Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A positive step
Wohoo! Obama to announce $5 billion in research grants. Maybe some of that will trickle down to Evolution/Ecology/Behavior?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
A second weekend with parents and a third birthday cake
Last weekend was Seth's parents' turn to visit. Though they stayed in Brighton near Chrissy's place, we spent Sunday afternoon with everyone over more cake then dinner at Chrissy's own local Thai restaurant. A little like the movie Ground Hog's Day, but too much fun to complain!
The next day (Monday) was the big U2 Concert. Chrissy and Jens had bought three premium tickets, the third for Seth's dad to join them. Chrissy is a huge fan and hasn't missed a U2 concert tour since late high school (probably about 20 years ago), but she wasn't feeling well and gave her ticket to Seth. I thought about buying last minute tickets for myself off Craigslist but decided the timing wasn't very good. Seth, however, spent the six hours in a car to get out to Foxboro and back and enjoyed the show from what I imagine were amazing seats. (Apparently he graded papers on the way home by the headlights from the cars behind them).
Meanwhile, the Brandeis Yoga Club is back in full swing. I feel so lucky to be able to join in, particularly since the instructors are from the local Yoga Power Studio and so are really knowledgeable and challenging. This is rare. Also, I could pay $15 to attend a class, but it is nice that the yoga club doesn't question my Brandeis affiliation and I am allowed to attend :o) This year, there will be about three classes every two weeks, with one of those classes at the actual studio (it is a cute studio on Main St, however the room is heated to 90 degrees and sweat makes things slippery). The other two classes, unfortunately, are Monday and/or Wednesday nights, the same time at the Renaissance Art class Seth and I are auditing :o( At least Seth can take notes for me on the nights I have to miss it!
The next day (Monday) was the big U2 Concert. Chrissy and Jens had bought three premium tickets, the third for Seth's dad to join them. Chrissy is a huge fan and hasn't missed a U2 concert tour since late high school (probably about 20 years ago), but she wasn't feeling well and gave her ticket to Seth. I thought about buying last minute tickets for myself off Craigslist but decided the timing wasn't very good. Seth, however, spent the six hours in a car to get out to Foxboro and back and enjoyed the show from what I imagine were amazing seats. (Apparently he graded papers on the way home by the headlights from the cars behind them).
Meanwhile, the Brandeis Yoga Club is back in full swing. I feel so lucky to be able to join in, particularly since the instructors are from the local Yoga Power Studio and so are really knowledgeable and challenging. This is rare. Also, I could pay $15 to attend a class, but it is nice that the yoga club doesn't question my Brandeis affiliation and I am allowed to attend :o) This year, there will be about three classes every two weeks, with one of those classes at the actual studio (it is a cute studio on Main St, however the room is heated to 90 degrees and sweat makes things slippery). The other two classes, unfortunately, are Monday and/or Wednesday nights, the same time at the Renaissance Art class Seth and I are auditing :o( At least Seth can take notes for me on the nights I have to miss it!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Yellow cake, two weekends in a row!
I think Seth had a nice birthday yesterday. In the evening, as Seth was playing guitar, I put a cake in the oven, decorated the kitchen with streamers and walked across the street to pick up a bottle of wine. This was actually my first time in the US buying alcohol by myself (I guess I really don't drink much) and I felt like a total 'wino' carrying my brown bag down the street, passing groups of children playing by the roadside. At least the bottle will last a while.
We had a glass of wine with some hummus on the front porch then walked two blocks to this very cute Thai place we pass all the time (Tree Top Thai). For some reason we had never thought about eating there but after reading some positive reviews we decided to check it out. It was extremely cute and there were all these really fanciful sketches all over the walls. The salt and pepper shakers were even decorated. Apparently the owner is an artist and likes to churn out these little doodles like crazy. The food was really well done, too!
We returned for some cake with pudding and gifts. Oh I wish we could celebrate a birthday every weekend!
As a side-note, I thought it was kinda funny that none of my friends emailed or called me on my birthday, with the exception of Dahlia (whom I had known since kindergarten) and Yulia, a new friend from lab. This didn't offend me, I haven't celebrated my birthday with most of my friends in years, but usually someone sends a quick note. (I must mention that my family as well as Seth's family were very thoughtful and sent lots of well-wishes). Seth, on the other hand, received dozens of 'Happy Birthday Seth!'s on Facebook, from all sorts of people neither of us had seen or spoken to in years. This either says something about me, about Seth, or about Facebook. I will have to think about this one for a while.
We had a glass of wine with some hummus on the front porch then walked two blocks to this very cute Thai place we pass all the time (Tree Top Thai). For some reason we had never thought about eating there but after reading some positive reviews we decided to check it out. It was extremely cute and there were all these really fanciful sketches all over the walls. The salt and pepper shakers were even decorated. Apparently the owner is an artist and likes to churn out these little doodles like crazy. The food was really well done, too!
We returned for some cake with pudding and gifts. Oh I wish we could celebrate a birthday every weekend!
As a side-note, I thought it was kinda funny that none of my friends emailed or called me on my birthday, with the exception of Dahlia (whom I had known since kindergarten) and Yulia, a new friend from lab. This didn't offend me, I haven't celebrated my birthday with most of my friends in years, but usually someone sends a quick note. (I must mention that my family as well as Seth's family were very thoughtful and sent lots of well-wishes). Seth, on the other hand, received dozens of 'Happy Birthday Seth!'s on Facebook, from all sorts of people neither of us had seen or spoken to in years. This either says something about me, about Seth, or about Facebook. I will have to think about this one for a while.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Long weekend with my parents
My parents drove up from NC last Thursday evening, which also happened to be my birthday. I took the day off from working in the lab and spent the afternoon grocery shopping and cleaning. Seth was sweet and decorated the apartment with balloons and baked my all-time favorite cake: your basic yellow cake with chocolate frosting. There is just something immensely indescribable and warming about that cake and just the smell makes my head spin.
After two days in the car Mom and Dad arrived in time for us to go out for dinner to Mi Tierra, an amazing Guatemalan/Salvadoran taqueria far down Moody St. We had plantains, pupusas (corn tortillas stuffed with pork), carne asada for me, a half of a chicken for Seth, then returned to the apartment to dive into cake. We had lots of leftovers.
Thank goodness Seth didn't put all 25 candles on that cake.
Friday, after an Italian quiz (it had been years since I had last studied for a quiz and I was very nervous), the four of us drove out to Cape Cod for the afternoon. We swung by Moby Dicks Restaurant for scallop rolls and lobster bisque--I forgot that sea-side eateries only serve fried things, but though the scallops were surprisingly light, it was the creamy soup that did Seth and me in--and drove all the way out to the tip of the hook with Provincetown (aka P-Town) as the final destination. I didn't know much about Provincetown before we left so it was quite interesting to experience this little gay-mecca isolated on the tip of the Cape. I later read on Wiki that 'Provincetown's zip code has the highest concentration of same-sex couple households of any zip code in the United States'. I believe it. It rained 90 percent of the time we where there but between the rain drops and amongst the coffee shops, small theaters, dance clubs, galleries, and fudge shops (seriously) we got a sense of the town's thriving culture. It would be fun to spend a little more time out there in the future.
All-scallop sandwich
A pier at P-Town
Lots of fellas here...
Saturday was another cool rainy day. After a driving tour of the Brandeis campus, Mom and Dad took a quick trip up to Salem while Seth and I caught up on a little work. Sunday was warm and sunny and began with a long morning of church. It happened the be their Fall Rally so after the service Mom and Dad got to join in for a BBQ and meet a few locals. We then hopped on the bus downtown and walked 2/3rds of the Freedom Trail, a 2.5mile-long walk through Boston, covering 16 significant historical sites and structures. Unfortunately we didn't make it past the bridge and so missed the USS Constitution, the one thing Dad wanted to see the most. We also missed Chinatown, which Mom was keen to explore. We will have to save those for next time. I had never done the Freedom Trail and was very glad to get to walk most of it--it is concise, interesting, and gives a good sampling of some the best sites in Boston. With map in hand it was also fun to get to be a tourist and learn about the city. After a rest-stop in the Italian North End we took the train back to Waltham and met with Seth for a BBQ dinner at Blue Ribbon in Newton. Unfortunately there was not enough seating in the tiny eatery so we had to take our massive piles of meat back to the apartment with us.
The start of the Freedom Trail: Boston Common
No trip to the Common would be complete without someone showing off some funky breed of dog. This Pointer was actually quite amazing.
Lots of historical figures here in the Granary Burying Ground. We saw Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, etc.
King's Chapel
Bustling North End
The oldest building in downtown Boston (1680), this is where Paul Revere lived with his mother, two wives, and 16 children (though not all at once)
Blue Ribbon BBQ, the only place I know around here that serves NC pulled pork
Three meats: looks grotesque, tastes delicious
Monday morning Mom and Dad drove back home to Raleigh and it was back to work for Seth and me. Today, however, is Seth's birthday, so happy birthday to him! :o)
After two days in the car Mom and Dad arrived in time for us to go out for dinner to Mi Tierra, an amazing Guatemalan/Salvadoran taqueria far down Moody St. We had plantains, pupusas (corn tortillas stuffed with pork), carne asada for me, a half of a chicken for Seth, then returned to the apartment to dive into cake. We had lots of leftovers.
Thank goodness Seth didn't put all 25 candles on that cake.Friday, after an Italian quiz (it had been years since I had last studied for a quiz and I was very nervous), the four of us drove out to Cape Cod for the afternoon. We swung by Moby Dicks Restaurant for scallop rolls and lobster bisque--I forgot that sea-side eateries only serve fried things, but though the scallops were surprisingly light, it was the creamy soup that did Seth and me in--and drove all the way out to the tip of the hook with Provincetown (aka P-Town) as the final destination. I didn't know much about Provincetown before we left so it was quite interesting to experience this little gay-mecca isolated on the tip of the Cape. I later read on Wiki that 'Provincetown's zip code has the highest concentration of same-sex couple households of any zip code in the United States'. I believe it. It rained 90 percent of the time we where there but between the rain drops and amongst the coffee shops, small theaters, dance clubs, galleries, and fudge shops (seriously) we got a sense of the town's thriving culture. It would be fun to spend a little more time out there in the future.
All-scallop sandwich
A pier at P-Town
Lots of fellas here...Saturday was another cool rainy day. After a driving tour of the Brandeis campus, Mom and Dad took a quick trip up to Salem while Seth and I caught up on a little work. Sunday was warm and sunny and began with a long morning of church. It happened the be their Fall Rally so after the service Mom and Dad got to join in for a BBQ and meet a few locals. We then hopped on the bus downtown and walked 2/3rds of the Freedom Trail, a 2.5mile-long walk through Boston, covering 16 significant historical sites and structures. Unfortunately we didn't make it past the bridge and so missed the USS Constitution, the one thing Dad wanted to see the most. We also missed Chinatown, which Mom was keen to explore. We will have to save those for next time. I had never done the Freedom Trail and was very glad to get to walk most of it--it is concise, interesting, and gives a good sampling of some the best sites in Boston. With map in hand it was also fun to get to be a tourist and learn about the city. After a rest-stop in the Italian North End we took the train back to Waltham and met with Seth for a BBQ dinner at Blue Ribbon in Newton. Unfortunately there was not enough seating in the tiny eatery so we had to take our massive piles of meat back to the apartment with us.
The start of the Freedom Trail: Boston Common
No trip to the Common would be complete without someone showing off some funky breed of dog. This Pointer was actually quite amazing.
Lots of historical figures here in the Granary Burying Ground. We saw Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, etc.
King's Chapel
Bustling North End
The oldest building in downtown Boston (1680), this is where Paul Revere lived with his mother, two wives, and 16 children (though not all at once)
Blue Ribbon BBQ, the only place I know around here that serves NC pulled pork
Three meats: looks grotesque, tastes deliciousMonday morning Mom and Dad drove back home to Raleigh and it was back to work for Seth and me. Today, however, is Seth's birthday, so happy birthday to him! :o)
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Daily paper
Someone told me today they saw me in the local paper, The Daily News Tribune, a few weeks ago. I didn't say anything terribly interesting, but somehow they managed to quote me anyways.
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