Book Review Wednesday: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

I was lucky enough to receive this book for Christmas from my Mom and I couldn't have been more excited. I have read a couple other Jon Krakauer books and I was looking forward to diving into another. I can describe this book in one word: haunting. A few years ago, I took a trip with my friend Lisa and we were in Kathmandu, Nepal for a few days. I was fascinated by the place for a number of reasons. I had never seen mountains so tall and I had never seen people who wanted to climb said mountains. In Nepal, I saw both. I looked out the window of the airplane and I saw mountains that were even with our height in the sky. Giant crags of rock and ice with the jet stream slamming into them, blowing ice and snow in a plume hundreds of feet in the air. I can't imagine what it's like to stand at the top of a mountain like that and I still can't wrap my head around the idea that there are people who climb these mountains. In this book, Krakauer is a reporter on a guided trip to climb Mt. Everest when all disaster strikes. In the end, his team is decimated, having left several people on the mountain to die. This book is an account, as accurate as he can muster, of the time leading up to and after a disaster that will hopefully not be repeated ever again. Krakauer has an interesting way of writing. He tries to be matter of fact (as he is in the other books I have read, discussing situations which he was not directly a part of) but he somewhat tows the line between emotional recollections and hard facts. I'm not sure that he does this well, per se, but he does it honestly, as far as I can tell. Climbing Everest had always been a dream of his, and he seemed quite experienced in mountain climbing, having climbed several technically challenging mountains in his life. However, he has no experience climbing at high altitude, which could be problematic. This book was phenomenal - I couldn't put it down. It's adventure and intrigue, with characters that are likable and others that make your blood boil. It's hard to reconcile this book from the true events. For one thing, the book is telling a story of something I am so unfamiliar with, so it seems like a work of fiction. I had a hard time contrasting this with the fact that all this happened. That people were left on a mountain, never to come home again. That people made a decision to leave home, climb Everest and never returned. It was humbling to do an internet search to see the faces of these people, and to see what climbing Everest looks like. It was interesting to hear the author's take on the events, as they're not an entirely satisfactory explanation of the events (as most real life events are). I would imagine some of the things that occurred could only be understood by the people who have been there to experience the harsh reality of climbing this mountain, of living at altitude, of battling frostbite and of literally having your life hanging by a string. This book was, all together, haunting. Literally haunting. The images, the scenery in my mind created from the words on the page are still with me, days after I finished the book. It's a story of heroism, perseverance, determination and sheer luck. It's something I won't soon forget.

Monday Numbers

• chatted with several PIs on Friday about my predicament and got some great encouragement and support
• went to dinner at a new restaurant with our friend Chris. Did not have one beer - crazy right?
• watched 2 Daily Show episodes on the internets.
• ran errands on Saturday, but was so exhausted I ended up taking a 2 hour nap. Why am I exhausted? I have no idea...
• watched 1 movie, Couples Retreat. I'll have a review later this week. Read 1 book Into Thin Air - will also have a review of that sometime soon.
• made 2 batches of hummus, 1 banana bread and 1 pan of chocolate chip cookies.
• spent Sunday doing yard work - planting about 30 bulbs and 1 Christmas tree. And I really screwed up my wrist doing so. I am now wearing 1 ace bandage on my right hand. Ugh.
• was able to Skype with Randi and Casey for the first time! What a great chat! I loved seeing Casey in action. What a cutie-pa-tootie!
• Attended and Oscar party with 8 people and 1 dog. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the good stuff was awarded, but we still had a great time. 
• Today and tomorrow, lots of meetings and talks to attend. Someday I will write my thesis :)

Just in case you were wondering...

this one's for the children

Happy BIrthday, Dad!

 

Wish I could be there to have a black and tan with you! 

Happy birthday! I hope it's wonderful!

Love,

Christine

A Few of my Favorite Things Haiku Friday

Wigwam socks, tall boots

dressing up, high heels, turtle 

fur hats, warm ski gloves.

***

Hot chamomile tea

shortbread cookies, thick, gooey

pizza, burritos.

***

Shoes without socks, short

sleeved tee shirts, gelato, warm

February day!

Another Movie Review: 500 Days of Summer

Warning: Spoilers ahead...
As you all know by now, I am sucker for a romantic movie, and this one just tickled me. It's the story of Tom and Summer, who meet at work one day. And it's basically the opposite of any of the normal romantic comedies you see. Usually, the girl falls for a guy and can't get him out of her head, so she does something zany to make him fall for her. This movie, however, had the guy in that position. Tom is just desperate to fall in love and he thinks Summer's the one. She honest, funny, and totally straightforward with him - she's just not so sure. Partially, I loved this movie because Summer was so well played by Zooey Deschanel. Partially, I was thrilled that Summer was a strong, confident woman, unafraid to be alone and quite enthralled with the world around her. The long and the short of it is that things don't work out, for many reasons. I think most of us have been through that absolutely heart wrenching breakup, and this movie portrayed that really well, as did Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays Tom. And, for some reason, the city of Los Angeles plays this lovely, romantic city in this movie. The characters ride the bus and the subway places, sit in parks on hills overlooking a skyline I've never seen, they show they beautiful, old fashioned buildings that I had no idea existed (for the longest time, I was trying to figure out where they were supposed to be!). The cinematography was beautiful, the music was really well done. All the characters were really well played, including the goofy side-kicks. And, in the end, Tom finds that he's just not happy, and that happiness isn't found in a person, it's found in yourself. And there's a cute ending where Tom and Summer become friends again, after enduring a terrible breakup. I know this is all fantasy, not reality, it's a movie, but I thought it was really great. It was quirky, well done and interesting, not too long, beautiful to look at, and wonderfully honest. If you haven't seen this movie, check it out.

Movie Review: The Millenium Trilogy

I was absolutely thrilled to see that Steig Larssons' Millenium Trilogy books had been made into movies in his native Sweden. I had heard of these movies, had heard they were very well done, and was really excited to see they were on Instant Play on Netflix. I've been battling off a cold (it didn't take me down, damnit!) and I was pretty low key for most of the weekend and the beginning of this week. I watched all three of the movies and I can't say enough about how well done they were. I've already told you how much I enjoyed the books, so it was really amazing to see things come to life on the big screen, so to speak. It was great just to see what Stockholm looks like, it was amazing to hear the names and places spoken in Swedish, and it was thrilling to watch the characters played by such amazing actors. I was enthralled, even though I knew what was going to happen. I think, by far, the first movie, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was the best. It stuck so closely to the plot line of the book, it was eerie. I am usually disappointed by movie adaptations of books since they tend to leave out important details, but this adaptation was excellent. There are a few things the movies left out, for example, the relationship between Erika Berger and Mikael Blomqvist - although it was emphasized so much in the books, it wasn't really touched upon in the movies, except for some brief scenes. Noomi Rapace playing Lisbeth Salander was amazing. So amazing. I can't say enough about her - her acting was superb and I hung off of every word she said, every move she made. She is such an amazing heroine, and I was just thrilled to watch her. As a minor point, I was a bit disappointed in the portrayal of Erika Berger, a character I really admired in the books. Her role was, unfortunately, cut out of a lot of the plotline in the third movie, which streamlined the plot, but left a strong character looking fairly weak. Altogether, I loved these movies and I loved the characters coming to life. I likely would watch the American versions of these films when they come out, but I cannot imagine them being even comparable to the Swedish versions that were so well done.

Monday Numbers

• We performed our dance on Friday and it went off without a hitch! It was so much fun - I am pretty sure I had a super goofy grin on my face for the whole 2 minutes we danced! I didn't fill up my dance card, but I did get about 5 dances in with people other than Alex. The waltz, tho? The waltz is super hard!
• Saturday, we ran errands, per usual. Its been pretty nice weather lately (relatively speaking - it's been in the 40s), so we wandered around and took in some sights for a bit. Then we headed home to do some stuff around the house. Alex fixed his bikes a bit while I finally finished all the Save the Date cards for the wedding. I still have a few stragglers, but those won't take too long.
• While filling out the addresses, I watched So I Married an Axe Murderer for about the 1000th time. That movie is still funny and I just loved all those dumb jokes. I remember having that movie memorized when I was younger. Turns out, I still remember some of the parts verbatim. I think it's also funny because you can see Mike Myers other characters, from Austin Powers and Shrek come out in this movie, too. 
• Sunday turned out to be a happy housewife day. I did not leave the house - hell, I didn't even get out of my pajamas, but I managed to make several dishes for dinner this week. I made Cuban black beans and rice, French Onion Soup, some fresh bread and some Scottish Shortbread to round it out. I also made a batch of regular black beans, should go well with eggs or on burritos. I had never made French Onion soup. It's kind of a pain in the rear to make it, but it was worth the time. You just have to put your onions in the oven for at least 3 hours (I was amazed they even resembled onions after that), deglaze the pan bout 4 times and then add your broths and seasonings and simmer for about 30 minutes. 
• We watched part of the Grammy Awards Show last night. I always like to see what the "kids these days" are up to. I did enjoy Cee Lo Green's song with Gwenyth Paltrow - I mean, how can you not like puppets and a giant peacock? I also liked Eminem and Rihanna's song, and I think I might have to download 3 or 4 songs today, just to keep up with the times
• Today, once again, it's back to the grind. Writing and finishing up this chapter today, starting on an intro chapter tomorrow. I should finish with about 7 chapters, which is a ludicrous amount of information. Oh well, that's what happens when they don't let you graduate in a timely fashion.

Today is the Day Haiku Friday

Dance showcase tonight

Been practicing for months now

I think we're ready.

***

Just have to figure

out what to wear, how to wear

bronze high heels with it.

***

Party down, dance it

up lots of people gonna

watch us get fun-kay!

:)

Dancing Machine

So, lately, Alex and I are all about dance. It's a great release, it requires very little brain power and I am learning how to dance in high heels, which is a feat in and of itself. So, this Friday, we are performing a lovely half rhumba, half hustle routine for the dance party at our studio. I am both excited and nervous, but as far as I can tell, we've got the routine down pretty good. As a big plus, the whole thing is about two minutes long, so it's not too crazy to think about. The studio likes to celebrate all holidays, so the party on Friday is a Valentine's Day party and the studio is doing a thing called "dance cards" where you get a card and fill out people's names for particular dances, like in the old days way back when. It always makes me think about the movie Meet Me in St. Louis, where Judy Garland plays the daughter of a business man who decides that the family has to move out of St. Louis right after Christmas. The family is devastated, but decides it's for the best, if it's for his job. Judy Garland and her sister attend the local Christmas dance, without dates, and fill out dance cards and dance the night away in these amazingly lovely gowns. Incidentally, Judy Garland's boyfriend then shows up and proposes in the most romantic way. I can't imagine any of these things happening at this dance party, but that is what I'm thinking about :)
So, we just agreed to be part of another performance, this one is a routine for a show at a reunion or something like that. We're part of a swing performance, which should be a blast. We just started taking double lessons on Wednesday nights with seven other couples (the couples are not yet complete, but the instructor is working on it). We'll perform sometime in April, and we might even be putting on more than one performance, which will be great. We've already learned the Charleston, which is a funny kind of dance. I've been doing it all over the house, and I know I look silly, but oh well! Alex and I are having a lot of fun, still taking some private lessons, and I think this is something we'll try to stick to as time goes on. I know life always gets in the way of things, but I hope that dance is something we can do for a long time.
Which brings me to my last thought. I was talking to another one of the girls in the swing show, Kara. She was saying that she had just gotten married and that she and her husband had really loved the dance lessons, so they decided to continue them. He always brings a bottle of wine, they try to get dinner before or after the lesson and it turns into a really nice date night. I said that I totally agreed with her and that Alex had gotten us group lessons as a birthday present to me a couple years ago. I thought it was such a great time that we ended up signing up for private lessons, which has been a great experience for us both. And then, I just started wondering why there are so few people who dance anymore. Why nobody has dinner and dancing as a date and why dancing has been relegated to clubs on Friday and Saturday nights. Why do guys dislike dancing so much that they won't take their significant others out for a lesson, just to get the feel of it? I'm always talking to people who are bored with the whole dating scene or who are sick of the whole dinner and a movie thing, yet nobody thinks about dance. I guess, in my mind, "date night" should be a regular thing, as regular as you can make it. It doesn't have to be a fancy show or a big dinner. Try dancing one time. Even in your living room, even in your yard. Try the waltz, try the salsa, take a lesson, check the Y. Lessons are usually 45 minutes long, and it ends up being a great time, especially because there's no pressure, there's no reason you need to be perfect or perform well. But you do get to communicate and laugh together and try to figure out how the other person works, which is always interesting. So, this V-Day, or beyond, you should try being a dancing machine. Just like MJ :)

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

I am not planning on reviewing these books, mostly because I believe most people have read them and have loved them. These books, to me, are like that old pair of comfy jeans - so familiar and comfortable and so enjoyable. The books open a whole new world to me, one that I always enjoy and one that I can't get enough of. Most of the experiences (in some way) I can identify with, the adolescence, the drama, the awkwardness, the family, the friendships - all are so universal. I love books that I can get so wrapped up in, that I can almost think I am taking part in the scenes, the action, the experiences. And when I read these books, these chapters before bed at night, I have these great dreams about running the halls of the Hogwarts castle with Harry and Ron and Hermione. I know, a little childish, but honestly, something that is really missing from my life of science and real world bills and responsibilities? Imagination. So, I can't exactly knock it. It's like directing my own movie in my head.
Alex and I were talking about whether Rowling would write more Harry Potter books, and I have to believe that she will. Alex thinks a prequel, dealing with Harry's family before he was born and their time at Hogwarts, or even a focus on Dumbledore might be fun. I was thinking that even a book just focusing on the normal, everyday life of kids at Hogwarts might be fun, especially for littler kids - simpler, schooltime adventures or some such thing. Alex firmly believes that anything taking place after Harry has killed Voldemort would be boring and wouldn't have much interest or excitement, but I beg to differ. I think the world that Rowling created is so imaginative, and the characters so identifiable, deep and memorable, that even simpler, shorter stories would hold interest for the fans.
I think one of my favorite things about the books is Hermione and Ginny (in the later books). They are both true modern feminists, portrayed as both brave and intelligent, able to complete any of the tasks the boys can, and never held back by traditional gender roles. These girls are wonderful role models for both girls and boys, helping to remind us all that we are all capable to doing what we put our minds to, no matter our background, our gender, or our families.
I think the most disappointing part of the books is the ending of the seventh book. While I like the ending, it is just a little too far out of my reach in terms of understanding and believability. I guess I don't understand why Harry couldn't be killed by Voldemort, but everyone else could be. And I understand that Rowling had to somehow explain all the things about Dumbledore, but I don't really love the scene that takes place when Harry is in "limbo" (I'm assuming that's what it is). And I think, for a romantic like me, I wanted more closure. I know that Voldemort is eliminated, and his Death Eaters go on the run, but some of the most enjoyable part of the books (for me) were Harry's experiences with his "family", the Weasleys, Hermione, the Order of the Phoenix, etc. I think I would have liked another chapter about his life, where he ends up, how he ends up there. And (while this is really complex, and likely not appropriate for a children's book) how the magical world recovers from such a thing as Voldemort. How do you first ask people to prove their "blood status" and then, relatively soon thereafter say "just kidding, go about your business". How do you go about reunification? I know that Germany struggled with this after WWII, and the US is certainly struggling with it 150 years after the Civil War. I realize these things are difficult to deal with, and perhaps I am reading too far into things....
The truth is that I love these books and I know I will read them to my future children - they have brought me joy and I have thoroughly enjoyed re-reading them again and again. I am looking forward to the last movie in the series, although I am sure to be disappointed as the books are always better!

Monday Numbers

• Friday was a recruitment weekend. I got to meet up with 2 potential incoming grad students. Nothing like hanging out with a bunch of 22 year olds to make you feel old! It wasn't too bad, but when one guy asked me if I thought he'd make friends, I just couldn't identify. Just seemed like kindergarten all over again!
• Saturday was miserable and rainy, so we took the bus down to Reading Terminal and TJ's and ran our errands. We ate at the KOV for the 2nd time in 2 weeks!
• I was pretty useless this weekend, as I finished (finally) reading the 6th and 7th Harry Potter books. I just couldn't put them down, as I think it was only the 2nd time I'd read them. I did enjoy them immensely - that will be another post for this week.
• I went for a 5 mile run on Sunday - it's been absolutely amazing weather these past two days. Well, I guess it's relative, right? It's been in the mid-40s with sunshine and the ice/snow is finally starting to melt. Seems glorious to me because the weather has been so nasty this winter, but likely to people in CA, it wouldn't be that nice :)
• We went to a Superbowl party last night at a friend's house. There was about 20 people there, which was great. I couldn't hear the commentary, the commercials, or the halftime show, so I though it was all brilliant. And they switched to the Puppy Bowl during most commercials, which was kinda stupid, but kinda cute. I mean, what's not to like about puppies? And, I was glad to see the Steelers lose. And, I suppose Green Bay win, too. I think they're the only team that's actually owned by the people of Green Bay, which is pretty cool. Congrats, champs!
• Today will again be glorious and gorgeous, and I am hoping to get out of here early (for me) to enjoy some of this weather. This week, we have our first ever dance showcase on Friday, so wish us luck! Should be fun, if nothing else! 

Happy Monday, y'all!

Read on a Biomed Library Desk

• Don't for one second doubt your genius! OK, I won't
• Makes me wanna holler
• Many phone numbers with the words written, "Call for sex". (Does that actually happen? Um, yes, hello! I was studying in the library and I saw your number on the desk....)
• Smile you know who is admiring you and your ass
• Penne sucks!
• I adore you O Christ and I bless you because of your holy cross you have redeemed the world
• Alas, the onion you are eating is someone else's water lily
• COVERING LETTER
• Baby Jargary
• Son of Sam
• Cindy N Brian
• I wanna ace this exam
• Forgiveness is more than sayin' sorry
• I ought to die
• I should too
• Maybe I will
• We will all eventually die
• Syke
• Astronomy blows :(
• I hate people. People hate you too.
• Dental School ROCKS
• Pakistani Prince
• He is the Jam Man The Beast

Pet Peeves about the Snow (because, really, what else would I talk about on Feb. 1st?)

• Able bodied people who do not shovel their sidewalks, and leave them to just turn into an icy death trap for one and all. 
• Enormous puddles of melted snow at every corner of the street, making it impossible to cross the street without stepping into them.
• People who drive very quickly through enormous puddles and splash you.
• Dirty snow. Yellow snow. Orange snow. Vomit snow.
• Having to ride the bus daily. Having to take two buses to work.
• Not being able to run or bike outside.
• The panic/frantic-ness of a visit to the grocery store. You would think everyone is stocking up on food for the apocalypse, the way people shop during the winter. 
• The lack of quality sunshine.
• The cold.
• Unplowed bike lanes.
• The general lack of plowing in my neighborhood.
• I miss the feeling of sunshine on my face. Oh, and probably a little bit of Vitamin D as well.
• The loss of motivation, positivity, and a feeling of general malaise. I feel sleepy without adequate sunshine, I then sleep too much (or, alternatively, not at all) and then I walk around feeling like a zombie for the rest of the day.
• The general absence of fresh, ripe, tasty fruit at the grocery stores.
• Snowy streets and sidewalks force me to wear the same damn hiking boots every day. Because, apparently, nobody can be bothered to put a decent sole on cute shoes (all of mine are ridiculously slick on ice/snow).
• Falling down for no real reason.
• We just get "dug out" after a snow storm, and another is on it's way - this time, it will leave a lovely inch of ice on everything.

Oho, will I be glad when March gets here (and, boy is March usually nasty with rain and wind, but, man, I will take that anyday over this icy-snowy crap!). And I'm sure we're in for several more storms before the jig is up. Welcome, February. Can't wait till you're over!

Monday Numbers

• On Friday, we went to our 3rd dance party at the Society Hill Dance Academy (SHDA). It's a great chance to learn new dances, practice the ones you already know, and try to re-learn the ones you've forgotten. We met a couple new people, tried out the Bachata and the ChaCha, and altogether had a great time. I think that every week we are improving, which is awesome to see. 
• Saturday was a lost cause. I spent the day formatting stuff for my thesis, and sending about 1000 emails back and forth with my boss regarding figures and papers and junk, oh my!
• Sunday, we ran some errands, hitting up Reading Terminal and TJs and then I attempted to do some more wedding planning. Things are moving along, but seem to require a fair bit of phone time, computer time, and general time. I also did about 3 loads of laundry, refilled the bird feeder for about the 500th time and made a chicken.
• This week we start our first Dance Showcase group. We are taking a swing group class, with seven other couples, and we will be performing for a group of people (as far as I know, for a class reunion of some sort). It should be a blast as I really love to swing dance and I am looking forward getting better at it!
• Also, Alex and I have been practicing for our first ever dance performance, next Friday, at the Valentine's Day dance at the studio. We have been having a great time learning new moves and attempting to look OK while doing them. We were going to do a lift, but thankfully, that was eliminated in the final choreography, phew! Should be fun (I'm just hoping I don't fall down!)

Haiku Modern Housewife Friday

Slow cooked a chicken

for a little bit too long

it was very good.

***

Took the pieces and

parts, made some great chicken stock

in a pot that night

***

Snow day, so took the

stock, processed it and made squash

and apple soup. Yum!

Moving on...

I can get a lot done in a day. You know me, no beating around the bush, right. I talked to one of my thesis committee members yesterday and that ended up being a huge relief. I told him I was thinking about doing a postdoc around Penn for a year while Alex finishes up, and he told me that was a really good idea, which ended up being a relief for me. The last year or so in the lab I'm in has been so disappointing. Deadlines not met, struggling with the boss, trying to stay motivated when there's literally NO ONE else in the lab. Lonely much? You know me, I'm a social creature by nature. All this working alone with no feedback and no interaction has been really hard for me (that's an understatement!). The moment I realized I could be done with this situation in an instant was when I started feeling better. There are a couple labs here at Penn that I really like and admire and I think I'll apply to one of those, see if they'll take me for a year. I'm a good worker, I'm organized, and I'd love to do something else. Between now and then, I think I will try to get some things done for the wedding, and I'll focus on working hard and finishing up. And then?

I won't look back :)

Oh, Lady Gaga...

Really creative and funny!

Monday Not Really Numbers

• On Friday, we got about 2 inches of snow. While snow is really pretty, I have to admit, I am so ready for spring to show up. Only 2 more months, right? Ugh...
• Friday night, we headed over to our dance studio, and we tried our hand at dancing a few dances socially and not just in our lessons. We had so much fun, and we are slowly but surely getting better at dance. I have to say I can't recommend dance more. If you have the time for a date night, it's so worth the money. It's fun, requires very little brain power, and it actually helps in communication, which is great. I love it!
• Saturday was errand day. We spent it running around town, eating dim sum in Chinatown, attempting to build a wedding registry at Macy's, hitting up Reading Terminal for some produce, and then heading out to Trader Joe's for groceries. Macy's was pretty dumb, as there was no one to help us try to register. We ended up walking around the store aimlessly, making notes about things we liked on a piece of paper, thinking we could enter things easily online. Turned out to be not the case. We ended up spending several hours looking things up online and building a small registry, just to decide that we'd rather not register there. Went with Sur La Table and Bed, Bath and Beyond instead. We'll probably also register on Amazon or Target or something like that. 
• Building a registry is slightly hilarious. There are certain things that I've always known that I wanted, like the Fiesta dinnerware (I've wanted those since I was a kid - I guess I'm just a classic!). Alex looks at the plates and wants to know how far they will fly! Then, we start talking about other things we might want to register for, like sheets, towels, etc. Alex is super concerned about a carving board and an ice cream scoop! He also thinks that I need a Hobart mixer (they make mixers for restaurants) and an antique coffee grinder (from 1900ish). Isn't it funny when you discover the things that he is thinking about and super concerned about? That just really cracked me up!
• They were filming a movie in Philly on Saturday, pretty much all day. They shut down a major street (Market St) to everyone, including pedestrians. I really hate it when they do that. We had to walk quite a few blocks out of our way, and then slip and slide down an icy embankment just to make it to TJ's. Ludicrous! I can remember hanging out on Zuma beach when they were filming Baywatch, and as long as they weren't filming that absolute second, they would let you walk past / through the set. Amateurs here, that's my opinion.
• Today, I spent another several hours attempting to iron out the registries and working on the old wedding website. I realize I'm a little early on this, but we are sending out the "Save the Dates" soon, so I want to make sure that our advice for traveling is clear, and several people have suggested having at least some registries up and running, just in case people start sending gifts sooner than later. I sort of can't believe how fast time is moving and how relatively close our wedding day is. I am really most excited about seeing everyone together and hanging out with everyone, and especially introducing Alex to all those people in my life that he hasn't met. I think I'm gonna need a lot of Red Bull :)
• Coming home last night, I managed to clumsily knock over my brand new coffee mug for my coffee holder on my bike. I managed to break it (whoops!) and I was so mad at myself. Alex had gotten it for me for Christmas, and it was the only coffee mug I owned with a spill proof seal on it (riding a bike tends to shake up your coffee a bit - and, if you're not careful, it will spill all over you!). Today, Alex went out for a bike ride (in seriously cold weather), found a Target, and got me another mug. How great is he? I can't believe my clumsy ass deserves another fancy mug, but I will try not to break it again. I just love that guy! Guess that's why I'm marrying him! In only, like 252 days, or something like that!
• I managed to address about 25 save the date cards on Sunday. We are sending out family and wedding party people first, just so sending out a hundred cards doesn't seem so overwhelming. Did I work at all on the paper I'm writing? Nope, but I hope I can get somethings done soon!

Tom

One of the members of my thesis committee, Tom, died today. I just got the email. He had been battling cancer and had had a pretty risky surgery a few weeks ago, but he seemed to be recovering well. I am just so sad about this. Not only was he one of my committee members, but he was also a colleague and a friend and a really great scientist. I took a class with him when I was a first year. He was this really amazing scientist, had done some really wonderful things, and here he was, laughing and joking and amiable as they come. I was intimidated by his intelligence, but his reprimands were always delivered with a lot of heart, making you a better scientist, a more critical thinking, without putting anyone down. He set up the class in a way that we participated, and we wanted to participate. The class was always full, every year, such that people had to justify why they were taking the class in order to get it. Tom was jovial, always had a smile on his face, and came up with great questions and ideas and discussions. From the time of the class until now (nearly 8 years later), Tom has been a presence in my life at school. He's always been supportive and engaged in my committee meetings, he's attended seminars weekly (so much so, that, when he's absent, it's weird). I attended the defense of his student, I asked his opinion on my prelim, I asked his advice on postdocs and careers. And now, he's gone. Poof. Just like that. And, inexplicable (or perhaps not), I've had Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" going around and around in my head. Tom, you will never know how many lives you have touched, how many scientists you have encouraged and influenced. I am so glad I was able to have you as a mentor and a colleague for as long as I did. You are truly the example of exceptional scientist that I want to emulate. This is a hole in our departments and our lives. My sincerest thoughts and condolences go out to your family and friends. I'm just not sure what we'll do without you.

Literally made me cry....

Stori Telling by Tori Spelling

Yes, I wanted this book. Yes, my Mom bought it for me for Christmas. Yes, I read it in nearly one sitting (OK, maybe two). And, yes, I loved this book. Here's why:
I've been a fan of Tori Spelling since I was a teenager, watching Beverly Hills, 90210. One of my favorite characters was Donna, mostly because she was on the show from the beginning to the end, and the series finale showed her finally marrying her longtime boyfriend, David (awwww.....yes, I'm a romantic at heart!). I also watched Tori Spelling on some of her Lifetime movies - which were always dramatic and wonderful. The one I recall the most vividly is Mother, May I Sleep with Danger. I mean, you just can't get any more brilliant than that! So, Tori Spelling has been marketing the heck out of herself in the past few years, and I've been mostly just curious to read about what her life is like. Stori Telling is a memoir, of sorts, which chronicles her life up until a few years ago (when she so famously left her first husband for her now husband Dean McDermott). I haven't watched any of her more recent reality shows (Tori and Dean: Inn Love, etc.) so I have no idea what her life has been like. I've never really read a celebrity autobiography before, and I must say that I really enjoyed it. I can see why she would really want to write this book - she's very frank and honest (as far as I can tell) and she seems almost desperate that you like her and that you identify with her in the book. She is determined to convince you that she's as "normal" as they come, and I can somewhat see where she's coming from. It's interesting that we somehow always think that celebrities have things "figured out", so to speak. We always think they are so together, perhaps more so than we are ourselves (I mean, why would we always take their advice on diet, exercise, or how to live our lives if we don't think of them as some sort of superior human, right? also, I am ignoring, for the time being, such celebrities as Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears who have publicly broken down and struggled - perhaps we don't see them as "having it together"). Spelling actually addresses some of the most painful parts of her life with candor, including the ultimate break-up of her first marriage, several somewhat abusive relationships, as well as the relationship she has with her mother (which has been played out in the tabloids to no end!). One thing that struck me is that Tori Spelling seems to have experienced a lot of things I experienced in my life, but just so much more in the public eye. She had a couple crappy boyfriends who tried to take her money. I remember having boyfriends who always asked me to pay for things (like dinner or the movie), but I didn't have millions to lose. I only has twenties, if that. I've fought with my mother (although she portrays her mother as being so out of touch with reality that I can't really identify with that) but it's never been front page news. I've experienced a really rough break-up that was ugly and difficult and harsh, but it wasn't in the tabloids. To a certain extent, I kind of felt bad for her. She never really grew up, and she was never really allowed to. And the way she dealt with things was inane, at best. At another extreme, this book is somewhat about "finding" yourself, which is a journey most of us are on most of our lives. In this book, Spelling find her voice, her place in the world, and her cojones, so to speak, which is a wonderful tale. I'm not sure how much of this tale is true, but it's a great, light read, and it sheds some light on the way "the rich folks" live, which was interesting. But it's not deep, meaningful literature, if that's what you're looking for. At this point in time, I'm looking for lovely fantasy with some bits of drama, which is exactly what Spelling delivers.

Monday Numbers

• This weekend, I worked at least 12 hours - most of Saturday and most of Sunday. Not to mention the time I spent working from home. We're trying to submit two papers this month (because my boss has slacked off in the last few months) so that translates into long hours for me. It's always a bummer to work all weekend, mostly because I just don't get that "recharge" that I normally would with a day off. I also don't get those other things, like grocery shopping, laundry, housecleaning, etc. done. I can totally see why people would have maids, cooks, and assistants if one were rich. 
• I still managed to read 2 books this past weekend. I spent the majority of Friday night under a blanket on the couch, reading one of my Christmas gifts. And then I decided to re-read Harry Potter for about the umpteen-billionth time. I just love those books!
• We watched the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince movie on Saturday night, mostly because I couldn't manage to do anything else - my brain is largely dead at this point!
• Alex made about 6 liters of potato-kale soup. It turned out delicious, and appears to contain all 5 vegetable servings in one meal! It's now lasted us 3 days, while normal leftovers might not even survive the night. I swear boys eat more food than I could ever imagine. I mean, Alex often (as in, daily) goes back for thirds! Who does that?
• Last night, we got home in time to see the Eagles fail miserably and pathetically at an attempt to beat the Packers. I almost heard circus music while watching that game. I mean, who throws and interception in their own end-zone in the last 30 seconds of a game? Oh well, at least we still have Cliff Lee...
• On Saturday, we got approximately 5 inches of snow. I like the snow, but it forces me to have to walk into work (which is about 3 miles). The bike ride usually takes about 30 minutes, but the walk can take almost one hour - seems excessive to spend 2 hours a day commuting to work on the weekends, even if I am walking and getting exercise instead of sitting in a car....

Haiku Snowy Friday

Walk into work hoy

No biking for me, it's just

a little snowy!

***

Working weekend with 

the boss, finally getting

needed advice.

***

So much to do, so

little time; I think I need

project managers.

Politics as Usual

• Sometimes I wonder if Republicans are naive or just plain dumb. They're screaming and yelling about balancing the budget and are threatening to cut everywhere but the biggest budget of them all - the DOD! I'm not talking about cutting troops, or cutting benefits. I'm talking about the two useless wars we're in, the ridiculous Drone operations, the CIA operatives who torture people and operate secret prisons and Guantanamo Bay. Seriously - there isn't anywhere in the UNLIMITED Defense budget that could be cut? No, it's much better to cut people's Medicare or Medicaid. Old folks don't need healthcare anyways, right?
• Speaking of balancing the budget - why has no one thought about the positive effects that both legalizing gay marriage and legalizing pot could have on the economy? Seriously, you're opening up the wedding business (which is a whole ridiculous thing in and of itself) to a percentage of the population that historically spends money on the finer things. And pot? Tax the hell out of it, just like you do for booze or cigarettes. Has nobody thought of this?
• It bothers me that people have decided to censor Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. I understand that some words in the book may be offensive, but I think it opens up a dialogue that absolutely must be approached and talked about. I think the minute we start to censor history is the minute we begin to repeat it. 
•  I am really glad that the President and Congress repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". I can't imagine what the big deal is if someone's gay and they're serving in the military. It just seems like some insecure Marines are going to have to get over themselves. And mostly? It seems like to old guys were the ones with the biggest problems with it. Hopefully homophobia is one of those things that will die out with the older generation. 
• Not only was the initial study linking vaccines to Autism retracted from The Lancet, but it was found to contain fabricated data. It disturbs me that people will continue to believe that vaccines cause autism (no matter how reliable and reproducible the science disproving that link is). I suppose if it only affected those people then I wouldn't really mind that much. But since it affects all of us (and most of all the newborns babies) it really bugs me that people could be so selfish. I guess it doesn't surprise me, though. Autism is likely caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors which we haven't fully identified. The truth is that we don't know how the brain works and how it processes different kinds of information, but we are learning new things every day. And with earlier and earlier diagnoses and interventions, I believe we are on the right path to identification of the causes of autism. It's just a shame that a fraudulent scientist and a bunch of idiotic celebrities have created a monster that is not likely to go away anytime soon.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

I picked up this book a few months ago because so many people (including Alex's Mom) recommended it to me. And they weren't wrong. This book is phenomenal. I really, really loved it (and Alex did, too - we normally don't exactly see eye-to-eye on reading materials, either). This book is by Chris McDougall, a former AP reporter who now writes for magazines like Men's Health and Runner's World. His journey begins when he injures himself running and ends with him running a 50 mile odyssey through the Mexican Copper Canyons. What lies in between is a story of adventure, intrigue, amazing human abilities, a little bit of science and a whole lot of heart and soul. McDougall had heard about a group of native Mexicans called the Tarahumara who are phenomenal runners. They live in the Copper Canyon, basically in the middle of nowhere, and they are known for running extreme distances (not like a marathon, like 4 or 8 marathons, or 100-200 miles at a time!). McDougall begins by asking how a group of people who live in harsh conditions and arguably don't have access to our technologies (shoes, nutrition, etc.) can run such extreme distances without the injuries and setbacks that he has faced during his running lifetime. And it's not just him who has faced these setbacks - it's many other runners, too. So, he sets out to find out the "secrets" of the Tarahumara, and he comes upon a number of characters along the way.
There were several things that I loved about this book: mainly the emphasis on the idea that everyone struggles with their running. Everyone starts somewhere and ends up somewhere else. While his book obviously includes some of the most well known people in ultrarunning (races of much farther than a marathon, like 50-100 miles), it's written in such a way that I could identify with the characters, and with their dilemmas. While most of us wouldn't just head out for a 20 mile run "for the fun of it", I could identify with using running (or anything sport or exercise, really) to make me a better person. I loved that some of the best ultrarunners are women, and some of them discovered they were great ultrarunners at a later stage in life, not when they were a teenager. I liked that ultrarunners walk as part of running. Granted, I walk as part of a 30 minute run sometimes, but it still made me feel OK about walking (instead of beating myself up over it). Ultrarunners have to listen to their bodies much more than a regular athlete, developing strategies for dealing with fatigue, hunger, motivation - which are all things I have to deal with, but perhaps in not such an extreme state. And to a certain extent, this book embodies the search for that feeling you had when you ran as a kid. I remember getting a jolt of energy, and just taking off, running as fast as I could, and just loving it. I didn't really think about my butt bouncing, or how much farther I had to go, or anything like that. I just ran. And when I got tired, I stopped, and then I ran some more. I don't do that anymore (and I haven't in a long, long time). Some of these people run for the sheer joy of it. And this book is, to a certain extent, how to regain that joy, and how to tap into that feeling during running.
This book reminded me that running can be a form of meditation. It never has to be perfect, and I don't have to run as fast or as far as anyone else. It reminded me to listen to my body, to feed it and care for it, and to sometime push it beyond its limits (they're always farther than you think). Human beings literally evolved to run, and it reminded me that we all have the ability to run, even if you think you don't. And it also reminded me that running isn't work. It's not a chore. It's a necessity in my life, and one that I don't want to lose. And it reminded me that running, throughout the book and beyond, is a metaphor for life. It's not always easy, and sometimes it's a struggle. But it's more fun to challenge yourself in life, to take risks and push your limits, than to limit yourself.
Read this book, even if you're not a runner. It just might turn you into one!

Monday Numbers

• I had 10 whole days off for a lovely "stay-cation". I stayed home and organized things (can you believe I still had unopened boxes from when we moved 6 months ago?), made a huge pile for the Goodwill, cleaned out the kitchen, switched out the summer clothes for the winter clothes and just in general took it pretty easy.
• We got about 12 inches of snow on the day after Christmas. Then, the wind began to blow, and we ended up with 3 foot drifts all over the place. Our street is small and a dead end, so the city didn't bother to plow it. The snow's still melting!
• I was able to read one book, which I'll likely review soon. I was also able to watch a whole lot of terrible movies, including Big, About a Boy, Some Kind of Wonderful and A Christmas Carol. I have to say that the streaming Netflix app on my iPhone is delightful, since I can go all over the house (wrapping presents, ironing, doing dishes) and watch a silly movie at the same time. It's great!
• We cooked a 20lb turkey for Christmas dinner. Yeah, we're still eating it!
• It was so nice to be a "housewife" for a bit and be able to make dinner for 6:30 or 7pm, which I think of as the time when normal people eat. It's so much better than getting home late, feeling so tired and starving and then putting something together only to eat around 10pm! Ah, the life of a grad student!
• On Christmas Eve, we biked about 5 miles around the city to check out everyone's Christmas lights. Although they are likely nothing compared to the lights out in the 'burbs where people actually have yards, I was impressed. Although, it was pretty cold. My toes stared to freeze, so we headed back home.
• At 10pm that night, we had someone try to get into our house. I was glad that we locked the door, because he seemed a little confused as to why he couldn't use our bathroom. I hope he found a warm place to stay that night. Ever need to see why drugs are bad? Come to my neighborhood sometime!
• On New Year's Eve, we had 2 friends stop by and stay with us. We had a great time hanging out, heading out to bars and ringing in 2011! Here's hoping this year is much better than last!

Still my favorite...

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
by Clement Clarke Moore
or Henry Livingston

 

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Haiku Christmas Eve Friday

Baking and eating

perhaps a Christmas bike ride

maybe even church.

***

Family so far,

yet not far in our hearts, minds

Missing home, Mom, Dad.

***

Our last Christmas in

Philly, just us and the Moue

Thankful for blessings!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Merry Christmas Eve!

courtesy of my Dad, of course! Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

Just in case you were wondering, I made up a recipe for some baked potato soup. It turned out pretty well, so I thought I'd share it with you, especially since it's easy and the weather is getting blustery and cold. Happy Winter! Happy Solstice!
Ingredients:
2 - 2.5lbs russet potatoes (about 4-6 larger potatoes)
0.25 - 0.5lb bacon
2-3 regular sized onions
4c. chicken stock
1 can Campbell's Cheese Soup
1 can milk
Procedure:
Peel potatoes and dice them into 1/2" chunks or so. Place in stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes or until cooked.
Cut up bacon into chunks and fry in a pan until cooked. Drain bacon on a plate with a paper towel and reserve some of the bacon grease for cooking onions.
Cut up onions into chunks and fry in the leftover bacon grease. When almost done, add a couple cloves of garlic, smashed.
Once potatoes are cooked, drain the pot and place the potatoes back in it. Add chicken stock, bacon, onion, cheese soup and can of milk. Depending on when you want to eat, either heat the soup through quickly over medium heat (but be careful not to boil for too long, as the milk and the potatoes will burn - stir frequently) or place on low, low, low heat and allow to come to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally.
In the end, I pureed the soup with my immersible blender, but I am sure it would be fine without the pureeing, especially if you don't have the immersible blender thingy (since putting batches of hot soup in the blender is NOT FUN!)

Numbers Monday

• On Friday, we attended our first dance party at our dance studio. It's so different to try to dance the dances you've been practicing with lots and lots of people around. The studio was all decked out with festive decorations, and there was even a live band, which was great! We've gotten to the point where we can recognize the dance that goes with the song and we can do a few moves for most of the dances. I think we danced the Foxtrot, Swing, Hustle, and Rhumba. We even tried our hand at Salsa, but that one we're a little bit rusty on. It was a lot of fun, and luckily, we took the bus down there, since my feet were killing me by the end of the dance. Altogether, it was a blast and I hope I can convince Alex to go to more of the Friday night dances at the studio!
• Saturday became a lazy day for a bit for us. We had gone out 5 nights in a row last week, so by the time Saturday rolled around, we were pretty beat. It was lovely to sleep in, read the newspaper, enjoy the coffee and just generally veg out. It's a rare occasion when that happens. We headed into work in the afternoon and then we headed into Center City, which is always a treat this time of year. We parked the bikes and took a walk around. Luckily, the weather was relatively mild (for us) and we walked through the stores and down the streets, enjoying the holiday shows. We finished our Christmas shopping last weekend, so this weekend was lovely to chill out and not worry about the madness that is shopping. 
• We hit up the Christmas Village at City Hall, and tried out their mulled wine. For $7, a commemorative mug and some terrible mulled wine. Mental note: PA does not grow the right kind of grapes to make good wine. Never again.
• We ended up at Nodding Head, a great little pub on Sansom between 15th and 16th. They brew their own beer, and right now are making one called SledHammer (haha! get it?) which weighs in at a pretty high 7% alcohol. It was so tasty and delicious that we had 2 each! Plus, they have the best entree ever there: the steak salad: a nice tasty peppered steak over some spring greens with some tasty vinaigrette and a side of fries! I hardly ever go there, but their fries are so good (Belgian, crisp on the outside, melty and warm on the inside, with a bit of spice to them and some yummy jalapeno-dip like stuff to go with them - wow!) 
• Sunday was the chore day. I headed into work early to get that out of the way. Back at home, I did about 6 loads of laundry, baked and decorated about 2 dozen cookies and made a pot of Baked Potato Soup. After the 6th load of laundry was in, the washing machine died (which has been a common theme in our house for some time. I then had to hand wash the clothes that were actually in the machine - man! the water is so fricken cold! I had to wear some gloves just to try to keep my hands warm. What a chore! I realized that I am very glad I was born after the invention of the washing machine, and not before!
• Today, it's a rather mellow day. I've got some thesis-writing to do, but most of my actual things to do at lab have been accomplished. Now, I am just hoping to make several figures and get through two outlines. Wish me luck!

Haiku Random Friday

Dentist at seven

Up before the sun, rosy

pink snowy morning.

***

No biking today

Too much ice, fear for my life

Slippery tires.

***

Snow is so pretty 

but treacherous - I fell last

night middle of road

PS: but I'm OK - I think it might have been a mighty funny sight though. I slipped on some ice, fell in the road, had the bike fall on top of me, screamed hysterically because there were cars around me and then couldn't get back up again because I was on a HUGE slick of ice. Made it home in one piece, methinks. I forgot about that part of the winter. I don't like it!

Stanley

I try to get to know all the people I work with, including the people who come through and take out the trash, clean the bathrooms or deliver packages. I'm usually chatting with them about the weather, or the latest sports game (it's pretty much a given that everyone is a 76ers, Phillies, Flyers or Eagles fan). Even if I don't know their names, I always try to say "Hi" and ask them about their day, since after a while, you begin to at least recognize people around the building. For the last few years, I've become friends with Stanley, a middle aged, gray haired man who performs janitorial services around our floor every night. He usually comes through around 6pm, and I always get a big smile and a little conversation from him every night. He's from Poland, moved to Philly quite some time ago. He has two daughters, who are both grown and quite successful. He got the job here at Penn in order to put his daughters through "good school", one is now a lawyer, and the other is an executive. He got so excited when I told him Alex and I are getting married. I think he wants grandkids of his own, and perhaps I remind him of his daughters just a bit. He talks a lot about his little dog, who's getting older and just likes to sit by the heater now that the weather is colder. He tells me about his wife's cooking kielbasa with vodka, and the decorations he's put on the tree and around the house. Last year, during the "Snowpocalypse" when we got over 3 feet of snow in a matter of 48 hours, Stanley was the first to volunteer to stay at Penn overnight to make sure the walks were shoveled and the streets were safe for the students to walk on. He ended up getting stuck with a shovel and a huge pile of snow, but I don't think that deterred him in the least. He's not afraid of hard work, even though he's getting older and should likely let some of the younger boys do the hard work. Yesterday, he reminded me of something even more important. I remarked about the cold weather, he remarked back that things weren't too bad. I remarked back something about it being a loooong winter. And then he looked directly at me and he reminded me how lucky we are. We work in heated buildings, we have heated homes and cars. I remarked back, "But, Stanley, I don't have a car!". And he said, yes, but that's YOUR choice. There are a lot of people who don't even have heated homes or homes for that matter, or warm clothes or warm food or a decent pair of socks. Considering he came from Poland, and I can't imagine what things were like for him growing up, I really took this to heart. I feel so lucky to have the things that I have, the conveniences, the transportation when I need it. The heat, the fancy shoes and coat to block out the wind. It's hard to imagine there are people freezing out there, but there are. And it's a feeling, according to Stanley, you will never forget. So, I'm thankful for Stanley, for putting this Christmas rush and madness (mail this, package that, wrap that -wait, it's not enough! blah, blah, blah) into a bit of perspective. We are such lucky people as Americans. So lucky it's hard to fathom. Thank you, Stanley, for that reminder. I needed it.

Book Review Wednesday: The Millenium Trilogy by Steig Larsson

Alex's mom gave me The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when we went to visit her in CO in late July. Honestly, the cover of the book turned me off (I know, I know, don't judge a book by it's cover!) so I put it aside and didn't pick it up for a while. When I finally did pick it up, I found it a little hard to get into. The introduction seemed a little slow, the Swedish names and some references were hard to get. The author refers to the same characters by different names, which was confusing, and the descriptions of places, neighborhoods, etc, were hard to understand. I'm sure if I was Swedish, I none of these things would have troubled me. However, the book did contain a wonderfully delightful and interesting mystery. A couple, actually, that kept me interested, slogging through the slow introduction, getting to know the characters, and then I just fell in love with the book. It might have taken 150 pages or so, but after than I was fully committed. I couldn't put the book down, and I began to love the ridiculously long names of places and the character's penchant for sandwiches, no matter the time of day, their incessant drinking of coffee at all hours of the night, and their interesting and novel lives. None of the women in the novels were stereotypical. All were powerful (in one way or another) and none were yearning for a man in their lives (very little romance, but a lot of interesting relationships, which was refreshing). The protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist is an odd duck too. The books in the trilogy were stunningly good. Action packed adventure, mysterious happenings, interesting and novel plotlines. I just ate them up. I bought the second book in Jackson and I ordered the third not too long ago. I think I liked the first one the best, and the third one the least. But mostly, I just couldn't put them down. Intelligent and well written, involving government and corporate conspiracies as well as deep, dark secrets, I highly recommend these books.

Living in the City - Driving Edition

Upon traveling to a city, like Philadelphia, or any of our densely populated Northeastern cities, there are a few things you should keep in mind when you are driving here.

1. Once you arrive in the city, you will be faced with an inordinate amount of traffic of various forms, including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, UPS/Fedex vehicles, motorcycles, scooters, cyclists, pedestrians, pedi-cabs, horse drawn carriages and semi-trucks. Give yourself some extra time to get to your destination.
2. Most streets are one-way only. Ensure that you know where you are going and which way the traffic flows. More than likely, you will need to go around the block a few times to get to your destination. Sometimes, GPS doesn't work in the city because of all the big buildings, so an old fashioned map is usually most useful. Or, even better, get directions from your destination.
3. There are few areas where parking is free. Most streets and lots charge for parking, and the cost can be exorbitant. Be aware of this and make sure you have both cash and credit. The newer meters in Philly are taking credit cards now, which is nice, but there are still some neighborhoods with metered parking. Other areas have restrictions on parking - like 2 hour parking most days of the week. Look out for signs, usually at the beginning and end of most blocks and make sure to move your car before your 2 hours are up. The Parking Authority is the most successful business in the city for a reason....
4. The streets are marked a certain way for a reason. Many streets have bike lanes. Don't use these as our own personal driving lane or parking place. There are a huge number of cyclists in the city who use those lanes exclusively. If you have to use a lane to make a turn, be courteous, put on your blinker, and recognize that you are merging into a lane with traffic in it.
5. Similarly, crosswalks are so marked in order to prevent you from pulling into them. There are lots and lots of pedestrians here, and most tend to use the crosswalks. Most intersections do not allow right turns on red lights, like are allowed in the 'burbs precisely because of the pedestrians. 
6. Most areas do allow you to pull up to drop off Grandma or a load of groceries. Try pulling up onto the sidewalk (without running anyone over) and put on your emergency lights. I wouldn't leave my car out there for too long, but it's OK to dash in and out, or to grab your sweater or hit the bathroom. I have yet to see Parking Authority give out tickets for that.
7. Whatever your destination, you will most likely have to walk to it. Wear sensible shoes and clothes. High heels get caught in grates, so look out for those if you're wearing those types of shoes. The city is historically warmer than the suburbs, but in the winter there's lots of ice and gusty winds funneled down the streets by the big buildings. In the summer, it's hot and sticky, so bring lots of water. 
8. Don't seek out your favorite chain restaurant when in the city. There are tons of small, locally owned businesses and lots of BYOBs to check out that are way better than TGIFridays or Chilis. BYOBs run cheaper because they don't have to pay for the liquor license (and you can bring your favorite bottle of wine or some beers along - some places will even mix you a drink if you bring the liquor). Most places don't take reservations, but a lot exist in clusters, so if one's full, you can just walk down the street or belly up to the bar down the way. Chances are, you'll have an excellent meal in a new place, which is always fun. There are also lots of deals to look for, like the $15 lobster dinner at Bistro Romano on Tuesday nights, or the Restaurant Week offerings or the Center City Sips.
9. If you are going to parallel park, please know how. Streets are narrow, traffic is heavy, and generally, people have no patience. So, if you're going to try to parallel park on Walnut Street, you better be quick about it. Otherwise you'll have a million people honking at you and yelling at you immediately. My advice? Go a couple blocks away from those busy streets, and find a residential street to park on - less traffic and less stress.
10. My honest advice for people who are thinking about driving into the city is: don't. Take the train or the bus (which is always an experience in itself). Most stop at 69th Street Station or 30th Street Station, where you can catch the subway or hail a cab. This takes having to drive completely out of the picture, puts less traffic on our streets, and saves you a little bit on the carbon footprint front. Not that public transit is totally reliable, but most bus lines run pretty late into the night, and the regional rail lines have the last trains leaving around 11 or midnight. Besides, this way, you can enjoy your BYOB dinner with a bottle of wine and not worry about the drive home!

Numbers Monday

• On Friday, we headed over to our friends' house to bake and decorate some cookies. It was a blast. Jen had made no less than 4 kind of cookie dough, and we proceeded to roll out, bake and decorate the hell out of those cookies. One person brought 3-D cookie cutters, and another brought science cookie cutters, so we had lots to decorate and make. We tried a bit of this stuff called Snap, which is a locally made liquor that tastes kinda like gingersnap cookies, with a lot of vanilla flavor to it. It's a pretty unique drink (and there's another one called Root that tastes like alcoholic root beer), it's organic, and it's locally made - what could be better?
• On Saturday, we met up with another friend to get some brunch. We ended up at Sabrina's on 18th and Callowhill. Breakfast was delicious, and the restaurant even left some hot cocoa for us outside while we waited for  our table. It was lovely to see our friend, who recently moved to Baltimore, but it was a bit depressing to hear how bad that city is. 
• Saturday afternoon, we rented a car to do some Christmas shopping. Because it was Saturday afternoon, they were out of all the normal economy cars we would normally rent, so we were upgraded to a Chrysler 300, which is a bit of an old person car, but it was super nice! It had leather seats and a nice roomy trunk to fit all our purchases. And the car was so quiet, it was hard to hear the freeway traffic around us. Wow.
• We hit a bunch of stores, including Target, REI, Petsmart, and the King of Prussia Mall. I don't even want to think about how much money we spent :) But, the good news is that the shopping is done for bout our families - now we just have to mail things off hopefully tomorrow!
• Saturday night, after our shopping extravaganza, we were able to catch Harry Potter 7.1 at the local movie theatre. The tickets were $11 each! Whew! That seemed really expensive to us, but since we hardly ever go to the movies, it was worth it. The theatre was really nice (unlike the horrible ones here in the city) and it had those comfy rocker chairs and cup holders and all those nice things! Both Alex and I thought the movie was really brilliant - the plot line followed mostly what we could remember, and I thought it ended in an appropriate place. Now, I think I'll have to re-read them all over again! How I love, love, love to do that!
• On Sunday, we made the rounds to pick up two cases of beer from the beer distributor, and to hit up the grocery store for all those things I'd like to bake in the coming weeks. We also hit up work quickly, then gassed up the car and returned it. It's amazing how much you can get done with a car! The rest of the afternoon was spent making one batch of pea soup, one loaf of french bread and addressing and signing about 50 Christmas cards. I felt so pooped, that I went to bed around 9:30pm - although I did read my new Vanity Fair magazine for a bit before nodding off.
• We awoke at 5:30am this morning to the sounds of our cat, Moue, running wild. She was acting like she had a mouse cornered, so we cautiously turned on the lights, put shoes and glasses on, and started moving things out of her way. While I believe she DID have a mouse that she was chasing, it somehow got away from her and we couldn't find it. This is the second time this has happened, where she sees a mouse and it somehow gets away. I am hoping she scared the bejesus out of that mouse, so it will not return to our house. But I have a feeling one of them will be back.
• Even though I should have gotten up, I went back to bed and then awoke at 11am! Woah! Methinks I have quickly switched to hibernation mode. Consequently, I didn't make it to work until 1pm. Good thing I don't have much to do today!

Haiku Cookie Makin' Friday

Decorating some

cookies tonight with friends for

some holiday cheer!

***

Gingerbread is what

I like best, but sugar or 

chocolate is good.

***

Cookie cutters are

in my bag - I only have

three - does Santa know?

The Big C

Elizabeth Edwards' passing really hit me hard. I was trying to think about why I would be feeling so bad about a woman I had never met and then it hit me. It's because I lost my Uncle Dennis to cancer just a few years ago. He, too, had received the information from the doctors that "there was nothing else they can do". He went home and died at home several weeks later, surrounded by family, friends, laughter and music.
Death is weird. It's an uncomfortable thing to face, since we'll all go through it at some time or another. I don't know a lot about death, even though I have lost quite a few relatives. One minute they're there and the next minute they're not there.
Dennis' death was bittersweet. He had battled cancer for years and years, earning respite after respite until there was no more they could do. He went in and out of treatments, was enrolled in clinical trials and endured countless types of medication. I don't think the cancer ever ruled his life, but I do know that it was a big part of his life. Family and friends made accommodations for him and I think he ended up living his life the way that he wanted to live it, in spite of the cancer. At least I would like to think that. He was a pilot, and loved nothing more than to get into his plane and fly off somewhere. When the cancer got worse, he lost his license and his wife ended up getting her license. I think she was always fine to fly with him because he had countless hours upon hours of flight time. And even though the doctors said he wasn't fit to fly, his knowledge was still there in the plane with them.
After several years, there was nothing more the doctors could do. Dennis figured out that each treatment would last less long. His first rounds of treatment kept him cancer free for 6 years, then his second round kept him cancer free for 3 years, then 1.5 years, then 6 months. In the grand scheme of things, he had less than a year to live. It's hard to be an outsider, looking in. We heard that the cancer was back, that things were not looking so good. But they had looked bad in the past, and things had gotten better, right? So, this time would be like the last. Except Dennis decided to end treatments. He decided, on his own terms and with his own mind, that he would end treatments. Word went out that Dennis was dying, and the troops rallied and we all gathered at his bedside.
He had become a shell of the man that he was - thinner and knobblier and hobblier. His voice was strong, but the cancer had spread to his bones, so it was hard to touch him without causing him pain. Someone was always holding his hand, no matter what was going on. Hospice care came in and talked to everyone, telling us what to expect, giving Dennis medications to keep him comfortable, encouraging him to eat and to go about daily life, as normal as possible.
At the time, my cousin, Rhonda (Dennis' daughter) had just given birth to her son, Sayer. He was just a few weeks old when his Grandpa passed away. I remember how Sayer would instantly calm down when he was laid on his Grandpa's chest. How green the hills were, how the rains had come and gone and left this beautiful paradise all green. There was laughter all the time, likely a product of our nervousness at being around death, but there weer true, genuine moments, too. My cousin Adrian, sang some beautiful songs for us (and I think we all sang along, too). There was a constant flow of people in and out of the house, bringing food and beer and love and compassion. It was a true community effort, and in all truthfulness, it was an amazing thing to be a part of, as weird as that sounds. For a moment, or two, this dying man brought together his family and friends, from all parts of his life: his church, his home, his childhood, his adulthood. And we all gathered around to watch his life end, surrounded by those who loved him, and likely hoping our end would be similar.
Dennis died on a Saturday morning, with his wife and his daughter and his grandson by his side. As his disease progressed, he slept more and more, and could no longer see his visitors, although I think he knew we were there. Death is something weird, but also weirdly beautiful. Your friends and family are never gathered together in such a way, and people often don't get the opportunity to tell you how much they care about you, and how much you have meant to their lives. In the end, although you don't want this person to leave you, you begin to realize the pain and suffering they are going through, such that, when death comes, it's almost a relief.
I will always be thankful that Dennis was allowed to do things in his own way. I will always be grateful that I was there to share the experience, and that I played a role, however small, in sending someone on to their next life, or wherever one goes. It was a wholly humbling and amazing experience.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

I took the bus across the city yesterday in the hopes of avoiding the blustery cold cold coldness that has descended upon this city and I thought up a few of my favorite things about this city, this time of year, and perhaps, nothing in particular.

• I love that there are lights everywhere in the city - the holiday lights, the giant menorahs, the Christmas trees and the gaudy, over-the-top Christmas decorations. Maybe it's because the city is so compact, and sometimes people want to pretend they have a front yard like in the suburbs, but the lights are dense and over the top. I love it.
• I love that this city is so walk-able. You can reasonable walk from one end to the other end of Center City in about an hour. Each block is different, and the closer you get to the Delaware River, the older the houses are. I love the neighborhoods. No matter how many times I walk up and down the same streets, I always see something new. Especially now that everyone is decorating for Christmas. 
• I love to stumble upon "new" things. Like, the new bars and restaurants that are always opening up or changing decor or re-doing something. I love finding a new cafe or bar, right where there was nothing for a long time. The other week, I rode my bike past a dress store that I'd seen before, but I'd never really looked at it. I called them up, went in for a visit, and walked out with my wedding dress!
• I also love to imagine what living in that neighborhood would be like. I think this stems from when I was a kid - we used to look at new houses and I would always decide which room was mine and where I was going to keep my toys, etc. I love to look in people's houses - yes, I am bit of a voyeur! Some houses are so traditional, with huge chandeliers and high ceilings, while others are more modern, or newly furnished. I am always surprised to see actual art work on the walls of peoples' homes.
• I love that businesses are in buildings that were not built for their business. Restaurants are in old homes, apartments are in old storefronts, stores are in old apartments. I love it. I love that some places are so tiny, it's hard to maneuver with a backpack on. I love that some restaurants are in basements, some people live over their bar or restaurant or dance studio, and some stores have an apartment in the back (with a handwritten sign on it saying "owners only". There is something about going into someone's home for their business that is so appealing.
• I love the used book stores, the church flea markets, the block long yard sales. So many people, such a small space and so much JUNK! I love it!
• I love that Philly really caters to small business. I can't think of one chain business that I frequent other than Trader Joe's,  South Square Market or Au Bon Pain in my building at work. Most of the places, including our dance studio, where I bought my wedding dress, where we buy our produce and most of the restaurants we go to are all locally owned with either only one or just a few establishments in the area. Of course, sometimes we hit up Qdoba or McDonalds or Starbucks, but mostly we stick to the local stuff, especially the bars and restaurants, since they tend to serve the best food and beer for a pretty reasonable price. Besides, all the chains are in the hotel areas, which are areas we try to avoid.
• I love that we can see historic buildings and historic things on a regular basis. We can walk past Independence Hall or the Liberty Bell anytime. I took the bus past the US District Courthouse last night, and I can walk down Elfreth's Alley anytime (the oldest consistent residential neighborhood in the country). I catch the bus opposite Ben Franklin's grave and I walk past any of the established parks in the proper city of Philadelphia on lots of occasions (legend says the layout of the city of Philadelphia was established by William Penn himself, who insisted on at least 5 parks within the city limits - one of those parks became City Hall, but there are four remaining parks within Center City itself). Macy's is in the old Wannamaker building, which houses a huge organ as well as a Christmas display inside and in the windows on Market Street. I get my produce at Reading Terminal Market, or I head down to the Italian Market, with real butchers and trash can fires. City Hall hosts a "Christmas Village" outside, with a ton of vendors selling Christmas Trees, hot cocoa and traditional ornaments and lots of other stuff.
• I know I might regret saying this, but I love the weather this time of year. Movies and society have always told me that Christmas should be cold and chilly, and I should have to bundle up a bit this time of year. It's bracing and chilly, but it's also a bit magical. The air is crisper and clearer, the lights twinkle a bit more, and the hustle and bustle of the city just makes me smile. 
• I also love the randomness. You never know what you will encounter. With so many people, and such a small space, you are bound to run into something interesting almost every day. I went for a run yesterday, and there was one guy who stopped, blew a shrill whistle at me and then proceeded to scream some football lingo at me ("32, 15, HIKE, RUN, PUNT"). Why? I have no idea. But it did make me giggle. Or the guy who was trying to help another person parallel park by screaming such epithets as, "No, you're f-ing it up!" and "Where did you learn to drive, stupid?" and "Well, now you f-ed it up again!" and "What is WRONG with you?". Granted, it was pretty obvious that the two people (the one in the car and the one on the street) did not know each other. When Alex crashed his bike on some trolley tracks the other week, a bus driver leaned out his window and said, "Why don't you know better than to get stuck in the trolley tracks?". Or the time when I took my parents on the subway to Old City and a couple of guys gave up their seats for my Mom and me. And then proceeded to hit on me. In front of my parents. Yeah. That was weird!

So those are some of the things I love about this time of year and being here in the city. It's hard to miss family and friends and be here while I know they're across the country. So, instead, I'm choosing to focus on the positive things I get to experience. And hopefully we'll get some snow!

Christmas Memories

Sometimes I just can't think of anything interesting to post, so I thought I would just jot down some random memories of Christmas when I was younger.

• when I was really little, we had two Christmas trees. One, we would put up in the living room and it would be the "formal" Christmas tree, with all the presents under it. The other one lived in a pot in the backyard during most of the year, and was brought in at Christmas time to be decorated. We called it "Chrissie's tree" and it had my favorite ornaments on it, like the goofy cartoon ones, and the ones sent to my from my relatives "Back East".
• I always could open one present on Christmas Eve and it was always pajamas that I would wear that night.
• My Grandma always made a coffee cake for Christmas breakfast. Since she's gone, my Mom and I always make that same cake. My Mom even has the recipe in my Grandma's writing.
• One year, my Mom got a sponge sandwich with a pickle soap for Christmas. I was totally jealous.
• Most years, my Dad would come home with something and tell my Mom to wrap it up for him "from Santa". One year, it was a espresso maker, but more recent years, it's been airplane or Model T parts. 
• Our stockings usually have toiletries in them. My Mom's will always include a giant size bottle of aspirin. And we all get oranges in the toes.
• I always thought Christmas was special because we left the Christmas lights on all day and we got to have a fire in the fireplace. 
• When I was little, we had lots of people stopping by at our house all day long on Christmas. Neighbors, cousins, uncles and my Grandparents, even Randi (when we got a little bit older). It was such great fun, as a little kid, to have that many people in my house, when normally there were only the three of us. It's probably why now I would love to have lots of kids just to have the totally full house at holidays!

Numbers Monday

• This weekend involved a lot of errands and a bit of handing around the house. On Saturday, we biked to 2 errands, Reading Terminal Market, where we got hot cocoa and warm ham sandwiches. We also purchased fruits and veggies and some meat since our CSA has stopped. It was nice to buy fruits and veggies we wanted for a change. We normally try to cook what's given to us, but sometimes that involves yucky stuff like cabbage, beets and brussel sprouts. It was great to be able to buy peppers and mushrooms and pears, oh my!
• I finally finished the 3rd book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. I must say, I really loved those books and have not stopped thinking about them since I put them down. I am sure I will write more on those books in another post.
• We battled wind and freezing cold temperatures to hit up the Franklin Institute's display on Cleopatra: the last queen of Egypt. Apparently, two scientists have been excavating places around Alexandria, Egypt and this was a display of their findings. It was fascinating to see carved marble statues at least 20 feet tall, recovered from the bay near present day Alexandria. There were lots of artifacts, and even revelations about other cities and areas that were around Alexandria in ancient days. The displays weren't about Cleopatra per se, but more about her dynasty, and her family and her time in Egypt (as, it's hard to prove that something was owned or touched by her, since her tomb has never been found). The exhibit was well done and interesting, and we even bought 2 Christmas gifts!
• I spent the rest of yesterday doing those things I hate to do: 6 loads of laundry, changing the linens, scrubbing the bathrooms, etc. I cooked one chicken, made a batch of creamed cabbage (actually pretty good!), some potatoes and an emergency chocolate cake. Perhaps I will post some of the recipes sometime soon!
• Today, we biked to work in 30 mph winds so that I can go to lunch with today's speaker. I am hoping her talk is as good as I want it to be, since I think she might be on "the postdoc list" - and she's in CA, which is even better!