The bonsais have mysteriously reappeared in Arnold Arboretum, and I'm taking this as a sign that Boston is officially convinced in the presence of spring. I really love the Arboretum. It's a park maintained by Harvard about a kilometer from my doorstep in Jamaica Plain. There are paths and marshy trails and a special little hut just for gutsy little bonsai trees. I was alarmed, back in October, when I had gone running to the top of the hill upon which the bonsai hut is perched only to find that they had been relocated indoors for the winter. Every time I've been jogging since then, "let there be bonsai" has been a prominent mantra in my adrenaline-deprived brain as I plod towards the arboretum.
Last weekend, I was walking around Harvard Square on Saturday morning, wasting time before I was due to play soccer with Dionysi and the physicists. Together, this team leaves theory at the office and transforms into an unstoppable force christened "Impertinence." The team name makes cheer-leading a much more interesting affair: Impertinence triumphs! Impertinence scores again!
Anyway, the city's transformation in the midst of springtime made me feel like I was in a different country--tulips had emerged, the occasional ant timidly scurried out from a sidewalk crack, and the bushes were slowly fleshing into brilliant green. I was, however, more amazed at the emergence of humanity: hairy shins, flowing hair, cracked elbows, pasty white legs freshly de-coccooned from scuffed-up Uggs, and of course, lots of cleavage bouncing about in every which way. Seeing as I've spent the last few springtimes in more conservative parts of the world, the revealing tendencies of the western sundress are a bit shocking. However, I feel that the donning of a sundress is a contagious bug for many women. Despite my immediate disdain for my American sisters' lack of restraint, I couldn't resist going out and buying a feisty blue number for myself that same morning. .
I've also joined a gym, thanks to the coercive nature of my co-worker, Sharon. I guess I didn't make it too difficult for her. I heard "next to the T" and "unlimited yoga" and I was pretty much sold. Gyms do give me a slight case of the heebie jeebies--something about people scampering about on indoor machines reminds me of a metaphor in a post-modern novel. We'll see how this experience progresses.
3 comments:
hehe, feisty blue dress? i feel like i'm constantly making efforts to cover up here, given that the size of my (not that big) bosom would be considered scandalous with any amount of cleavage showing. there's gotta be a balance somewhere between the east and the west on this matter, right? when i was back in the US i remember my eyes almost popping out of my head at all the boobies.
seriously! there are so many large boobies everywhere!odd, for such a "studious" city.
and yes, it is feisty. sometimes i get it into my head that i should rock it while i'm still semi-young. i wore it that night because i was in cambridge with only soccer clothes and i was going to a party. i wore my scarf to hide the womanly features.
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