I probably don’t need to say that I CRASHED HARD our first night in Boston… YAH adventure? … Getting moving in the morning was a bit of a challenge….. BUT we had reservations for A whale watch cruise and had to be there at 9:30 am to check in..so time to suck it up.

First hurdle

What the fuck is this? Ok ok I KNOW that it is a Keurig. I HAVE heard of them, but since I drink Coffee by the VAT (the way it was intended), I have no idea how to use one…

It’s gotta be basic right?

OK I put in a CUP of water, put the little itty bitty k cup thingy in, closed the lid, turned on the power and hit BREW…… NOTHING

OH COME ON!!!!!

I turned the machine off, reopened the lid…. (Coffee and water were in the right spots.) and turned it back on….while the little blue light kept flashing at me, it was still NOT making coffee!!!!! WTF?!?!?! So I hit the switch next to the outlet…(since I didn’t have any coffee in my body, it didn’t register that it wouldn’t have any lights on it if that was the problem) The switch was for the garbage disposal….smh…. Come on, I JUST WANT SOME COFFEE!!!!! I made enough noise cussing etc that my traveling companion surfaced and figured it out before I threw it out the door….

Next Hurdle

Coffee cup in hand, I opened the door to go outside and smoke a cigarette….and instantly FROZE. (not the anxiety kind), literally FROZE…HOLY shit, I THOUGHT I was in Boston, NOT Antarctica!!! Bitter cold and THE WIND!!!! SCREW THIS….smh..

I went inside and took a nice hot shower.

After my brain thawed and I realized I was OUT of coffee, my determination surfaced. I had not come to Boston to “hide out” inside. I put on two pairs of leggings under my jeans, a tshirt, two sweatshirts, and my leather bomber, and ventured out to start my day.

One thing I can say about Boston, is that it has no shortage of Dunkin Donuts (literally one on almost every block), and Dunkin Donuts has COFFEE!!!!

We made it to Dunkin Donuts, and found our way to the docks just in time for them to tell us that the Whale Watch Cruise had been cancelled because high winds and freezing temperatures made it unsafe to be out on the water.

ARGH!!!!!!

To be honest, I really didn’t want to be out in this weather anyway, but, but but……. MORE COFFEE….

I don’t know if coffee makes me smarter, or if it just helps me do stupid things quicker, but it definitely motivates my brain…..

After talking with Kevin from the whale watch cruises, we developed a new plan.

The 24 hour Charlie Card we purchased the day before was also valid on the Ferry, and we could use that to go to the Charleston Naval yard and see the U.S.S. Constitution and it’s museum… (YAH INSIDE STUFF)….When we were finished with that we were going to turn our planned Lobster Dinner into a Lobster Lunch and go on the Hop On and Off Trolley that was included with the Boston Go Card we purchased.

I know that I talk ALOT, to EVERYONE, but I didn’t realize just how many people I meet on a daily basis until my companions started taking pictures of me and my “new friends”.

This guy literally got the BOOT in boot camp

Gift Shop guy at the museum

fellow travelers from California

While on the U.S.S. Constitution and at the museum…

We made sure to explore everything that we could “hands on”

and while I was able to get into and out of the hammock “ALL BY MYSELF” with no injuries…. I apparently do not mast well…..

Thankfully the floor was “padded”, because I did try the whole 3 strikes and your out thing, and they all ended with me on my ass. (But the picture makes it look SO EASY)

Did I mention it was really really fricking cold?!?!? oh and windy…..

Next stop…. LOBSTER…..

We took the ferry back to Long Wharf and enjoyed the following: (caution lots of food pictures to follow)

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While we were eating, my niece (who had gone to college in Boston) texted me that her flight from Atlanta to Boston had landed safely, she was grabbing coffee’s for us, and would meet us by the trolley.

Although, I would recommend taking a trolley ride on your first day in Boston to get the “lay of the land”, I am glad we waited til our second day. I was cold, exhausted, and completely stuffed. Sitting down was about all I could do. If you stay on the Trolley from beginning to end, it takes about an hour and points out several historical landmarks, but you can also jump off at any of the stops and reboard just as easily.

BIGGEST HURDLE YET… Uneven surfaces

When you can’t feel your feet ( a normal ms symptom for me) uneven surfaces always create a challenge, but when you lose all muscle control in your leg (thankfully NOT a normal symptom for me) uneven surfaces and curbs like these look like 2 foot tall barriers.

After the trolley ride, we decided (more like my body decided) that we NEEDED to be done for the night. It’s times like these that I really really FUCKING HATE having MS!! I literally could NOT move my right leg when I attempted to get off the trolley. It was like a 200 lb bag of sand. Forget balance. I would have been in deep shit, without help. My companions, each gave me an arm and it took almost an hour to walk the 1/2 mile back to our apartment.

First order of business

Since she knows my struggles with technology, more specifically the UBER app on my phone, my niece handed me a beer, and took over the “troubleshooting”. When she handed the phone back to me, Uber was gone and LYFT was installed.

“The drivers are nicer, and it’s cheaper too”, she said.

As long as I didn’t have to go anywhere else for the night, I didn’t care.

Thank you kiddo for being my “Saving Grace”!!!!!

We spent the rest of the night catching up, and talking about our plans for the next couple of days. (The best part was yet to come) The next day I would be meeting some fellow bloggers…. IN REAL LIFE!!!!!

Before going to bed for the night, I went out to my “cigarette corner” for one last smoke….and met this cute little guy…and his owner too. One cigarette turned into, well lets just say a few more…and a couple more beers.

I have to share this picture because his story amazed me. Cody is a 31 year old Russian translator in the peace core. When I asked him why he decided on the Peace Corps., he said, “Because I wanted to help!” We talked about backwards medical practices, debated about universal healthcare, and talked about the downfall of humanity in general.

While navigating Boston wasn’t easy for me, it was a beautiful city, and I met many fascinating people.

I went to sleep that night knowing that “Superman” would come “save me” in the morning. I will write about that soon…. I Promise!

At 5:03 my time, my best friend sent me the above meme. Did I mention he was my best friend? Ok so this is the whole message “Saw this today and had to laugh. Do you remember back many many years ago. I used to put “K” for okay and you told me how much that bothered you. So, from then on I put “Okay” instead. Now you put “K” and I still use “Okay” – roll reversal – lol – the fun and crazy times we have had together!! (hug)” My first thought is HELL NO I DON’T, although I did ask him “Really I do?”…. he said “yes you do….lol”…. after thinking for about 1/2 a second, I called BUNK….. Texting just “K” drives me bad shit crazy, no way would I do that to him.

Einstein looked over from his computer, read what my friend had written and said, “Yes you do”…Again BULLSHIT!!!! So I challenged both of them to prove it…. find one fricking time I have ever just replied with a “K”. As of the time I started writing this, Gary went back to through our skype chat records all the way back to MARCH of this year and could not find one example where I had just said “K”. Einstein scrolled through our text messages back til July and found a day that I had said “K” but it was intentional. More about that later though. I told them both that I would get a blog post out before they could provide me with proof of their accusations so that is what I am attempting….and the race is on…..

The whole point is that I would write them both a message either on skype or text and they would simply reply “K”. My message would be so long with emotions and all that shit like I had a really bad day and I need to talk tonight, or I don’t feel like making dinner tonight because I got MS is Winning today and I NEEDED to hear “tomorrow is a new day, or you’ve got this”…which I assumed they both should know since I have absolutely no self confidence. Ok, Ok, I should have been more clear about what I needed…hindsight and all that, but either way both heard my opinion on using “K” on numerous occasions. My opinion on the use of “K” is that it is a GREAT BIG FUCK YOU. Followed by I don’t have time for you etc etc. So I know for a FACT, I wouldn’t say that.

In both of their defenses, they have stopped doing it, and I really appreciate them respecting my feelings, however irrational they are. Over the years, I have also realized that it doesn’t really mean fuck you, or I don’t have time for you. They were at least taking time to acknowledge what I had said. Gary, being the bestest friend in the whole world ever sent that to me tonight to let me know he is recovering from his recent surgeries. Einstein jumped in…well I’m not really sure why he jumped in, maybe just to prove me wrong. He went back to July and showed me an example of when I had said, “K”. (I even said it six times in one conversation.) Because I keep things real, I will include that…but let me also add that we were talking about sex and as I said “K” to me meant FUCK YOU, so it was playful and flirtatious and I don’t really think it counts, but it is there….

How do you all feel when someone texts you “K”? Especially when you have asked a question or spilled your heart? I’m just curious. I have my IV tomorrow and have no energy to do anything other than sit here at the computer or watch tv until my daughter comes by.

I am hitting publish now, and neither of them have provided proof…. so “K” you both 😛

Tag: actually LIVING with MS

Boston Day Two…a day of hurdles