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i was easing myself back into work mode on the first workday of the new year, researching how to import an XML file with flash actionscripting 3.0. i only worked for a few hours since i left the house by 4:00, to meet up with dan and some of his work friends at solas in copley square (a lenox hotel bar/restaurant disguised as an irish pub).

dan had been back in town since this past weekend, but i only received his notification e-mail this morning. i hadn't seen dan in a while: the last time was back in june 2010, when i made a delivery of chacarero sandwiches at their prudential office. it's been even longer since i saw cymara and clarissa.

the get-together wasn't until 6:00 so i had some time to kill. i purposely arrived early so i could get some sunset/twilight photos around copley square. i saw the remnants of the ice sculptures; the city was in the process of tearing them down for liability reasons.

next i hung out inside the boston public library (weekdays it doesn't close until 9:00). there was an exhibit on rafael guastavino's vaulted tiled ceilings, an exhibit drew told me to check out. his wikipedia entry is modest, but this man (and later his son who continued to carry on his tradition) was responsible for numerous vaulted ceilings all across america, including the boston public library itself.

later i checked out a map exhibit. i passed away the time staring at old maps of boston in the 1800's.

i went to solas at 6:00. dan was already there at one of the upstairs table. mike kelly was there too, as well as two employee friends i'd never met before, carl and deb. i ordered a bottle of magners hard cider ($6) from our tattooed waitress traci and then a buffalo chicken wrap ($11) for dinner. soon after more people showed up, including frank and our friend elias with his newborn daughter alvida, whom i haven't seen yet. later cymara and clarissa showed up, followed finally by poonam. elias stayed briefly, but when alvida started to get fussy, that was he cue to go; he didn't even get a chance to eat his sandwich, which i helped him pack up to go.

eventually the party dwindled to just us guys. i was told to check out the bathroom, which is actually the lenox hotel bathroom. there were LCD screens above the urinals and rolled up hand towels instead of paper towels or dryers. we finally left close to 11:30, after a few more rounds of beer (i kept to my water after another bottle of magners, this time the pear variety, which wasn't bad but i still prefer my woodchuck hard cider).

temperature was in the teens and lower, but i was dressed for the occasion (lamb wool sweater, thermal underwear) so it wasn't too bad. i grabbed the T from copley square and rode the subway all the way to porter square.