set your controls for the heart of the sun

well, two years have gone by and i'm about to graduate. classes are done. finals are done. all that's left is a crappy speech by john lithgow at commencement and walking across the stage. past speakers here have included kofi anan, ali g, and will ferrell. we get 3rd rock from the sun. sweet.

my last weekend in boston has been a great send off: currently 33 degrees and raining outside. yup. 33. farenheit. had sox tix tonight, but the game was canceled. i bitch about the miserable weather all the time, but it bears repeating: why the hell do people live here? i came here to get a degree and i'm leaving as fast as i can. it speaks volumes about how much religious freedom meant to the pilgrims that upon landing here in november 1609, they said,"the place looks great. let's stay." didn't even bother to send a search party southward for a sunnier climate. even when they started freezing and starving to death (fewer than 50 of the 110 survived that winter).

for the record, i will miss boston and cambridge. it's treated me well. i have no complaints about harvard. here's what i'll miss most:

1. reconnecting with my cousin raj. we're the same age and grew up together and have always been close. the last two years have really showed me how great and important it is to have family nearby.
   
2. charlie's kichen. a harvard sq. institution. bad beer selection. greasy food that tastes like it's been seasoned on the floor. wait staff that insults you. i love it.
3. the sox. call me fairweather. i've come to love them.
4. beacon hill. thanks to my cousin raj, a beacon hill resident, i've gotten to know the coolest neighborhood here.
   
5. my bachelor pad. futon + mini fridge + stars wars & matrix posters + sharing a bathroom with two dudes = feels like sophomore year again.
6. akbhar. the best room mate i could have asked for. quiet, considerate, respects my privacy, and always there to listen to me.
7. king friday. over the last year-and-a-half we've gone from orchestra pit band playing cheesey show tunes and pop covers to a serious group that writes our own music. i've had a blast having some gigs this spring. marius, i don't know why you settled to play with us but i'm glad!
   
8. living three minutes from class and the gym.
9. some great eats: the paramount, darwin's, pinocchio's pizza, tanjore
   
10. my section. yeah, i don't like how some people treated it like a fraternity at the beginning. but it was a good way to create a sense of community and i met some great people.
11. some outstanding professors: hamermesh, mcgovern, sahlman, wheeler, ton, piper, davis.