Monday night at 11:00 pm - THE ROADTRIP STARTED

Participants: Tchao, Smith, me
Destination: Brockton, with a stop in Boston, Duration: 3 days
Reason: Concert (Smokin' Grooves Tour), Getaway, Bonding with the boys, Harvard, MIT, Cheers, Picking up Chicks (and getting shot down), Border follies, Driving, check out Brockton, MA

The trip on a whole was fantastic. It was cool to chill with the boys and the drives to and from actually didn't feel too bad (especially in comparison to the Chicago debacle). Boston is a great little city. It's a big city and has that feel to it but it is also more reminicest of Ottawa than it is of Toronto at times. The Boston Accent is great. I love hearing guys and girls speak with it. The one thing that we all noticed about the people though are that they are pretty straight to the point. The girls especially seem to be a lot ruder or maybe abbrasive than they are here. We stayed in a suburb of Boston called Brockton. It was definitely suburbia. It was quite and away from the city (about 30 miles south) but it was cheap so that was good and it actually ended up being pretty close to Mansfield (where the concert was). Harvard and MIT were both really cool to see. MIT totally reminded me of Waterloo (the insides of the buildings anyway) cause the students walking around were of the same mold. Harvard was definitely the Ivy Leagues. Beautiful lush green campus surrounding these huge old columned buildings. Had lunch at this great little pizza joint called Pinnochios, where all the students go so that was cool. I found myself wondering if I would ever be smart enough or actually, work hard enough, to go to school at a place like Harvard. I'd like to think that if I put my mind to anything - I could do it.

The concert was good but WAY TOO SHORT. Cee-Lo was pretty amusing. Jurassic 5 were great...The 4 MC's and the 2 DJ's were hype. Lauryn Hill has a beautiful voice and it was nice to hear her play but it would have been so much better if she had played some of her old stuff, had had some of her band there and also played for more than 30 minutes. The Roots were great!!! I have waited 3 years and the past 3 failed attempts to see them. It was a great show and Rahzel was there which was totally unexpected. He and another guy were beatboxing together and it was so sweet. They were doing Star Wars scenes, the new Busta Rhymes song and Rahzel did this really cool thing with his sneaker and the scratching effect that he does. Outkast closed out the show and they definitely did not dissapoint. They are such a fun band to watch live and of course, Bombs Over Baghdad was an amazing finale!

Today my parents left for their little vacation to the East Coast (they are going to PEI, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland). When my dad first came to Canada, he was in Newfoundland for a year - that was about 35 years ago! He hasn't been back east since and my mom has never gone so it will definitely be a good trip for them. Tonight, I went to see Friendless Nameless play. Ketan and his band were really tight and played well. All that practice is definitely paying off. Good job K-dot.

Today was a close family friend of ours, Priya's wedding. My dad taught Priya how to read and write Marathi and our family's go quite a way back. It was a beautiful ceremony right in their backyard. I think there were about 200 people there in total and the vibe and atmosphere were amazing. At the wedding in the morning, they had live santoor and tabla players and this evening at the reception, there was a live harp player. The entire day was full of class and elegance and it was so beautiful. Priya and her husband Rajesh (yes, same name as my bro) look great. Her parents are such wonderful people as well. I am really happy for all of them.

SO GUESS WHAT!!! As of 1:25 tomorrow afternoon (Sunday August 4, 2002) - I am no longer a student. I am flying to Milwaukee tomorrow to start working. I have a two week orientation in Milwaukee. It is presently 1:00 am and I am leaving for the airport in 9 hours but I haven't packed yet...it should be a nice evening (kind of reminiscent of the night before my Asia adventure actually). My feelings are mixed about tomorrow. I feel like I am growing up too fast but I also want to move on and start doing something new. It will be a new challenge and to be honest, I am nervous as hell and excited like a little school boy. I'll let you know how it goes...

Gots to get back to packing.
Goodnight