Pahk ya cah in Havahd Yahd.

Boston is wicked cool. Mel and I spent last weekend shopping, eating, drinking, sightseeing and generally just running around like crazy. We hit up Faneuil Hall, Fenway, Boston Common, Boylston Street, the Prudential Center, the Central Wharf, Cheers, the Holocaust Memorial and several fine drinking establishments in less than 48 hours. It was great.

I highly recommend the Hilton in the Financial District. The room was awesome, the beds were super comfy and the staff was really friendly. It was a block away from Faneuil Hall and reasonably close to the T.

With all that's been going on lately, I had it in the back of my mind that I should figure out if Boston might be a cool city to live in while I was there. Short answer: yes! It has the appeal of being a "big city," but it's manageable in size and getting around is really easy. I didn't get lost once. There's lobster EVERYWHERE. Things are reasonably priced. And the people (at least the people I came in contact with) are really, really nice.

We kept making Buffalo connections everywhere we went, so maybe that had something to do with it. For example, the bouncers at the bar across from our hotel. One was dating a girl from Buffalo and had been to Jim's Steak Out. The other played hockey with a guy from Orchahd Pahk. Oh yea, I love the Boston accent. For real.

Since the Sabres were playing in Boston that night, people were sporting Sabres gear everywhere we looked. We made friends with some dudes from Amherst, who we pretty much hung out with all night and figured out that we knew a bunch of the same people. It was kind of crazy.

It was also nice to spend some quality time with Mel. That very, very rarely happens these days. Even though we live a block away from each other, I probably see her once a month, if that. Apparently, when you work third shift, making plans with people is rather difficult because you're always sleeping when they're awake.

She and I have some MAJOR differences, but we know each other so well that we've just come to accept those things about each other and deal. Not to say that we don't drive each other nuts sometimes, but I think that's normal. I think we had more in common when we were 15 and first became friends, but we've been through so much together and our friendship is so strong that we've been able to grow separately without growing apart. The one thing we will always have in common is our sense of humor and that's what our friendship thrives on. There are other things, but mostly it's our history and our humor.

Melanie is one of the few people on this Earth that I can absolutely, 100 percent be myself with. I love that girl. She brings out the goofy side of me and we always get into ridiculous conversations that nobody else could possibly understand, but we end up laughing so hard we cry. And then we do it again. I wish that I could be that effortlessly candid with more people in my life, but she and I just click in a unique way. I guess that comes with being friends with someone for 10 years.

We've certainly paid our dues over those 10 years. Maybe I appreciate the good times with her so much because I've experienced some downright abysmal times with her as well. When you've done the roller coaster ride with someone that you truly care about and you both come out on top, it makes you love them that much more. I worry about her sometimes, but everything will work out. We'll all find happiness and balance in our lives. We just have to keep searching. That's all there is to it. If not, I'll just move to Boston and start over.