I started work on February 8, and Ian took my first-day-of-work photo to match his.
I had a morning of orientation with HR and training with the tech people before they turned me over to Van and Patti, two wonderful ladies who are my studio assistant mentors. The first week was a little slow, but things picked up once they redistributed people to the assistants and I had my own list of people to support. Kaitlyn, who's great, is also a new hire and together we take care of the urban studio.
The following weekend kicked off a string of holidays — Valentines Day, Presidents Day, Fat Tuesday, and Ash Wednesday, along with a more vigorous social schedule.
Saturday we wandered around Boston. We planned to go to the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Museum of Science, but the timed tickets were pricey and not available until after 5 p.m. Plan B was the Museum of Bad Art, whose web site resulted in the following photo of Ian laughing. Critiques using phrases like "an astonishing emphasis on facial bone structure" had him laughing so hard he cried.
We set off for the museum, meandering to the T and enjoying the river along the way.
We arrived at the MOBA, in the basement of a theater, only to find out you had to purchase a movie ticket to get in, and the movies we wanted to see weren't at times that would work with our evening plans. So we wandered around Harvard instead, and found a cupcake shop that was divine.
We also stopped at Fox's favorite coffee shop for some Mexican hot chocolate and enjoyed the music of a Russian accordion player. I love how diverse Boston is!
We headed home in time for me to attempt Marta's mint brownies with pink frosting.
That night, we brought the brownies to a chocolate and party game extravaganza with some new and newer Reunion friends. For the first time ever, I was a member of the mafia in the card game Mafia. It's so much more fun when you aren't just one of the townspeople who gets killed. We also played La Familia (new to me) and taught Celebrities. Ian created a memorable moment when he used the clue "I'm" to get his team to guess "Batman." It worked because he said it in a Batman voice — think Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory, if you're a fan.
Sunday after church we celebrated Valentines with brunch at The Regal Beagle. Weekend brunch is a big thing here in Boston, we've discovered. The food was delicious and the restaurant was amazing.
After lunch, we relaxed and enjoyed a lovely non-commercialized Valentines Day. Like every other holiday, it can be great if you focus on the reason for celebrating, and not the glitz and pressure to spend money.
Presidents Day was a Sasaki holiday, so Fox joined Ian and I at the Institute of Contemporary Art. I don't "get" some modern art, but they had some great exhibits (along with a few really weird ones). My favorite was "Hanging Fire — Suspected Arson" by Cornelia Parker. Charcoal from a house fire is suspended in a three-dimensional rectangle. The pieces are reanimated, moving faintly with the passing of viewers, and evoke a roaring bonfire.
Photography is prohibited in the galleries, but we got some great photos of the building and the nearby waterfront.
We also wandered around Boston and Ian and Fox had fun critiquing park landscapes done by a competing firm.
The day off provided a short work week, made shorter by our trip back for Grandma Marilyn's 80th birthday party where our travel arrangements didn't go as planned. Stay tuned!
You can see more photos here and here, including some fun ones of children's art in the T: Ian loves the cat.