Another Boston Visit (Fun portion)

After wrapping up the meetings in Boston, I caught a ride into town with Bird and Jen; we spent the afternoon hanging out in Harvard Square, with U5, Rebecca, Brendan, and JMD. After a late lunch at Border Cafe, we did some of those things that make me oh-so-happy to be back on these little visits.

• Puttered around Tower Records--I don't know how many of you have heard the news, but they are going into bankruptcy (again), and are closing their stores--including Harvard Square. Yikes. Even though they apparently elevated their prices to make money on their going out of business (15-20% off) sale, I suckered myself into buying the 3-disc set of Bill Evans: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961--he's probably among my favorite jazz artists. Incidentally, I always thought that Bird's dad looked a lot like Bill Evans--do some Google Image searching.
  
  But the fall of Tower reminds me of the long tail effect on bricks and mortar retailers--it seems a bit inevitable, given that Amazon can easily stock so much more. The only thing Tower really had going for it is instant gratification purchasing (also available on iTunes), and a way to putter around for an afternoon with friends.
  
  
• Drinks at 1369 Coffee House--it seems like almost every time I come to Boston, I randomly meet somebody I know. This time, I was walking out with my drink, and heard, "Hey Bats, what are you doing here?" Turns out that Geeta was there--she splits her time between Boston and New York now. Amusingly, I ran into her in another city I don't live in, on my Bay Area trip in August. These little meetings make me happy.
  
  
• The next day, coffee and postcards at the Starbuck's in Arlington. My usual travel activity.
  
  
• Hung out for the day with A; she and Guy had just gotten back from a wedding in Denmark (!), and she was springing their cat Miu from the joint (i.e., kitty kennel).
  
  
• Dinner with A and Guy over in Watertown. A also got me a belated birthday package, which included a selection of really strange Chinese candy (e.g., corn flavored gummies. Yeah, corn.), all wrapped up in a recycled Amazon box:
  
  I love having amusing and creative friends. Well, here's hoping that this process works out...