A couple of quiet days in Boston, pretending that I live here. Get up around 8.30, eat protein bars, grapes, an apple and cheddar cheese for breakfast (I know, I know), then walk over to Starbucks for a coffee and the New York Times, mumbling to myself "jeez it's hot!"

A thunderstorm approaches Boston yesterday. Unfortunately, there didn't end up being much in the way of spectacular lightning.

I now have twenty pages of my screenplay written; two acts of what will ultimately be three, which means that it's going to be fairly long, for a short. Usually you figure one page per minute of screen time. It's going well - an urban psychodrama about how people's perceptions of each other are usually way of base. When finished, it'll be the first decent screenplay I've completed. That is, assuming anybody else likes this one except me. I'll show it to my producing partners, Scott and Jim, as a potential script for our next project.

Went over to explore Cambridge, and the Harvard campus a little today. It was ghastly hot, so I stuck to the shade as much as possible. The Harvard campus is beautiful. Shown in the photo (a composite) is Memorial Church.

Funnily enough, by far the most popular cafe in Boston is part of a huge chain, Au Bon Pain. They have a very large patio right on the street, full of tourists, grad students (discussing game theory and deconstructionism in very loud, obnoxious voices), and middle-aged men playing chess. A great place to people watch.

I can only conclude that the grand master (the guy on the left) must have lost to his opponent (the guy on the right raising his hands in the victory sign.)

Met a very nice chap today, an Italian-American named Dino. We hung out for an hour and a half nattering, and drinking a variety of beverages at the Four Seasons. I always get on well with Italian-Americans, for some reason. They always seem to have mensch like values, and a great sense of humor. I feel you usually know where you are with them. Dino was no exception, and we also had something in common, with both our mothers being very ill.

The bed in my hotel is horribly uncomfortable. It's really two twin beds pushed together, and not a king at all. I had a bit of a bad back yesterday, as a result, and had to arrange to get a massage, from a cute young Thai guy. I know what you're thinking. Anyway, even that wasn't enough, and I had to buy a heating pad from CVS and lie on it for two hours. Today, I tried to switch rooms, or even switch hotels, with no success. So when I return from the Berkshires (where I'm heading tomorrow for one night), I'll try to negotiate a reduction in my room rate.

Anyway, like I said, tomorrow is: Road Trip! Don't know where I'll be sleeping tomorrow night, my favorite type of vacation. I'll pick up a rental car and head West across Massachusetts. My ultimate vacation is Stockbridge, in the Berkshires, where, the day after tomorrw, I'll meet a friend for lunch in a place called The Red Lion. Along the way, though, I'll just stop as the fancy takes me. Hoping for babbling brooks, and leafy green air. Tomorrow night I imagine I'll end up in a motel somewhere. Tune in tomorrow to find out where I am.