J and me in Boston

My friend J (from college) came to visit for a few days.  It snowed like crazy for most of the time. Above is a photo of us in Back Bay, after a satisfying brunch at Masa.  Photo courtesy of J and her iPhone :)

Nooooo!

The mouse is back.  We found poo on the stove.  Cleaned up the apartment, set out traps with cheese (even though I'm pretty sure the mouse won't bother with them).  Found a hole in A's room, so we'll get some steel wool to plug it up.  Other than that, I just don't know.  Of course I emailed landlord C, but what's the next step?  Does anyone know?  Does he have to go through with some major extermination ordeal?

26 Hours with K

K visited this weekend, arriving at 10am on Saturday and leaving at noon on Sunday.  The visit was short but sweet.  We hit up Petsi Pies twice, but both times, they didn't have our top scone choices.  Boooo!  We made do with a pear and pecan scone on Saturday and a blueberry muffin and delicious hot chocolate on Sunday.

The other highlight of the visit was a trip to Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, a wonderfully pricy specialty food store with an amazing cheese selection.  The photo K took (above) does not do it justice.  We got some pancetta and young goat's milk cheese from Belgium (raw, aged only 15 days).  The pancetta went into making pasta sauce (what else do I eat when I'm with K?).  I made sure we had salad, too, of course.  The other highlight of dinner was a surprisingly good Chianti that my parents had left in my apartment when they visited.  Se label in photo.

During and after dinner, we watched 'It's a Wonderful Life' (on TV), and I was crying away by the end.  Really, what's happened to me?  I've become a mush over the past few years.

Bad Blogger

I think if blogging were a course, I would earn a D for the infrequency of my entries and the lack of photos.  So here I am, trying to pick things up again after a couple weeks of not blogging.  In my defense, I was traveling a bit and working a lot!  But then again, some of my other blogger friends are super busy but still manage to keep it up...

Anyway, I recently came back from a trip to the Bay Area.  Oh, I miss the Bay Area!  I went to attend a reunion performance for my old ballet studio; it was their 30th anniversary, and they invited some alums to perform in the Nutcracker.  So even though I have not danced in a long time, I put on my ballet shoes and did a little dancing.  It was so much fun, but the most fun was just seeing all my old friends.  The photo above is of some of us during rehearsal (we learned our part the day of the performance, in less than 2 hours!).  I won't put up a photo of me in costume, with pink tights and all.  Although, those of you on Facebook maybe have already seen some of those photos, posted by friends of mine :)

I also figured that if I was already flying to CA, I would stay a few days extra, which I did.  That gave me time to catch up with other old friends (A from high school, L and N from college).  And, of course, I saw my parents and K. 

When I got back, I had a boatload of work to do.  It ended up being really satisfying, because I made quite a bit of progress.  I have some pilot data now, and some of it is actually analyzed and looking potentially promising!

K is flying in today.  Poor guy is coming for just 24 hours.  Hopefully we can arrange the next trip so that he's here for ~48 hours and has direct flights (which he does not this time).  After this last trip to CA, I've determined that I will only fly direct when going between the east and west coasts (something that my friend N from SD has been adamant about for years -- I now agree with you!).

Thanksgiving Is On

To all of you who were worried that I'd be spending Thanksgiving on my own, worry no more.  My option count went from zero to three.  Roommate A decided not to go to NYC, so the two of us will be attending a dinner at someone's place.  They are taking care of basic Thanksgiving food, so I can bring whatever I want.  I was thinking of baking something, but I'm not so sure anymore because I still am not comfortable with my oven.   Any ideas for something easy and impressive?

I'm Baaaaaaack

I'm back from SfN.  My talk went well, and I had a good time.  Very exhausting, as usual.  I got my photo taken with Brenda Milner (of Scoville and Milner, 1957, who first described the patient H.M.).  Cool!  As soon as I get the photo from my friend W, I'll post it.

Today was very cold in Cambridge.  The high was something like 37 F.  I remember getting anxious when the *low* was in the 30s in California.  Hehe.  My fingers were icicles by the time I got to lab this morning.  One cool thing (pun intended, oh so funny) is that when I bought ice cream at the grocery store and walked home with it, it was still frozen when I got home.  Woohoo!

Found out that my plan to spend Thanksgiving with my roommate is no more.  She's now going to NYC, so for now I might be on my own.  Unless I can find some Bostonian to latch onto.  Well, if I'm alone, I am thinking about starting my day by making some Wholesome Banana Chocolate Breakfast Bars (from chocolateandzucchini.com) and then making some Thanksgiving-ish food. We'll see...

Fall Colors

K took this photo last week when he was out here.  Isn't it pretty?  A park on Mass Ave, near Harvard, approaching from the north.  

Leaving for the Society for Neuroscience conference today.  I'm so sad my UCSD Neuro friends won't be there!  BUT, I am very excited for this year's 'Neuro Dialogues with Society' lecture (or something like that).  The featured speaker is Mark Morris, a famous dance choreographer, plus before the talk I'm going to a special presentation about teaching dance to patients with Parkinson's.  

Okay, gotta go pack and make a little showing in the lab.

Just Got My First Matlab Program To Work

Woohoo!  The program was super simple, but it took forever to figure out (for someone who is a matlab novice).  I feel like I've accomplished something today :)

Go-To Recipe: Yellow Rice with Almonds and Raisins

Okay, I wasn't going to make this a food blog, but today I was inspired to share a really quick and tasty recipe.  I call it yellow rice with almonds and raisins, and that pretty much says it all.  I never measure when I make it (except for getting the rice-to-water ratio right), but here is my attempt.  The rice doesn't have to be yellow, but I do it for two reasons.  First, I like the color. Second, I use turmeric to color the rice, and that's supposed to be healthy for you, so why not? The recipe scales very well, so you can make however much you want.  Also, you can play around with substitutions, like pine nuts instead of almonds, or dried cranberries instead of raisins.  But the almond-raisin combo is my favorite.

Here is what you want:

1 cup brown rice (or white)

2 cups water

~0.5 tsp ground turmeric (although I've used more)

~0.25 cup raisins

~0.25 cup sliced toasted almonds 

salt to taste

Make the rice as you normally would, adding the ground turmeric just before or at the same time you add the water.  I saute the uncooked rice in a pan until golden and then add the turmeric and a minute later add the water.  When rice is done, I just throw in the raisins and almonds and salt to taste.  Mix it up, and if you're like me, eat a little and put the rest in tupperware for easy lunch in lab.

I am sure you can play around a ton with this, substituting and/or adding ingredients.  If anyone finds delicious new combinations, let me know :)

SYTYCD

Sorry I've been away for so long; things have been busy around here.

Just thought I'd write a super short entry, letting you all know that I went to the So You Think You Can Dance tour performance a couple days ago!  My friend C got a hold of some tickets and persuaded me to go.  So there I was, with lots of screaming girls, watching some pretty cool dance performances.  Didn't get home till ~midnight -- wow!  

"Wrong-Season" Ale

I was supposed to hang with a friend of mine today and was really looking forward to blowing off some steam, but the friend had to flake.  I figured since we were going to meet up for beer, I should at least have beer, even if I'm missing the friend part.  So here I am, enjoying some Tremont Summer Ale -- wrong season, I know, but it's tasty, and it was on sale (that's right, because it was left over from the previous season).

I worked for much of yesterday, so I really got only 1 day of weekend :(  Trying to recharge and get ready for the new week!

Night of Stars!

Photo from Boston.com.

K and I went to see the Boston Ballet's season premiere last night, and it really exceeded all expectations.  The performance was a mixed bill that showed for one night only and included both classical and more contemporary dance pieces.  For the most part, the dancing was excellent.  I was disappointed only by the male dancers in two of the traditional classical pieces: Sleeping Beauty and Paquita.  But the rest was wonderful, and K really enjoyed it as well.  I think the variety of short pieces was more interesting for him that one long classical ballet :)  I was really disappointed by the turnout, though; a large part of the balcony was empty, even though they had been selling half-price tickets and also student rush tickets ($20).  I wish more people had come out to support the company!  

One roommate gained, one roommate lost.

Boyfriend K and I made a weekend trip to NYC this past weekend to visit his sister.  It was a great time, and I liked hanging out with his sister.  She showed us around and helped us make the most out of our 1.5 days there.  Fun!  Photos to follow in the near future.  But, that is not the subject of this entry...

When K and I came back on Sunday night, I discovered that I now have a roommate in that empty bedroom in my 2-bedroom apartment.  Her name is roommate A :)  Roommate A is a 35-year-old Italian architect from Venice.  She is very cool.  We've gotten to chat quite a bit over the last couple days because boyfriend K is away on business till tonight.  So that's my 'roommate gained'.

Now, my 'roommate lost' actually has to do with roommate A.  So roommate A was cleaning around the apartment today while I was at work, and she found that we have a third roommate -- Moshe! She found Moshe the Mouse hanging out under some stuff in the living room and drove him out of the apartment with a broom!  One roommate lost!  However, the question remains -- how did Moshe get in here?  He or some friends of his might be able to get back in, and the legitimate inhabitants of this apartment don't want that.  We had an exterminator come in last week and 'do stuff' that apparently didn't quite work, because Moshe remained in the apartment.  The exterminator is coming back tomorrow.  Maybe I'll suggest the sugary peanut butter bait (thanks for the helpful comment).

BTW, in response to some comments/emails I've received -- no, I am not kidding about saving the mouse droppings!  I wanted evidence.  The exterminator agreed that it was what I thought it was -- isn't it a good thing that I had proof?  That's a rhetorical question :)

That's my story for now.  I had one of those days where I had to deal with lots annoying issues that kept me from actually doing scientific work, and roommate A clearly had a tough day (finding Moshe and then cleaning the apartment and such), so we each had a bottle of some good ale I got last week as we watched (and are still watching) the debate.  I'm not hearing anything new over the first debate... anyway, that's all for today.

Poo

Mouse poo, that is.  That's right.  I thought that perhaps Moshe the Mouse was gone from my life. However, I have found twice now little black things that look like the feces of a rodent.  "Where?" you ask.  Great question.  On the bottom of my dish rack, that's where!  How unsanitary is that !? I have no idea how a mouse could get up there, on my counter, with no apparent structure on which he could climb.  It's so hard for me to believe that a mouse got up there, so I am hoping that I have misdiagnosed the dark droppings, but I am saving them for any further testing that my landlord might want to do. Gross.  That's all I have to say for now.  Going to complain to landlord C right now and demand an exterminator, because Moshe appears to be too smart for the glue trap.  Damn city mice. 

Rain Gear and other bits

It rained  a lot from Friday through Sunday.  Problem with rain here is that the old streets are not leveled, so many large puddles form, and it's sometimes impossible to avoid stepping into one (unless you want to backtrack A LOT and find a new path).  Fortunately, I had my long purple rain jacket and green boots (see photo above) -- thanks, Ima and Aba.  These are two wonderful products that have been and will be extremely useful here.

Boyfriend K and I went to meet a college friend and his girlfriend; both just moved here in August.  Had brunch at Johnny D's, a surprisingly good brunch joint with live jazz, and the food is both carnivore- and herbivore- friendly (which you might expect from Davis Square).

Work is going well.  Progress is slow.  But I'm learning a lot here, and I'll have more to say about that.

Oh, almost forgot -- the lab had a surprise birthday party for me last Friday.  Awwww!  They got me a black-and-white cake from Rosie's, which happens to be a bakery I've been eyeing since I got here.  Yay!

One more thing that I want to bring up before my anger completely wears off: the Harvard administration is the most unwieldy academic institution I have dealt with.  I should emphasize that the people I've dealt with directly have been great, but some people that were removed from me were not doing what it takes to serve new employees.  For example, they decided for some reason that new employee paperwork cannot be put through until the employee arrives to begin work.  But that means that upon arrival, you do not have things you need, for instance an ID card!!!  Not only that, but the ID card took 3 weeks to get, and it would have taken longer if I hadn't bothered the admins I knew, who in turn pushed for me to get the card.  So for 3 weeks, I was not fully recognized as a Harvard employee, not having access to my lab building, the gym, journal articles, Harvard websites and online employee training!  How the hell is one supposed to do their job under such conditions for weeks?  I expected that, at Harvard, one would immediately be able to start their job as a functional and recognized employee.  LAME.

Okay, let's finish up on a pleasant note: Shana Tova!  That's happy new year in Hebrew :)

Birthday

Boyfriend K arrived Monday night.  The poor guy had to go to my parents' beforehand and pick up a huge suitcase of things to bring to me and then lug it over to Cambridge :)  But somehow he managed to remain positive, as he usually does.

So, the next day, my birthday.  My mom has been talking about this birthday for at least a year because she thinks it's really cool that I am turning 3^3 (three to the power of three).  I just think it means I'm 27.  I decided that if I'm going to be turning 27, I better do it in style.  I started out the day by ironing (yes, ironing!) my new dress, and even though it was WAY too cold to wear a short dress, I did it.  K and I had a very late breakfast at Petsi Pies, said to be the best bakery in Cambridge: www.petsipies.com .   Had a blueberry muffin and a pumpkin cranberry walnut scone, washed down with some coffee.  Very good.  Came back the next day (Wednesday), but limited the food order to one scone between the two of us.  But anyway, back to my birthday...

Went to lab.  Boss R was away, and almost everyone was gone.  So I had a nice easy workday -- started at 11:30am and ended at 4:30pm.  K then picked me up at the lab.  Earlier in the day, he had gone out to Boston to pick up my present -- a wonderful down jacket that is ultra compressible.  I think it's what the cool kids around here wear :)  Anyway, it's super warm and super light, and it's bright pink/red, because K thought that I could use a non-neutral in my wardrobe.  With my warm jacket on, we headed over to Cambridge Commons, a brewery I like a lot, for some birthday beers and buffalo chicken.  MmmmMmmm.  I had the pumpkin ale because I am a sucker for autumn and winter seasonal things.  

Headed home and changed out of the dress and into something warmer, because it was really cold by then, and then went out for Italian in the North End.  Feasted on delicious prosciutto, melon, and figs -- the prosciutto was mild, perfect because it didn't overpower the fruit.  Only slight problem was that the fruit was kind of cold, as if it had been refrigerated, which is a no-no for me.  But anyway, some wine and pasta later, we were heading to Modern for some Italian dessert.  But what??  It was closed.  Darn!  Oh well, probably better for my waistline and cardio health.  Headed home and had some chocolate instead.

There have been some positive developments in lab, but I'll write about those in another post.

Newbury Street and Boston Common

Today was a great day, and as I write this happy blog,  I am enjoying a Dunkelweizen (unfiltered wheat beer).

So, I woke up with no Moshe the Mouse on the glue trap (my dad named him).

I went for a run in the neighborhood and found the local bike/walking/running path as well as a little nursery where I can get potted flowers, if I can just find space for them in this apartment.

I then had my bowl of healthy cereal.  Soon after, I was feeling very hungry again (as I often do in the mornings), so I counteracted the benefits of my run by eating a Nutella sandwich.  YUM! Okay, then it was time to go have my Newbury adventure and do some pre-bday shopping.

On my way to the T (subway), I stopped at Porter Sq Books for the usual short browse and also to wait around for my friend, who was going to join me.  Then found out that she got some cold from her husband, so I was on my own.

T ride went smoothly.  Got off at the right station and successfully navigated around and through Boston Common -- made a mental note to stop there after my shopping duties b/c it was a BEAUTIFUL day.

Made it to Newbury Street.   Ah, Newbury, where most of the shops are so upscale I won't even go in.  H&M, however, I will gladly go into.  In fact, H&M is the main reason I motivated myself to go to Newbury.  Okay, so I went to work at H&M because I have some gaps in my wardrobe that needed to be filled.  I did pretty well -- I returned a cute purple dress that was too small (they didn't have the next size up, sorry Ima) but I replaced it with a similar-looking brown dress, got some tops, but unfortunately I couldn't find the non-jean pants I wanted.  No worries, read on.

Did lots of window shopping and even more people watching/analyzing.  Got myself a burger and fries; hey, this was my pre-bday trip, so I really went all out.  Went into some other places in search of what I decided had to be gray pants.  Found some at American Eagle.  Not exactly what I was picturing, but they might work.  The return policy is great, though, so if I change my mind, no problem. It just means another trip to Newbury.

On my way back, I realized I was totally dehydrated and lacking caffeine.  My lab has a fancy Italian coffee/espresso machine, and the psych dept has free sugary caffeinated drinks in the afternoons, so between those two caffeine sources, I've become kind of dependent.  A little iced tea fixed the caffeine and dehydration problems.  Then headed back toward the T, but stopped at Boston Common (public park) for a little relaxation and more people watching.  See photo above. 

Nothing noteworthy on the way home.

So I went down to the basement of my apt building to do laundry for the first time.  Hmmm... people living in UCSD housing, appreciate what you have -- washing machine here costs $2 and dryer costs $1.50.  Well, I sucked it up and am now waiting for the dryer load to finish.  Perhaps I will be doing some hand washing in the future.

That's about it.  Going to have me a little salad for dinner.  The K-meister is showing up tomorrow evening.  Woohoo!  

 

Mouse Attack

I've experienced a first here in Cambridge, MA, just as I was starting to get comfortable with my teeny tiny apartment.  I was sitting in my living room, using the laptop, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a gray blob dart from one side of the kitchen to the other.  Now, I recently had some visual 'hallucinations', so my first thought was that I was having one of those again and that maybe I needed a brain scan.  But then I decided to go check it out.  So I walked over to the kitchen and waited patiently, and what do I see?  A MOUSE.  We both squealed with terror, and the little guy went into hiding.  After clearing away all exposed (and even not-so-exposed) food, I left the kitchen in the hope that the mouse would go back where it came from, away from my apartment.  I think it left.  

My landlord C came by with glue traps today.  He said that he hasn't had mice in these apartments in previous years but that there was a mouse sighting on the first floor a couple weeks ago (I'm on the third floor).  We couldn't find an obvious opening where the mouse could have gotten in.  Great.  I really hope I do not find a squeaking mouse on the glue trap, ever. Fortunately, boyfriend K is coming soon, so he'll take care of it, right?  :)  Well, in the meantime, various members of the family get to hear my whining.

More to come about my impression of Cambridge and Harvard.  Oh, and stay tuned for my Newbury St adventure tomorrow!