Universe city

Boston is beautiful this time of year. The slight nip in the air adds to the scholarly and historic tone of the city. And any drab bit of gray is entirely covered with garland and lights like no other time of year could be. It's still the exciting time of the holidays where the old songs aren't too overworked yet and the lights are in full glory. The pubs are filled to the brim with decorations so gawdy that if it wasn't for the overwhelmingness of the entire collection, you might consider them bad taste.

Decor aside, the city is very beautiful and mildly reminiscent of European cities with small brick townhouses with store fronts on the ground floor and very pricy lofts above. I ate the most expensive hamburger of my life and drank the most expensive whiskey and soda I have ever had.

Public transit is amazing and I can only imagine that public health care might be nice to have too. Riding the train or the subway I can't help but notice the slimmer waist sizes from us corn fed mid westerners and I didn't know it if was from walking because parking was a nightmare or from having to fit in small spaces on the subway, the packed restaurants or crowded staircases

I'm always amazed at how quickly adapted and at home I feel in big cities, not quick to ask for directions of check online reviews but rather enjoying the somewhat directed wanderings and experiences new places bring.
It also amazes me how no matter how large the city, it suddenly gets smaller with familiarity. Once you start to recognize the streets and landmarks, the subway routes and main roads, no matter how nonsensically designed they may be, the map dissolves into number of Dunkin doughnut shops or the building next to the park or the crowd gathering around the bronze -pull my finger- statue. It becomes real and attainable and easy to navigate.
It's only at that moment that I think "I have conquered another city!" that the overwhelming lonely feeling washes over me. Kinda like learning all the planets that orbit our sun, just to turn around and realize that every star is a sun and the universe is so vast that the surface hasn't even been scratched. Yes, I know where the farmers market and the fish mongers sell and I found where to get a $10 lobster and walked through the basement shop of Chinatown that sells beta fish and porn, but I look up and imagine thousands of people living here, piled story after story on top of each other with lives and jobs and kids and dreams , suddenly the city seems so vast again. And I didn't even scratch the surface