moday, around 11--

preparing to leave Boston (Cambridge) simply waiting for the 3:20 train, so hotel that I stayed in (nice for the price) has internet, so here I am.
Some pain in the back and legs, a little slowness getting up, this is new, is it because I carried the heavy bag with me through the stations?  Have to carry same bag in the station on the way back  then to New Haven and then on the subway home. Doable without taxi's.
Better be---you know how determined I am not to use them in NY. Well, let's see what happens.
Trip to Boston has its ups and downs. Very restless on the Amtrak train. Believe it or not, bus might have been perferable. Something taught and focused about the bus ride. Train was not filled, a sense of coldness, alienation seemed to be present.No problem with the ride itself, very efficient. But a lot of time to let my mind wander.
Finally arrived, long walk from T station to hotel---almost disastrously lost my way, but was saved by meeting a couple who steered me on the right direction. Hotel itself is very nice, did a lot of television surfing before leaving for Harvard Square. Can't imagine having that many channels in my home, might go crazy, or apathetic---is it necessary, but so many people consider that normal.Eventually left for ART, very early, of course. Spent about two hours wandering around the square, lots of time at the co-op , broswed what seemed like one million books---finally went to the Loeb to see Natasha and Pierre. Looked around, so no people from NY whom I might have known, ambivalent about saying hello to the three actrors in Natasha whom I had met previously---none of them knew me well, however, this was not necessary. Out of nowhere arrived Bill Brown, my classmate from Hopkins and his wife Nancy. Spent the intermissions talking with them, then we all went out to Ihop in Harvard square to get a bit afterwards (actually I was the only one who ate, they just had decafs) then they drove me back to the hotel. A really nice couple, the conversation was very relaxed and friendly; their take on the musical was different from mine, since they don't go to the theater alot, were amazed by the interactive staging, which, of course was very "normal' to me. May see them in NY when they visit; they are both retired, seem to have as much money as they need, live a very (what seems to me) relaxed life going out, visiting friends,enjoying grand children,  seems to work for them.Glad that I ran into them.
   But its was really for the musical, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, that I made this visit. How was it...? Much more expansive then the production that I saw at its second performance at Ars Nova. A bit too much "pizazz' for my taste, but understand why they are doing it. Glad that part of Andre has been expanded. Still love the music, loved the marvelous esprit of the cast, they seemed to be having a great time. Ending of the piece is really beautiful, though, to be frank, I missed Dave Malloy himself in the piece as Pierre.Something about his presence at the piano, both playing Pierre and conducting the others, that made perfect sense to me. Will miss that in NY as well. But this is why I chose this visit, wanted very much to reaquaint myself with this piece, did not want to wait until production comes to NY (did not even know it would when I decided to go) so, despite some strangeness in my mood here (some memories of past visits coming back as well) I think this is what I was supposed to do.
Will return to NY this afternoon, lots of sessions scheduled for the next two days, hope I will be in good shape for those, will see how things develop...