That didn't take long

Mom: Of course if you sit at the computer all day, you're going to gain weight!

The ironies here are many, and some I've already discussed. I want to avoid getting into the massive, massive clusterf* of yesterday, in which mom's purchase of a $40 sleeper sofa from a thrift shop (the sofa is actually new) ended up costing three times as much once transportation costs were included. Also, dad had to take a day off work. And it's still sitting outside, because they can't get it into the house. But for our purposes, I bring up the sofa because it's central to how I ended up walking for hours yesterday, willingly.

I had plans to meet a friend in town for lunch. My parents would pick up the U-Haul, which they believe sat three in the cab, and drop me off downtown. I would hang out until it was time to meet my friend, and take the bus (or something) back afterward. I don't love buses--the ones in DC are notoriously unreliable, but in Boston, I just don't have a good idea anymore of where to catch the Express bus (and the local ones are very unreliable).

To make a long story shortish, we got to U-Haul and learned that the cab only seats two. Mom said she'd drop me off at the local bus stop. This was a horrifying prospect. I asked her to drive me a few more miles, to the bridge to Harvard Square, where I could take a non-horrendous T line (the B train of the green line is as bad as the local bus; the few times I've taken it, I noticed that I could walk faster than that train moves). So mom complained but grudgingly dropped me off where I'd asked. It took all of five minutes. Perhaps you think I should be (more) grateful--and I'm not ungrateful--but I don't feel guilty about mooching rides off of my parents because that's the predicament they put me in by living in the suburbs. When I lived in Boston, I lived several minutes' walk from a T stop. But I digress.

Even before the U-Haul cab issue came up, my mom didn't get why I would stand for having to hang out in town for a few hours. I love hanging out in town. I would do it more, only my parents live in the f*ing suburbs and the public transportation is a pain in the ass. So this, to me, was a win-win.

As it turned out, I didn't get much time to hang out in town. I ended up just walking from Harvard Square, which was even better. It was a nice day, though a little windy. I got there a mere half-hour before I was to meet my friend, and after lunch, I decided to just walk back. I made it past Harvard Square, out to the Publick Theater, by the time my parents were in the same area, having returned the U-Haul.

When I met them, after having walked from the Back Bay, mom told me my hair looked messy.