deval Patrick (Democrat) – I wanna’ like this guy. I really do. I think I believe in nearly everything he does. But, at least last night, he didn’t debate well. I mean, when Mihos talked about being the sole small business owner/founder running for governor, Deval said that he was, too…having worked as counsel for Coca-Cola. WTF? Since when was Coca-Cola a small company? I must admit I was disappointed with is performance.

Kerry Healey (Republican) – yuck. I can’t even look at her (though, that’s not a reason to dislike her). But her nasty approach to every question is really getting on my nerves. I mean, when you have a room full of senior citizens (at an AARP sponsored debate yesterday morning) boo at you loud enough to drown you out, that’s a bad sign (especially since older folks may be more likely to vote Republican). And she managed to do the same thing last night when she whined like a baby that she wants to exclude Mihos and Ross from a future debate). Why is that? Perhaps because Mihos is so effectively putting her in her place.

OK, enough politics. This weekend I’m off to the Cape to keep my mother company. My father is going to Chicago to visit a dying uncle of mine (by marriage…who I have met maybe three times in my life) so my Mom will be alone until Wednesday. Being the mama’s boy that I am, I offered to keep her company Saturday and Sunday. I’m dragging Randy down with me so we can all play cards together. Should be fun.

*I get copies of my credit report once a year just to make sure everything is on the up and up. But they never provide the credit score unless you pay extra (and I’m a cheap bugger).

October 20th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 8 Comments

Why, oh why, do I allow myself to be let down?

Yesterday morning I was practically giddy with anticipation over a condo I was scheduled to see at noon. It was in the heart of Davis Square, close to the subway, shops, and restaurants. It was recently remodeled, it was the top floor. Who could ask for more?

I arrived at the property with the broker and we climbed the steps to the doorway. Everything looked good. Inside the mailbox was a key – just as the seller’s broker said there would be (he wasn’t going to be there to show us the property….a bad first sign, looking back).

We entered the common hall/lobby and it looked almost like the photo said it would (it felt smaller in person and the paint and carpet didn’t look as great – but it was “nice”). We climbed the stairs to the second floor landing. There was a beautiful new door for the 2nd floor unit and the 3rd floor unit (the unit I was to see) was a hollow core door painted white (poorly). We kept trying the key but it wouldn’t work. Frustrated, my broker called the owner’s broker and found out that the idiot forgot (actually, he said he didn’t realize) that we wanted to view the top floor unit. He didn’t leave a key for that unit since it was occupied.

So, since the first two floors were vacant, we thought we’d check those out to see what the finishes were like (assuming the top floor would be similar).

Ew.

The building used to have forced hot air heat. But the ducts weren’t built into the wall…they were in the corner of the room against the wall. When the owner “renovated” the building, he added baseboard heat…but left the useless ductwork in place. In the kitchen, he kept this old FAKE dark wood paneling half way up the wall and installed light colored wood cabinets in front of them. The bathroom had exposed pipes (instead of having them behind the wall). The closet doors had peeling wood (and didn’t close/open easiliy since the building had apparently settled and were uneven).

Being nosey, we decided to go out the back door and climb up to the third floor via the new “deck” built in back. We figured we’d look in the window to get an idea. The deck (though obviously newly constructed by the color of the wood) was COVERED in bird shit. Upon reaching the top floor, the roof shingles under the ceiling of the deck (hard to explain…it’s a very poor design) was also covered in bird shit and it appeaered that birds could go under the roof of the building.

Needless to say, I was horribly disappointed. Upon leaving the property, we noticed that the roof was rotting on one side of the building. Basically, the guy who bought the property and converted it to condos replaced the kitchen counters and appliances and called it “newly renovated.”

It wasn’t a renovation. It was a cheap asshole trying to make a quick buck and pass it off to person like me who is now beginning to realize that he’ll never afford anything “nice.”

Well, screw you Mr. Slumlord.

October 19th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 4 Comments

It seems like real estate talk has permeated nearly every single posting on this blog for the past few weeks. A few times the whole post was real estate related, other times it was just a sentence or two. I’m beginning to sound like a broken record.

That said, I shall continue (can’t teach an old dog new tricks). I’ve discovered a property that meets my criteria (top floor, newly renovated, within blocks of the subway, in my price range). Randy drove me by it last night and it appears to be in very good shape. My guess is that it was a single family converted to a 3 family. The photos online look good. The exterior of the building looks good (it could use a new fence on the front “lawn”). At noon today I’ll check out the interior. All three units appear to be available since it’s a brand new conversion.

There’s also another property I discovered online at Craiglist. This one is near Porter Square (slightly less desirable/charming than Davis Square, but it would be walkable to work for me). This one is also top floor, with new kitchen/applicances. The difference here is that it is a 2-bedroom instead of a 1-bedroom (the square footage wasn’t listed). It’s $10,000 more….but I wonder if I could talk them down?

And, if I got financially strapped, with a two-bedroom I could always get a room mate for a while (and also help pay down the mortgage). I couldn’t do that with a one-bedroom.

OK – and to at least have one part of this post NOT be real estate related, here’s one final photo (goofy) from this past weekend in Concord. I like it…I look thin.

HMMM – speaking of goofy photos…I figured I’d go into my archives and post some others. Why I’m doing this is beyond me, but here are a few more photos to be ashamed of*:

Off the cliffs near Lands End in San Francisco (1997)

With Miss Richfield 1981 in Provincetown (2005)

At the Witch Dungeon Museum in Salem, MA (2003)

At Herring Cove Beach (2004)

“Glamour Shot” from my old apartment in Brookline (1995)

All right – I dare you other bloggers to post your embarassing photos!

*Actually, this little activity of posting old photos was rather therapeutic and distracting…I needed that.

October 18th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 8 Comments

In my haste to post my weekend photos yesterday I neglected to mention that I finally got to see Shortbus this weekend! This is the movie written and directed by James Cameron Mitchell – the brilliant fellow behind Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

I wasn’t sure what to expect…though I was fairly confident I would find the movie visually interesting since, as he proved in Hedwig, he’s got a great eye. For those of you unfamiliar, this movie is not porn, but all of the actors (except Justin Bond, perhaps) engage in actual sexual intercourse on screen. Yes, you see penetration, erections, orgasms and numerous ejaculations. Oh dear, now that I wrote those four words on here, I fear my blog is going to get bombarded by spammers…or 14 year old horny teenagers.

Anyway, I really liked the movie! As expected, the visuals were great: from the Statue of Liberty to flying over a Mister Rogers mock-up Manhattan. The acting (overall) was quite good. And I think the lead actress (Sook-Yin Lee) should have a great acting career ahead of her.

It’s funny, when I saw the advertisements for the film (and even at the beginning of the movie) I kept thinking that I found her plain looking. She wasn’t totally unattractive, but I wouldn’t have considered her pretty. But by the end of the movie, whether by watching her for 90 minutes, or whether it’s because of her character’s development and transformation through the film, I found her incredibly attractive by the closing credits. (I found her husband to be sexy throughout the film. he he). It takes a good actor (and a good director) to pull that off.

Anyway, I enjoyed the movie a great deal and highly recommend it….to anybody not too uptight about sex.

Now that I’ve scratched that movie off my list, I still need to see Jesus Camp, 49-Up, and A Guide to Recognizing your Saints. I’ve got a busy few weeks ahead of me.

*Yeah, I know. That was a lame heading probably used by half the bloggers and movie critics in the world. But cut me some slack – it’s still early in the morning.

October 17th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 3 Comments

This past weekend was chock full of meeting new people and going to new places. On Friday night, I got together with Randy and my friends, Jason, Bryan and Marin to play that card game I learned last week: Hands and Feet. We soon discovered, thanks to Marin, that this game is a derivation of Canasta. A good time (and a few bottles of wine) was had by all.

On Saturday, Randy and I drove out to Concord to do some leaf peeping. It seems that we were about a week past prime in those parts, but me managed to get some good photos at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the Old North Bridge and downtown Concord:

That night, I stayed home and played on the computer (mostly searching for condos…more on that later). On Sunday, I headed out to the most recent Gay Boston Bloggers event. This may have been the most well-attended event yet (though, the one at Sean and Jeff’s place might have had a few more folks….I can’t recall). Ironically (or, what has seemed to become more typical) the Gay Boston Bloggers Group met in great outer surburbia. It’s shocking how few of the Gay Boston Bloggers are actually gay Boston bloggers. Some great food was brought in – particularly some shrimp/pasta confection by Will and some crack cookies (I had 14) from Chris.

That evening, I headed over to Randy’s place for dinner with him and two of his best friends. The meal was southern themed with fried green tomatoes, fried chicken and roasted potatoes. Brownies followed for dessert. Needless to say, with two servings of potluck, 14 cookies, a fried dinner and 3 (or was it 4?) brownies, I went to bed feeling like the skin around my belly was being stretched to the max. (but it was worth it…yum).

OK – and real estate. I’ve decided (as of last night…this could change tomorrow) that I’ll keep on looking for a condo – but I have limited myself to fulfilling criteria I know I’d be happy with in the short-term AND long-term. That means the place must be within a block or two of the subway, it must be top floor (no upstairs neighbors), and it must be below a certain amount of money (in order to also maintain a pleasurable quality of life). There is no urgency (except to get away from that horrific new upstairs neighbor of mine) so it could take make days, weeks, months or years. I’ll know the right place when I find it. Wish me luck.

October 16th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 11 Comments

OK – I want anybody who reads this (whether you know me or not) to pipe in with your opinion in the comments section below. I’m completely frazzled.

I looked at a condo in Somerville yesterday (my first time seeing it):

Positives: walking distance to Porter Square subway, countless restaurants/shops in immediate area, 10-minute walk to work, new bathroom and new-ish kitchen, not on ground floor, largest space of all units I’ve seen, corner unit, quiet side street, includes parking (which I’d rent out or use for guests), best price.

Negatives: exterior is ass-ugly, some minor improvements needed (replace carpet, paint) to make interior charming, no view, building went condo two years ago and prices haven’t gone up (they’ve not gone down, though).

I also looked at a property I saw last weekend in Cambridge:

positives: midway between Central and Harvard Square subway stops, restaurants in immediate area, 15 minute walk to work, entire interior is brand new, corner unit, Cambridge address is more desirable than Somerville (for resale value)

negatives: condos are tiny (but well appointed), prices are higher (there are numerous units available), occupancy won’t be until June 2007, only units I can afford are ground/basement, there is a long mazelike hallway leading to the condo units.

Obviously this has got me thinking (and stressing). Between the two, I’m leaning toward the Somerville property since it’s larger and I can “gay” it up to make it charming with a little paint and new flooring. But in my thought process, I’m asking myself the following questions:

1 – What are the risks here? The real estate market is settling…could this go down in value? Will things be even cheaper next year, as some predict? I suspect this unit is at the lower end of the spectrum for affordability and wouldn’t go much lower. I think it’s the mid-priced and luxury places that are going to drop a lot.

2 – Buying the condo will result in me spending approximately $300 more per month in living expenses. Am I ready to sacrifice enjoying the fun things (travel, clothes, living downtown etc….) that I only started getting to enjoy less than two years ago?

3 – Or would it be wiser to continue renting and stashing that $300 into savings/investments so that I can afford to buy an even nicer place in the future?

4 – My long-term goal is a long-term relationship with somebody. If that person comes along in the next year or so and we decide to move-in together, will this have been a wise investment? If I sell in less than two years I’d be stuck with capital gains taxes. If I sell after two years, it could be tough to coordinate selling my place, selling his place and finding a new property we can both move into at the same time. If I’m renting (and my current lease is month-to-month) it would be easy to transition into a new place.

5 – Since the units in the Somerville building haven’t seemed to have gone up in the past two years (when the building went from apartments to condos), will they likely not go up in two or so years when I’d likely sell again?

So, EVERYBODY, please click on the comments button below and guide me. I’m too overwhelmed to make a logical decision.

October 13th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 15 Comments