Freedom Trail! (Finally)

So, here's my much delayed update (with pictures!). On the 5th (nearly a week and a half ago) D and I decided to walk the freedom trail. It's about 3 miles long (depending on your deviations) and takes you all over Boston, past various historic sites related to the Revolutionary War. It starts in the Boston Commons, takes you through the heart of the city, through the North End (Boston's version of little Italy), to the Navy yard and up to Bunker Hill. We walked almost the whole thing before heading off to Cambridge so I could pick up a good study guide for the Praxis, look at a corset for my Halloween costume (the Silk Spectre from Watchmen), and get some crepes for dinner (D's suggestion, and a good one too).

Anyway, on to the fun stuff:
That's the state house, right at the start of the trail, coming out of the Commons.

Those are D's feet on the trail. Proof!
My feet on the trail, plus the arm with the freckles that look like the big dipper. Further Proof!
Paul Revere's grave. People had put pennies all over it, though I'm not entirely sure why. I'm sure there's some significance to it. Luck?

It doesn't look like blogger will let me put more than 4 pictures in a post (shame). I had a couple more of the Old North Church Yard, and the Bunker Hill monument, which we climbed. I like history, but the Revolutionary War era really isn't my favorite, so we skipped over some of the free "museum-ish" things along the trail. I really enjoyed getting to see parts of Boston I'd never seen before. I stumbled across a ton of cute areas I never even new existed--the farmer's market in the North End, the Shooting Fountain, the Old North Church Yard (gorgeous), that Bunker Hill can be reached on foot. Really glad I put this on the list, and got the opportunity to finish it before I graduated.

Also! I have followers! Hi! Glad you find me interesting enough to read.

Suck it, Trebek

So, last night I tried out for jeopardy--just the online quiz for the College Edition--and since I have no control over whether my 'audition' goes any further than this, I'm considering this task complete (woohoo!). It was a fifty question test with 15 seconds to answer each question--the questions were presented just like on the show, but you didn't have to answer in the form of a question. Honestly, I have no idea how well I did. I knew a bunch of them, but there were also a good many where the answer was on the tip of my tongue, and quite a few where I just had no freaking idea and either guessed or passed. They can contact me anytime between now and a year from now, so we shall see.

Take it off!

Wednesday we went to not one, but two strip clubs. Ostensibly, we were going for D's friend's birthday, but it meant I got to tick off another goal. I wanted to go, but as it got closer and closer to day zero, I started to get worried--that the vibe would be bad, that D would go off with his friends and strippers and I'd be left alone surrounded by women who are much prettier than I am, that it would be full of creepy men, that I'd spend the entire night comparing myself to the girls on stage--basically that I'd be miserable. Of course, all my worrying was for naught. I had a great time, and strippers love me, apparently.

We started off bar hopping, trying to get D's friend free drinks for his birthday (no luck), then we headed to Wisconsin Dolls, in the Wisconsin Dells. D's friend wanted to go there (rather than the other strip club in town) even though it was smaller, because it was cheaper over all and you were actually allowed to touch the dancers. Unfortunately for the three guys (D, and D's two friends B and R), but fortunately for me, it was male review night meaning only male strippers up on the stage. I don't usually like the 'pretty' 'cut' guys, but it was interesting for the novelty. There were still female strippers milling about, and I got the impression that they'd have girls up on stage later in the evening, but the guys weren't really interested in hanging around for it, though.

We did stick around for lap dances all around though. D got one for both of us, and the girl said she'd do it as long we both sat in one chair. I didn't catch her name, but she was really cute--tiny, tan, dirty blonde hair, and an accent. Briefly, I thought she reminded me of my sister, but I quickly pushed that thought out of my head. I sat on D's lap, and she ground herself on my leg and his, rubbed her breasts up against mine--D was getting a kick out of it. At one point he even pulled my breasts out. She rubbed her tits in his face and let him suck on her nipples. I was surprisingly not jealous--honestly, it was pretty hot. I guess my inner voyeur took over. Certainly this bodes well for a lot of the things we've talked about exploring re: including others (including the threesome). The girl told us we were a crazy couple and seemed to have a good time herself. Over all, a good experience.

Because the guys were still on stage and everyone had gotten a lap dance, we decided to high-tail it out of there to another, larger strip club, Chubby's. It was pretty dead when we got there, but it was still early on a Wednesday. the place filled up later. This club was huge--one big stage but with three poles. Lots of girls--most of whom seemed really friendly and into it. Some of the stuff those dancers did on the poles was absolutely wild--flipping, stripping, etc all while spinning around so fast you couldn't even see them. We stuck close to the stage the entire night, long enough to see the 'rotation' of girls come through twice almost. I had a couple of favorites--most of the girls seemed really enthusiastic because I was a girl (I wasn't the only one there with my boyfriend, and from what I gathered they got similar treatment)--I had my nipples licked a couple of times and got lots of free boobs shoved in my face, and just special treatment in general for no special cost. D got some, too, I think because he'd brought a girl with him. A stripper bit his nipple! Of course, when he told me I thought he was just being a baby (in my experience guys tend to have a low pain tolerance for stuff like that, and D doesn't like anything near his nipples), but when we got home nearly three hours later he had teeth marks and a nice bruise forming.

I felt a little hinky being there--like I was exploiting the dancers by virtue of patronising the place. Most of them seemed to be having a good time--a few were obviously faking it, and one was clearly not having a good time. She only went on stage once, and sort of stomped around each pole for a song angrily and left quickly. I saw her talking to the bouncer when we came in, so I think she probably just wanted to go home, but they made her get up there once. I know it's a job, and the dancers who did look like they were enjoying themselves probably know that you get more money when you seem happy about what you're doing, but some of them seemed like they were genuinely enjoying themselves. I've considered dabbling in sex work before (including exotic dancing), and I'd like to think it would be something I'd find fun and empowering, though I'm sure it wouldn't be a good time every night.

I had an awesome time--just as good a time as any of the guys, and maybe better, since the dancers paid a lot of attention to me. They actually wanted to leave before I did, but theyd spent all their money and I still had a good bit left. Would definitely go again.

Illegal Doings

So I've returned from my trek to the wilderness (read: Wisconsin), and in the process I've accomplished 2 more goals, started several more, and made progress on others. And I have pictures! I'll be updating over the next couple of days about the goals I completed and the ones I've just started.

First things first. I got high! And it was wonderful. After staying the night at a Super 8 in Illinois, we got in to Tomah, Wisconsin before noon. D's friend, who we were staying with for the first few days, was getting ready for the party later that night (he turned 22 on Wednesday, but had a big party Saturday night). D had asked him to procure some pot for us before we came out, and he had, so D and I went off on our merry way to buy brownie making supplies.

We decided to make brownies because I didn't want to smoke for a couple of reasons--first, I heard that sometimes you don't get high the first time if you smoke (I think because most people don't really know how to inhale it), and I didn't want to risk wasting the pot and missing my chance to complete this goal. Also, I was worried I wouldn't like smoking--I don't even smoke cigarettes, so I figured I'd probably cough and choke, and I wanted this experience to be as pleasant as possible. Plus, I already love brownies.

The brownies were done by about 4, and they reeked of pot. Not a bad smell really, just pine-y, but honestly, thinking about it makes me feel kind of ill. We started eating them pretty quickly but it took a while for them to kick in, so we kept eating and eating (Not so great an idea, it turns out). By 5, we were through almost the whole pan, and we were both super high. D was so high that he couldn't tell I was high, so he kept insisting I eat more brownies, even though I didn't want more (turns out I lose the ability to say no when high).

Everything was hilarious. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt, and smiled so hard my face hurt. The feeling of uncontrollable laughter is a strange one. I could literally feel each giggle bubbling up out of me, from my diaphragm and though I could feel it coming, I couldn't stop it. D smoked up a bit (by this time the party was underway, and while we were the only ones eating brownies, a lot of other people were smoking) and chugged around the house blowing smoking out, pretending he was a train (hilarious). Later, he thought his friend (whom he hadn't seen in about three years) had grown about a foot and a half taller. I just laughed and laughed, and thought D was a giant at one point (to be fair, I was lying on the floor and he was standing over me).

I liked being high much better than drinking--I got all the happy euphoric feeling of being buzzed, but without that fuzzy-headed moving-through-jello feeling. By 8 I was just vegetating on a big comfy chair in the kitchen. I was still conscious and aware of what was going on around me (though my eyes were closed and I was sort of incorporating everything going on outside into the weird psychedelic trip going on in my head), but I was out of it. My entire body felt warm and the top half of me felt like it was lightly vibrating. I think I described it to D as a million little orgasms all over my body. So yeah, a pretty good feeling over all. I was in bed probably by 9. D joined me shortly thereafter. Apparently, people were banging on the door to our room trying to get us up without any luck.

We slept late the next day, and went to get Mexican food. That was all we did. D and I were both out of it. I was worthless the entire day. I think I took a nap, and maybe read a little bit. The Mexican sure tasted good though.

Overall, I'd rate getting high as a great experience. I don't think I want to try again any time soon, or do it with any regularity though because I don't want to ruin it with a bad trip and it's hard to block off two days where I can be totally worthless. More to come later.

18. Take the GRE and get a score with which I am satisfied

What is it: In order to get into Grad school later, and the program I'll be applying to in the fall I need to take the GRE. Better now while (at least some of) the information is still fresh in my head. Right now, I've got a couple of test prep books and have been reviewing an practicing. So far my verbal score is fine, I just need to take more time with some of the reading passages, and my Math score is improving. I want to take a couple more practice tests to ensure that the math score I just got wasn't a fluke. Need to practice the writing prompts, just to get the hang of it, but it shouldn't be a problem.

Also, need to determine what I believe to be a "good enough" score. Will comb through some grad school program profiles to see what the median is for the competitive schools.





Status: Completed! 8/29/09

Final Score: Verbal: 740
Math: 740
Writing: 5

20. Swim in the Charles

What is it: It's true--you can actually swim in the Charles River in Boston and not die of sepsis. I have friends who have done it, and as far as I know they haven't died or given birth to any flipper babies. I've lived in Boston far too long (3 years!) without trying this. Seize the day! Swim in the Charles! Hopefully, I'll be able to take pictures of this one.






Status: Completed! 9/4/09

51. Make D orgasm on my own

What is it: This one's a bit embarrassing to admit to--I've never made D come with either my mouth or my hands without his assistance. He admits that part of this might be on him--he is loathe to give up control and has difficulty orgasming when he's not the one causing it. But he assures me it is possible, and we've gotten close a couple of times. Plus, he's certainly happy to let me practice til my heart's content. It's become a point of pride in my own sexual abilities so I really want to be able to do this. I think if I work him up enough beforehand, he abstains for a few days, and I'm persistent enough, I can pull it off.




Status: Completed! 8/1/09

11. Go to a strip club

What is it: Fun, yet creepy fact: my mother told me once that my father had taken her to a strip club on a date and that they'd had a grand old time (it was the 70's). This has nothing to do with why I want to go to a strip club, I just thought it was a strange coincidence (especially since I'll probably wind up going with D. He and I have been talking about it for a while). I want to go partially for the experience, partially for the campiness, and partially because I'm a bi-curious voyeur. D has mentioned the possibility of us going to one when we go on our road trip in a couple weeks. (I'm nervous).




Status: Completed! 8/19/09

73. Walk the Freedom Trail

What is it: I've lived in Boston for far to long to not have done this yet. I've walked parts of the Freedom Trail on different occasions--probably most comprehensively when I first visited when I was about 13--but I've never walked the entire thing. D says we can get this done some time this fall. Hooray! I should be able to post pictures once I complete this task.




Status: Completed! 9/5/09

35. Get High

What is it: For me, this is one of those things I have to experience at least once in order to feel like I've completely experienced life. I think pot is probably the route to go for this--comparatively safe, easy to obtain, and rapidly becoming decriminalized. As an addict of sensation, I want to see how it feels. From there I can decide if it's a feeling I enjoy and it's something I'd like to continue to do (which I suspect won't be with any frequency, anyway. I'm already too paranoid about being "bad").




Status: Completed! 8/15/09

15. Try Out for Jeopardy

What is it: I'm a big giant geek (and also probably a secret 70 year old woman. I haven't started watching the Wheel, yet though). Recently, I've taken to watching Jeopardy in the evenings and playing along. I do pretty well, too, if I do say so myself. I've looked into getting on the show and there's a written test you have to take and then a few other hoops you have to jump through (an in-person test and a couple of 'dry' runs of the show, I think). I would love to be on Jeopardy and become the next Ken Jennings, but I'll settle with just trying out for now.




Status: Complete! 8/25/09