Took a late night walk around 2:30 AM to try and keep my oddball shift's sleep schedule intact. I work 9 PM to 5:30 AM, assuming no OT, and I actually prefer the shift much to the surprise of all of my coworkers who hate seeing the sun rise before getting home.
Went to explore the memorial of a supposed landing site for the Vikings where basically a rich guy in the 1850s/60s trying to add historical significance to Boston decided he found the remnants of an ancient/legendary Viking city. He built a monument to it, and then they dismissed him as a loon. Today, there's more evidence that it may have been possible, but nothing definitive and much of the evidence for it appears to be inconclusive or outright forged. Wikipedia actually doesn't go into as much detail as this podcast I listened to about a month ago here.
Anyway, this place is both walkable for me now and very close to where I was living my depression was probably at it's worst, fun! I got a little lost on purpose and found a nice little spot, probably used for fishing, along the Charles that was so incredibly serene, and so incredibly close to my dorm at Brandeis where I was going through it. Having this place to sit at and decompress would have been helpful, it was maybe a 5 minute walk from my old dorm. Cue self-criticism because I could have done better by myself, cue flashback to my ex telling me I should spend more time exploring Waltham rather than immediately skipping town to be with them at every opportunity. Yknow, downward spiraling just like the good ol' times. Thankfully much less severe than before because there was no deadlines looming.
And then I had the realization that, in the state I was in, I couldn't have appreciated finding this spot then like I was appreciating it right now. I wasn't going to make the most of my time doing anything then and I probably would have rushed back home anyway to procrastinate. I was too stressed tf out about potentially losing my scolarship n shit. Maybe it would have helped, but also, and perhaps more importantly, I owe nothing to my past self. Fuck that loser.
And then, having successfully thwarted my inner demons, I went to the tower to do some lighthearted trespassing for good measure. I realized that it being open dusk till dawn wasn't just to avoid vandalism and shit. The view is not good at 4 AM. This story is worse now that I haven't ended it with comedic self-flagellation.