Back From Boston

Well, another successful trip, and just as busy. Alas, thanks to the snowstorm, our flight up to Boston was canceled, but I was able to book on the next shuttle, only losing an hour in the process. Of course, this meant I had to sit around the airport for an extra hour, but that’s what laptops are for, right?

I found it curious that the official reason for canceling the flight was that the flight crew was unavailable. Obviously, this was a result of the weather, but by phrasing it that way, the airline gives themselves a bit of an out: Technically, if a flight is canceled due to weather, the airline has to make certain concessions, potentially including free travel on a later date (they don’t publicize it, naturally, but if you insist, you can get some consideration). I suspect, however, that by officially blaming the flight crew, they can weasel out of the “weather cancellation” rules. Wasn’t worth my pursuing in any case, so I guess I’ll just be left to wonder.

Our late arrival did force us to miss out on our scheduled shooting on Wednesday afternoon, though; we managed to salvage a bit by shooting some exteriors and other “local community” shots, but it was still a little disappointing. Otherwise, the shoot itself went very smoothly; we even managed to continue through some ill-timed illness and slipping-on-the-ice injury (everyone’s all right now). I’m confident that we’ve got plenty of material to use in editing; what we missed on that first day, we made up for in a couple of whirlwind tours on Friday. In the end, we probably didn’t waste as much time shooting B-roll, in that we were able to narrow down our list of required shots (having already completed a substantial portion of the interviews).

I was struck by how well the Boston area managed to clear away the results of the record snowfall. Admittedly, there were a lot of huge (visibility-inhibiting) snow piles, but for the most part, the streets were completely passable. I managed to squeeze in a couple of visits to see my new nephew (he’s adorable) — oh, yeah, and my brother (on his birthday) and sister-in-law, too. On Friday, we ate at a wonderful little seafood place in Cambridge, Summer Shack, and the baby slept the whole time. Not inexpensive, to be sure, but the best lobster I’ve had in recent memory — highly recommended to any Boston residents or visitors.

On a technology note (again, getting back to the alleged purpose of this weblog), I’ve developed a new infatuation: The disembodied voice of the Hertz NeverLost lady. I’m wont to anthropomorphize my technology; my laptop is named Murphy (after a similarly titanium-encased police officer), and I’ve adopted a coworker’s appellation for our office voice mail system, Glenda. In the absence of an official name, I dubbed the NeverLost lady Brenda (I imagine she’s Glenda’s sister). With the exception of Logan Airport (which nobody can navigate), Brenda was very adept at guiding me around the Boston area. If it weren’t for what I’m sure would be an outrageous cost (at least for someone on an artist’s salary), I’d jump at the chance to install Brenda (or her consumer-GPS cousin) in my own car.

In the end, I’m back, I’m exhausted, and I’m looking forward to at least a couple of days’ rest before diving into the daunting task of piecing these videos together.