Looking at the Charles River...

Hi y'all!

I am here and finally online after much fiddling and eventually giving in to paying the hotel $10 a day for using their wireless network.

Have had a great day...so far. Although it's my usual time for blogging, it's only 6pm here and I still have a number of plans to delay the onset of sleep and therefore hopefully negate the impact of jetlag.

Weather on the M25 was severe this morning and it took my maximum allowable 2 hours to get there. Good conversation witht he taxi driver who may well feature in the book now. The usual extremely long lines at check-in (and later at passports and security and the gate and then the second check in at the gate to finally get a seat allocated). Why is it that all air travel related activities seem to be weighted towards efficiency for the airlines and away from customer service?

So I ended up iin the very back row, left thinking until the very last minute that I'd have a spare seat next to me. The very last passenger to board turned out to be my neighbour. But he was great and I had a very in depth philosophical discussion about life, God, the universe, evolution and molecular biology with him. He was German so I slipped in a few words and shocked him suitably!

Read some of my book, one of three I purchased on a threefer offer specifically for this trip, and watched a movie. And then we were here. Hot and sunny when I arrived but it's gone steadily downhill since then, although it has now stopped raining so I can see the river and Boston University beyond.

I have to admit to being very stinky when I got here and was really looking forward to a shower. Imagine my dismay when my room wasn't ready. But then I guess it was only 12.45 here. I drank coffee while they got housekeeping to fix up the room, then showered and headed out for the University. The nice people at the Barnes and Noble store - I correctly guessed that slipping into the conversation that I'm writing a book would elicit both excitement and friendly help - sold me a book about the Uni (written by students for students) and recommended a campus tour, telling me exactly where I need to go to do that. And because they are 7 days a week, my plan is to hit there tomorrow. I sat in their Starbucks and made some notes. I already feel that I have some additional research material that will make the book better - from the colours of the stripes on the buses to the hairstyle of the barista, and from the bike lock attached to the railings but completely devoid of a bike to the three trust-fund babies discussing boyfriends and dates.

I've called home on the old Skype - what a great invention that is! - and now am gearing myself up to go visit the gym. I'm going to eat in the hotel tonight because I know that by the time I've eaten and drunk a beer (or two) I will only be fit to collapse straight into bed, hopefully to sleep until a reasonable time in the morning. But if not, I guess I can always do some writing if I wake up at 3am.