Acts of Volition

Having recently returned from a quick road trip to New Hampshire and Boston with a few co-workers, I have a few observations:

• Trip highlight #1: Early into the trip, Isaac looks up from his Globe & Mail crossword puzzle and asks, thoughtfully, “How do you spell thar, as in ‘Thar she blows’?”
• Trip highlight #2: After walking for quite a while in Boston, we asked a couple on the street for directions. “Can you tell me how to get to the New England Aquarium?” The couple looked a little confused and replied in a thick Eastern European accent, “The Aquarium is in Boston.” Apparently we were now in Cambridge.
• Daniel worked on his weblog down the entire I-95.
• If you have a criminal record, as did the unfortunate soul in front of us in line at U.S. Customs & Immigration, you will be questioned about it in detail in front of others in the waiting room. Even if it’s a marijuana possession charge from 1981.
• There are enormous and unflatteringly close-cropped portraits of George Bush in the U.S. Customs offices.
• There are a lot of Howard Dean for President signs in New Hampshire.
• The otherwise fine Lakeview Inn has a misleading moniker.
• Boston folk are friendly: A girl who looked a lot like Kelly Osbourne had no qualms about reading over my shoulder in a coffee shop and critiquing the salutation I chose to open an email I was writing to my girlfriend.
• The Boston skyline at night is something to behold (here’s a photo of Isaac beholdin’ it).
• It is indeed possible to take in both an IMAX 3D show and an OmniMax show in the same day (use of the subway may be required).
• The Old Country Buffet is to be avoided.