I'm going to complain about something that's not really worth bitching about, so

[Redstone]

feel free to skip this thread if you don't care for self-centered whining.

I had a business meeting in Arlington (Massachusetts) today, which ended at 12:30. So I figured what the hell, I'm right around the corner, I'll go to Cambridge and have lunch at Bukowski's. (This is the Cambridge branch of the Boston bar where I had a stupendous dinner during the legendary DU meetup a couple of years ago.)

So there I am, driving up Cambridge Ave, while visions of four-cheese pasta with Andouille sausage dance in my head, and find that there's nowhere to fucking park within a mile of the place. (Normally, I wouldn't mind, but the weather was absolutely vile in the Boston area today. Ten minutes walking in that 34-degree sleet and rain would have crippled me.

Dammit. I was looking forward to that lunch.

But what the hell, I got out of a drive in Cambridge without denting Mrs R's car, so I supose that's a victory of some sort.

Redstone

[VenusRising]

1. I'm sorry about that.

I hate it when I have my heart, or stomach rather, set on something in particular only to find out I can't have it. It's annoying and nothing will seem to satisfy the craving either. May I suggest that you take Mrs.R and go on a lovely date for no good reason whatsoever? You both deserve it!

:hug:

[Redstone]

10. Why, thank you. That's a great suggestion, and I belive I'll take your advice.

Redstone

[VenusRising]

17. Have a great time!

:hug:

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Ahem....

Arlington? Cambridge? I'm right in Beantown all day y'know... *pout*

[Redstone]

5. I'm really sorry, and I'm not joking when I say that. I did think about you, and I would

have called, but I didn't know I was going to go up there until late yesterday, and didn't know how long the meeting was going to take (It was a new-to-me builder of trade show booths), and I was damn uncertain about how crappy the weather might be, and so on.

Beleive me, if I'm up that way with a predictable schedule, you'll be the first to know.

Redstone

[graywarrior]

3. Redstone.

Really. You expected parking in Boston? In the winter. Right. You need a spanking right now. Bend over, you nasty little boy.

:evilgrin:

[Redstone]

6. Yeah, it's not like I don't know Boston. Just figured I'd get lucky, just once.

Redstone

[graywarrior]

11. Ha! Even living there I felt the same way. Maybe TODAY I'll find a parking space.

:+

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Ah, my dear Redstone!

Of course, it's worth bitching about!

I can almost taste that sandwich myself, and I've never had one...

But consider this: The next time you're in Cambridge, how much sweeter it will taste!

:hug:

[Redstone]

7. Especially if I take BiBaby to lunch there. I WILL do that next time. Have you ever been

to Boston, by the way? If not, you should go there. It's a GREAT city, and one of only two that I like. (Montreal is the other.)

So you know that I've been traveling on business, and I'll get to my mail duties tomorrow, OK?

Redstone

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Yes, I have been to Boston.......

And it is a wonderful city!

When our oldest daughter was still married ......they lived in Cambridge, and we visited them there!

I loved walking the city.......

Ah, so you haven't done the mailing yet? OK....thanks for letting me know.

Check your PM in a moment please......

[Gormy Cuss]

9. I'd loan you my visitor parking permit but it expired a few years back.

Inman Square is tough enough without snow, although I used to know where all the legal spaces were around there. Bummer.

[Redstone]

12. I know that parking is (rightly so) an obsession with Bostonians. I did learn a

parking secret during my business meeting today; unfortunately, it was in Boston proper rather than in Cambridge.

Redstone

[Shine]

13. I hate it when that happens. Sorry you had to deal with that hassle.

Before we got married, MrShine once went all the way up to San Francisco and like you, couldn't find parking ANYWHERE. So after driving around for over 1/2 hr he finally just said, "Fuck it!" and drove all the way back home. :eyes: Parking is really bad in SF.

:hi:

[Redstone]

14. I've done that in SF, too. Was there on business, and was supposed to meet a

friend of mine from high school for dinner, and ended up not doing it because there was just no fuckingwhere to park.

His fault, though, for telling me to meet him at such a lousy location.

Redstone

[Shine]

16. The whole fuckin city is like that. It's gotten really bad over the yrs.

and what parking you DO manage to find is extraordinarily expensive. We were up there recently to see James Taylor in concert and the HOTEL PARKING LOT we were supposed to be able to park in (for a $25 fee, of course) was completely full (?!)... which meant we had to park on the street. Great. Miraculously, we found a metered spot....Guess how much?

25 cents per 6 minutes!!! :wow: Luckily, we only had another hour or so left of time we needed to pay and the next day was a Sunday, when they didn't collect.

We lucked out and compared to the hotel parking cost, we did pretty good. We paid only about $5. :D

Believe me, though, that's pretty effing rare.

[Redstone]

21. I'd have paid whatever, since it was on the company tab, but there was just NOTHING.

Maybe it's decadent to complain about parking, but it IS damn frustrating.

Redstone

[mainegreen]

15. There's parking in Boston?

I'd heard rumors, but I've never found it myself.

:rofl:

[Redstone]

20. Legend has it that there are...actually, I did find one, but it was only 3/4 the length

of Mrs R's car.

I think I'll just rent a beater for my next trip up there.

Redstone

[Lydia Leftcoast]

18. Driving in Boston is its own punishment

I would have parked somewhere else and taken the subway.

[Redstone]

19. I thought about that, but there were no parking spots near the T stations, either.

Redstone