All American - July 20 2008

Over the past couple of weeks, I had my citizenship test and interview, attended a Red Sox Game and met Sally Struthers - can I get more American than that?

Becoming a Citizen

Well, I am sure most of you are glad this is over (so am I), and I am no longer entertaining those of you around me with every little detail about the American Revolution. The day before the big interview I went to a Red Sox game with my colleague and friend Renee and every 15 minutes or so I threw in a detail or two about the history of this country. Being the total geek that I am, I could not help telling her on which day exactly the Star-Spangled Banner was written and what happened during the War of 1812. I did calm down eventually and ended up enjoying the game – the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 2:1 which we appreciated especially after a shaky outing by our relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, who was not his usual dominating self.

The big day started early, my appointment was at 8:30 AM and needless to say I did not get a lot of rest the night before. I had dolled myself up for the occasion figuring looking professional was definitely in my favor, and was seen as a better choice than the guy sitting next to me in the waiting room with jeans hanging down his waist and a t-shirt that said “Hustle”. It’s your citizenship interview, dude – you think you could make an effort?

The whole ordeal took place in the Federal Building at Government Center and while it was not the most cheerful of places, everyone was friendly and courteous. You check in, then wait to be called in for the test, where you are asked six out of the 100 sample questions you have been reviewing. Of course, the nerd in me had taken studying to new heights (there were Excel spreadsheets involved) and I was hoping for the real tough questions, such as listing the four voting amendments in the constitution or naming the 13 original colonies. My friend Ram, who recently along with my friends and colleagues Georges, Mike and Carol has undergone the citizenship procedure as well, had called the day before and after asking me a few test questions warned me not to answer as comprehensively as I did and risk being kicked out of the country for being a wise-ass.

I think most of you, my friends, could have passed the citizenship test (or so I hope) Here are the questions I had to answer:


How many stars are there on our flag?

Who becomes president if both the president and the vice president die?

Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?

Who was the main writer of the declaration of independence?

Who meets in the US Capitol building?

Name one benefits of being a citizen of the United States?


After answering them all very quickly and accurately, I was handed a green slip of paper and then sent to waiting room #2 where Mr Hustle and I watched CNN until we were called in. The interview itself was very relaxed and not stressful at all (maybe the raising your hand and swearing to tell the truth, nothing but the truth was a bit on the serious side). We talked about all kinds of things, US history and then briefly cruised through my application, and then we were finished.

I got a nice heartfelt handshake, words of congratulations and that was it. The swearing in ceremony, which is the next official step, will take place in mid-September, most likely on the 17th, and the best part is- it is in Fenway Park. How cool is hat??? I was hoping for Fanneuil Hall, but Fenway, our most beloved baseball park – it can’t get better than that!! I will have to inquire and see if I can bring guests and maybe we can have a little “Go Petra” cheering section somewhere near home plate. (Banners are appreciated).

Thanks for all your congratulatory wishes, hip hip hoorays, real and e-hugs!! You guys are pals!


Dropkick Murphys

If you are a Red Sox fan, you inadvertently also become a fan of the Dropkick Murphys, our cherished Boston band who sings the Red Songs anthem, Tessie. Just thought I add that in this time. Here are a couple of you tube links for your entertainment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKJxgxS-aQk&feature=related - Tessie " the Red Sox anthem....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-64CaD8GXw&feature=related - "I'm shipping up to Boston"



When Petra Met Sally
Thanks to my friend Stan I recently had the distinct pleasure to meet Emmy winning actress Sally Struthers (http://sallystruthers.tripod.com/ ) a couple of weeks ago. Stan, who is a violinist and performs for many plays, musicals and with various orchestras in New England, met her during a 4-week stint of Fiddler on the Roof at the Ogunquit Play House in Maine, and when she was in Waltham for a performance as Miss Hannigan in the musical “Annie”, we just had to go and see her. It was so worth it, she was hysterically funny and totally stole the show, and in person was as gracious as can be. I’ll send a picture of our encounter soon, I promise.

El Greco, Velasquez and Gang

Considering it was about 200 degrees outside yesterday (well not quite that bad, but anything over 80 degrees feels like 200 to me), and I have only a small fan to keep me cool, I decided to head for a place featuring the benefits of air conditioning, so I ventured out to the Museum of Fine Arts for their latest Special Exhibit –“ El Greco to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III” – which was absolutely wonderful. When it comes to art, I most appreciate paintings, and even though the subject matter may not always be something I appreciate, the skill displayed by some of the artists of the early 17th century was just stunning. http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/sub.asp?key=15&subkey=2145

Hooking up with the Germans

I have to leave the house once in a while, so I decided to go to the German Language Meetup, a lovely group that gets together every two weeks at the Asgard Irish Pub in Cambridge (http://www.classicirish.com/asgard_about.html) where we all congregate around a big wooden table and talk German until the cows come home. Actually, most of the time we leave around 10 or 10:30 when the music starts at the pub, and venture across the street to Cambridge’s own Toscanini’s ice cream, labeled by the New York Times as “the best ice cream in the world”. http://www.tosci.com/

I am going to wrap up right now, it looks like a thunderstorm may break loose any time now, and the Hitchock movie “Saboteur” is waiting in the DVD player to be watched.

I am adding a celebratory bit about my friend Jennifer Duran, who is not only as charming as they come, but an amazing person and devoted athlete. Most of you know her story of having two kidney transplants, the second of which was a revolutionary medical procedure where the transplant was combined with a bone marrow transplant. She is now past the 5-year mark, takes no medications and just ran her first marathon in October of 2007. She recently took part in the US Transplant Games in Pittsburgh (http://www.kidney.org/news/tgames/index.cfm) and here are her results (Go Jen!):

“I ended up winning 4 golds (500yd freestyle, 5k road race, 1500m run, and 50m breaststroke), 1 silver (50m back), and 1 bronze (4x100 team relay). You can only enter 4 events, but the 5k and relays don't count. I was already quite excited, because my 5k time was faster than my goal time, and the 1500m run was also really good. But things just got better... At closing ceremonies, I was named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the 2008 US Transplant Games. This means that, along with the Outstanding Male, I light the torch at the opening ceremonies at the 2010 US Games. The best part though..... the NKF pays my way to represent the US at the World Games next summer on the Gold Coast of Australia!!!!!

Talk to you soon.

pet:)

I'm Swimming in the Rain - July 6 2008

I'm swimming in the rain!

Greetings from Cape Cod where a whole group of us is spending the 4th of July weekend and where the weather changes every hour or so. Mainly it has been switching between rain and no-rain today, that is as best as I can describe it, grey skies, humid, not too cold, but kind of blah. I actually got here Thursday by myself, spent an afternoon of cooking like a banshee so that the contingent arriving on Friday morning would be welcomed by some tasty dishes (I must recommend the Sweet Potato Bread Pudding which has whiskey as one of the ingredients.....). I also studied for my citizenship test before the crowds plowed in here, and then proceeded to ask my fellow vacationers bizarre and unusual questions about US history. Who wrote "America The Beautiful?", huh, huh? When did they built the White House? What was the name of Paul Revere's horse?"

We have been incredibly active since we got here, I think we covered most of the Cape Cod Bike Trail yesterday and today, went for a hike (and almost got lost in a conservation area across the road) and hopped in the pond whenever possible. I love swimming in the pond, and armed with goggles one can actually see what's on the ground and this makes the lake less scary. I don't know what I am expecting - a dead body maybe, a monster lurking below?? I also discovered that I love swimming in the rain!! We came back after the bike ride and the hike today, and I could not wait to hop in the water and go swimming. I just loved the way the rain drops pelted the water when it rained - very cool. Among the group of visitors this weekend are a bird (Marge, who has the sun room to herself and seems to enjoy herself) and four dogs, Phoebe, her mom Annie, her half sister Addy and Addy's daughter Sidney, who is a nine-month old puppy. It was so much fun yesterday to have the dogs jump in the pond, chasing after sticks and trying to out-swim each other. My colleague Steven, who just bought a house on the next pond over, also paddled by and visited with some friends, and the big floating turtle was used to make a little boy very happy floating on the lake. Not a dull or boring moment around here.

We have been to at least one ice cream place ("Short and Sweet" on the bike trail near Chatham) and may go to the Sundae School in Orleans tonight (http://www.sundaeschoolicecream.com/ ), there are some fireworks there as well, and there is also the option of seeing Dave's brother in law (who is in an Irish band) play at a pub. Not quite sure what the plan is, right now we are waiting for the Spaghetti to finish, and then we'll take it from there.

Rick wants to kill me

Of course, the mosquitoes got me today, and now that the plate-size welts don my neck and arms, the group sitting here with me, especially the lovely Joanna, encouraged me whole-heartedly to take Benadryl. I am a little miffed that Rick enthusiastically supported this action, knowing well that combined with Valium I may ever wake up again. I must discuss this with him some time, most likely in a dark alley.

Tapas! Tapas!

A little while ago we had a dinner that I forgot to tell you about - at the most wonderful Spanish Bar and Tapas Place in Somerville, Dali ( http://www.dalirestaurant.com/), where one can comsume some delectable food, white and red Sangria, and is greeted by a very enthusiastic wait staff. Georgiana, you see, is getting married and so got a whole gang of girls to go out and start the celebrations. We then moved on to Christina's Ice Cream (http://christinasicecream.com/) where we met the groom-to-be, Will, and then the ladies headed over to the Bukowski Tavern to wash down the dairy treats with some exotic beers (http://boston.citysearch.com/profile/36411553/). What a lovely evening that was (and all right in my neighborhood)!

Where the Hell is Matt?

This is just cute and great to watch - http://www.vimeo.com/1211060

The Hike that Broke Petra

This last weekend I spent in Peterborough, New Hampshire with the Maclaurin family, who hosted family member and author Roxana Robinson for a reading of her newest book "Cost" (http://www.roxanarobinson.com/), which you all must read (just as you have to buy my cousin Rebecca Barry's book which is now in paperback (http://rebeccabarry.net/). The event at the Toadstool Bookstore (http://www.toadbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp) was wonderful and after some lolling around, a reception took place at the Maclaurin house with some exquisitely delectable food and spirited conversation. Well, Sunday came along, and with it the invitation for hike that I certainly was not prepared for. There were four of us to start with, Rob, Kathy, Ken and I, and we attacked North and South Pack, both mountains along the Wapack Trail. Well, let's just say Ken and Kathy attacked the mountain with speed and as if it was a stroll in the park, and I was huffing and puffing along and giving them well-deserved breaks while I was trying to catch up. At some point, we scaled down a cliff, and I was coached by the two of them on where to exactly place my foot. I held up through the hike, but during the lunch afterwards, I was in serious danger of keeling over with my face in the soup bowl, I was that knackered. This was the first time I had hiked a distance that long (7 or 8 miles) and I was a pile of sweat, and exhausted as can be. For the next three days I could not go down stairs without saying "ow, ow, ow, ow, ow....". (Note to self: Work out, for cryin' out loud!). Of course the drive home did nothing to help me relax, as I got into the biggest thunderstorm of all times - I was driving 35 mph with the emergency flash lights - there was so much rain, it was like driving through a swimming pool and I was so glad when I was back at home in Cambridge. Phew!

Permanent Vacation Needed

Working in a hospital, in particular a cancer center, turns you into a total hypochondriac, and I am the queen of that club, so whenever I have a test done, even a fairly innocent ultrasound conducted recently, I worry like crazy (yes, I admit it) and call my poor girlfriends, because I am now convinced I have several diseases at once, and feel like I am heading down the plank ready to be pushed in the ocean. Of course, the test came out well, and I am not required to go postal, haywire or fall into a deep depression. Why do we, myself in particular, worry so much about things we absolutely have no control over? I am the wrong person to ask that question, that is for sure. Interestingly enough, I never worry when I am out in the mountains or on vacation - which makes me think that I should just be on permanent vacation, and I think the donation of large sums of money may help me reach that goal. So, if you have some extra cash lying around, feel free to direct it my way. I will use it wisely. Swimming in the rain and such! Actually, according to recent news report, Americans (and I am pretty close to being one, soon), are pretty darned happy, and rank 15th on the happy-ness scale of a group of nations surveyed. Denmark was the front runner, but there were 80 nations behind us, so we did not do too bad I say. http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111725&org=NSF.

On that note, I am going to bed now, it was an evening with a very animated discussion around the living room table, we did not go to the Sundae School or the Irish Pub, but it was just as lively here, especially with the demonstration of certain hand signals that only Princeton graduates seem to understand.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

pet:)

Congrats to my friends Mat and Christelle in Bath, UK on the birth of their son William Philip!!!