How Philly cured the Gotham blues

G'bye, Manhattan.

As mentioned in the previous post, I've been getting a bit tired of New York over the past few weeks. It was a general, no-specific-reason-for-it funk, something that happens from time to time when life sucks you in a vicious cycle of whatevers. 

SOTD: The Wonder Years - Local Man Ruins Everything. 

Enter: weekend trip to Philadelphia to visit some friends. 

Pretty skies in downtown Philly

I made it South on Saturday afternoon and the shenanigans started with a drink at a firehouse-converted-into-bar establishment, followed by a sinfully delicious Greek dinner. 

Said dinner involved setting cheese on fire and binging on vampire vaccine. And baklava. Because: duh!   

My friends took me to a great party afterwards and I got to chat with some great people. I also met a ghost writer. Which was just about the coolest thing ever. Ghost writer, y'all!    

Love Park.
Yes, they are THAT cheesy.
Of course, couples stand under the sculpture and kiss
while someone takes their picture.
Ugh, cheesiness...

Sunday started with brunch, which for me consisted of a delicious french toast drowned in cream cheese sauce with a side of fruit salad. Allow this to sink in properly: buttery rich french toast smothered with a sweet-tart cream cheese (philadelphia, of course) sauce. Yum!

After brunch, my friend had the awesomest idea ever. We went to the Mütter museum. It's tagline is "Disturbingly informed" and it could not be more true. Which is a medical museum full to the brim with freaky sciency medical stuff like a preserved GIGANTIC megacolon, 300 years old obstetric forceps, extremely twisted scoliotic spines and dried up hands. And histologic slides of Albert freaking Einstein's brain. 'Nuff said. 

Needless to say, I loved the place and will definitely go back for more. 

        

After all the weirdo-fest, we rewarded ourselves with a stroll through Rittenhouse square. And since I am a fantastically lucky girl, the Fine Arts Show happened to be happening that weekend, so we go to check out some cool paintings. Seeing some beauty after the freakiness was a welcome cleanse. Also, ice cream! 

Until next time, Pennsylvania.

Jules

p.s. Excuse the non-so-pretty photos. Posting them completely crude without any editing. Not even a smidgen of straightening. Because I am that lazy. 

I have a case of Gotham fatigue. I have a cure for that, too.

Oh hey.

It's been a while. I've had a boring few weeks, but that's changing NOW:

Philly skyline appearing on the horizon. Almost there!

A weekend in Philadelphia is happening as I type. Ouyeah!

The Toronto Diaries, Part 3

Friday, April 11th 2014

Pretty sunny day, homemade smoothies. 

I could live with that, yes.

A noon choir and organ recital. The best felafel I've ever had, the Aquarium, ethiopian food for dinner, red wine galore, a guitar, and then gin martinis. And Jameson. 

So far, so good. 

Davie's saying hello (Bloor and Bathurst)

Roy Thompson Hall ready for the Orpheus Choir

Aquarium. Done right.

People in front of a giant tank of jellyfish. Obviously.

Leaving the Aquarium was a sad, sad moment.
Luckily, Lake Ontario's shore really tried hard to make it up to me.
Freaking show-off.

Holy mother-of-binge!

                         

Apparently, Toronto knows all and every single one of the ways to my heart, that I can tell. Oh, you sneaky, sneaky charmer, as if I haven't told you that I belong to New York. That smelly, loud big cousin of yours, you met him, I am sure.

SOTD: Everything is Awesome (The LEGO Movie OST). Duh!

That'd be all, folks. Thanks for keeping up.

Toronto was great, but now it's time to swing back to the real world. File taxes, do laundry, split cells, go for a run, paint nails, fall in love with spring in New York. You know the drill.

Jules

p.s. Many, many, MANY thanks to N for making these past few days beyond memorable. I owe you. BIG TIME.

The Toronto Diaries, Part 2

Thursday, April 10th 2014

First thing on the agenda for the day was coffee and pecan pie at Kensington Market, a lively and colorful Toronto neighbourhood that, among other things, possesses exceptionally good coffee and pecan pie.

Back on Bloor

As if good coffee and pecan pie were not enough to teleport me to my happy place, the weather was ridiculously springy and the company beyond delightful. And before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We opted for cheapo chinese, dumplings and fried rice. It was great. 

N and I parted ways after lunch, so I explored Downtown on my own, additionally fuelled by Tim Hortons iced coffee. Totally ignoring Google Maps and Lonely Planet was worth it.

Trees growing out of houses. I can deal with that.

This is one fucking ugly chunk of the ROM.

I really enjoyed wandering the streets of Tornto. The city has this energising vibe, but nothing too intense (as Gotham can be). Overall, it very much feels like if Berlin and New York had a lovechild and decided to raise it by a pretty lake. If it were a drink, it would probably be hot whiskey. If it were a song, it would be the opening track of Interpol's Antics.

SOTD: Interpol - Next Exit. Looping it while walking down Yonge. 

Ok, you must think I am turning into an annoying gooey chipper overenthusiast. I feel the same way. But hey, it is really hard to keep it real when everything was so freaking good. And I am writing it while chewing on maple caramels. See, EVERYTHING is so freaking good. Fear not, half an hour of inhaling New York and I'll snap back to my slightly snarky self.

After a nice day, another highlight: concert night. A whole other level of awesome.
Cheers to that!

Jules

The Toronto Diaries, part 1

Wednesday, April 9th 2014

I dragged my butt down to the lab at 8.15 in the morning. Say whaaaaaaaaaaat? 

Well, a postdoc's got to do what a postdoc's got to do. In my case, it was tissue culture. Wouldn't want the vicious killer cancer cells I so lovingly grow to starve while mommy goes out in the world, non?  

It was a quick and painless 1/3 day at the lab and then off to LaGuardia to catch my flight. All went smoothly and before I knew it, we touched down in sunny Toronto. Oh yes, I kid you not, the North Pole outdid itself weather-wise. 

First impressions were lovely. Canadian dollars look adorable, so do tall blonde immigration officers with hipster glasses and crooked smiles. Free wi-fi at the airport didn't hurt either. 

One other adorable thing I couldn't help but notice was the fact that people here read actual books on the subway. On my first few rides I swear I saw more people reading books than playing with their phones. A bit retro, but undeniably cool. 

My first activity in the city was a leisurely walk down cool Bloor street and further down to Chinatown, where a fantastic place called AGO, aka The Art Gallery of Ontario, is located. 

AGO architeture.
Cool indeed. 

             

I went in and spent a few hours wandering the galleries. It was really beautiful. And the building itself pretty marvelously matches the beauty of the collection stored inside, courtesy of one Frank Gehry. 

AGO & CN & clear blue skies.
Just a wee sample of Toronto's finest.

Before I knew it, it was time to go meet my CS host, which turned out to be tougher than originally planned thanks to my incredible abilities of typing the wrong address into Google Maps and thus ending up half way up to the Northern Territory. The error was rectified thanks to two very nice bus drivers and, about two hours later than planned, I found my way to a shower, a fresh shirt and the obligatory get-to-know-you beers. All was well. 

Incredibly well, actually. 

The Toronto Diaries, part 0

Canada, eh?

You bet.

Source.

A spur of the moment decision to buy tickets for a The National gig + tickets for appropriate transportation up north has brought me to Toronto. The timing was not exactly perfect, but it actually was. Perfect, I mean. After a draining tiring few months of trading my daylight for a career, I needed a break to recharge and regroup. 

It's been a long and freezing winter, but spring has finally marched in. So of course, it makes perfect sense to go and choose the freaking North Pole for a minibreak. I am talented that way. 

In a nutshell, you got three days, two airports and one very satisfied gal.

But since I've always been one for juicy and mellow instead of concise, you're not getting away with just a nutshell. You get the whole shebang down to the last clumsy detail in the form of a few blog posts, which are being typed in at the airport while waiting for my flight back home. The 21st century is a beautiful thing.  

Enjoy!

Jules

I just swam a mile.

My girl M and I made a solemn pact before I went back to New York and she made her big move (both flights out happened in a matter of days, so you can imagine the degree of gooey emotions and all-around panic).

Yards, feet and inches. Say what?

We had agreed we'd pick up our good, but sadly neglected, habit of swimming regularly. As a way to fell better, and, more importantly, because being in the water is the best freaking thing in the history of forever. So she found a pool close to her home in her new city, with me following into her footsteps in my own city a few days later. We're on, bitches!

Cool vintage looking locker room. 

And we both loved our respective ones. My pool is a community one in my neighbourhood, exactly halfway from home to work (yup, convenient!). And being a community affair, membership is really affordable and the whole atmosphere is very down to earth and relaxed. Not a very common good here on the fancy UES, by the way. And I figured I'd go and splurge and bought a 3-month membership. Talk about commitment.

Putting those Miami Beach flipflops to good use.
No comment on that fish cracker there, not mine.

I finally made it to there today after work. The pool itself is small. A half-size, so 20 yards long. Which roughly translates to 18-something meters. I had no idea the yards vs. meters thing would give me such trouble. The original plan was to do 1000 meters + a little warm-up and cool down, which translates to 55.5 aka 56 lengths (I did the advanced maths all on my own!!!). Since I am colossally out of shape, I figured that would be a good start.I am by no means a serious swimmer, but having virtually grown up in a 25/50 m pool, I am sort of used to those lengths and, apparently, so are my strokes. I lightly bumped either my head or my arm into the edge a few more times than I care to admit and I shall never speak of it again. Back to serious workout now. I'm going to talk imperial, as it's just easier in this context. 

The first 400 yards, aka 20 lengths, were pure hell. It was awesome to be IN the water, but moving around in it? Strange. Very strange. Fortunately, after a while I found my pace and boy it felt good. So good in fact, that I ended up doing a mile. A MILE, as in 1.61 km. I feel on top of the world right now. 

Coolest cap & goggles ever.

You, proper swimmers who munch miles like it's nobody's business, can shut up and let me have it, ok? It is very likely that I won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning, so I am enjoying my endorphin buzz while it lasts. Dinner also helps.

SOTD: From Disney's The Little Mermaid - Under the Sea. 

Because: duh!

As mentioned before, I will very likely resemble something dead tomorrow morning when my muscles decide today's adventure was a bad idea. But until then, I'll enjoy my buzz and do some work around that sciency thingy I love doing so much. 

Source.

Just do what Dory days, just do what Dory says, just do what Dory says.

Jules

A horsey bowley beery weekend

So. Two major things happened this past weekend. One was the lunar aka Chinese new year. On Friday, the water Snake left us and the wooden Horse began its gallop into the year 4712. 

Chinatown. Colorful. Cheery. Confettied.

Supposedly, the year of the wooden Horse will be a fierce one, so watch out and be prepared to pick your battles.

Probably one of my favourite shots from Saturday.

I order to bid the Snake a proper farewell, I spent Saturday afternoon roaming Chinatown, drinking ginger tea and eating away my weight in red bean cakes and coconut custard tarts. It was fun and colorful...

... And a great intro in a dorky Saturday evening spent in the lab. Oh, lentiviral transfection, how I cherish thee!

On Sunday, I had actually planned to return to Chinatown to watch the parade, but instead, 75 % of the day got eaten by annoying student paper grading. Which did not exactly put me in the best of moods. Luckily, there was this great Superbowl beer party in the evening. I mean, I have no idea what american football is all about, but judging by the amount of buildup going on all around New York, the Superbowl is apparently a ginormous deal. Europeans, think FIFA Champions League finals on freaking steroids! I mean, I get that it's the final game of the season, Clash of the Titans of some sort that determines who's this season's champion. But the marketing stuff was just so intense with ads, all around the city, since the fall, you would think Earth's destiny was going to be decided or something.  

Source.

Things have been hyping up a lot (hello, junk food and beer on super sale everywhere for the past ten days) and there was no way I was going to miss this quintessential American thing. 

Even the Empire State Building was lit up in
NFL's colours in honour of the 48th
Superbowl

Honestly, I got into it mostly because of the beer and the company. And even more honestly, I still am not sure that I understood what the game is all about (ups!), because the Broncos (orange team) did not do much on the field and they seemed to be totally smitten by Seattle's action. So, rookie dilemma: is that what NFL games usually look like? One team standing there while the other hammers the crap out of them? 

And WHY for the love of all that's holy is the sport called FOOT-BALL? They hardly ever touch the ball with their feet. Unlike in proper football... 

Moving on.

It's Monday. So I guess The Compulsory Complain-About-The-Weather Note is to make its entrance: after a balmy weekend spent wearing cute flats and a light jacket, this morning looked like this:

Snow-covered UES

I'm so over winter!

SOTD: Bruno Mars & Red Hot Chilli Peppers - XLVIII Superbowl's 

halftime show. Because every now and then, even I dig Bruno Mars.

I like the month of February well enough, but I am seriously waiting for spring!
Jules

Sky high

I'm home. New York is awesome. And jet lag is hitting already, since I woke up at 4:30 am. But I woke up in my very own bed. Which was very lovely.

Pretty views from my seat.

Now, let me elaborate on the hell that went on yesterday. And hell being a snowstorm over JFK.

Although my flight from Amsterdam went smoothly and the plane was in New York on time, snow had already hit and caused delays on other flights. Which meant that the control tower wouldn't let us land due to increased traffic. So we were cruising above the city for about one hour before finally getting the green light to land. 

Landing. Oh, shit.

Then, due to all the snow, taxiing to the gate and deplaning took forever. I was being patient, but secretly annoyed at all the mess, because I just wanted to get home ASAP, jump into the shower, go for a walk and later to the lab. Pretty simple requests, no?

Taxiing to the gate. Oh, double shit. 

Moreover, I got my hopes up on the getting-home-asap front when there was no line at border control. Yay!  Well, those hopes got shattered when, again due to the weather and problems with the unloading ramp, our luggage was being held hostage in the belly of our Airbus. For another hour.

After finally getting out of customs with my two ginormous suitcases, I found that, again due to the weather, AirTrain was not running, taxis were shut down, shuttles to the city had an approximate wait hour of 2 hours and the airport shuttle bus services were disturbed. And all I asked for was to get to a subway stop, any subway stop - just like the hundreds of people like me. Fantastic opportunity to bond with fellow airport-stranded travelers. Or just sit in a corner and feel sorry for yourself. After a few seconds of internally debating which option to take, I went for the first one. Duh! 

All in all, we were ALL tired, annoyed, smelly, exasperated, but eventually happy to be in New York. 

Luckily, the airport staff was trying their best and that felt really comforting. After another hour and two overcrowded shuttle buses, I and a very sweet Danish girl (and many other people) made it to Jamaica station. I've never been so happy to spot a "Subway" sign in my entire life. The ride to my neighbourhood went smoothly and took the usual time, so no delays here. Well, I figured that after 4 hours of delays et cetera, we've earned at least a little smooth sailing. 

SOTD: Enya - On my way home. Because she makes it sound

so much better than I ever could.

I surfaced to a snow-covered (about 5 cm), silent UES. The walk from the Subway to home took longer than it normally would, because, you see, snow kind of hinders the smooth moving of suitcase wheels. But at least I was moving, so the whole experience, amazing upper body strength exercise included, was enjoyable. 

And finally, about 4 hours later than originally expected, I was home. Safe and sound, tired, of course, but not too cold. And very happy. 

My street.

Now the sun is out, the sky is a sparkling blue and yesterday's weather hell is pretty much forgotten.

Now, let's get to that other hell that is unpacking. 

But first, coffee.

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

Ocean? Re-crossed!

Roughly six months after crossing the Atlantic, I did it again. 

Sunrise over the Atlantic in Miami.
Next stop? Africa. Close enough to Europe, I guess.

Touched down in Venice around noon yesterday, had a lovely catch-up with my brother, then lunch with the fam and a nap. Then I managed to get shitfaced with my girl M. All in all, first day back was successful. 

SOTD: Chris Rea - Driving home for Christmas

Sunday felt victim to jet lag and a bit of unpacking. The weather sucks anyway. 

Here's to reunions!

Jules

21 things a december trip to Florida taught me

1. Fake boobs exist to be displayed. Wide open. 

2. Key lime pie is overrated. 

3. Coconut patties are severely underrated. 

4. A mojito made with Haitian rum is infinitely better than a mojito made with Bacardi. 

5. Mild jellyfish stings shall never stop you from frolicking in the waves of a surprisingly warm Atlantic ocean. 

6. Shrimp are awesome.

SOTD: Amy Winehouse - Fuck-me Pumps. This song IS Miami!

7. Christmas lights, palm trees and flipflops make a strange combo. 

8. I want to eat Creole food for the rest of my life. 

9. I want to move to Martinique to eat Creole food for the rest of my life.

10. Sunscreen is always a good idea. 

11. Long barefoot walks on a sandy beach are a cool and efficient alternative to a pedicure. 

12. Watching the sun rise from the ocean instead of setting into it is weird. 

13. South Beach is a surprisingly short flight away from winter. 

14. Next time, I shall definitely pack my meanest fuck-me pumps. Flats, no matter how cute, do not cut it. 

15. Sand gets fucking everywhere, which is fucking annoying.

16. The Everglades are not a swamp, but a very lazy weird river.

17. Orchid blooms as cocktail garnish make girls swoon, especially if said cocktail is mixed by a hot barman.

18. Lavender syrup, Bombay Sapphire gin, lime and fizzy water make a GOOD drink. Especially with an orchid bloom as garnish.

19. New York has better coffee than Miami. And better bagels.

20. Chicks in Miami wear better shoes than chicks in New York (BLASPHEMY!!!)

21. I will be back!!!

Miami Bitch*

I spent this past weekend in sunny Miami working on a tan, swimming in the Atlantic and finishing off copious amounts of coconut water/mojitos/lavender-gin cocktails. 

In the meantime, there was an ice storm (don't even know what that is exactly, but sounds cold) all over New York. 

South Beach. AKA Exactly What I Needed.

The best mojito I've ever had. With Haitian rum.
Yum!

Time to snap back into work mode. It's Monday.
Yuck!

Jules

* In reality, it was Miami Beach, bitch.