#25 Boston - Bob Hope's Long-lost Brother - November 23 2007

Bob Hope's long lost brother - that would be Ed Hope, right? Come on people, you do not know Ed Hope? What's the matter with you? Neither did we. Granted it was a little late yesterday and we had all eaten substantial piles of food as is customary on Thanksgiving Day, AND the Trivial Pursuit Genus Edition dated back to Cold War times, but as much as Hannah was trying to pull the wool over our eyes, we did not buy it!! We were not quite in that comatose of a state that we would allow nonsense like that to slip through.

It was a feast to behold,Thanksgiving at Casa Petra - international in attendance (Germans, German-borns, Americans, Greeks, Filipinos - you name it) and stellar in its offerings of the traditional TGD dishes, well - almost all of them. Christos delighted us with an authentic Greek salad, which I have to say, complemented our meal quite nicely. Here is what we ate (at least partially) - turkey with lump-less gravy, sweet potatoes with a pecan crumble on top, sour cream-infused mashed potatoes, string beans with roasted almonds, brussel sprouts with chestnuts and glazed shallots, cranberries, the aforementioned Greek Salad and a selection of exquisite cheeses. Deserts included Hannah's phenomenal apple tarte galette, and two very handsome pies - one pecan, one pumpkin! As to the beverages du jour, I have to commend Hannah for introducing me to the best ever gin I have ever tasted (and I don't even like gin) - courtesy of the Nashoba Winery based not far from Boston, right here in that little commonwealth of ours (http://www.nashobawinery.com/). Apparently the folks there do absolute magic with the spirits, and if the gin is any indication, I must go and visit. We had some lovely wines, including a delectable desert wine, again from the Nashoba Winery - everyone was quite content at the end of the feast. Thank you Hannah, Christos, Dagmar, Teresa (who taught me the meaning of "not for nothing!!" and who has to be the best Marge Simpson impersonator around), and Ian for stopping by and making this such a wonderful day for Oscar and me. Thanks also to Pauline and Ulandt for including us on their Thanksgiving Tour 2007 and for being such nice company.

The week has zipped by in anticipation of America's most favorite holiday - as you may recall I had a social event-free weekend last Saturday and Sunday, and ended it nicely with some lovely Thai food (courtesy of Island Hopper on Mass Ave) and a long-overdue introduction to my new favorite scotch -Talisker. It is produced on the Island of Skye, a large island that is the centerpiece of the Inner Hebrides Islands in Scotland. This my friends is unbelievably good stuff - smoky, peaty, salty - so much flavor - even when the glass is empty you can still smell the aroma wafting through your living room. What a treat!!







Monday and Tuesday were busy - I had to attend a presentation, a reception and dinner with an External Advisory Board that reviews our cancer center - which means even during the nicest dinner conversation one has to be alert (best not to drink at these events) and watch out for what you say. Immediately on the heels of the EAB meeting was a pipeline presentation I hosted, and come Tuesday night, I was beat. Of course that is when the cleaning action started in my house, and I am always amazed how quickly the dirt piles up, even though I am not at home most of the time. I bet its Oscar, the little rascal - when I am out he is probably on the go in the apartment, kicking up dust bunnies and who knows what else. For a while there Tuesday night, I seemed to be on a roll with the cleaning, but once I got totally high cleaning the silver with liberal amounts of "Mr Metal", it was time to stop and sleep off the monstrous headache that had announced itself quite vividly.

Wednesday evening was spent with food preparation, and so was most of Thursday, a most beautiful day, where Mother Nature gave us a bit of a break from the cold weather we have been experiencing. Temperatures have been in the 30s and 40s, and on occasion a bit lower than that; Tuesday actually we had our first snow flurries for the season (which delighted our California visitors to no end).

Before I go though, a couple more tidbits under the category "Petra's six seconds of fame" - this past Friday during a lunch with my financial advisor, John Henry William II, owner of the Boston Red Sox (not the other John Henry - now that would have been a big surprise), sat at the table across from us, and upon heading out of the restaurant, he held the door open for me. I gracefully said Thank You, and that was it (there were so many other things that could have come to mind to say......). Claim to fame Number 2 is that I will be in the Improper Bostonian's December 5th issue - possibly even with a picture, so stay tuned!!

Now - time to upload some photos and then off to the gym!!!

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Petra

#24 Boston - And Now the Monkeys are out in the Streets - November 18, 2007

And not just in Boston!!! According to our friend Dana Litman, who was definitely on a roll last night at Ellen's birthday party and regaled us with stories from distant countries, one has to be prepared for this when embarking on a journey to India. Seems that clear-cutting and other such wonderful practices have eliminated the canopies of the forests where the little monkeys hang out , and as a result they are now frequenting the streets and apparently also the apartments of the cities nearby - even breaking into refrigerators, stealing sodas (or whatever one would find in a fridge in India - Mango lassis? I would steal that in a second). At this point, I was almost ready to take the wine glass away from Dana who was sitting next to me - but you know what, the stories just got better as the evening got along. Dana, bless him, also has the capacity to participate in two conversations at once, seamlessly and effortlessly - while he was in the midst of discussing the best worst SciFi movie ever made with Waleed, he quickly jumped into the highly intellectual conversation at my end of the table which focused on who the hottest female movie star is these days, and when I mentioned Reese Witherspoon, he spun around, said "Love her", and quickly resumed his discussion with Waleed.

It was a hysterically funny evening, our dinner group had congregated and surprised Ellen with a birthday shindig; Paula and Waleed had graciously hosted this event in their mod house out in Lexington. The air was full of spices and we happily anticipated the exquisite Middle Eastern food, for which the partially Egyptian Meleis household is known for. By the time I got home it was inching in on mid-night, and I think my stomach is still digesting yesterday evening's food - it was that good and I ate that much, yesssir.

Would you believe it, aside from the dinner last night, I had made NO social plans all weekend? I have been pretty much holed up in my office yesterday and today, loading up pictures from my brother's visit (almost done, expect them tonight or tomorrow - all 340 of them) and filling out my US citizenship application. After I am done, I will go shopping for Thanksgiving, and that is it! I have been trying to keep the weekends a bit more open, as the weekdays seem to be nuts, one crazier than the other, in particular when it comes to work-related responsibilities. Preparations for advisory board meetings and a two-day visit by a Pharma company pretty much floored me this week, and Wednesday night following a business dinner, I went home at 8:30 PM and headed straight into the dark bedroom, did not even turn the light on, straight to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

The week started off with a great event, the "Flavors of the Fall" at the Regatta Bar (http://www.regattabarjazz.com/) in the Charles Hotel in Cambridge (http://www.charleshotel.com/). Both of these places are superbly stylish, and the Regatta Bar is one the prime jazz venues in Boston, bar none (no pun intended). For the "Flavors of the fall" hoopla, the best chefs Cambridge has to offer congregated in the bar, and served up mouth-watering autumnal cuisine - lemme tell you, it was AWESOME!!!

Here is the line-up: Chez Henri (http://chezhenri.com/), Upstairs on the Square (http://www.upstairsonthesquare.com/), Rialto (http://www.rialto-restaurant.com/home/), Sandrine's Bistro (http://www.sandrines.com/), The Blue Room (http://theblueroom.net/main.html), Harvest (http://www.harvestcambridge.com/), Gargoyle's (http://gargoylesonthesquare.com/), Dante (http://restaurantdante.com/), Henrietta's Table (http://www.henriettastable.com/), Noir (http://www.noir-bar.com/), and Casablanca (http://www.casablanca-restaurant.com/). Who knew there were so many hoity- toity restaurants in the People's Republic of Cambridge, eh? Were I the judge, Dante would have to be the winner for the night, and Noir for their blueberry champagne cocktail, and some other concoction that had brandy and apple cider in it; Sandrine's Bistro had a killer creme brulee that needs to be mentioned, but at the end of the night, everyone seemed to congregate around the JP Lick's (http://www.jplicks.com) table with their free coffee and eight different kinds of ice cream (I can highly recommend the cranberry cheesecake flavor). Holly, Christos and I then zipped down to Noir and ended the evening on a cocktail that was either named LA Confidential or the Usual Suspects (for some reason I can only remember it was a Kevin Spacey movie...).

Flavors of the Fall an annual charity event, and this year's beneficiary was a Cambridge-based non-profit called CycleKids (http://www.cyclekids.org/), which teaches youngsters about the joys of riding bikes, as well as safety and bike maintenance.

Tuesday night, my friend Andrew and I met up at the 1369 Coffee House (http://www.1369coffeehouse.com/) on Mass Ave for our monthly philosophizing, which was much needed. Wednesday evening was the business dinner, emphasis on business, at the Pierrot Bistro on Cambridge Street (http://www.pierrotbistrot.com) , and Thursday was the first official "Petra Time" evening for the week.

For Friday I had signed up for ushering, this time at my favorite meeting hall in Boston, Faneuil Hall, and as usual for the Boston Classical Orchestra (http://www.bostonclassicalorchestra.org/) . I try to usher for them once or twice per season, and mostly just sign on for a particular date, not even knowing what is on tap for the night. This orchestra is just so cool and so talented, you must go and see them some time. The program this time was under the motto "Stolzman and the British are Coming" and maybe it should have been more adequately named "The Not-So-British" are coming, as the four composers featured all were born in Britain, but only one of them was actually a bona fide Brit. Edward Elgar, who I for certain had never heard of, was an English romantic composer, who lived around the turn of the century (20th that is) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Elgar). I loved, just loved his Serenade in e Minor. The rest of the gang of composers included Gustav Holst (who you may know for his composition "The Planets"), a very prolific and fun artist, also born in the UK, but of Swedish-Russian-Latvian decent - his real name was Gustavus von Holst, and last but not least, Gerald Finzi, an Italian Jewish composer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Finzi. Finzi's Clarinet Concerto was performed by Richard Stolzman, a world-famous clarinetist, who is known for both classical and jazz adaptations. The audience was so taken by his performance, that at times you could have heard a pin drop and at the end he brought the crowd to its feet for a standing ovation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stoltzman).

My friends, time to go shopping for TGD - I am hosting a turkey dinner at my place this Thursday, Hannah, Christos, Teresa, Peter, Dagmar and I will celebrate the holiday in traditional fashion, with lots of food, loose fitting pants and a nap.

Gobble, gobble!

Petra

#23 Boston - Suck it, Suck it, Suck it! - November 9 2007

Well, it's not what you think and if that is what you think, shame on you!!! I was a little discombobulated at the time (and I will explain why in a minute), I must admit. I had just opened a bottle of beer, and was not ready to consume it yet (you know it needs to breathe a little), when Denise yelled across the table, "suck it, suck it, suck it". I stared at her and really did not know what the heck she was talking about, and only grasped what she wanted me to do when both she and Rick started pointing violently toward my beer bottle which was in the process of exploding a little. A flash of genius later, I was sitting there with foam up my nose and fortunately out of reach of a camera.



I was out of sorts, which can be mostly attributed to the most horrific driving experience I have ever had. Why, in the friggin' world did I plan to drive down to the Cape in the midst of a raging hurricane?? Leaving Boston, it rained quite hard, but once I got on Route 3 toward the Cape, things seem to have calmed down a bit, almost too much, since all of a sudden near Rockland the traffic came to an absolute standstill for no good and apparent reason. 20 minutes, nothing. And even when traffic started moving, oh miracle of miracles, even then, there was no explanation for the delay whatsoever, no flood, no tree branches moved to the side, no construction equipment, no accident flares, nothing. Continuing on, the weather situation gradually worsened to the point of my gripping the steering wheel so tight, it had impressions on it. Wilted leaves swirled wildly in tornado fashion in front of my poor little car. We got bounced around and drove through puddles the size of Lake Erie, and while I was driving a careful 45 mph, the other idiots on the street did not seem to be perturbed by the weather at all. The scariest moment of all happened right at my exit in Harwich when I was in the midst of one of the pond-size basins, my poor Ella was trying to decide if she should hydroplane or not and some dimwit decided to drive through the lake next to me at 65 miles an hour. At this point, we were completely surrounded by water - it was like driving through a swimming pool. By the time I ended up at the Simmons Compound in Harwich, my legs were shaking and I was ready for a Valium or two.

Once I calmed down a bit, and had some dinner in that anxious tummy of mine, Denise, Rick and I embarked on the fun part of the evening, also known as "games by candle light". The power had gone out right after dinner, so we retreated in front of the fire place and set up every candle we could find. Pretty soon we were all cozy, wrapped in blankets and did our best with a refreshing round of "Tabu", which happens to be my favorite game. Wouldn't you think that it was accurate on my part to describe "clapping" as "you bang the front of your upper extremities together"? I thought so. But, no response there, and when I tried the "you do it when you really like something", all I got was "you give it a hug". Oh well....

Sunday, in a complete turnaround, the weather was absolutely fabulous, as if the day before had never happened. We were still out of power and wanted a warm breakfast, so hopped in the car, and drove to Provincetown, a quite unusual community all the way at the tip of the Cape (my first visit there). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Provincetown_Spit_Cape_Cod.jpg Also known as P-Town, it is known to attract artists, hordes of tourists, but it is foremost known as a gay resort. Off season (which is right now), it is absolutely charming, with not many outsiders, and one can simply join the local crowds going about their Sunday business. One could visit the Pilgrim Monument, which was designed by William Sears after the famous Torre del Mangio Tower in Sienna, Italy. It was meant to honor the first landfall of the pilgrims in the year 1620. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PilgrimMonumentbasrelief.jpg ). Rick, Denise and I walked along the Herring Cove Beach, engaged in some very relaxing and on occasion interesting window shopping and retail therapy, and frequented the local ice cream shops. Now summertime in P-Town cannot be described as relaxing at all - quite the opposite - the place turns into an crazy zoo to say the least, in particular around the 4th of July and "Circuit Week". If you are not prepared to mingle with 60,000 tourists or actively participate in the Mate's Leather Weekend or other such glam events, this may just not be your crowd and you are better off visiting in the fall or winter.

Meanwhile back in Boston, t'was yet another busy week, but believe it or not, I actually managed to get to bed early the last couple of nights (early meaning 10 PM), and I do feel a bit more rested.

Recap in one paragraph:

Monday night, planning meeting for next year's 10th Anniversary Party of Community Running with running mates Hillary and Laura. Tuesday night, ushering - this time at the Wimberley Theater in the South End (http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/season/production.aspx?id=4009&src=t) for the play "Brandon" - a superbly written piece by Ronan Noone, witty and genuine, it depicts the story of a young man from Ireland who immigrates to Boston. Ronan Noone happened to be one of the Huntington Theatre Company's Playwriting Fellows, and his recent play "The Atheist" which featured veteran actor Campbell Scott caused quite a stir. Wednesday night, as many of you know, was the opening for Illuminations, an art exhibit at the MGH Cancer Center and yours truly was among the featured artists. The reception was overwhelming but fun, and I kept running up and down to the floors with the art work, and then back down to pick up the next contingent of friends that arrived. Yesterday, I met up with my former landlady Marsha Orent and her newest tenant and our new German friend Dagmar at the cutest restaurant ever - the Black Sheep in Kendall Square. Nestled in the historic Kendall Hotel, a Victorian firehouse formerly known as Engine 7, it is small and comfy, has fantastic food (all of it locally grown and organic) and is definitely a place to revisit on a regular basis (http://www.kendallhotel.com/dining.html).

Not bad for one week, eh? Tomorrow morning I will fearlessly lead a group of volunteers from Community Running in a cleanup effort on behalf of the Charles River Conservancy and in the afternoon my friend Caroline will arrive from the UK and will be my guest for one night.

Before I go, I have to write about the Red Sox - I actually cannot believe that I forgot to write about this one last week!!! We won, we won, we won, we won!!!!! Unbelievable!! This is the most unbelievably crazy sports town, just the way I like it!!! The second World Series Title in 4 years!!! Tuesday following the glorious event, the city of Boston had a monster parade, and while I could not attend, the Sox did me a huge favor and dashed right by our building. Granted, the duck boats zipped by at 60 miles an hour, but I swear to you, Mike Lowell waved at me!! That pretty much made my day. Of course you have to know about the amazing connection between the Sox and my birthday - in 2004 they won the World Series 13 minutes prior to the start of my birthday. This year, they won it on my birthday. Coincidence? I think not!!!

Gotta go and get some zzzzs now my friends.

Be well.....

pet:)

#22 Boston - Rain, rain and rain - November 3 07

Last Saturday it rained, rained and rained. This Saturday it rains, rains, and rains. And you know what - I am actually not too disappointed about it. First of all because I had to work this morning, and secondly, because last weekend, I was so exhausted after four weeks of California-Family-Visit-California that I was happy to not be able to go anywhere, do anything, other than picking up a couple of staples at the grocery store and then drift off into a well deserved slumber on my couch.

I am still exhausted I must say and there is literally no end in sight. Some of it is my fault, as I overbooked my social schedule just a weeeee bit, but work has also been incredibly busy and it does not help if someone who is not even your boss, and whose business it certainly not is to do so, tells you that you are not doing your job.

So, here is the narrative - long and short - of what went down this week:

Sunday: My actual birthday (contrary to the belief of many of my friends who have spread this date all over the month of October, and enabled me to milk the blessed event as much as possible - I think I may just declare my birthday to be anywhere between October 18th and Christmas - just send the gifts!! As to my age, I am 30, always have been. No further comment). Spending lots of time on the phone with friends and my shrewd family who passed their vacation time here hiding gifts for me in the basement. Afternoon hike in the Blue Hills on a stunningly beautiful sunny fall day. Superb, just superb dinner at The Blue Room in Cambridge (http://theblueroom.net/main.html) - Appetizers were ricotta gnocchi with Tuscan kale, bacon, oyster mushrooms and truffle oil, and Arugula Salad with endive, roasted pear, Stilton cheese and toasted hazelnuts. The fish- oooh the fish - was so so good - wood-grilled whole branzino with green olives, grapefruit, parsley and watercress salad and pomegranate syrup. But nothing, nothing, topped the desert - a pumpkin creme brulee that was to die for. This was supplemented by a nice, slightly unpredictable Malbec, and you know all was well with the world that night.

Monday uneventful, but worked late.

Tuesday - continuation of the birthday hoopla, Stephanie and I headed to Davis Square in Somerville to dine (no wine involved this time) at a wonderful Indian restaurant called Namaskar on Elm Street (http://www.namaskar-cuisine.com/) - a Mango Lassi and Chicken Saag later I was ready to burst!!! Off we went to attend the annual Halloween Performance of the Post Meridian Radio Player's "Tomes of Terror II), a staged radio production of creepy and scary stories (our talented friend Renee is part of the troupe). The three tomes featured included an episode of the 1949 comedy series "Our Miss Brooks", the shuddersome vampire tale "Carmilla" - which was adapted by Renee base don the 1981 "Nightfall" episode, and "The Stone Ship", a disquieting tale of the sea by William Hope Hodgson.

Wednesday - time to end the love fest with Marge, the cockatiel, who had been visiting with Oscar and myself, and return her/him to her/his rightful owners, the most charming Ellen and her hubby, pizza chef extraordinaire, Patrick . In order to adequately help the Esslinger-Cooley gang hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, I had dressed up in my Lexington High School cheerleader uniform, which I did not recall as being that short when I wore it two years ago, and also not as that tight-fitting. I brought the pompons and made a half-baked attempt at jumping up and down but soon settled comfortably in one of the couch chairs in Ellen and Patrick's living room and did not budge for a while. It is Halloween tradition at the Cooleys to watch a bad SciFi or scary movie, and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was chosen for this night's event. I did not stay for the conclusion of this stellar cinematic event from the 70s, and was honestly glad to get out of that cheerleader uniform once I got home.

Thursday got a little complicated as in addition to work and play, I had agreed to be the interpreter for a cancer patient from Germany who is at Mass General for treatment, and this has thrown my schedule off quite a bit. Food was grabbed just whenever possible, and I literally ran all day and then ran out of the hospital for my ushering assignment that night at the Lyric Stage Company. Written by Christopher Shinn (whose screenplay is rumored to be up for a Pulitzer Prize) and directed by Daniel Gidron, it was a thought-provoking piece. A young widow, whose husband died in Iraq is visited unexpectedly by her dead husband's twin brother, and both of them are forced to explore what the loss of the husband/brother meant to each one of them. (https://lyricstage.com/).








Friday - still complicated, more translation work and powering through the rest of the tasks to be done. Run, run, run...... and again, run out of the office to meet my friend Hannah, and new friends Andrea, Tara and Jennifer for a lovely meal at Brasserie Jo (http://www.brasseriejo.com/). Their web site claims that if you cannot make it to Paris, this is the next best thing, and I think they may be right. The food was frighteningly authentic, my swordfish au poivre magnificent, and we had the most charming waiter in the world. The dinner was leading up to the whole gaggle of us heading for Boston Symphony Hall (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=boston+symphony+hall&gbv=2) to attend a reading of famous American humorist, writer and screenplay David Sedaris. It had been a dream of mine to hear him read/talk and this was a most phenomenal experience. Hannah and I both laughed so hard our jaws locked up - all of Sedaris' stories are autobiographical and the man sure knows how to make fun of himself. He does not shy away from anything, and no one involved in his life, landlady, his family, his partner Hugh are safe. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sedaris). His humor spans from crude to highly intellectual, and that is exactly what I like about it. I am enclosing a few Sedaris quotes I found on the internet for your amusement at the end of this e-mail, which will come to an end now. I am planning to head down to Cape Cod this afternoon to spend some time with my friends Rick and Denise. It is Rick's birthday (everyone say Happy Birthday Rick!) and we got a bike ride planned for tomorrow, as soon as the hurricane is gone. [BTW -it is also my friend Pauline's birthday today, so everyone say Happy Birthday Pauline!!]

pet:)

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David Sedaris Quotes:

*After a few months in my parents' basement, I took an apartment near the state university, where I discovered both crystal methamphetamine and conceptual art. Either one of these things are dangerous, but in combination they have the potential to destroy entire civilizations.

*I haven't got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.

*I love things made out of animals. It's just so funny to think of someone saying, 'I need a letter opener. I guess I'll have to kill a deer.

*Maybe I'll learn a trade. I've considered taxidermy. I always thought it was a shame you couldn't do that on people.

*Seven beers followed by two Scotches and a thimble of marijuana and it's funny how sleep comes all on it's own.

*They were nothing like the French people I had imagined. If anything, they were too kind, too generous and too knowledgeable in the fields of plumbing and electricity.

* I recall thinking that the computer would never advance much further than this. Call me naïve, but I seemed to have underestimated the universal desire to sit in a hard plastic chair and stare at a screen until your eyes cross.

*At first, writing for The New Yorker was very scary to me. I couldn't imagine anything that I would write in that typeface.

http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/lists/sedaris/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBdymtyXt8Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JJ-tK7-gIk

#21 Boston - My Friends - October 27 2007

My friends, and that would be all of you, are the most wonderful bunch of misfits I have ever met and would miss horrendously if I hadn’t. You got me good this time – while I was slaving away in California this week there was some major scheming going on, started by the amazingly cunning Renee Johnson, who invited my friends to a surprise birthday dinner. The Setup: Renee and I would be joined by Hannah for a dinner and then, as a birthday gift, I was treated to a performance by the Boston Ballet. When I arrived at the Tantric Bar and Grill (http://www.tantricgrill.com/home.html) in Boston’s theater district, Renee was waiting outside the door. She suggested waiting for Hannah until we go in, despite the fact that I was cold. Then followed a series of distraction techniques that were pretty ingenious, and included a visit to the ATM (with a cockamamie story about two checking accounts), and a quick stop at the Ballet to pick up the tickets at will-call. To show you how naive I was about the whole thing – when Hannah arrived and we were led to our table in the back room, I saw Hillary and Diane from the running group, and thought “What a funny coincidence, that they are in the same restaurant!” I thought something was fishy when I looked across and saw Holly sitting at the same table. I looked back and forth between them, thinking “How do they know each other?” when the rest of the group slowly came into focus, and it dawned on me that this may be a surprise dinner!! Duh!! I was so blown away – this was my first birthday surprise party ever!! Thank you, thank you, thank you Renee for orchestrating this, thank you to all of those who send lovely emails with birthday wishes!!! And thank you Hannah, Hillary, Diane, Ram, Holly, Sriram and Maureen for being there last night!



The dinner was scrumptious and so were the stories told at the table, little did I know about the outrageous nature of the posse in attendance – I was not too surprised about Hannah’s admission to being a pretty vicious bar dancer, or Holly flying by her parents house in a hot air balloon and them thinking nothing of it, as if she just casually strolled by. Even Renee being an absinthe connoisseur I thought made a lot of sense. Now Hillary hitting a German bicyclist in his sleep with pillows in the youth hostel and Diane during her metal head and hair days smoking six cigarettes at once definitely impressed the crowd. Sriram’s admission to have eaten six dozen oysters like Daniel Webster at Ye Olde Union Oyster House deserved a few nods, and so did Ram’s story of disappointing the entire Indian community by dating a German woman (in India!!). Sriram (who hails from Madras) and Ram (originally from Bangalore) both made a half-baked attempt at convincing the group they were born in Stockholm, in light of their blue-eyed, blond-haired looks, but even I did not have enough wine for that.



The evening was topped off with a stellar performance by the Boston Ballet (http://www.bostonballet.com/ ) – La Sylphide, a mystery set in the Scottish Highlands. The BB seems to have a fondness for ballet performances that involve someone meeting an unfortunate fate in the woods, and this one was no exception. A young Scotsman, James, about to be married to a very nice lass, gets enchanted by a sylph and loses his head. He runs off into the forest and abandons Effie, the bride. A witch, who was previously kicked out of the Scotsman’s house after reading Effie her fortune, and telling her that James loves someone more than her, gives James a poisoned diaphanous scarf that she promises will bind the elusive sylph to him forever. We all now what happens now, right? The sylph’s wings fall off, she becomes blind and then dies. James loses on both ends, as Effie meanwhile has married his best friend. You snooze (or run off with sylphs) you lose!!



The festivities for my birthday have been going on all week – thanks to my friends Claire Weber for a lovely Thai dinner at Pearl of Siam in Oakland; to the lovely Suzanne Sun for a delish meal at Canton Seafood and Dim Sum in San Francisco (http://www.cantonsf.com/); and not to forget the most wonderful Pat Martinez, her lively sister Anna (hey Miss Lucci!) and Miss Gorgeous, Tammy Lazere, who made me eat so much food at Kincaid’s (http://www.kincaids.com/ ) in Oakland’s Jack London Square that I was moaning all night! The evenings were a much needed break from the hectic pace and very early morning meetings during the cancer therapeutics conference I attended at the Moscone Center in SF. I did not get too much sleep, which led to one of my not-so-fine moments, where distracted by an argument on a street corner, I decided to give Harold Lloyd a run for his money, fell off the curb and dinged myself up nicely. Still sore from that.
















I had left for San Francisco on late Monday after spending a final nice weekend with my family, which included a lovely visit to my new favorite destination, Plum Island (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Plum+Island&gbv=2) on Saturday. We hiked the Hellcat Interpretive Tail through marshlands and dunes, and then spend a substantial portion of the afternoon at the beach. It was a most magnificent day, the sun was out, and we walked for miles along the beach, collecting shells and letting the sun shine in our pale faces. Sunday was spent leisurely, but did include a visit to the Head of the Charles Regatta (http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=en&q=Head+of+the+Charles). We met up with my friend Ken, had some Mexican food and had a magnificent time. According to Wikipedia, the Head of the Charles, “… is the largest 2-day regatta in the world with more than 8000 athletes rowing in around 1750 boats in 56 events.” In the three-and-a-half years I have lived here, the weather had always been crappy, so it was quite a delight to have a spectacularly warm and sunny day and watch the row boats go by.

















Today I am enjoying a most leisurely day, relaxing at home with Oscar and Marge (Wild Kingdom at 10 6th Street in Cambridge!!!) and tomorrow, on my actual birthday, I will be off on a short hike in the Blue Hills (the weather promises to be lovely) followed by a birthday dinner.



Talk to you soon. In the meantime, Go Sox!!!



Pet:)

#20 Boston - Gabelpoek - October 20 07

If you do not know what a Gabelpoek is, then you may not be eligible to play German Scrabble, and let me tell you apparently I am not that qualified either. I know it is my native language, and I am still pretty good at it, but sitting there with three umlauts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umlaut_%28diacritic%29) and several consonants that are popular in the Polish language, I felt dumbfounded, and Poek (the oe is a replacement for the o umlaut, the o with the two dots on it) was the only thing I could think off to add to the word Gabel (which means fork). Poek has no meaning as far as we could tell, and was simply a half-baked attempt on my part to siphon off some points of my fellow player’s superbly put down words that actually DID mean something. I got my butt kicked pretty nicely in this endeavor, and this is even more shameful considering that Andrea, who was visiting the United States for the first time, played American Scrabble up in New Hampshire last weekend, and performed admirably. I am going to stand in a corner now, bow my head and live with the embarrassment.



New Hampshire – last weekend – a car piled with Germans and one token American (hi Renee) headed up to the autumn-colored Granite State just to the North of us. The plan for Friday was to visit the Castle in the Clouds on the way up to Waterville Valley (http://www.castleintheclouds.org/ ) and visit we did despite the fact that it was pouring rain - loads and loads of it. Good thing the “castle”, the mountainous estate of Tom and Olive Plant, has plenty of diversions on the inside. It was built around 1913 and provides, on a normal day (which this wasn’t) spectacular views of both Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake. The décor shows great taste – the Plants did have money (at the time - he later went bankrupt due to some horrendously unfortunate investments and the stock market crash); the house features a myriad of rooms, cute little corners, and many marvels of early 20th century lifestyle – my particular favorite being the showers, which was a new convenience at the time and definitely had the look of a medieval torture instrument. Death by water comes to mind.






It was time then to head up to Waterville Valley for a weekend of fun and foliage – we had expected this weekend to be the peak of fall colors, and we were not disappointed. Saturday provided the most magnificent day I had spent in New Hampshire in a long while, just perfect. The mountains were dipped in colors as if painted by an impressionist artist. Still a little groggy from a reasonably late night at the Legends of Somethingrather (can’t remember the exact name) Bar in WV, and armed with one of Boot’s famous pancake breakfasts, the famous five headed up towards Franconia Notch and the Presidentials (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Franconia+Notch&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi ). Our first stop was the Visitors Center at the Notch and a lovely hike to the Flume Gorge - http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Flume+Gorge . Located at the base of Mt Liberty it is about 800 feet deep. The very well laid out hike leads past two covered bridges, many glacial boulders and stunning waterfalls, Avalanche Falls being my personal favorite. (http://www.visitnh.gov/flume/index.html)







Plans to head up Cannon Mountain were discarded as the mountain was in the clouds and there was snow on top of it. (Yes snow!!) We quickly drove by the Franconia House to say hi, and then decided to go to the Mount Washington Hotel for a little pick-me-up (I believe hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps was mentioned). Alas, there is construction going on at the resort (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Mount+Washington+Hotel) and the only way for us to go there would have been to fork over 8$ a person and hop on the shuttle. Well, we did not need hot cocoa that much (or peppermint schnapps). Instead we opted for some spectacularly bad coffee at the Willey House at Crawford Notch. (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Crawford+Notch) The Willey House, you may remember, is the site of the unfortunate demise of the Willey family, who hid in their avalanche shelter from a rock slide, but got flattened in there while their family house survived. That was one bad decision, I must say, and this may have well been Mr Willey’s last thought.



Next was a stop and hike up to Ripley Falls, one of New Hampshire’s highest waterfalls; a short slightly steep hike but with a most rewarding destination - http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Ripley+Falls. On the way up there we yelled some insults at the slackers taking the Conway Scenic Railroad, proving once again that hiking is so much fun and that hurling insults at folks is so much easier when they can’t hear you. The road home led via Bear Mountain Road toward one of America’s most scenic byways, the Kancamagus (pronounced “kangamangus” or short “The Kanc”) - http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Kancamagus .





The evening in Waterville was spent with singing, playing Scrabble and heading over the Legends Bar for another installment of the Red Sox playoff saga – this one not being a good chapter in the story.



Sunday the weather was a bit more of a mixed bag, but pleasant enough, the grey frequently interrupted with bouts of blue sky. After a quick jaunt on the Mad River Ski trail, we headed toward home with a nice detour to the Lakes Region and a nice hike up Rattlesnake Mountain – scrumptious views of Squam Lake were the reward for our efforts (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=West+Rattlesnake+Mountain+Squam&btnG=Search+Images) and in return we rewarded ourselves with some goodies from our friends at Dunkin D’s.







Monday, our paths led us to Newport, Rhode Island for a stroll along the famous Cliff Walk alongside the houses of the formerly (or still) rich and famous (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Cliff+Walk+Rhode+Island) – it was a fabulous day with the Atlantic Ocean in full splendor. A visit to the biggest “summer house” of them all - “The Breakers” – owned by the Vanderbilt family – eluded to the splendor of days gone by. We had to switch tour groups though – our first guide could not be understood even by native speakers, he literally sounded as if he had a baked potato in his mouth and combined with his Texan accent and an intonation that kept brining Cary Grant to mind, I could not understand a word the man was saying. We silently snuck away and sought refuge with the next tour guide, a lovely woman with a clear voice and friendly demeanor.



For Tuesday of this week, the 4S Wine Club had thought of a special surprise. Armed with faux Bavarian hats we picked up the German guests in a limo at Beacon and Charles and started on a pub crawl. Our first stop was The Green Dragon Tavern (http://www.celticweb.com/greendragon/) – Paul Revere’s watering hole of choice. The limo then took us to one of my favorites, Boston Beer Works (http://www.beerworks.net/) – their motto is “Upscale Meals. Everyman Prices. Lumberjack Portions,” and that is exactly what we consumed. Last stop was the Bukowski’s Tavern at Inman Square, and let me tell you, that was fine with me. I am a lightweight when it comes to drinking these days, and after a hard cider and two pints of beer, I was sufficiently soused. Just ask my family – apparently I was sitting on the kitchen floor inflating the air bed and laughing hysterically. Note to friends: I must be stopped at two beers, no matter what. Unless you really like to deal with the consequences.





Wednesday found us in Watertown for a pizza-infused evening hosted by Patrick, Ellen, Amy and Dana, and the resident critters Marge, Highway and The Peanut (thanks all!). Thursday we took it easy, spent some time at my favorite neighborhood joint, the East Side Bar and Grille on Cambridge Street. The Red Sox played with their backs against the wall, but all ended well that night.



So, Friday we did some retail therapy and then, due to the crappy weather decided to visit the Kennedy Library and Museum in South Boston (http://www.jfklibrary.org/), which to date is one of my favorite places to visit. If you ever come to Boston this should be near the top of your list.



We are about to decide where to head today, Plymouth Rock and Plimouth Plantation or Salem/ Newburyport/Plum Island have emerged as the two favorites. Stay tuned. I will be in California next week for a conference and return on Friday to embark on birthday weekend activities (a lot of naps may be included).



Toodles.



Pet:)

#19 Boston - And this is how the story ends - October 12 2007

Here we were at beautiful Lake Sonoma in Northern California, with the early evening sun setting, and all of us were witnessing two unions - my friend Chris and Brad held their commitment ceremony and Brad's sister Cindy married her longtime sweetheart Mike. The ceremony was coming to a close, I of course had tears in my eyes, and everyone around me was quiet and appeared touched by the vows spoken and the promises made, when a little boy voice piped up right next to me and proclaimed loudly "And this is how the story ends!". Both couples actually hope that this is not the case, and that this was merely the beginning of a beautiful partnership, as they say....

I had flown to Californ-i-a Friday night via the most circuitous route ever - leave MGH via cab to South Station - then board the Bonanza Bus (no kidding, that was its name) to Providence, Rhode Island's Green Airport, catch a flight to Washington Dulles, where I transferred to a flight headed for San Francisco. I arrived at SFO after midnight where Chris, groom extraordinaire, picked me up at this ungodly hour. After a well-deserved night of solid sleep on their very comfortable couch, I bode the two groups farewell in the morning when they left, kids in tow, to get dolled up for the grand ceremony and enjoyed a nice little morning by myself in their home. Chris, Brad and their children Marvon and Tanaya live near the Diamond Heights neighborhood, on the outskirts of the Mission District. In the morning I walked around the hood a bit, smelled the good old California air and then headed straight for the Mexican beauty parlor to get gussied up myself. Lilya's Beauty Shop was quite the place, and despite some language difficulties (there was only one English-speaking employee, so the girls who did my make-over kept running back and forth to her to try to understand what in the world I was talking about), I had a grand old time.




I was picked up in the early afternoon by Maryland friends-of-the-grooms Dawn and Elder, who had decided to give me a ride, and off to Sonoma we went! The ceremony as mentioned earlier took place at Lake Sonoma, located in Northern California, just west of Healdsburg. It has 50 miles of shoreline, more than 2700 acres in surface area (http://www.onfocus.com/cam/2000/skaggs_road/lake_sonoma.JPG) and was the perfect location for the ceremony. The reception took place at the Dutcher Crossing Winery (http://www.dutchercrossingwinery.com/dutcher/index.jsp ) located in the terraced foothills immediately adjacent to the lake. Chris and Brad are founding members of this outfit and introduced us to their wonderful wines. They really make a mean Sauvignon Blanc if I may say so. Having the reception here was a fabulous choice - such a beautiful setting - we sat outside in the garden and watched this special day come to a close; we ate great food and engaged in some pretty vicious dancing as the evening went on. Tanaya proved that she was the meanest break-dancer around and Marvon high-fived everyone!!




Sunday, despite the fact that life seemed to go on a bit slow in my head, turned out to be a busy day. I met up with my beloved friend Pat and we joined our friends Norman and Harvey in Alameda for some scrumptious breakfast at La Pinata - http://www.lapinata.com/ . This was followed by a coffee and cake affair for which my wonderful friend Felicia kindly hosted a gaggle of my friends. The weather was perfect, we all sat in the garden, and at some point a most competitive soccer game ensued, during which Patrick and Ximena emerged as superior talents when it came to handling a soccer ball and scoring goals for the team.



Heading back to the airport Sunday night seemed more complicated than ever expected, and with the help of a very lovely Chinese couple I made it there in somewhat respectable time. Once I ended at the airport BART station however, some meathead who I had asked for help, send me in the wrong direction on the terminal shuttle, so I ended up visiting the rental car building before finally getting to my terminal.



Monday morning 7 AM arrival in Boston was followed by a quick stop at Whole Foods in order to buy fresh rolls for a breakfast with my family who had arrived at my place the day before. My brother Martin, his girlfriend Marion and her sister Andrea are in town for a two-week visit, and as you may imagine, there is a serious program to follow through with.



Here we go: Monday champagne breakfast, followed by visit to Petra's office and the MGH Etherdome (http://www.etherdome.org/ ). Then stroll around Beacon Hill (http://www.beaconhillonline.com/about/) - visit Charles Street, Beacon Hill Chocolates (http://beaconhillchocolates.com/ ), John Kerry's House (http://www.kellersclass.com/images/DSCN1060.jpg) , Acorn Street (http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/boston/beaconHillAcornStreet.jpg) . Attend start of the Tufts 10 K for Women (http://www.tuftshealthplan.com/tufts10k/ ) . Walk over to the Cheers Bar (http://www.roamingtimes.com/travel/images/boston-cheers3.jpg) for obligatory photo, walk around the Public Garden (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Boston+Public+Garden) , then head back to finish line for tufts to see Olympic Gold medalist Deana Kastor smoke the competition with her 32-minute race time. Head over to Parish Café (http://www.parishcafe.com/ ) for delicious sandwiches and iced tea. Walk down Newbury Street (starting at the expensive end....), shop at Newbury Comics (http://www.newburycomics.com/) and stop for a nice cup of coffee at the Trident Café and Bookstore (http://www.tridentbookscafe.com/ ).















Head back to MGH via the Commonwealth Avenue Mall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Avenue,_Boston).

Dinner at the Midwest Grill - Brazilian BBQ near Inman Square. Waiters bring meat on spears. Eat wayyyyyy too much meat. Vow to never eat meat again.














Tuesday - Petra at work, Family walks the Freedom Trail (http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/ ). Evening - dinner with Ken at the Trattoria Toscana in the Fenway area - lovely find (http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid4729.aspx). Great Tuscan cuisine, charming ambience, and decent prices. And down the street from Fenway Park (http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/fenway.htm). My brother is a big baseball fan and is transfixed by the sight of Fenway Park. Ken explains the significance of the CITGO sign to the German visitors (http://www.redsoxconnection.com/citgo.html ). Brief visit to the Panopticon Gallery (http://www.panopt.com/home.php ) in the Hotel Commonwealth to look at world-class photographs (http://www.hotelcommonwealth.com/).

Wednesday - The German contingent gets lost for five hours in the Cambridge Side Galleria (http://www.cambridgesidegalleria.com/ ), shop until you drop, whereas I get lost in tons of work. My afternoon in the lab is cut short by a trip to the urgent care physician - I had experienced serious pain in my left calf since getting off the plane on Monday, doctor demands test and an ultrasound rules out that I do not have a blood clot. I get Tylenol with Codeine for the pain and am sent on my merry way. Dinner at home.

Thursday - today - again, I get buried at work. Biotech company visits and everyone and their brother stops by or resuscitates an ancient project and wants my input. The group of three goes to the Museum of Science to see the CSI Exhibit (http://www.mos.org/), visits Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/), discovers the City Sports outlet on Bromfield Street. Group of four (includes me) has scrumptious Mexican dinner at Fajitas and Ritas (http://www.fajitasandritas.com/), followed by a visit to the Charles Street Theater to experience the Blue Man Group spectacle (http://www.blueman.com/).



Tired from just reading? I hear you.



Tomorrow we are off to New Hampshire. My friend Rick has organized a weekend up in Waterville Valley - time to do some hiking, see some foliage, maybe some mountain biking or just plain old being lazy. Monday we may head for Newport, Rhode Island. Stay tuned!!



Pet:) (Ready to get some zzzs now....)

#18 Boston - Petra's Little Helpers - October 4, 2007

This week we are starting off with a little praise, my friends - we are tipping our hats to my friends Ken, Chris and Milton, who all support that pathetic habit of mine to not fix things on my own when they are broken, but break out into my damsel-in-distress routine and with batting eyelashes and impish grin ask for help from strong men such as they are.

Helper Number One would be Ken, who I talked into fixing a flat on my bike, which I know is not rocket science, but do I like doing it - no!!! Being the pathetic helpless female that I am, not only did I have him fix it, but casually walked away from the whole scene, not even feigning remote interest in the whole endeavor. This did not sit well with my bike mechanic, who promptly called me to the scene of the crime and made me watch (and hopefully learn). I am afraid next time this happens he may make me fix the flat myself. I'll have to see how I would get around that one. With the bike fixed, the "Red Rocket" was immediately taken out for a spin on the Minuteman Bikeway and attached back-road trails all the way out to Concord, Mass (and back), and my sorry self, who has been so out of shape due to my heel injury and a prolonged period of sloth and indolence, got herself so exhausted that nap time started early, at precisely 8 PM on Sunday evening.

I have since embarked on a bike regimen that will help get that sorry little body of mine in better fighting shape, and taken the long way to work, exactly 10 miles longer than usual, riding along the Charles River Esplanade out to Mt Auburn Hospital and back. By the time I get into work, I am usually ready for the first nap of the day, and could use some caffeine, pronto.

Helper Number Two would be Chris, who also caved in to one of my pleas for help - I had promised to take him out to dinner if he fixed my wireless setup at home, which I had managed to destroy all on my own. Note to self: When the computer asks, "Are you sure you want to delete this file?" - double check!!! Chris was a genius, fixed the wireless problem, and sooner rather than later, we headed to the East Side Bar and Grille, my local hangout of choice (literally a short half block from my house). Great bar and a nice dining room, good Italian food and some big screen TVs for the sports enthusiasts.

Not to forget Milton, who has been moral support and shopping consultant for all things related to hiking - we are planning a winter ascent of Mt Washington, and yours truly will have to acquire some fancy gear such as an ice axe, crampons, and other expensive items.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you - to the three of you.

Last weekend to a good degree was spent with the wretched application to retain my German citizenship, but there is only so much bureaucracy one can take on a weekend. The first stop after my escape was a lovely meal at the newest cutest little lunch spot called “The Spotted Apron” ( ). Located right across from Mass General it has replaced the Paris Creperie, which used to be one of my regular neighborhood “grab and go” lunch places, but apparently there were some health code violations, and to be honest, the guy who made the crepes there never inspired much confidence in their cuisine.

Saturday evening found me surrounded by Germans, again, this time the German language group, which consisted mostly of Americans who for one reason or another spoke German, wanted to speak German or were dragged there by their friends and partners before they could say “nein”. There was even I guy from India there, who did not do badly with the Mother Tongue. The meeting was held at the Asgard Irish Pub in Cambridge (http://www.classicirish.com/asgard_about.html), reasonable walking distance for me and after the couple of beers I had, a good thing. It was a fun night, with a variety of unexpected topics that were discussed (I remember goiters being one of them). Plans were made (and from the follow-up emails I got, I think these people are serious) for a Spaetzle workshop (in which apparently I am playing a key role) and a field trip to the German butcher on Route 1 in Saugus.

Sunday, as promised, Ruth, Georges and I met up at 75 Chestnut ( ) for a jazz-infused brunch - quite lovely I must say. The company was superb, the food great, and I simply adore hanging out in Beacon Hill on the weekends (). Charles Street was abuzz with the news that Meg Ryan was shopping in the neighborhood, and the celebrity watchers were on high alert. A quick trip to Beacon Hill Chocolates ( ) and the consumption of some pumpkin-infused artisan truffles made the world so much better right away and put a nice touch on a wonderful Sunday.

My friends, I am about to head out to California for the weekend for the wedding of my friends Chris and Brad and will send the tales from Napa Valley next week.

Tata….

Pet:)

#17 Boston - All Things German - September 29 07

The week has been and continues to be under the banner of "Germanness", and not only with the impending visit of my brother and his entourage in about a week or so. This past Wednesday I again joined the German ExPats Group at Jacob Wirth's (http://www.jacobwirth.com), which as usual was a fun event. A never ending influx of German transplants, other German speakers and hangers-on makes the group a wonderfully dynamic congregation and at each meeting about 20 of us gather around a big table, eat German food and chat about all things important to us foreigners. Tonight I will see some more German people, a German language group of sorts , who strangely enough will meet at an Irish pub in my neck of the woods (The Asgard - http://www.classicirish.com/asgard_about.html) - but hey, beer is beer, right? As long as they do not run out of it, I am game and so are the other Germans.

I am writing this to you from my office, where I will dedicate my efforts today toward the first draft of my application to retain the German citizenship. I have been dragging my butt on this one for quite some time, mostly because it seemed like a pretty hopeless endeavor. To summarize: If I want dual citizenship, and I do, Step 1 is to first deal with the Germans. Their application contains two parts - in part 1 I have to prove existing connections with Germany (no problem here), and in part 2 (and this is the hard part) one has to prove that not having the US citizenship would be a hardship for this, that and the other reason. Generally those reasons are either serious legal or financial reasons (estate tax - if you are really loaded). So I had pretty much given up on this and was ready to go for the US citizenship anyway, but recently discovered an amazing Yahoo Blog, which contained tons of tips on how to prepare this application successfully. The web site contains many successful applications to download, and today my friends, I am going to pilfer. I have devised a strategy that may just succeed, and I hope to finish the application within the next month or so. Wish me luck.

So, this week was a busy one, and I cannot believe that it is Saturday. If you recall, last Sunday I flew to Washington, DC and then headed out to Bethesda, Maryland for a two-day conference on early drug development in cancer at the NCI< the National Cancer Institute. Of course (and I know at least two people I can blame for this), I got a cold on Sunday, and was a bit of a sorry sight, red nose and all. Most of the conference was spent in a haze of decongestants, and in one meeting room, so I am afraid I cannot tell you too much about Bethesda, aside from the fact that it is a wee bit northwest of Washington, DC. It was named after a church built in the early 1900s, the Bethesda Presbyterian Church, and they pilfered the name from Jerusalem's "Pool of Bethesda". The actual word Bethesda stands for "House of Mercy" (from Aramaic). Bethesda is dominated by quite a few government agencies, but in particular the National Institutes of Health, which cover quite some ground there; the National Naval Health Center and Lockheed Martin are located there as well. Famous Bethesda natives include astronaut John Glenn, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, talk show host Maury Povich and NPR great Cokie Roberts. And of course Eunice Kennedy Shriver lives there. I was actually very surprised by quite a lovely downtown area (http://www.downtownbethesda.com/) when we headed out to dinner one night, and I must tell you that our French meal at La Miche ( http://www.lamiche.com) was absolutely superb. My boef bourguignon was spectacularly tasty, and I only heard the greatest praise from my colleagues Paul and Geoff across the table about their choices.















Work has been very busy this week, and kept me here late last night as well. I continue on my honeymoon in the Translational Research Lab, and this week we practiced cutting microscopically thin slices of tumor tissue from FFPE (formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded) blocks. And you know what, apparently I have quite the knack for it, and they let me go to town with the microtome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microtome). Aside from one little bitty slip-up, I had a very nice day there, and next week we will be doing some staining. (You are noticing, that I am turning into a science geek, right?)

The weather as of last night has hopefully made up its mind (considering that it is supposed to be fall) and dropped the temperatures down to the upper 50s (phew!), rather than the mid-90s we have been experiencing this week. Hopefully we have some wonderful foliage to look at when my family snows into town.

With my brother's visit, this coming month will be slightly insane - it is sandwiched between two trips to California (first one next weekend to Napa for the wedding of my friends Chris and Brad), and hopefully I will find some time to breathe in between. By the time my birthday and late October comes around, I may just want to sleep for about a month or so.


As for this weekend, there are plans - this afternoon, I will be heading to Union Square in Somerville for the "What's The Fluff? Festival", which will feature all kinds of things (including cocktails) with the famous marshmallow spread (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshmallow_creme), which was invented in Somerville. Tada! This may be a sticky affair and all the sweet stuff may have to be washed down with a beer tonight when meeting with the German speaking hordes. Tomorrow a lovely brunch is in the works with my friend Ruth (who finally moved back from Toronto!!! yeah!!!) and her fiancee Georges - our brunch place of choice this week is 75 Chestnut, a charming little place on Beacon Hill http://www.75chestnut.com/. More about that next week.

Before I leave, two big news items:

Number 1: I got a cortisone shot yesterday at the Sports Medicine Clinic (damn that hurt!), that hopefully will make that heel of mine heal up nicely and in about ten days or so the steroid should have done its work, and the inflammation should be seriously reduced. Still have to do stretching, and icing every day. As of now the heel is sore from the shot and I'll have to grin and bear it for another day or two.
Number 2: The Red Sox clinched the American League East division title last night!!! I believe there might be some parade going on Monday night, where the hub once again will be filled with tens of thousands of baseball fans. Gotta love it.


Go Sox!!!

pet:)

#16 - Boston - Restaurant Week - September 22 07

Not as in the official "Restaurant Week" which happens in Boston once or twice a year, but the unofficial Petra-Loesch-goes-to-as-many-restaurants-as-possible kind of week. How does six restaurants sound (only one lunch included)? It started off Tuesday with the monthly wine group meeting at the Aujourd'hui restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston (http://www.fourseasons.com/boston/dining/aujourd_hui.html). I love our monthly get-togethers at the 4S - they are just the best. The staff hugs us when we get there, not just because we pay our bill, but because they are just wonderful people. This time the motto was "Gaja" wines - the Gaja winery was founded by a certain Giovanni Gaja in 1856 in the Piedmont Area of Italy, and they have some nice little wines there, let me tell you. As usual I must tell you about the menu:

Course 1: Scallop Ceviche with Heirloom Tomato Salad, Strawberry Tomatoes (they really tasted like strawberries, cool stuff), in a Balsamic Reduction and Fried Capers
Wine of Choice: 1998 Alteni di Brassica Sauvignon Blanc, Langhe, Piedmont (Excellent Wine)

Course 2: Duck Leg Ravioli (so good, so good!) with roasted onion, sage, and parmigiano
Wine of Choice: 2005 Sito Moresco (Nebbiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot) Langhe, Piedmont (Nebbiolo comes from the Italian word for fog I was told, apparently in this area of Piedmont that is a bit of an issue)

Course 3: Roasted Shoulder of Russian Wild Boar, Creamy Polenta, Black Mission Figs, French Prune Plums, Rosemary Jus (excellent)
Wine of Choice: 2005 Ca"marcanda "Promis" (Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon) Bolgheri, Tuscani

Sound good eh?

Wednesday night I hit two places in one, first my most frequented Thai place of choice "The King and I" on Charles Street in Beacon Hill - http://www.kingandi-boston.com/, to meet up with my lovely friend Jennifer, followed by drinks and philosophizing with Andrew at the S&S Restaurant (or would that be the S$S Restaurant?). http://www.sandsrestaurant.com/ . On Thursday, I was off to a business dinner with my colleague and friend Murray from the UK, who took me to the restaurant "Clink" in the newly opened Liberty Hotel next to MGH (remember, the former jail) - http://www.libertyhotel.com/dining.html. The food was fabulous, let me tell you - and that was not just the two Hurricanes talking I had as a warm-up (http://www.drinksmixer.com/cat/364/). Their stuffed chicken was out of this world, the wait staff very attentive and I had a lovely time walking home and muttering to myself.

Friday, my boss Bruce, Murray and myself (business meeting #2) headed to a lovely little French place , the Pierrot Bistro on Cambridge Street for some exquisite cuisine francaise (http://www.pierrotbistrot.com/). Quite the culinary week and to be honest I am a little exhausted from all this fancy food. Today on our trip to Plum Island Stephanie and I went to Lobster Bob or Bob Lobster, a roadside establishment of sorts, and I was happy with some very simple food (and wouldn't you believe it, they have a web site - http://www.boblobster.com/). On account of my recently diagnosed lobster allergy I stuck with a salmon burger, so all was well and we have no anaphylactic reactions to report today.

Steph and I had headed out there for some nature activities in and around Plum Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Island_(Massachusetts), so we first stopped at Joppa Flats - http://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Joppa_Flats/index.php - a wildlife sanctuary right at Plum Island, and then continued on to the Hellcat Interpretive Trail, a lovely 3.5 mile board walk through freshwater marshes and up some dunes, and into maritime woodland habitats. One grabs a little brochure, and off you go. Stephanie was the official reader of the day, at each station we paused and educated ourselves a little about the native and not-so-native plant species and whatever else there was to know. We saw bayberries, honeysuckle, cattails, purple loosestrife and the common reed (the last two being both invaders), beach grass and beach heather, and avoided the very abundant poison ivy wherever possible. It was a lovely day out there with temperatures in the upper 70s, and we certainly had a wonderful time.


On the cultural end, I ushered last Sunday at the Huntington Theater Company for the play "The 39 Steps", based on the Alfred Hitchcock movie, but with a Monty Python twist. A note to my Boston friends - go see this! I laughed until my jaw hurt. Phenomenal!! The four, very gifted actors on stage play about 150 roles over the course of the play, and in particular sidekicks Arnie Burton and Cliff Saunders had us in stitches all night. (http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/season/production.aspx?id=3923&src=t).

Before I sign off, a quick note on my first experience in the lab - it was wonderful!!! And the building is still standing. I am happy to report that I isolated my first ever bacterial DNA and after we put it in a nice little PCR machine, I was told the next day that it amplified just according to plan. I had such a good time with Darrell and Susan, and learned so much! Lab procedures and genetic analysis has changed so much since my university days, lots of new tech stuff involved, many of the procedures are so much easier. I am certainly looking forward to next week's lab time.

I will try to load up some pictures tonight from today's outing, but also must get ready for a 2-day visit to Bethesda, Maryland to attend a drug development meeting by the National Cancer Institute. Woohoo!

Hope all is well with you.

pet:)