Good Times Never Seemed So Good Part 1

February 5, 2012

All that is left to me is that final drive. “A New Game” blares at the stadium amplifiers. This is the chance to go for glory. It is like a movie scene. Just when you are against all odds, you will score. The New England Patriots are having the final drive of the Super Bowl against the New York Giants. Drunk, I could not believe my beloved Patriots are in a deep hole again. The chances of us winning the championship were low.

But, as “A New Game” blared, I raised my hopes up. You need to believe, right? Tom Brady is leading that final drive and is giving us a shot to win the game. Then, it was down to that final play. The Golden Boy threw the Hail Mary Pass. Moments like this remind me of Matt Saracen’s Hail Mary Pass or Vince Howard’s championship winning throw in “Friday Night Lights.” Brady threw a beautiful pass going to the end zone.

Going…

Going…

Gone.

The Patriots receivers were not able to catch it.

Our Super Bowl hopes were gone. Game over.

The Team-That-Must-Not-Be-Named won.

This sucks.

It dawned on me that I am such a Boston fan that I have immersed myself in the Boston-New York rivalry “quite similar” with (because nothing beats) the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry. I love to visit New York, but I realized then that it would be a travesty if I do not visit Boston first. After the Super Bowl, I made it a personal mission to go to Boston first before New York. I do not know if I have a friend in there that time. All I cared was, I need to go to Boston.

March 23, 2012

It was one of the boring Friday nights. Suddenly, it popped up to my mind that I need to search for those cheap Boston flights. I have been waiting for several weeks for the discounted fare from Delta. There was none. I finally saw a favourable flight date (first weekend of May). It costed around $221. That was better than the $300+ flights I saw before. Were there Boston Red Sox games? Check. This is it! I ended up using my miles for the flight.

May 4, 2012

Night before the flight. I think I drank a glass of beer more than I should have. The freaking flight is at 7:25 AM and I was still awake at 10 PM. The worst thing was, I could not find my iPhone. The last two weeks were stressful to me, so I could not help but easily get frustrated when one thing goes wrong at the wrong time. You know the moments when you have several unfortunate events? That missing iPhone was like the punctuation then. I eventually found it in my car around 11 PM. Good job, Jeff.  You have assured that you will be lacking sleep or you have increased the probability of missing your flight.

May 5, 2012

Note to self: last minute Skype is good.

I was too excited that I got to wake up in time. I got to have a quick Skype session with Mom and my brother Jer. If there was one memorable thing I remembered in that conversation, it was Mom telling me to not bring an umbrella because I might not be allowed to carry it inside the plane. Against my will, I had to fit my very thick jacket (with hoodie) inside my small duffel bag.

While playing “Sweet Caroline” in my car (how cliché can I be?), I got to arrive at the Park N’ Go in time. I got to say that they offer an efficient and affordable service there. I got to chat with a couple who were going to Florida inside the shuttle.

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. I have been in this airport the most (since my Costa Rica trip) that I am already at home with it. I boarded the plane and Boston, Massachusetts, here I come!

Logan International Airport

When I arrived at Logan International Airport, there was one thing I noticed: they sell Boston team jerseys! Why were they no jerseys in ATL?

I realized that this was the first time I travelled alone where I have zero plans of using a taxi to go to my next destination. I was excited because I never had this adrenaline of traveling alone since my Costa Rica trip four years ago. Boston has an efficient transportation system that I studied a day ago so I was confident that I could handle it.

The problem? When I stepped out of the airport, it was very cold! Maybe, I was so used to the above-eighty degrees Fahrenheit temperature in Atlanta or it was just the fact that New England is cold. I was so thankful I got to talk to Mom via Skype minutes before I left my apartment in Atlanta. I do not know how I could handle the cold temperature of Boston without that thick jacket.

Boston’s subway system took me by surprise. It was easy to via the ‘T,’ however it was so old. It was probably smaller than the LRT and it stops midway. Its squeaking sound makes you wonder, “is this train going to break down along the way?” I could hear the commuters laughing whenever the train squeaks. But even if the train seemed old-looking, it was forgivable. Boston is an old city. If I wanted to experience its character, I have to “savor” the old trains.

I first got out of the Government Center station. When I saw the Boston City Hall and the other structures near it, all I could say to myself was “Boston is freaking old.” If I could compare Boston to a Philippine city, it has got to be Manila. From the old trains (a la LRT) to its relevance in American’s independence to buildings. It was also a gloomy day. I hate this type of weather, but I knew Boston has a reputation of being rainy, so I charge it to the city’s character. Another observation: there were several Dunkin’ Donuts chains. And these did not look like your regular food chain – ‘Dunkin Donuts’ was in gold suggesting that it might have been old stalls. Because every building in the area seemed to be made of bricks, you may wonder that these establishments could have been there for quite a long time already. It has the same feel that the Manila Chinatown brings to me (except that Boston is cleaner).

My first goal was to find the Boston Chowda Co. I had to try the New England Clam Chowder. It took me an hour to find it. I had to see a dozen of Boston Sports stalls before I got to see the Chowder place. And while I was walking, I saw hundreds of people in Boston Red Sox apparel. If not, they were either wearing another team’s shirt. Is this “Wear Your Favorite Jersey” Day? Apparently not. Bostonians wear sports apparel everyday. Regardless if you are a guy or a chick. Wearing sports apparel seems to be part of the fashion in Boston. And because of the cold weather, the hottest chicks I saw were actually wearing Boston Celtics jerseys.

I finally got to eat the famous New England Clam Chowder. I bought the breaded bowl because I was very hungry then. It was a delicious meal. It did not disappoint but it was not the best soup I have ever eaten as well. I like how chewy and creamy it is. The tiny crackers they provided were even tasty. While eating, I got to converse with an old man and a middle aged woman. I thought they were a couple but it turns out that the guy was teaching the woman to drive the bus in metropolitan Boston. Heck, it seemed that it was the first time she set foot in the Faneuil area. The good thing I like in America is that it is easy to converse with a total stranger. Instead of eating alone, I got to have good company in my first meal in Boston. So far, so good.

Next stop: Fenway Park. The subway to Fenway was cramped with Boston fans. It was like the MRT during an Ateneo-La Salle game. The differences were, there are two times more fans (as Fenway has a capacity of around 40,000 people) and it is impractical to bring a car to a game. It was like MRT during rush hour but with squeaking sound (and without pushing). Thirty percent of the people were in Red Sox jerseys. Forty percent wore a Red Sox cap. There were so many Red Sox fans heading to the stadium that you would not get lost going there even if you still have to walk some blocks from Kenmore Station.

Just from the outside, I understood what makes Fenway unique. It does not look like your conventional baseball stadium. It was like it was part of the old brick buildings in the place. If you wanted to experience watching baseball circa “Boardwalk Empire” days, Fenway is the place. It was like – the rest of Boston is – a shoutout to the past. Inside Fenway, it continues to feel old. They have the Boston Red Sox’ rich history. There were various old pictures in the place. They get the old setting right by making the place dark. When I got to sit, I noticed that the Fenway seats were new even if these appear similar to the old Fenway seats. Fenway is known to have crappy little seats but mine were actually good. I was sitting near the center in the covered area of the stadium. Everything was good except for the obstructed view. I could not see the second base from my location!

Boston fans came to watch. Fenway Park was fully packed. Even if the girls at my back found a hard time to take my picture with the Green Monster at the background, it was still OK because I have the crowd in my background.

I thank Mom a lot for telling me to bring that thick jacket. I was at the covered area of Fenway and I was shivering. The weather that day was 60 degrees Farenheit but it felt like forty because of the wind chills. Other than which, I like Fenway a lot. The public address (PA) announcer had that deep, old-fashioned voice that probably is the best I have heard live (RIP by the way. Yes, I got to listen to him in his last game). The peanut vendors are also awesome. They throw the peanuts at you as if you are a fielder who needs to catch the baseball.

The stadium was packed but it was not that active at the start. Who would be if you are down by eight as early as the third inning. The crowd booed the Red Sox for a sucky effort at the start. I thought it was just Bill Simmons who gets frustrated at his team easily in his articles. It was the whole Boston faithful after all. They act like a passionate small town who roots for their only college team. They cheer for you a lot when you deserve it, but they would boo you if you do not give a damn.

The most remarkable experience I had in Fenway would have to be the crowd’s reaction when the Red Sox first scored a run. The Red Sox were deeply down 2-8 but with how the crowd responded, you thought we were the ones who had the huge lead. The crowd was doing the wave (which was one of the coolest I have ever seen) even if we were down. With a sports town that was buried with so many torturing memories in the past, Boston fans knew how important it was to fuel their team.

If these players were still playing for the Sox, I doubt we lost that game

It was a bad ending to my first game. But it was alright for me. There is still tomorrow. I walked out of Fenway Park taking pictures of the names of past Red Sox players. I heard a kid asking his father who were those. His father replied, “Those played for the Red Sox before.” The kid replied, “Why are they not anymore playing for the Red Sox?” His dad quipped, “Most of those are actually dead. Some are even older than the ball park.”

Next stop: 40 Berkeley Hostel. I chose a hostel because the hotels were freaking expensive in Boston. I planned to be out for most of the time so why bother picking a luxurious hotel. 40 Berkeley was half a mile away from the Arlington Street subway station. As I was carrying my duffel bag for the whole day, the walk felt like two miles. I even took the wrong road (Boylston) but it ended to be the right one as it also intersected with Berkeley Street.

The hostel actually seemed neat. It was a big place and it even had nightly events for the people. However, I would not be able to attend this because I was fully booked for the two nights. I also liked the fact that they offered free Internet. Having no television in my room suddenly did not matter. I was dead tired when I arrived that I got to doze off for thirty minutes.

After waking up, I was ready to meet my batchmate Martin and his girlfriend Rina. I set off to go to the Boylston station. My walk back to the train station was more picturesque. I got to appreciate how beautiful Boston is. I am actually a guy who prefers contemporary architecture, high-rise buildings and bright lights. But when I got to see how vintage and clean Boston was, I was astounded. It showed the unique character of the city – the red bricks, the creeping vines, the feeling that you were set back by two or three decades. Regardless if the buildings are really old or fake old, you have that sense of feeling that the structures withstood the test of time for centuries.

I got to meet Martin and Rina at the beautiful park that was Boston Commons. We got to talk of how it is to live in the United States. We went the Freedom Trail route and we were able to see various old structures, four century old tombstones and golden domed buildings. I also noticed how easy it was to walk around Boston. I essentially walked three to four stations worth of distance and we could see the Boston TD Garden which was five train stations away from the nearest station to my hostel. And I barely sweat (who would in that freakishly cold weather anyway?)

Martin and Rina

It was great that Martin got to explain some of the history behind the buildings (like the golden grasshopper). I did not need to pay for a professional tour guide who would possibly speak in an accent and blurt corny jokes. We ended up eating at an Italian restaurant. We waited for an hour to get our seats but it was all worth it when we got to eat. They served the most delicious fried calamari I have eaten in my life. It was rich, tasty and slightly salty. With that calamari, you do not even need to put sauce. Then we ate shrimp pasta and oyster ravioli. I was thankful they brought me there. There are two things I missed while staying in Atlanta – seafood and Italian food. Two birds in one stone. I should have taken photos of our food but I was too hungry that the only time I got to take camera shots of my food was when I bought my dessert from a different Italian place. It was my first time to eat cannoli and it was a tasty treat. It was like eating an ice cream and a cake at the same time. I feel bad I did not take out when I had a chance to last Monday. I just ate Magnum right now and I am still craving for a treat that tasted like ice cream.

I ended my Saturday night by drinking some booze at a bar in Fenway. We were searching for a bar to watch the Mayweather bout. But the interesting things happened on our way to the bar. Boston has a very early bar curfew. Thus, people get drunk earlier than expected. When we rode the train, I could easily see a drunk chick with her friends. She was either horny drunk or crazy drunk as she was close to PDA-ing her friend. Then, she started talking about her panty. My initial reaction was “did she already get laid or is she on her way to get laid?” Then, she was saying that her friends should stop playing with her underwear. Martin and I were laughing at this sight. Then, I suddenly felt something fall from the top of my cap. The chick threw her neon green panty at our direction. It was 90% a joke underwear. I did not know how to react on that situation – should I return it to her or should I pretend I didn’t notice it? And then, the underwear disappeared as incoming people stood where it fell. We got off Kenmore station and we saw the chick with her bunch of friends again. In the escalator, she was shouting “Make us proud!” to one of her guy friends. He was carried by the other guys as he took a Superman flying stance in the escalator. These Bostonians were crazy drunk at Cinco de Mayo.

Before we got to drink at Game On (the bar), we noticed a few more loud drunk people in the streets. It was awesomely funny. We drank two glasses of Samuel Adams. Four words to describe it: It did not disappoint. Good times.

(To be continued...)