#50 Boston - Paper with a Pulse - May 29 2008

The Tiniest Closet of Them All

Greetings from Chicago, the windy city, where yours truly landed today after a fairly uneventful, slightly bumpy flight. I am comfortably settled in the Hotel Allegro (http://www.allegrochicago.com/) , very cool place, newly renovated. The rooms are chic, but tiny, and I swear I could not find the closet at first ,it is that small!!! Astronauts have bigger accommodations and I actually think one of my pantry closets may outsize this one. The bathroom is also very small, but spotless and features a really cool design. Everything else about the hotel is fantatastic, the staff is the coolest, there is free wireless, and you get free daypasses to a gym nearby (http://www.fitnessformulaclubs.com/) - I just came back from a nice swim - and they even give you a rollaway bed for free. My colleague Eunice was called last minute to a couple of meetings at the conference and will be crashing in the tiny room for a couple of days with me, and the staff could not have been nicer. Finding a room on such short notice with 40,000 oncologists in town is pretty much impossible and Eunice and I have frequently roomed together.

Tomorrow the conference starts, so I have the night off and my friend Peter from Belgium and I will go to the prime seafood place in the neighborhood, Nick's Fishmarket (http://www.nicksfishmarketchicago.com/) for some tasty treats. After swallowing all that pool water, I have worked up an appetite.

No Trouble with Bouncers This Time

Last Monday I had to return to the site of my previous altercation with a bouncer, the Paradise Lounge in Boston to see one of my favorite bands, Augustana( http://www.augustanamusic.com/) alongside with two opening acts - David Ford( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybt26QmzZ6U) and Wild Sweet Orange (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv3DlQzDCz0&feature=related). This time no melee with the staff, plus we got seats, which suited my sore heel very nicely. We were able to see the bands mostly, except for one ditzy dame who definitely made a better door than a window and whose rear view is forever etched in my memory. Augustana were just fabulous and proved why they were the headliners. Go see them when they perform in your town - you may know there songs "Boston" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnqvjD7Kxs4) - my favorite - or "Stars and Boulevards" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDLAmUj9P2k&feature=related).

Paper with a Pulse

After looking at my laundry pile which was reaching the critical point and some work tasks that needed attention, I decided to not go to the Cape this weekend, but hang around Boston. After putting in some time at work, I headed to the Wimberly Theater at the Boston Center for the Arts for an ushering gig, which was so worth it and one of the most outrageous performances I have ever witnessed. Ennio! - aka Ennio Marchetta (http://www.enniomarchetto.com/) appears on stage dressed in an all-black suit and then dons adult-size origami costumes and effortlessly switches from one character into the next. Watch the movies on his website - one second he is Eminem and with two flicks of his wrists, he is Donna Summer. A jewish rabbi turned into Britney Spears, Frankenstein morphed into Frank Sinatra and then Nancy Sinatra, and of my favorites was the transformation of a wine bottle into Amy Winehouse. The Hollywood Reported called his performance "Paper with a Pulse" and the audience including myself lept to their feet for a standing ovation - anyone who can play 100 characters in 60 minutes deserves a response like this.

Now I am Never Gonna get my Ego back!

After getting the laundry crisis averted and making some progress on the work front, I decided on Monday to have some fun and head out with the bike and join my friends Holly and Carol on a ride on the Minuteman Bikeway. We were joined by Carol's 7-year old Boston terrier Dunkin who was just the sweetest thing ever, and had sort of a side-car thing going in form of a milk crate that is bolted down on the back of Carol's bike. He is quite comfy in there, enjoys the breeze during the ride and receives plenty of attention from fellow bike riders and joggers along the route. According to Carol he learned his lesson (meaning stay in the crate) when he once tried to hop out and chase after a squirrel, but then the leash held him back and dangling from a bike was not too much to his liking. Well it was a beautiful day and everyone was out and about, kids hat lemonade stands, including one group who was quite noisy in their quest to get us to stop and drink some of their artificial juice-like stuff, whatever it was. When we gracefully declined, one of the kids yelled after us and what I heard was "Now I am never gonna get my Ego back" and I thought, wow, he is taking this serious - turns out it was my bad hearing again, and he actually called "Now I am never going to get my Eagle Batch". I am cleaning my ears out with bleach, I swear.

Tidbits

*I got a new lap top from work, and boy am I happy. There are still a few kinks with the remote access of my network folders, but it is nice not thave to lean the computer against a cast-iron cook book or a Jim Beam bottle, and all the keys are there and work.

*My new favorite You Tube Video (I love Weezer!!): Pork and Beans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muP9eH2p2PI

*Falling under the heading of bad names for products should be "Mommy's Bliss Nipple Cream" who not only has an unfortunate name but also was just pulled off the shelves by the FDA because it containes ingredients harmful to infants.

The Next Big Step

I received my note for my US citizenship interview and July 14th is the big day. Monday morning, 8:30 AM. My friend Ram already is finished with his process and proudly has his US passport (Congrats!), and my friends Georges and Mike are in line before me. This is going to be one big citizenship party/shindig. Some time this summer, stay tuned! (If all works out well, I will be able to vote!)


The Coolest Guy Ever

I am ending on a very sad note - our Uncle Coop passed away this last week, and the extended family is immersed in deep sadness about losing him. He was kindness in person and will be missed so much. My first memory of him was when I came to the US as a 15-year old girl from a small town in Germany and was staying with my great uncle Albert in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We were sitting out on the porch on a hot and muggy summer day on Edgeware Road and Coop came strolling down the street. I thought he was the coolest guy I had ever seen, and once you met him you knew that was true. He was an avid jogger and two years ago during a visit to him and his wife Louise, he and I and a jogging buddy of his went for a five-mile run on a crisp November morning, and it was just beautiful. I will keep both of these picture memories in my heart and count myself lucky to have met him.

Until soon.

pet:)

#49 Boston - The Knob Behind the Potato - May 21 2008

The Knob Behind the Potato

My friend Rick and I have slightly strange ways of describing a beautiful view in the White Mountains and at one point after our hike up Table Mountain we stopped along Bear Notch Road at a "vista" and were trying to identify the range of mountains we were looking at.
Rick: "I think that round thing is the mountain we hiked" (referring to Table Mountain)
Petra:" You think?"
Rick: "I wonder what the knob is back there?
Petra: "What knob - the one that looks like a potato?"
Rick: "No, the one behind the potato!"

Sooooo out of shape!

I am officially out of shape. It was a sad picture, hiking up the Attitash Trail up to Table Mountain. It was a beautiful day in the White Mountains, and if you are not a big time hiker or a slacker like me, this may be up your alley. It starts out easy, but then gets a little steeper as you go on. The weather was fantastic this weekend up in the White Mountains, and Mother Nature did something really swell - it was sunny and warm during daytime and only rained a wee bit in the evening (we made it off the patio in time after dinner, before the rain drops started falling. Table Mountain afforded spectacular views (all the way to Squam Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee), even though it was unclear as to where the actual summit was. We went as far as we could and stopped at the point where Rick had to crawl underneath a tree and still could not find the trail.

A Bear, Three Snakes and Two Rabbit Legs

It was an interesting day for wildlife, good for some - the snakes were out sunning themselves along the hiking trails, which delighted Phoebe to no end; Rick and I spotted a bear on Cannon Mountain (don't worry, we were on I-93 far away) - bad for others, as we saw two rabbit legs and a whole lot of fur along the trail. Some predator had a poor little bunny for lunch, but apparently did not appreciate the whole treat.

Knuckelitis

On account of the Plantar Fasciitis, I am now wearing my inserts in my hiking boots which makes them a wee bit tight (time for new boots, I say!). Since our hikes were steep this weekend, several of my toes now have knuckelitis, which is so much fun. Next time, I'll get taped up, I swear. I am a wreck.

BoocerBall and Tiny Table Tennis

Among the many diversions in Franconia are Boccerball (http://www.boccerball.com/) and a table tennis set that is clearly designed for children. Denise and Rick were unbelievable at Boccerball, which is fast and fun, and I demonstrated my skill for knocking the ping pong ball anywhere but on the table, so Will spend a lot of time hunting for lost ping pong balls under couches, behind the treadmill etc.

Stupid is As Stupid Does

Said Forrest Gump, and please, sign me up to that list! On our hike up Georgiana Falls in New Hampshire, Petra got it in her silly little head that going up boulders in the middle of a raging river might be a good idea. They looked big and sturdy, and for some reason, neither Rick, Denise or Will stopped me from doing it. Come to think of it I don't think I would have listened to their objections anyway. Maybe I had something to prove, after the huffing-and-puffing episode the day before up Table Mountain, but I should know that it is never a good idea to give in to the notion that you feel like superwoman. (Reminds me of one of those joke E-mails - you may be a redneck if you can respond with a number to the question "How many relatives of yours have died right after saying "Hey, watch this!" ?). So, here I was, in the middle of the river, thinking I could walk on water, gingerly balancing over slippery rocks and realizing quite quickly that this was one of the stupider ideas I had in recent months, and believe me, there were others.
I did fall into the water once (thank goodness for quick drying pants) and would not be surprised if a certain part of my anatomy (the one you sit on) would have a nice bruise on it. The highlight was when I was really stuck in the middle of the river, in front of a 7-foot boulder with no good plan on how to climb on top of it (which I needed to in order to escape the dilemma I was in). So I hoisted the back-pack, my hiking poles and the camera up on top and then in a performance that resembled one of those snake-woman acts in a circus, weaseled my way up the rock. There was no room for the slightest mistake and it took me quite some time to calm down afterward and stop my legs from shaking. Rick came back to rescue me at some point, when I had made it out of the water and we re-joined Denise and Will, who had already made their way up to the top of Georgiana Falls. The trail going up at some point is unrelentingly steep and not marked well at all, so you have to bushwhack it quite a bit (I think I fell two more times - maybe this is why my right knee hurts), but once you make it up there it is phenomenal (http://public.fotki.com/12101995/hiking-pix/2007/georgiana-falld-nh-71207/georgianafalls71207004.html - this is a web site I found with some great photos - mine will follow in due time). Worth the effort.

The Week in Review

Week-work-work-work-nice-walk-with-Hillary-along-the-Charles-River-on-Wednesday-etc-etc-etc-Friday-leaving-for-Franconia. Buying new running shoes, darn Plantar Fascitis acting up again. C'est ca.

The Nearsighted Cyrillic Computer

Well, the laptop computer is now officially dead. While it operated in limited fashion (leaning against a cast-iron pot (or in the case of Franconia against a Jim Beam bottle), keys missing (Page Up, A, CTRL, some others, broken in half), you can now no longer read anything on the screen, unless it is in 100-point bold type font. Trying to read any document or application name is as if you are extremely near-sighted without contacts or glasses and you are trying to read Cyrillic letters. The new computer is being shipped and better times are ahead.

Talk to you soon.

pet:)

#48 Boston - Bless the Feet - May 11, 2008

Another incident related to my reduced capacity to hear people in noisy restaurants – Friday night at my friend Christian’s birthday party (Happy B-Day Chris!) at STIX (http://www.stixboston.com/) , a posh little place in the heart of the city (not for from Copley for those of you in the know), a group of us were discussing road races and my friend Sriram started mentioning a specific race where there is “the blessing of the fleet”, but being the running-focused person that I am (and not as sailing-inclined as he is) I thought he said “The blessing of the feet” which for a road race made total sense. Actually in 2004 about 55 runners of the then-108th Boston Marathon went to Our Lady of Victories in Boston’s Bay Village to have both their feet and running shoes blessed. Made sense to me, and once I start running again (I got the go-ahead for some light jogging in July) I may resort to some kind of ritual to keep the footsies happy.

STIX is a wonderful place BTW, dipped in warm and Friday-evening appropriate colors and aptly named after their “kebabs”, which feature chicken, beef or shrimp skewered on flat, broad sticks. The food was delish (try the chicken stix when you go, they are superb!!!) and the wonderful bartender whipped up a non-alcoholic cocktail for me, a pomegranate Cosmo, which was so delightful, I had two of them. Don’t worry, I took a cab home.



Believe it or not, I worked on Saturday for a few hours (but not before laying on the couch earlier on for two hours straight to finish my book group book (Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand, excellent read), and then headed over to start help with the setup for Community Running’s 10th anniversary party/ shindig http://communityrunning.org/) that took part at Crossroads, an Irish pub on Beacon Street on the edge of the Back Bay (http://crossroadspubboston.com/ ). As this is one of our favorite post-run hang-outs, we decided it was a great place to celebrate at, and we convinced the managers to give us the entire upstairs. Aside from a couple of old ladies looking for margaritas and a group of frat guys looking for their letters on the wall no one bothered us up there, and it was an enjoyable evening, with speeches, raffles, and a trivia quiz that was just evil. Did you know that Steve Prefontaine’s middle name was Roland, and that the fastest time one mile has been run backwards is 6 Minutes and 9 seconds? Well neither did I and so it came as no surprise that I did not win, not even close. 7 out of 10 of my answers were “no idea”, and for some of them I just made something up. Since I have not been running with the group since last July on account of my injury and only see people for our volunteer work (I am the coordinator of these efforts), it felt really good to see lots of familiar faces. However, it was pretty hot up there, and I left reasonably early; I was tired and completely knackered, as they say in the UK>

Speaking of the UK, today I watched a couple of movies – both play in the UK - (“Hot Fuzz” – a Must Watch and “Children of Men” – very gripping), made use of the couch and in the late afternoon went for a 22-mile bike ride on the Minuteman Bikeway (http://www.minutemanbikeway.org/Pages/intro.html). Contrary to the weather forecast we had a decent weekend, and today, just in time for Mother’s Day, the sun came out and provided me with no excuse to stick around the house. I had done a couple of 11-mile rides this week in the evenings, but the Minuteman is much less populated than the Charles River Esplanade and if you want to catch up (as my friend John and I wanted to do) and ride next to each other, this is the place. It was a nice ride, and only an episode with some troublesome youths who I believe attempted to grab my purse put a bit of a damper on the day. Thankfully there were some riders right behind us who also stepped in, and we escaped unharmed and my purse and all its contents is still with me.

The week pretty much went by quickly, work was all-consuming – Tuesday Lab Day, Wednesday I hosted a company all day, and Friday I was so absorbed in a project that only at about 2:30 PM when an email came out that there was food leftover from a luncheon, I ran screaming out of my office “Lunch, where is the lunch? I have not eaten - everyone out of my way!!” At that point I was ready to tackle anyone for a slice of cheese or a spoonful of pasta salad. Some rewards this week came in form of two long bike rides along the Esplanade, a massage at MGH and a nice luncheon with my friend Chris at Ma Soba (http://masobaboston.com/).

Next weekend will find us again up in Franconia, New Hampshire for a couple of days of hiking and a little celebration, but more on that once it has happened. I am still horrendously overdue with sending you photographs, but promise to do so soon. I am halfway through the San Diego pictures, and hoping that I may be able to finish them some time this week.

Today was Mother’s Day, so Happy M Day to all of you moms, moms-to-be-, those of you who have moms, and those of you whose moms have passed on and who you miss so much. I know you think of them often, and there are days when time does not seem to soften the blow and you miss them even more. I certainly do. I have to send a quick thank-you-for-your-kindness shout-out you to my local branch of Citizens Bank, whose staff are not only all really nice people but also gave me a flower just for being a “mom” of a 12-year old gnarly budgie named Oscar.


Hope this email finds you and your families well –

Pet:)

#47 Boston - The Purple Passion of Love - May 5 2008

You gotta love Chinese restaurants and their menus. Turns out it was actually “The Purple Tour of Romance”, but Renee and I later on just could not remember what the name of the fancy sounding drink was at Wisteria, the new Chinese place in my neighborhood. Their menu is full of surprises, but I think I asked too much of the waitress with my questions about various items. Well, the purple thingy disappointingly turned out to be just a couple of juices mixed, among them grape (hence the purple attribute), and when I inquired as to what would be in the mango smoothie, she guessingly looked at me and said “You know smoothie”? “Yes, I know smoothie” I said, “but what is in there in addition to mango”, as generally in most smoothies there is more than one fruit. Turns out it really was just mango crushed up with ice, not sweetened, which I actually did like, but after asking some more questions concerning their dinner entrees, I did not even want to venture finding what the “Sea of Magic” was. Other interesting items on the menu were “Lion’s Head”, “Sun, Moon, Stars”, and “Pipa Tofu”. And then of course there were those dishes where you clearly knew what they were, but there was no chance in hell that you would ever order never mind eat it – Pork Blood Tofu and Intestine and the Pig’s Ear appetizer, just to name a couple of the tasty bits.

Additional entertainment was provided by a couple sitting next to us, who clearly had different ideas on how to spend their Sunday morning. “I don’t wanna go to church”, exclaimed one of them, and his partner shook his head in disbelief on how he ever ended up with an atheistic boyfriend, who was clearly going to hell some day. The latter informed both us and his significant other that he rather visit the Church of Bloody Marys and Mimosas, and I don’t think there was much headway made on solving the issue.

Renee and I had been in need of some nourishment prior to our drive down to Foxboro to Gillette Stadium (http://www.gillettestadium.com/), the arena where both the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution play. Renee had won us some tickets in an MGH lottery to attend a soccer game between our home team, lovingly called “The Revs” by their fans, and let me tell you, the tickets were not too shabby. We had club access, so could either sit in our seats or sit in the clubhouse and watch the whole game in a cozy warm area, where you could buy bear for 10 dollars and a hot dog for 8. This was my first game to attend with the Revolution, and let’s just say their motto “Pride and Passion” was nowhere to be seen (http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/). The Chicago Fire, the opposing team, clearly ran the show and sacked the Revs with a score of 3:0. As much fun as it was to sit in the cushiony seats and stroll around the fancy club house, the real action was in “The Fort”, the north stands of the stadium which is where the hardcore Rev fans were sitting. They are called “The Midnight Riders” and “The Rev Army” and I think in order to sit there you must bring a drum with you - the noise coming from section was deafening, but I am sure those guys had fun.



As usual, my hearing which is going down the tubes (it may have been the noise in the place too), lead to some funny moments – as Renee and I were nosy-ing our way through the club house, we saw that there was an event going on behind a curtain, so walked up to the bouncer and asked him what the illustrious group was, and why we were not invited. What he said was that is was some sort of Youth Soccer Association, but his Massachusetts accent was so thick, that I swore he said “nude soccer association”. Now there’s a reason to quickly walk away.

In another deafness-related incident, when Renee said she was going to get something to eat and was looking for the pretzel-cooker, I thought she said that she was looking for the “pretzel hooker”. I thought, wow, these tickets are definitely worth it. Pretzel hookers and preferred parking, hot dogs at exorbitant prices, what more can you ask for?

Meanwhile last weekend, as mentioned, my friend Frank (who happens to live in my hometown in Germany) was in the hub for a conference, and for some entertainment, we decided to head up to beautiful Newburyport (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Newburyport&gbv=2) and Plum Island (http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Plum+Island). It was a lovely day and despite the fact that some of the beaches were closed on account of bird nesting season, we had a lovely stroll along Sandy Point beach and also did the dune loop portion of the Hellcat Trail. We waltzed around Newburyport for a while, but it is a touristy town and surprisingly none of the restaurants on the main drag (tourist traps, all of them!!) was a true fish restaurant. This is a seaport town for God’s Sake. We want fish!! Fortunately, we asked a woman who worked in the local book store, and she pointed us to a wonderful place called “Michael’s Harborside”, located in a small marina right next to Route 1, which served spectacular seafood. And apparently the word was out on the street, because the place was packed (http://www.michaelsharborside.com/) and deservedly so. Some of the best seafood I have had in a long time.

Sunday I lazied around watching bad movies, and after a Mexican dinner at “Fajitas and Ritas” (http://www.fajitasandritas.com/) headed to the Orpheum Theater, a beautiful old theater built in 1852 and which was the original site for the New England Conservatory (http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Orpheum+Theater+Boston). We went to see a concert with Colbie Caillat (http://www.colbiecaillatmusic.com/) – you may know her song “Bubbly” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PWfB4lurT4). The concert was nice, not spectacular, not one of those “wow, what a night” experiences. Part of the “not-so-good” bit was that there was a 40-minute break between the opening act, Jason Reeves (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rG1Rp2Jh-c) and the main act (Colbie). Loved his performance, he is a great singer/songwriter, except for when he talks - he sounds like he is about 12 years old and completely stoned, but hey…

Monday night, the 4S Wine Group (Holly, Hannah, Christos and I) accompanied by new Bostonian Caroline Grace attended a dinner at the Museum of Fine Arts to commemorate the “Art in Bloom” annual exhibit. We had tons of fun, welcomed back Christos, who is a CPA and tends to disappear during tax season, and our waiter Nathaniel thought we were the most fun table in the room. We were probably also the noisiest – which is why the flower fairy (a woman dressed up as a peony or gerbera who ran around blessing everyone with flower love or something similar) spent only a limited time with us. I think we may have scared her.

Other events this week – our boss Bruce took Renee and myself out to lunch on Wednesday at the new Italian restaurant in the Liberty Hotel, “Scampo” - http://libertyhotel.com/dining.html - very tasty food, however they just opened and the staff was not quite “in tune” shall we say? Wednesday night was the Lab-rat Dinner Group, this time at Susan’s place in the North End. We had picked Mexican as the theme, and had a feast – Georgiana made a killer guacamole, I made a Mexican Jicama salad (with beets, carrots, oranges), Susan provided all the trimmings for burritos, her sister Anne made a fabulous corn bread, and Hannah served up a flan to die for (accompanied by some cookies that we dipped in Dulce de Lece). We were so full that at some point Susan stated she was unable to lean forward or even sit up straight. Leaning back was the only option. (I agree with that since all I wanted to do was to lick out the bowl with the dulce de lece, but was unable to do so).

Thursday evening was the book group, and apparently it was not a good date for most of the members - it ended up being just Renee and me, so we made an executive decision and went out for dinner in Arlington, at a wonderful Indian restaurant called Punjab (http://www.punjabarlington.com/). We discussed the book (Christopher Moore’s “Dirty Job”) and stuffed ourselves silly with delectable Indian cuisine.

Friday night, I headed to the airport to return Frank’s suitcases to him (they stayed with me for a wee bit while he headed off to Philadelphia) and we ended his visit with a dinner at Legal Seafood at Logan Airport. Did you know that you can check in a live lobster? Frank bought one, the poor little creature gets put on ice, with a little seaweed, packed up and checked in along with the rest of the luggage. Who woulda thunk?

Some good news - my photographs, the ones I just recently showed at the MGH Cancer Center, are going to be in a small exhibit at the West End Branch of the Boston Public Library on Cambridge Street (nor far from MGH). I will be out of town for the reception, but will let the Boston contingent know when it is (June 3rd I believe).

This week has been a taxing one at work, no matter how hard I pushed, I did not seem to get anywhere, there was just too much to do. Monday was probably the worst day of the week (Isn’t it always?) and I want to describe an incident (hang in there with me, I know this is a long write-up) otherwise known as “Gels gone awry”.

Now for those of you who are not of the scientific persuasion, I will explain just a wee bit (yeeee, science lesson!). Gel electrophoresis is a process where you separate DNA – an electric current is applied to a gel matrix and the molecules will move through the matrix at different rates depending on their size. Usually you make the gel with Agarose (1 g in 100 ml of a specific water) and nuke it in the microwave, 4 min at 40% and then add ethidium bromide (very bad stuff), pour it, stick in the comb that creates the wells for the DNA, it sits 20 minutes and then you can add the DNA, apply the current and 35 minutes later you look at the result and take a nice picture. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gel_electrophoresis)

Here is how it went on Monday:

Gel Attempt #1: We are using a 2% gel (2 g in 100 ml) – which apparently boils over after about 2 ½ minutes. Do over.
Gel Attempt #2: Same thing again. Petra did not learn from the first one that it may be a good idea to hang around the microwave and watch the damn thing.
Gel Attempt #3: Figured out that I need to watch this closely, and get the gel to not boil over. Pour gel and let it sit to solidify (takes usually 20 minutes). After 15 minutes realize I forgot to put the comb in the gel.
Gel Attempt #4: Everything seems to go according to plan (except for my nerves which are a bit strained already at this point), gel comes out beautiful, comb was in; I have wells. When attempting to put DNA and loading dye in wells realize that I used wrong comb, wells too big, can’t see which wells have been filled. When adding more loading dye to each of the samples, instead of doing it gracefully, release huge blob of dye from the pipette.
Leave lab to hyperventilate and have minor nervous breakdown in the rest room.
Compose myself, finish loading wells.
Notice that the comb made only 20 wells (I needed 26).
Gel Attempt #5: Make additional gel for the remaining samples. Everything works out well. No more major disasters.

Not one of my best moments I have to say, but as they say “an opportunity to excel”. In moments like these, one has to remember my favorite quote from Albert Einstein “If we knew what we were doing, it would not be called research”. Or as one of colleagues emphasizes “It’s called RE-search”.

On that note, may all your experiments, scientific or not, go well. I am heading to my couch and will continue to watch “Anna Karenina” and let me just say typing this update was a major challenge, since my laptop is falling apart as we speak. Yesterday I lost the “a” and the “CTRL” key, several others are missing already, and the hinges that connect the screen to the base are broken, so the whole thing is leaning against a cast-iron cook pot. Never a dull moment!


Toodles,



Pet:)

#46- Boston - Bisses and Hoos - April 26, 2008

Well, that is how tired I have been, my friends – apparently I am incapable of pronouncing even the simplest of words, and when we headed to the Arlington Friends of the Drama’s performance of Charles Dickens’ “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” last night, and I was explaining, make that, trying to explain, to Stan and Caroline that this is all about audience participation, and there should be “hisses and boos”, I instead exclaimed, “You’ll love this, there will be bisses and hoos!” I blame the Valium. I pretty much blame everything on the Valium (“baby doses”, year right…), that my doctor ordered so that those cramps of mine finally settle down (and they are doing so), but it has made me a little “unfocused”, shall we say? My friend Birgit who visited last week experienced it first hand last week, and I started to come up with a whole new set of Petraisms and other incomprehensible gibberish in German- somebody has to write this stuff down some day.

Back to Edwin (http://www.afdtheatre.org /). “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” was pretty much the last thing Charles Dickens ever wrote; he actually never finished it, and so from his point of view, there was no indication as to where he wanted the story to go. Did young Edwin Drood really disappear; was he murdered, or did he fake his own death in an insurance scam? No one knows, and that is the beauty of it – theater troupes can finish the play any way they see fit or involve the audience as happened last night in Arlington. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Drood). This one was actually performed as a musical, written by singer, songwriter, composer Rupert Holmes, who was best know for his “Escape” pop ditty, also known as the “Pina Colada Song” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVdhZwK7cS8). “If you like Pina Colada……..”

First the story – young Edwin is about to be betrothed to the lovely Rosa Bud, but his uncle John Jasper, a sinister character and choirmaster, has the hots for her too. He is her music teacher and keeps trying to convince her that he is the better deal. Enter Neville Landless (our friend and dinner group member Irene’s boyfriend Dave, who looks mighty good in a turban, if I may say so myself) and his sister Helena, who both take an immediate dislike to Jasper. One night in Cloisterham, where the whole story plays out, Edwin Drood disappears. There are tons of suspicious characters including the Reverend Septimus Crisparkle, lawyer Hiram Grewgious and his clerk, Mr. Bazzard, stonemason Durdles, detective Dick Datchery, and Princess Puffer (who was most un-princess-like and ran an opium den) and the honorable mayor Thomas Sapsea.

The audience hissed and booed as requested last night, and also yelled “gulp, gulp, gulp”, whenever Durdles drank from his flask (which was often), and a little into the second act, we got to decide who the detective would be (Helena was chosen, even though I wanted her to be the murderess….), votes were taken as to who the audience thought the murderer should be (we were not told, but the play revealed it later) and who the lovers should be. One needs to have a happy ending, right? Well, turns out Princess Puffer was the culprit last night – apparently she had been Rosa Bud’s nanny a long time ago, and could not stand seeing her former charge tortured by Jasper. On the night of Edwin’s disappearance she went out to do him in, and unfortunately attacked Edwin by accident since he had borrowed his uncle’s cloak. Complicated you think? Turns out – Jasper found Edwin’s body and not to be implicated hid him in a not-yet-closed vault at the cemetery. Alas, Edwin was not dead and showed up later, to the delight of everyone and the happy couple turned out to be Helena and the very excitable Mr Bazzard, who according to my friend Caroline, who just moved here to Boston from the UK, had the best and most accurate British accent of the troupe. It was definitely a fun experience!!

The whole gang of us (Patrick, Ellen, Irene, Jen, Stan, Caroline and later Dana and Amy) had met earlier in Arlington for a very nice dinner at “Not Your Average Joe’s” , quite a nice restaurant to enjoy a pre-performance dinner (http://www.notyouraveragejoes.com/)

I cannot tell you how happy I am that this week ended – Little Miss Cranky here was tired and in a pretty stinky mood. Post-conference work takes on a very hectic pace, and for some reasons the evenings piled up with things – not unpleasant stuff, just lots of it, and they just resulted in an accumulation of lack of sleep that made me not a nice person. I actually flew of the handle on Tuesday morning already and snapped at a colleague of mine who told me that he does not recycle. It was Earth Day, I had just returned from my stint at the MGH Environmental Committee table in the main building, and was a bit excited about the issue, and I totally lost it. When I later apologized, he informed me that he was just pulling my leg and of course does he recycle, but I was so tired on Tuesday already that I was not picking up on any nuances. Be very explicit with me when you see me, I seem to be going in and out of my mind these days with regularity.

Last weekend I wrote to you from Franconia, New Hampshire, where Rick, Birgit and I spend a lovely weekend. Sunday we drove around a bit to show Birgit the White Mountains, in particular the Presidential Range, stopped at a few roadside waterfalls, and after a visit at Katrina’s Organic Market and Café in North Conway for food, we decided to go to see Diana’s Bath’s, which is a spectacular series of cascades, waterfalls, and potholes. As a result of the snowmelt and the enormous quantities of water gushing down it looked impressive and breathtaking. If you are not a big hiker, this is a very accessible place to go, only about half a mile in, however we went without our stabilicers or yak traks and it was tricky to walk on the slushy/icy snow that still remains on the ground. (http://www.newenglandwaterfalls.com/waterfall.php?name=Diana's%20Baths).

Birgit stayed until Monday, we said goodbye over a nice dinner at Ma Soba on Cambridge Street in Boston (http://masobaboston.com/), one of my favorite restaurants in the hub for Asian food. Monday was Marathon Day (and Patriots Day) – the streets were littered with people and later on with runners wrapped up in Mylar blankets; excitements buzzed everywhere, and those few of us who were not running or watching, kept monitoring the progress of our colleagues and friends on the Internet.

My friend Caroline moved here from the UK (everyone say “HI Caroline, Welcome to Boston”), started her job at MGH and found a nice flat on Beacon Hill and is ready to get settled in. We already started a tradition, when she came to visit for interviews, and headed to my favorite neighborhood restaurant, The East Side Bar and Grille located a few footsteps away from my house. Caroline loves meat loaf, and with that in mind I think she is well on her way to become Americanized.

I slept in this morning, which was so nice and already fell a bit more together. My friend Frank from Germany is in town for a conference and we will be heading up to Newburyport and Plum Island this afternoon, and then hopefully find a nice place for a lovely dinner.

I’ll leave you with a couple of nuggets, one is a follow-up item to the Mari Lynn email I sent you this week – if you think she was bad, you have not yet heard Wing, a Hong Kong born, NZ resident, who I honestly believe should not be allowed near anything made of glass. You must listen to her “operatic” renditions of AC/DC songs. It is absolutely horrific. http://www.wingmusic.co.nz/listen.html

Secondly, an article I saw on Boston.com, which stated that a mother’s diet may influence the baby’s sex, so if you want a boy apparently you need to eat lots of bananas and cereal. Just thought you should know. (Interestingly enough that IS exactly what I had for breakfast….. no worries though; I am not giving birth to anything except for a headache in the near future…..) http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/04/24/mothers_diet_may_be_tied_to_babys_sex/

On that note, wishing you a nice weekend – New England is feverishly trying to force spring to come out, everything is blooming and blossoming, but I think next week we are expecting lots of rain and lower temperatures. As usual, we may move pretty much straight from winter into summer. And of course you remember the 4 Seasons in Boston – Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, Construction.

See ya!

Pet:)

#45- Boston - Koooooooz!!! April 19, 2008

Kooooooz, as in San Diego Padres infielder Kevin Kousmanov, certainly had a good day in the park, Petco Park in Sandy Eggo that is this past Tuesday night. On my last night in my new favorite town on the Pacific side of things, my friend Mat Leese and I attended a game between the hometown Padres and the visiting Colorado Rockies (you know the guys we (the Red Sox) beat last year in the World Series) - courtesy of the conference organizers. Actually I think everyone who attended the conference was in the ballpark that night, and I wonder how empty the place would have been, had we not been there.

The game started off slowly, and Padres pitcher Randy Wolf kept zipping those fastballs across the plate for some stellar strike-outs, keeping the Rockies at bay, but the action started mid-game, and mostly due to Mr. Kousmanov's excellent baseball skills, the home team scored six runs in one inning, and the Rockies never recovered from that. It was a lovely evening, a "chilly" 60 degrees out there - amazing how quickly I got spoiled by the first 80-degree weather I encountered, and moped about the fact that it was "quite nippy" that night. Meanwhile folks in Boston were hiding under comforters on account of 40-degree weather. I am such a wimp.

You know what was great about this trip and this conference? Everything was walking distance - the conference center a short block and a half from the hotel, which in turn was located right in the historic gas lamp district, and the ball park literally 25 steps away from my hotel's front entrance. In addition, San Diego and the Gaslamp District offer some very nice meals - nothing topped the Persian meal at Bandar I wrote to you about last week, however, my dish of seared and peppered tuna in ponzu sauce with asparagus at the Ocean Room Oyster Bar (http://www.oceanroomsandiego.com/) looked so good, I had to take a photo of it. Even the garnish, an orchid, was edible and I know some friends of the orchid who would shiver at the thought that I eat precious flora such as this, but I just had to try. Another meal at Aqua Blu, also located on one of the Gaslamp's main drags, 4th Street (http://www.aquabluseafood.com/) was also high on the list of places to recommend for future SD visitors - even though the cod I ordered did not remind (or taste) at all of the state fish of Massachusetts, but as I was educated today in the seafood store across the street from my house in Cambridge, it may have been so-called black cod. Wikipedia confirmed it by saying it is "unrelated to the true cod and gets its name from the fact that it is a food fish. It is tasty to eat and is commercially fished". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cod)

What did I not like about this trip? Standing on concrete floors in a conference centers all day - most of my work centers around the poster sessions and in the exhibit halls, I do have to talk to tons of people, and that means standing A LOT. The carpet is pretty much the thickness of a sheet of paper and I had to ice my feet every night, just to make sure that my heels would not get inflamed, and it did seem to do the trick.

The trip back, of course, did not go smoothly, since I seem to have acquired the ability to break planes. Remember the last conference I attended, when the plane did not even leave Logan Airport before it broke down? Well, this time it happened in Denver where I had to switch planes on my way to Boston and wouldn't you know it, same thing. We sat in the plane, and it never worked, we waited for a while until a new plane came in from Seattle and with a nice 4-hour delay I arrived in Boston, tired and most cranky. I have a gift, I tell you. If you see me on the same plane with you, be prepared.

That was Wednesday and Thursday my friend Birgit from Germany flew into town for a conference and joined Oscar and me at Casa Petra. We went for a meal at the King and I, one of my favorite Thai places in Boston, even though they did have an off night, and we needed to send a dish back (http://www.kingandi-boston.com/). After that it was off to Watertown to pick up Oscar at his vacation home with the Cooley family, and I almost did not make it there. I was so out of it from lack of sleep that I was halfway to Route 2 before I realized that that was not where I wanted to go.

Friday must have been one of the busiest days I have had in a long time, and I did not get to eat lunch until about 3 PM. It was nonstop all day, and I was glad to leave around 7 PM to join Birgit and her fellow conference attendees for some nice food and drink at the Parish Cafe on Boylston Street. Downtown Boston was a zoo, and no matter where you went, it was packed to the gills - the marathon is on Monday and there are conferences going on left and right, which means that there are probably an additional 30,000 people running around the city. We split up in two groups, got (as expected) excellent food and beer and everyone was happy (http://www.parishcafe.com/index2.html). All the sandwiches at the Parish Cafe are designed by chefs from renowned Boston restaurants, and that coupled with their beer selection is worth a try any day.

Today, after a very nice breakfast at Z Square (at Harvard Square in Cambridge - http://www.z-square.com/) - we toured Harvard Yard (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Harvard+Yard&gbv=2) for a bit before hoofing it up to New Hampshire, in particular Franconia. We arrived here early afternoon, and after resting on the porch with the greatest view ever, we headed down back toward Franconia Notch and The Basin - http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Franconia+Notch+The+Basin. We had a nice little hike planned, and whereas everywhere else it was sunny and hot (yes, spring has sprung everywhere and in Boston the magnolia trees are heading into full bloom), we needed our stabilicers (http://www.32north.com/prod_stab.htm) to walk on lots of snow. There was tons of postholing going on (sinking into the snow knee-deep) and the snow melt was so strong that we had to readjust our hiking plans. Cascade Brook was so powerful and out of control, that we would have not been able to cross it at all (which is what the hike required) For those of you who do whitewater rafting, these were class 5 rapids! It was stunningly beautiful though, and we did have a nice hike, which was celebrated later with a nice home-cooked meal (organic salmon with roasted fingerling potatoes and zucchini, snap peas, and a prime salad with a made-from scratch vinaigrette courtesy of Birgit).

Time to go to sleep now, I am pretty tired and we want to head over to see the Presidentials tomorrow. We learned that the Cog Railway up Mt Washington runs all year around, and maybe we'll take a little trip. I am a member of the observatory and maybe we'll even get a tour. Stay tuned for further updates.

Ready for some zzzzs.

pet:)

#44 Boston - Hooters and Laserbeams - April 12, 2008

That sounds like a promising headline, doesn't it? Well, let's see if I can live up to it.

First of all, greetings from sunny San Diego (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=San+Diego&gbv=2), where the outside temperature is above 80 degrees, and the temperature in the convention center probably sub-zero, so you can imagine the challenges when it comes to dressing appropriately. I have to say though, it is one of the most accessible conference centers I have ever been to, and not only because it is right a block and a half from my hotel, but also because it has an outside terrace, which especially the contingent from the Northeast seemed to enjoy quite a bit. I overheard a woman say there today, "My neck is burning, but I don't care" to which I replied - "you must be from Boston" (I was right).

This is my first visit to San Diego, and aside from the temperature shock (I have not experienced 80 degrees since last August), it is quite a lovely place. My hotel, the Marriott, is located in the historic Gaslamp District (http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=San+Diego+Gaslamp+Quarter), and also within striking distance (no pun intended) of the baseball park (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Petco+Park&gbv=2). From my window I can literally see the seats, and this will make my travel to Tuesday night's game(courtesy of the conference) between the Padres (home team) and the Colorado Rockies (the guys the Red Sox beat in the World Series last year) a very quick walk to the park. Guess, I'll be cheering for the home team.

The Gaslamp District is an absolutely charming part of town, stretching about 17 blocks or so, and was developed in 1867, when 5th Street was chosen as a main street as San Diego made plans to have a center closer to the Bay (which I can also see from my window). It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and includes a total of 94 historic buildings, most of them Victorian - restaurants, galleries, theaters, you name it, this is the happening place in town.

First thing Friday night, I ran into my friend Mat Leese from the UK, and we quickly toured the Gaslamp Quarter and then decided on a restaurant, and let me tell you, I was glad we picked Bandar, a Persian restaurant, over the Hooters that was located on the next corner (even though I had this strange desire to check out and see if the women there were really as well endowed as the rumors have it). Bandar (http://www.bandarrestaurant.com/) was fantastic, to say the least - Mat chose the Chicken Shish Kabab and I opted for Fesenjan, a chicken stew - simmered chicken in sweet flavored pomegranate sauce with finely crushed walnuts. This was by far the best Persian Food I have ever tasted, and the portions there were more than generous. After walking around some more, and checking out galleries and stores, we ended the evening on a nice note at Rockin' Baja (http://www.rockinbaja.com/) with a nice treat for the margarita-deprived Mat (apparently this is not a big item in the UK) and a virgin mango daiquiri the size of a watermelon for yours truly.

Today, in the only three touristy hours I will enjoy for the next five days, I snuck out for a long lunch to visit the USS Midway Museum (http://www.midway.org/site/pp.asp?c=eeIGLLOrGpF&b=3038957) which is a 986 foot-long aircraft carrier located at San Diego Bay. Now, many of you may not know how obsessed I am with aircraft carriers, and so I could not help myself to hoof it over there and check it out. Let me tell you, this is one fantastic experience! Carriers of this type were first commissioned in 1945 and basically served until the end of the Gulf War (at least this one did). It held up to 130 aircraft, including hornets, F-14 Tomcats, S-3 Viking Submarine jets, and AV-8 Harrier Jump Jets, just to name a few. The guided tour leads you up to the flight deck, you can have a chat with a couple of Veterans who served on the Midway (hi Stan!), and then you can explore the whole area below the hangar, including sick bay, mess halls, officer's quarters, bomb elevators; you can sit in one of those simulators, where you would experience how it would be to fly a fighter jet, and which would be a surefire way to make me throw up, so I definitely passed on that one.

Tomorrow the conference will kick into high gear, so busy times ahead. Haha, funny - actually the time leading up to my departure for San Diego was not any less hectic, and resulted again in my slaughtering the English language (I promised Stephanie to bring her back some "laser beams" from the conference - laser pointers was what I meant), and another fun evening Tuesday night, when I went out with my friend Linda to check out a new restaurant near Kendall Square, ended in unplanned hodgepodge. The restaurant, first of all, is fabu, you must check it out! Called "Hungry Mother" (http://www.hungrymothercambridge.com/) it definitely gives Southern cuisine a high-end nod and a good kick into the league of Cambridge's must-eateries. I chose a salad with beets, blood oranges in a lemon-thyme vinaigrette, collard greens and a Serrano Ham made in Virginia that was to die for, and Linda opted for the Cornmeal Catfish, collards, Carolina gold rice middlins (http://www.ansonmills.com/page19/page49/cgrgrits.html) and a mustard-caper vinaigrette. The hectic part of the evening started when I realized I was missing my wallet - after looking everywhere, my basket, my purse, under the table, who knows where else, I decided there were only two places where the wallet could possibly be, else I would be up a certain creek. A few frantic phone calls later, my late-working colleague Stanley found the darn thing on the floor of my office and all was well. Of course when I came home, wallet and all, I realized I also had packed in my dinner napkin from the restaurant, so if they are one short, here's the reason. I promise to wash it, bring it back and maybe offer some restitution in the form of a batch of home-baked cookies.

Monday night I had also been out, and if you think the three theater plays the week before would keep me out of the artsy scene, you were wrong. My colleague Stanley (the above-mentioned rescuer of wallets) and I headed for a fundraiser for the Lyric Stage Company. Actually it was a combo fundraiser/ celebration for the 10th anniversary of Spiros Veloudos, the artistic director, who turned this little theater into one of Boston's most favored cultural venues. This evening was fantastic, and thanks to Stanley I got to meet quite a few of the actors, including Peter Carey (who played John Adams in the musical 1776) and my personal favorite Christopher Chew (who I have such a crush on, I admit it publicly - http://villagetheatreproject.org/a/company/chewc.html). Aside from the reception, a silent auction (where I did not win anything - but I did walk away with quite a nice goodie bag, because I bought some blinking plastic thingy for $25), there was a revue of Spiros' favorite musical songs performed by all of his favorite actors. It was quite simply wonderful!!

And if you really want to know, last Sunday, as promised, I did nothing, lolled around on the couch, reading, knitting, watching sub-par movies, whatever one does on a not-so-nice day in Boston. Temperatures, aside from one freakish 70-degree day, are still lingering in the 40s and 50s, but we can feel that spring is right around the corner. It has to be, or else bad things may happen.

I will be here in Sandy Eggo until Wednesday (Oscar is vacationing in Watertown with his animal friends Marge and Highway, and his human friends Ellen and Patrick), and on Thursday my friend Birgit will visit from Germany for a few days. Stay tuned for tales from that upcoming adventure.

I have to head out now for some chow, and assemble a group of dinner companions, which I think may include two women from Scotland, my friend and colleague Katja from Germany, and a fellow Cambridge resident, who I just met in a boutique trying on hats. There may be other people as well, one never knows at these conferences. Maybe we'll end up at Hooters after all.

pet:)