Life Lessons (or simply personal observations) from three weeks in Boston

I've been writing this particular post in parts over the past week, comprising some of the top ten things I've learned about this great seminary and amazing city...

1) I think listening to music on the T is a way to drown out the incredibly unpleasant noises one hears when it rumbles along the tracks.
2) Listening to music can backfire when a loud percussion solo kicks into your head at the same exact moment that the T starts shuddering and swaying from side-to-side.  The two occurring together is enough to scare you out of your wits.
3) Addresses don't necessarily follow a common pattern.  Ex: 745, 750, 881, 1019, and 1036 Commonwealth Ave all fall on the same side of the street.  But 808 falls on the opposite side...
4) When you join seminary singers, make damn sure there are actually people who can sing on your side.  It was quite frightening when I was the ONLY alto at rehearsal.  Fortunately, people started to trickle in and some solid anchors kept me going.
5) Don't buy that PB&J sandwich you're looking at in the student union.  I bought one; for the price there should have been glitter, rainbows, and some ******** (insert expletive of your choice if that's your thing) fanfare in addition to an amazingly delicious sandwich.  There was not.
6) When powering through work in the library during a five hour break, be sure to set an alarm so you can make it to your afternoon class on time.
7) Costco is awesome!  My super awesome neighbor and I went a-shopping, and we stocked up on some great stuff like toilet paper (for two months), freezer bags and meat, bleach, tuna, fruit, etc.  The full list isn't nearly as interesting as the fun I had just spending some time getting to know Alyce.  She informed me about how much better than Sam's Club Costco is.  As an example, Costco pays its hourly workers an average of $20.89 an hour, not including overtime (vs. the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour), while Walmart said its average wage for full-time employees in the U.S. is $12.67 an hour.
8) Sharing is great!  Many people in my classes are still waiting for the arrival of books.  Because reading stops for no one, we're all forced to use that one copy on reserve in the library.  The BUSTH (Boston University School of Theology) library has free scanning to pdf for us.  So, I scanned some of the reading for class, and then shared it with my classmates.  My inbox flooded with words of thanks from people.  I'm thinking about asking for a repayment program in which they bring me donuts, cookies, and coffee.  Seems a fair trade... right?
9) Orange juice and water are the beverage staples of my life. I'm not sure why, but nothing has been more delicious for me than orange juice, not even coffee... Gasp! I know too much of a good thing can be a bad thing (alcohol to hangover as an example), but I'm hoping that by continuing to inhale orange juice on the regular I won't experience my annual month long cold this winter.

10) Sometimes the MBTA just likes to screw with you. The train you board has the desired "final destination," yet half way through the journey it is "taken out of service" and you're made to transfer to another train. 

BONUS... I'm including a few more bits of information to this list!

11) The university has its own pub. When people referenced the "BU Pub" I thought they were referring to an establishment that had borrowed the name of the university. Wrong! It's this great bar with an outdoor patio, and only faculty, staff, alumni, and students ages 21+ can be there. On Thursday a substantial group gathered to commemorate the end of yet another week.  We started small with about ten, but had about forty to forty-five by the end of the night. I brought my guitar, which made the rounds of several people in the group, and in all we had a jolly good time. 

12) Reading... Do it and do it early. It's so helpful to have class discussion reinforced in text, and to have text reinforced in class discussion. 

13) Shout out to Noodle. Diggy loves you!