[bostonian #2] : boston's only democratic store

so i was eventually able to find a pair of women's steel toed boots, but definitely not until i had combed through internet sites and called stores all over the area, asking with increasing desperation about these boots i never knew i would ever need. my typical conversation with a hapless store clerk:

me: "excuse me, but does your story carry steel toed boots for women?"
clerk 1: "what?"
clerk 2: "oh no. no we don't. do not."
clerk 3: "we do online...?"
clerk 4: "no, but have you tried XYZ?"

the last response (thank you, EMS) was what lead me to hilton's tent city over near north station, an area above the haymarket that i have never explored. i can't say i saw much once in the neighborhood, but the store - a simple storefront on a small side street - was chock full, floor to ceiling, every corner filled with anything you would need - or didn't know you would need (hence the steel toe) for exploring the great outdoors. really, if i hadn't been in a rush to find this one item, i would've stayed longer and dreamed about the many camping trips yet unplanned in my mind. but i got to business, and although the women's boots ended up not fitting, i did find a small pair of men's that could be used for hiking and didn't remind me of oil rigs. the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, too, which made the trek more pleasant.

then the next day i was told we no longer needed steel toed boots.

ah well - at least i know where to find them in boston next time around. and if you're blessed with access to the suburbs and need to protect your feet on a construction site, you could find a pair at:

• walmart
• dick's sporting
• sears (call first)
• timberland (call first)

or search zappos.com or redwing.com first.

becoming bostonian #1: a different route

i'm not sure yet if this will become a constant feature i'll write on, but "becoming bostonian" seemed like a good way to label the little discoveries in this here (still) new city of mine. many of these will probably be all-too familiar to true residents, but hey - new to me is what counts. onward!

- - -


[courtesy of denig design associates]

today i decided to take a different route to work, to walk on foot rather than take the T one stop to back bay station. i had heard about the southwest corridor park just the other day from one of my coworkers, but never realized that one of the access points was directly across the street from the mass ave T stop. it was supposed to have been the southwest expressway, but thank God that never went through - stepping into it was like finding a peaceful, (non-yello) brick-lined oasis as a relief to crazed boston drivers.

the park itself stretches from back bay station all the way out to forest hills along the orange line. although you can still hear and feel the periodic rumble of the train underneath, it's still pretty quiet, with flowers and trees planted along the way. walking along it this morning felt like the first time i found the promenade plantee in paris - almost a secret route through the heart of town (cheesy i know...a "secret" thousands of other commuters, dog walkers, and bikers already know about). makes for an easy 4.7 mile bike ride or long walk on a weekend.

so, why did i take the T again?

what about the working women?

i haven't included a substantive update lately, but life post-semester is relatively relaxed - for once! it's a strange and freeing sensation to be in what we might call the "real" world after so many months and hours wrapped in all things architectural (or, even more specific, all things studio): studioness. now there's a bit more time to walk at a leisurely pace and explore this place called boston and cambridge, which i've only glimpsed in brief spurts since the fall when i first arrived in new england.

last week was my first working at the Green Development Center of the LISC, a program within this national non-profit with their boston office located just where the back bay meets the south end. i'm finding more and more during my lunchtime explorations what a great neighborhood this is - one direction the shops and hotels of boylston and newbury, the other direction the victorian rowhouses and sidewalk cafes of the south end.

the work has also been interesting and pretty different from the type i've done in the past at architectural firms. my organization works in community development (such a broad term), helping neighborhoods become more sustainable (also a broad term) - mostly in the economic and social sense, but now moving to address building practices, which is where i come in to lend some technical expertise (to me, "expertise") towards research, education, and overall advocacy for green building (and to get people to stop using the word "green" so liberally).

on the side, i'm also trying to figure out the fun things to do in boston over the summer and found this design guide put together by the blog design*sponge. it's pretty heavy on the home furnishings side of things, but seems like a fun start for exploration.

and...for other random things occupying me, i'm in the process of preparing for a 2 week workshop in mallorca, which requires steel toe work boots. FRUSTRATING process! this cat-and-mouse chase just sends the wrong message about women and construction... but now i'm off to investigate the ONE store in the public transit-accessible boston area that might actually have a pair.

wish me luck.

a doting aunt

today it was official: IT'S A BOY!!!
(in case that gives you the wrong idea, i'm going to have a NEPHEW!!!)

i was at work when i got the news and couldn't keep from yelping. then i had to run over and tell my fellow intern the news :D

can't wait to be a doting aunt!! too bad my nephew will be born oversees...but hopefully a trip over there sometime this year will remedy that.