That is all my friend and colleague Murray thought he would be able to eat during ASCO, the cancer conference we both just attended. The food courts in the McCormick conference center in Chicago are notoriously bad, and one does not have two many options - Starbucks being one (blueberry muffins, yes!) and the slightly expensive two bistros courtesy of the Hyatt Regency hotel that is attached to the conference center. The regular "food courts" are quite awful and the food is inedible. By the time we met up with Murray and his colleagues from a UK biotech we work with, he would have probably eaten anything that was put in front of him, unless it had blueberries in it or was muffin-shaped. Good luck for him that this was the night we picked to eat in my favorite restaurant in the US of A, Nacional 27 (http://www.nacional27.net/), which features food from all 27 Latin nations in the world, killer ceviche and tapas, and let me tell you, they know how to mix a cocktail. I have not had had alcohol in the past three months except for a bottle of hard cider at a concert recently, but for this night, I had saved up all my good drinking karma to have my favorite cocktail, "Dark and Extra Stormy" - ginger beer, rum, lime, and real ginger crushed up, with a sugar cane stick to stir. Oh my!!! In addition, and that adds to my admiration for this place, they have an entire page of non-alcoholic cocktails and their "Mango-Ginger-Habanero" concoction was so good, I asked the waitress three times to make sure she did bring the non-alcoholic version. The ginger and the habanero give it such a kick, you really don't care if it contains booze or not.
30,000 of my Closest Friends
What can one say about ASCO, the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, other than it is a complete zoo. The McCormick Conference Center is a cavernous maze, and to add to he confusion they now added a new wing, the West Wing. You have to plan your daily schedule - forget about sitting in one session and then deciding you don't like it and go to a concurrent one. No no - not possible. 20 minute walk. At certain times during the day, when the major sessions let out, the main corridor resembles the Tokyo subway during commuter time, which is not good if you have a problem with crowds.
Sessions or meetings start at 7 or 8 AM in the morning, and by the time the poster sessions and the exhibit halls close, you are usually toast. You try to find the shuttle to your hotel, which may be at least a mile away and if you are too sick and tired, you grab a cab. You get about an hours rest before heading off for a business dinner and maybe in between you do some emails. The last day, which in my case was Monday, I was unable to move by 4 PM, headed to the hotel, grabbed a cheap sandwich around the corner at Chicago's own "Potbelly Sandwich Works" (http://www.potbelly.com/) and watched whatever was on TV. When you know you have to get up at 5 AM the next day to catch a flight back to Boston, going out is not an option.
I have to say though that the conference organizers tried hard this time to make some improvements - more seating areas were added, and everything was recyclable - the big fat conference proceedings books, and even the conference bags, of which us frequent attendees have dozens in our basements, and we really do not need another one. Really.
Good Eats
I did eat at some very nice places, my friend and colleague Peter from Belgium and I headed to Nick's Fishmarket (http://www.nicksfishmarketchicago.com/), which I believe I told you about already. Very good seafood, upscale prices as well, and generally a very attentive wait staff, except for the fact that they could not figure out how to spread the bill over three credit cards. Interesting about Nick's is that it shares an entrance with a McDonalds, which may be a slight turn off to some. Business meetings during the conference lead us to 101 Bistro (the first place I ever at in Chicago in 2003 - http://www.levyrestaurants.com/Levy/DiningExperiences/Restaurants/Group4/Bistro+110.htm), 312 Chicago (http://www.levyrestaurants.com/Levy/DiningExperiences/Restaurants/Group4/Bistro+110.htm) and of course Nacional 27. My favorite breakfast chain, the Corner Bakery, was just around the corner (http://www.cornerbakery.com/) from the hotel and so were tons of small places to grab a bite in the morning or whenever needed.
Look at that Bitch
I am not naming names, but following one of these dinner occasions I returned with my two colleagues after our dinner to my hotel and we were waiting to hail a cab for them. Now my hotel is in the slightly funky theater district and featured a beautifully ornate, but brightly colored pink bench in front of it. One of the lovely ladies I was with exclaimed "Look at that bench", and I was so glad that I was not the only one with a baffled look on my face (or bad hearing), but our other companion and probably several bystanders heard her say "Look at that Bitch". May have had something to do with a certain accent, but again, I am not naming names, as promised.
The Importance of Being Earnest
Well, upon my return and after a day of being in a complete daze, I joined my lab mates Hannah and Susan for an ushering gig at the Lyric Stage Company, this time for the Oscar Wilde play "the Importance of being Earnest", a lovely and light-hearted play and acted to perfection by the company at the Lyric (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Importance_of_Being_Earnest). In particular the incomparable Bobbi Steinbach took the role of Aunt Augusta to new heights, and was simply fabulous. http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2008/05/23/versatility_is_her_calling_card/ Most theater companies are now going on summer break, so maybe a little less ushering in the near future, and more outdoorsy stuff to come for yours truly.
Numb What?
I am not even going to try to describe this, just watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjzrNWPul9E
Celtics
The Boston Celtics are in the NBA playoffs and the whole town is going gaga, wearing kelly green outfits and routing for the team to beat the LA Lakers!! Go Celtics!
From Winter to Summer in 2 Days
Last Thursday, temperature 54 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius), Saturday 98 degrees Fahrenheit (=36 degrees Celsius). Enough said.
4-year anniversary in Boston
On June 4th, four years ago I moved to Boston with three heavy suitcases and a frightened little bird in a travel cage. Time has gone by so quickly and I can't believe what an adventure it has been. Celebrations were held, a lovely dinner at Bambara in Cambridge (http://www.bambara-cambridge.com/), a chick flick with the lovely Denise (Sex and the City - what else?) and a hike in Lynn Woods yesterday, where the bloody flies had a field day with me and I now feature welts the size of dinner plates on my arms and legs. I have been spraying myself with Benadryl and hope the swelling goes down and I don't look I have some disease like leprosy or the Ebola virus.
You may have noticed that I am sending the update a little less frequently. After 4 years of weekly diatribes, I felt it was time to take a break and write when I felt like it and when there was something to write about. You'll still hear from me, you just won't know when and who doesn't like surprises? Thanks to all of you who have enjoyed them, and who on occasion send a brief word or an update of your own. I do enjoy hearing from you and when I am in your neck of the woods , I'll let you know.
Now it is time to focus my attention back to the TV where the 1964 movie "Seven Days in May" with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas has been keeping me entertained. Did you ever notice he had a hole in his chin? http://www.medaloffreedom.com/KirkDouglasNice.jpg Very distracting, I must say).
Until then.
pet:)
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