Triathlon. According to Jules

Oh, hello Hudson River.

Full disclosure: I am not even close to a triathlete. So please, do not take the title of this post seriously. 

1. BIKE:

The perfect springy Sunday. So you decide a bike ride is the best possible way to spend it, although the alternative, sitting on your ass and binge watch Criminal Minds, sounds just as appealing. In the end, you go the classy way, put on your neat helmet and shove the bike in the elevator. Pushing pedals under the cherry trees all the way up to George Washington bridge is nice. 

Staaaaaaan!

2. SWIM:

It's Monday and you're STILL totally high on all the goodness Sunday brought. So you make big plans to make it to the pool after work. Only to see your dreams shattered when you find out two of the three experiments you ran on that lovely Monday didn't work and you find yourself stuck in the lab until 10 pm. No pool. And crushed spirits. So you decide that, instead of doing laps, you'll open up a Guinness and order a pizza. Then you decide to open another Guinness and do laundry. Suddenly, it's 2 am and you decide a bikini wax will be an awesome idea. Before you know it, Tuesday rolls around. You feel bloated because of the late night pizza binge. There are very few instances when pizza is NOT a good idea. Midnight being one of those instances. But you manage to escape the lab and get to the pool for a swim. Ole'! 

Hometown glory!

Excited.

Swimming doesn't go according to plan, mostly because instead of keeping track of laps you get continuously distracted by how much you want to bang the cutie from the 12th floor. So, you give up laps and switch to sprints and butterfly instead. Because killing your own arms is a good diversion from thinking about cutie's buff arms. Holy biceps!

Sunset in Central Park.

3. RUN:

Thursday is yet another good day. And again, you make it out of work in the daylight. Time for a quickie run through the park. It is still ridiculously beautiful with trees in bloom everywhere. But since you are a crappy runner, you don't give a damn about miles, speed, breathing, interval training and all that jazz. Your run exactly as fast as you like and stop to smell the flowers (literally!) exactly when you like it. Despite all, you manage to do 5-ish miles (or so Google Maps says). Which makes you a little smug. And very likely means that a month or so will pass until your next run. 

And that, my dears, is how Jules does cycling, swimming and running. 

Now if you'll excuse me while I go stretch my stiffened legs.

Jules

Catch-up recap, part two

My month-long visit to Slovenia is coming to a close. I fly back to New York tomorrow. Yay! Since my first flight is at an ungodlily wee hour of the morning, I opted to book a room in a hotel near the airport. A 2.30 AM wake-up call to get to the airport is NOT happening, thankyouverymuch. 

So, as I lay in bed all excited to get back to the lab and to my apartment and to Gotham himself (duh!), let's reflect on what's new since I left New York. 

1. My pants feel way tighter than they did when I flew in. Bless the holiday binge and my mother's amazing cooking skills. But I should definitely rectify the situation. Eating good food is one of my favourite activities (duh!), but...

I guess my awful spartan housekeeping skills and the crazy life of a postdoc will help get back into those skinnies. Wish me luck!

SOTD: REM - Leaving New York. Because it's the other way around!

2. I donated 400 mL of blood for the 30th time. Which made me quite proud of myself. Due to the law, I am not eligible to donate in the US (I tried, but failed miserably), so donating back in Slovenia felt even more special, and, I admit, sort of payback-y to the weird rules in the US. Not the most noble of me, I admit, but not much I can do about it now. On the flip side, a few people will benefit directly from the donated tissue AND all the evil that got drained out of me this time around will make life easier for the people who are forced to interact with me on a daily basis (insert evil laugh here). 

3. My hair is 2 inches shorter in the back and about 1 inch shorter in the front. I am  a proud wearer of a cool bob that on a VERY good day looks something like hers (wishful thinking) and allows me to pay even less attention to hair styling. Which is magnificent. 

4. Fitness-wise, I'm in the worst shape of my life. I don't like it. And this, too, shall be rectified. 

5. My tolerance for ignorance, especially among students, is even lower than before. I firmly believe that in the 21st century, in a developed country with almost 100 % literacy, being ignorant is a choice. And it's a despicable one. Dear students, get your shit together and open your eyes. Slovenia needs you!

7. Friends and family are the coolest and I am freaking spoiled.

8. I'm such a dork for having felt labsick for the past 14 days. Amid all the good things happening to me in Slovenia, and all the cool stuff about New York I could be missing, the lab was firmly in first place. Awful. 

9. Europe is great. In the timespan of a few days, I managed to touch down in 5 countries: The Netherlands (layover + first coffee on EU soil), Italy (landing+a few visits), Slovenia (duh!), Austria (drove through) and the Czech Republic (Prague!!!). Each with a distinctive culture and language. 

10. Euros are waaaaaaaay prettier than US dollars. AND, they actually have numbers on coins, which is more user friendly than "dime" and "nickel" and whatnot. And paying 1 € for coffee is awesome.

11. I still can handle booze very well. I got shitfaced a lot this past month. It was great, and so so so funny. Obviously, since I'm past my prime in terms of tissue regeneration my liver now needs a wee vacation. But that's details.

12. I HATE PACKING! 

That's about it. Better go catch some sleep. 

Talk to you after the jet lag.

Jules

100!

I seriously debated whether to include this vignette into one of my "Textless Thursday" posts. I eventually decided not to, as it is just a smidgen too special to be lost in one of those junkshits fillers. Dude, this one is post number one hundred for I Crossed the Atlantic Once. Wow!

Source.

Vimrod is gone for the time being, but a lot of his truths are everlasting. 

I doubt the truths within this blog will have the same fate, but still. 

Happy 100, tiny blog!

Here's to many ocean crossings, funny stuff, scientific mishaps, New York charms and Slovenian quirks!

And thank you, readers from Indonesia, South Korea, Canada, Italy, Ireland, Bulgaria, Guyana, Kazakhstan and everywhere else in between. You do make me feel like one of the cool kids. 

Jules

Go nerds!

A Cup of Jo is one of my favourite blogs. That woman is amazing and she posts the most interesting things. Like THIS one, for example.

My maladroit screenshot of the page in question.

A nifty, enticing quiz that measures the approximate prodigiousness or unprodigiousness of your English vocabulary. PULCHRITUDIONUS!

Yeah, yeah, I am so contemptibly showing off my word nerdiness in this post. Duh! And I so wish something similar would exist for my beloved mother tongue, Slovenian. Which is, honestly, a pretty darn hard language to master. Not that I particularly mind...

An American (brilliant Michael Manske) attempts to master the art of Slovene speaking.

And nearly perishes as a consequence. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUkkW7cauPE&list=PLHHZ9vBEFJ2XYso4Lf2KLzqufj2WCCYHr

Oh, I love being a nerd. And a smartass. I mean, I scored 20,000 in the quiz, which is up there with native speakers. Boo-yeah. I guess I just need a wand and improved hair and off I go to Hogwarts. 

Source.

That quiz made me want to grab a book and read my heart out. I guess I should pick up one in Slovenian, though. 

Nerd away.

Jules

We've all been there...

... you know where. Yes, there. On the verge of a shiny new career. Still in the honeymoon phase of our love affair with science. 

Lucky for us naïve bitches, the genius behind the Upturned Microscope gives us a bit of tough love. Bless him. 

And feel free to cyberstalk/follow his comics. They are ALWAYS perfect.

Source.

Cheers to all postdocs. Guys, we are awesome!

Jules

Truth, all the truth, and nothing but the truth.

Source.

Lately, there've been HUGE amounts of drama at work. So, the picture above synthesizes my feelings about the situation perfectly. Yup, Tard's wisdom never disappoints. I mean, to some extent it was hilarious to observe smart, grown MEN act like catty teenage plastics, but enough is enough. 

SOTD: Winnie the Pooh - Everything is honey. 

On a brigter note, I have visitors from home and we opened their stay with medica shots. Nice. It reminded me how much I dislike honey, but also how much I needed booze with my bitches. I'm so glad they're here!

Why, oh, why?

Science is awesome. When things work and you find what you are looking for. Then again, sometimes a funny result opens the floodgates and you just WANT to find out more because you're curious, although it might not be exactly what your project was about. Then again, sometimes you feel like banging your head violently against the wall. 

When that happens, it's time to bring out the lab jokes. And rum.

Source.

Because, technically speaking, rum is a solution.

Jules

Marry me, Julian Barnes! Or something.

I'm currently reading three or four books, see. 

I simply do not possess the resilience to have just one book open and read it in one go. I guess I am a book glutton. Of course, that means that I am capable of "reading" a book for six months. Maybe because that particular one is my "lunchtime" book, or my current "serious" read, or my "trashy secret guilty pleasure of the moment that can only be consumed in absolute privacy". Meh... 

Maybe I just suck at being consistent.

Well, by far my favourite "unwind with a glass of pinot in the evening" of the bunch is Pulse, Julian Barnes' collection of short stories.

Lovely cover. And this book is made of paper. And ink.
And has pages and the lovely book smell!
Kindle is a little jealous, I think.

And here's the reason why - ok, one of MANY reasons:  

----

"The chocolates?"

"No, the drawings."

"I used to love a cigar. It didn't have to be a whole one. Half would do."

"They gave you different cancers, didn't they?"

"What did?"

"Cigarettes, pipes, cigars. Didn't pipes give you lip cancer?"

"What did cigars give you?"

"Oh, the poshest kind."

"What's a posh cancer? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?"

"Bum cancer's got to be the bottom of the pile."

J. Barnes, Pulse - At Phil and Joanna's 1

----

That's a dinner conversation a group of friends are having during dinner. I'm still chuckling. A few minutes ago, I was laughing hard. 

I love you, Barnes.

Jules

I checked out this show only 'cause I dig the actor, and I'm really cool with that.

I am currently sprawled on my bed, MacBook on my lap and glass of chardonnay in my hand. Blogging and unwinding. It's half past eleven pm and I just came back home from my first evah Broadway show. 

Since I hate being cliché, I didn't go for Mamma mia, Stomp or The Lion King. 

Instead, I chose the most cliché-filled show I could think of for my Broadway-de-verginization. A cheesy, but endearingly funny rom-com. Why would I do that (just the thought of the cheesefest makes me want to puke a little bit) when there's just so much good stuff around there in the mainstream department?

My answer is simple: Zachary Levi. D'oh.

He might not be the most well-known household name, but if you ever watched Chuck, you must have loved him. If that bit of info doesn't ring a bell, simply scroll down. 

All images shamelessly copy-pasted from here with the sole purpose of making you drool.

He's tall, dark and nerdy, and totally adorable. Has an amazing smile and kind hazel eyes. And boy, can he sing and dance. 

And he can tell a love story:

"Chuck versus the Goodbye" final scene. 

Well, he might actually lack a bit of crude sex appeal, but he's just too cute not to love. Although. Hmmm, let me rethink that:

Ok, maybe I did underestimate his sex appeal just a smidgen. 

Anyways, back to the show. It was just about everything I expected from a Broadway musical: flashy, chock-full of jokes with predictable punchlines, with catchy tunes, and seriously sugary. But thanks to the relatively small size of the theater and the tiny cast it also felt intimate and personal enough.

I'm actually really happy that I went. I had a great time and yes, I might have drooled a little bit. I couldn't really help it. Zack Levi is just adorable. End of story.

SOTD: The National - Don't swallow the cap. 

It's got NOTHING to do with the post itself, but 

I just CAN. NOT. STOP. listening to this album.

Sweet dreams.

Jules

Indoor weather phenomena and other shenanigans

I ♥ science, no doubt about it. 

Science is fun. And exciting. And surprising. And humbling. And it can be a bit magical, too.

SOTD: The Moody Bues - Tuesday Afternoon. Because there's nothing better than a bit of magic lab fog on a day like this...

But, honestly, sticking around the lab for endless hours can mess with your brain. Rational thoughts become more and more tangled around fuzzy ideas and you slowly start to go crazy. 

When THAT moment arrives, you absolutely need to unwind. Coffee usually saves the IQ, but sometimes you just can not leave the bench to go get yourself a steaming cup of brown lifejuice with just the perfect dash of milk in it. YUM! 

When that happens, alternative unwinding techniques NEED to kick in...

… enter: MAKING FOOOOOOOOOG!!!

Woo-hoo!

Simple, fun and really cold. Just pour water over dry ice. But, please, make sure NOT to toss the dry ice chips directly into the sink or drain, because THAT might make your drain pipes crack (=worst case scenario) or just block your drain for hours due to a chunk of superchilled ice forming in the drain (=most annoying case scenario). 

Stay entertained.

Jules

A constant surprise

It's no secret I love New York. 

And the list of things I love about this city is constantly growing. From the enormous and glamourous, all the way to the touchingly humble and the mundane. Of course, there's many things that constantly remind me New York is not perfect, but its perks surely make up for a whole lot of its shortcomings.

Witty signage is one of those things that makes New York so fuckingly New York-ish and, thanks to what's pictured below, has just cemented its spot among the top 20 things I absolutely, irrevocably, undoubtfully, definitely love about it. 

Seen today at one of the research campuses on the UES.

New York, I love you!

Jules

JESSE and CÉLINE. FOREVER.

I finally got to see Before Midnight a few days ago. 

I might not have been in the perfect state of mind to go see a movie like that, but my undying love for those those two just made me wander into a movie theater on 86th street after a Sephora haul.

In this final installment, Jesse and Céline are in their forties, he had left his wife for his French love and she had given birth to their cute twin girls, Nina and Ella. Julie Delpy is still stunningly beautiful, graceful and smart, Ethan Hawke is still adorable. Despite the horrible hair (dude, please, you're no 20-something boy anymore!!!). Their characters are together, swamped with the trivialities of everyday family life, but they are still the Jesse and Céline we knew and loved in the previous two movies. It's not all sugar and spice and everything nice. They fight and get annoyed with each other, and they show how deep their love is. All in a funny and intelligent way.

When the first movie, Before Sunrise, was originally released in 1995, I was at the hight of puberty and way too mainstream to be interested in something like that, so I first saw the movie a few years later, towards the end of high school. At that point, I have evolved into this hopeless romantic, so the story of two smart and charming and somewhat completely relatable people casually meting and immediately knowing they were the perfect match, was exactly my cup of tea. And the cliffhanger ending was perfect, as it left enough room for me to fantasize about their winter reunion and subsequently happily ever after.

Having seen Sunrise quite late meant that I did not have to wait 9 whole years to learn what happened. Before Sunset, the sequel to Sunrise, was released in 2004. It was a bad year for me, romance- and non-romance-wise, but I still loved and enjoyed the movie, even more than the first. All their banter and connection and the sheer amount of topics they manage to cover...

Source

I can not believe it's been 9 years since we last caught up with those two (I'll admit I binge-wathched the first two movies back to back two or three times, but don't tell, ok?). Just like with the first, Sunset ended with a cliffhanger. Which the third movie of the series, brilliantly resolves. 

Source

Taking a look at all three theatrical posters one next to the other clearly represents this couple's evolution. And just like with the films, the Parisian one, for Before Sunset, is my favourite. 

And to finish off, one of my favourite quotes from the series (from Sunset, actually):

             C: Do you think you would have finished the book if you were fucking someone every 5 

                  minutes?

              J: I might have welcomed the challenge!

To Jesse and Céline. Forever.

Jules

Springy microby air...

Saw this comic posted on I fucking love Science a couple of days ago. The original image belongs to the geniuses over here, though. Needless to say, my inner microbiologist flipped and sang a happy tune. My outer self just laughed. Hard. 

SOTD: Air - Biological.

It's quirks like that that made me fall in love with the life sciences many years ago. 

Of course, now I am a molecular/cell biologist by trade, but in my heart, I'll always be a microbiologist - got a BSc in microbiology from the University of Ljubljana in 2006 (Shit, has it been THAT long???).

The program itself changed, as it's now a 3+2 formula, whereas we did the 4+1 thing back in my day. Why am I talking about this and ruining the nerdy joke in the comic? Because microbes rock AND this year marks the 20th anniversary for the undergrad programme in Microbiology at my alma mater. They are putting together a big celebration and aiming at reuniting most of the alumni and the teaching staff. Which I'll sadly miss because I'll be busy conquering Manhattan.

Us microbiologists are just cool like that, you know, conquering fancy cities and all...

Jules