December 7th 2013: My Second Attempt at Painting

Tonight, I had a meetup event to do some painting at the Urban Art Bar, located in South Boston. Before that, I decided to do some hiking in the town of Harvard. I started off  at Tripp Land, where the path I took is shown below in pink.

There had been some snow accumulation last night, and it made it a little harder to see the trails, but it also meant I could easily bash through the trees if I needed to.

The pond here was pretty small, and had a lot of snow in it as well.

The next place I went to was the Powell Reed Abbott Land, where the path I took here is shown below in pink.

Other than animal footprints in the snow, there was nothing much else here though.

Next, at the Bare Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, the path I took is shown below in pink.

Other than more snow, there was nothing much else here either.

There are some trails at Williams Land, but as I was only interested in Williams Pond, which was right next to the parking area, I just took a picture of it and went on my way.

Another water body I went to in town was the Elizabeth Brook Reservoir, located ~38 Eldridge Road,

and the Old Millpond at 22 Old Mill Road, located on private property.

The views from the snow-covered beach at Bare Hill Pond at the end of Pond Road were also beautiful.

The next place I went to hike at was at Pin Hill, where the rough path I took here is shown below in pink.

I had a hard time getting to the shore of the beautiful pond due to the difficulty in finding the snow covered trails, but after a little bashing, I was able to get there,

and actually found the proper way back to my car. I also went to see the remains of the old mill and old mill race.

From here, I went to the East View Conservation Area, located at ~34 Ayer Road, where there were pretty decent eastward views of the surroundings.

The next place I went to was the Maxant Land, where the path I took is shown below in pink.

I first tried to walk the Maxant Trail on the left of Bowers Brook, but it became too overgrown for me, so I backtracked and went to walk the Millie's Path on the right of the brook, but it turned out that there was nothing much to see here.

The same could be said at the next hiking spot, the Shaker Spring House, where the path I took is shown below in pink.

 The last place I went to today was the Black Pond/Vesenka area. I decided to check out the Vesenka area first, the path I took being shown below in pink.






















I got lost in the area so many times, and I had to rely heavily on the markers and the orientation of the small ponds to get to the Marsh Pond, and the last part of the trail was totally overgrown as well. There was nothing of significance to see here too. Somehow I managed to make it all the way back to the entrance to the area, and from there I went to check out Black Pond, the trail I took being shown below in pink.

I got lost a little here as well, but thankfully the view of the pond wasn't too bad this time.

It was still pretty small though, and considering all the effort I took in order to get here, I do not recommend doing this set of trails.

With that, I was finally done with the town of Harvard, and decided to head to Cambridge to grab some food at the Third Eye Restaurant, a Nepalese Indian place in town. This place is relatively small, and the owner was actually cleaning the restaurant when I entered, so I was forced to order takeout instead, which was a good thing, as I had a 3-course Afternoon Tea scheduled a short time later at the Tea Leaf in Waltham.

I decided to get the Chhoela (dry style) (Diced meat marinated in Nepalese spices and herbs cooked in tandoor) and the Parvate Aloo Tama Ra Bodi (Potatoes, bamboo shoots and black eye peas cooked in delectable Nepalese spices), both Nepalese dishes.

Chhoela

Parvate Aloo Tama Ra Bodi

The chicken was not too bad, though a little too oily, while the curry had too much of a bamboo taste to it, though still okay. Overall, not a place I would come back to.

From here, I headed to Waltham for my afternoon tea. This place is small but cozy, though it has an old person feel to it, as would be expected of a tea place I guess. For my tea, I decided to get the Lapsang Souchong Tea (Leaves are dried over smoky pine fires, giving it a distinctive smoky flavor),

and a short while later, a tower of food and sweets came.

Somehow, I managed to finish it all, even after my lunch, partly because it was pretty good.

Overall, this place is pretty decent for girls to come with their friends, but definitely not a guy thing.

After tea, there was still some time before sunset, so I visited a few places in Waltham

Hardy Pond

Cambridge Reservoir, 741 Winter Street

Westin Waltham Boston

before calling it a day for sightseeing. I still had time before the painting event, so I decided to get more food, getting a Meat Lovers Sicilian Deep Dish Pizza from Romano's Pizzeria and Taqueria, located in the Roslindale area of Boston. The pizza was pretty big, but not really that good.

From here, I headed to South Boston, where the art place is located. After arriving, I helped with ensuring that everyone had paid their dues and gotten name tags, and when enough people had arrived the class started. The painting we were supposed to do, called "Fall Bench", is shown below.

Starting with a blank canvas,

The ground is first colored brown,

then the sky is done a pale yellow.

The setting sun is then painted in, alongside the blue sky.

After putting in some clouds, it was time to put some shading into the ground, but I didn't do a good job, so I had to spend a lot of time to get it right.

From here, it was time to get in the trees, which were all of different colors,

drawing in branches when we were done,

and even a bench.

The only thing I totally forgot about was the shadows, and it made my picture look a little unreal. Oh well. Some of my friends painted really well though, including smoking rabbits on their bench, as you can see below.

After everyone was finally done for the night, some of us headed to a friend's place nearby for an afterparty, playing games like poker and Cards Against Humanity. Somehow, Cards Against Humanity did not seem as fun as it was the last time I played it, and it ended after just a few rounds, and fortunately so, as it was already pretty late. I gave my friend a lift home, helping her resolve an issue with her car, before finally heading home for the night.

My picture did not come out well, but at least I did my good deed for the day, although it was already well past midnight. I hope I can wake up tomorrow for the Body Worlds: Vital exhibition.

December 6th 2013: Doing Food Truck Stuff at Holiday Arts and Eats, Somerville

Today after work, I headed into Somerville to help out with the food truck at Holiday Arts and Eats at Assembly Row. Before that, I decided to grab a pizza dinner from Top Speed Pizza, a takeout place in town, getting the Southwestern Pizza (marinated grilled chicken, corn and bacon over alfredo sauce with mozzarella). 

The pizza was nothing amazing though.

It was raining by the time I got to the festival. It put a damper on the entire event, although as always, people still came out to eat in the rain. Here are some pictures I took while we were here.

I had to leave early though, as it started to hail, and the weather forecast said it was only going to get worse overnight. By the time I got home, my parking area was already covered in a layer of hail. Hope it doesn't ruin my day tomorrow.

December 5th 2013: A Fun Night at the 6B Lounge, Boston

Today after work, I had a meetup event at the 6B Lounge in downtown Boston. Before that, a group of us decided to have dinner at Dumpling Cafe in Chinatown. With a table of eight, we ordered a lot of food, getting the Twice Cooked Pork, the Spinach with Garlic, the Lamb with Sour Cabbage in Hot Pot,  the Pork with Bamboo Tips, the Taiwan Style Hot and Sour Soup, the Kung Pao Chicken, the Mini Juicy Buns with Pork, the Mini Juicy Buns with Pork and Crabmeat, the Preserved Egg with Chilled Tofu and the Szechuan Style Flounder, all of which were pretty good.

Pork with Bamboo Tips

Spinach with Garlic

Preserved Egg with Chilled Tofu

Taiwan Style Hot and Sour Soup

Szechuan Syle Flounder

Mini Juicy Buns with Pork and Crabmeat

Kung Pao Chicken

Lamb with Sour Cabbage in Hot Pot

After dinner, we made our way to the lounge, but along the way, I decided to grab some dessert from the Sweet Cupcakes shop at 11 School Street,

getting the Butterscotch Cupcake (Sweet cake and buttercream frosting with brown sugar and butter, Topped with a "plaid" drizzle), which was delicious.

The lounge itself is pretty hip, although it was easier to get a drink from the bar than from waiting for the waiter to bring it to you. Overall, I had a great time with friends and meeting new people, although I ended up just dropping into bed immediately after getting home.

December 4th 2013: Dinner at El Oriental de Cuba, Boston

Today after work, I decided to grab dinner with a friend at El Oriental de Cuba, located in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. This place is pretty much a hole in the wall, but thankfully decent enough to bring a friend to eat. For food, I decided to get the Braised Beef Tongue in Sauce (Lengua en Salsa), while my friend got the Shredded Beef (Ropa Vieja). Both came with sweet plantains, green plantains and yellow rice.

Shredded Beef

Braised Beef Tongue in Sauce

The beef tongue was actually really delicious, being tender and all. The shredded beef was tasty as well.

I decided to get the Guava Shell with Cream Cheese (Casco de Guayaba c/Queso Crema) for dessert, as it sounded pretty interesting. It looked pretty interesting as well.

I did not expect the saltiness of the cream cheese to go well with the sweet guava, but somehow it smoothened the gritty texture of the guava. Pretty interesting dish, although I still like Tres Leches better.

December 3rd 2013: Dinner at Thai Time, Worcester

Before bowling today, I decided to get dinner at Thai Time, a Thai restaurant in Worcester that has taken the place of Tortilla Sam's, which I have been to before in the past. After looking at the menu, I decided to try something different, getting the Khao Soi (northern noodles in mix of light yellow curry, chicken, ground peanut, scallion and fried shallots).  

The meal had very simple ingredients, but they were excellent with the yellow curry. I should have drunk the entire bowl, but I got full before I could do so. A good meal in a hole in the wall restaurant.