A Time to Love, and a Time to Hate

Hate is a very strong word. I really seldom use it. But I just paid something called an "excise tax" for owning a car in the state of Massachusetts. I really HATED paying that. I don't understand what the tax is for, and I am getting rather tired (to the point of great perturbation) of all the nickel and dime taxes! I love living here, truly, but people are correct when they say it's expensive to live in Massachusetts! Expensive housing (a base just for a room would be about $500-$600 - just for a cheap, not very nice room - at least $1200 for a whole apartment), expensive utilities (and no AC), expensive gas, and a whole load of expensive, inexplicable taxes! So, there's the hate part.

Now I will try to rid myself of these negative feelings by offsetting my rant with an ode to the lovely summer evenings in Massachusetts. They truly are Heaven-sent. The heat subsides, the bugs aren't too plentiful (but beware when riding your bike at twilight - somehow they all find your mouth, you'll end up with a lot more protein in your diet than you planned), and generally the humidity is just comfortable. It demands a nice walk, or even a lengthy bike-ride, despite the unavoidable bugs in the teeth.

Oh, I suppose I should mention that I am now the proud owner of a bike. Not a new one, but a refurbished one, and I love it! In just a few minutes, I'll be on my way to purchase a bike rack, so that I can take it with me to Vermont to enjoy nice long bike rides there! This is all part of my weight-loss efforts (which really need to step it up a notch!). Boston, it is worth mentioning, is a running town, but also a biking town. As a driver, you have to be constantly aware of the runners and bikes sharing the road with you. And as a runner or biker, you get to be king of the road! It's loads of fun! I wonder how it will be in the tiny town of Middlebury, Vermont. I'll let you know.

Actually, I will let you know eventually is what I should say. This is the last post I'll be making for about 2 months. I'm headed out in two days for my Hebrew program in Vermont, and will be unable to write or speak to anyone in English. And likewise, I'll be unable to read anything sent to me. It will be total isolation! But it will be good - I'll be a much more capable speaker of Hebrew once I finish. I'm looking forward to that. That's also why the bike rides will be such a delight - my escape when I'm about to explode from the overload of Hebrew. So, to all my readers (though few in numbers), I say, "Have a fantastic summer! I'll catch ya on the other end of it!". Shalom, vekaitz tov!