Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Go Vertical Chicago
The first few years I was in grad school, my lab was on the 12th floor. One day, we somehow ended up in a discussion about how long it would take to get to the 12th floor using the stairs. One of my labmates, Roby, claimed that it could be done in a minute. As most of us were expressing our skepticism, Roby disappeared and returned about a minute later slightly out of breath. Sure enough, he had just climbed the stairs and proved his point.
I was thinking about that recently as I was training for Go Vertical Chicago, a fundraiser for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (which supports my postdoc fellowship). The premise of Go Vertical is pretty simple: climb the stairs to the observation deck of the Sears Tower. 103 floors, 2109 steps. Luckily, we live in a high-rise building (55 floors), so it was very easy to prepare for the race.
My main goal for the race was not to embarrass myself. I was also hoping to finish in around 25 minutes, so I was happy with my final time of 25:38. That was good enough for 522nd out of 1952 finishers. Among the people that beat me were the top male (13:55), top female (15:45), a ten-year-old girl (21:05), and a 71-year-old man (20:51).
It was great to see all the participants and supporters at the Sears Tower. There were a number of teams with homemade t-shirts and a few firefighters that climbed the stairs in full gear. I think next year Michelle may even climb as well!
There was an "official" photographer at the event. I can't put the actual photos here, but here are some links:
Before the race. (Michelle wanted me to kiss my bicep, but it looks like I'm eating my shirt.)
Beginning of the race.
Floor 101 or 102.
Also, if you're interested, there was a story about the event in a local magazine. Click here.
I was thinking about that recently as I was training for Go Vertical Chicago, a fundraiser for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (which supports my postdoc fellowship). The premise of Go Vertical is pretty simple: climb the stairs to the observation deck of the Sears Tower. 103 floors, 2109 steps. Luckily, we live in a high-rise building (55 floors), so it was very easy to prepare for the race.
My main goal for the race was not to embarrass myself. I was also hoping to finish in around 25 minutes, so I was happy with my final time of 25:38. That was good enough for 522nd out of 1952 finishers. Among the people that beat me were the top male (13:55), top female (15:45), a ten-year-old girl (21:05), and a 71-year-old man (20:51).
It was great to see all the participants and supporters at the Sears Tower. There were a number of teams with homemade t-shirts and a few firefighters that climbed the stairs in full gear. I think next year Michelle may even climb as well!
There was an "official" photographer at the event. I can't put the actual photos here, but here are some links:
Before the race. (Michelle wanted me to kiss my bicep, but it looks like I'm eating my shirt.)
Beginning of the race.
Floor 101 or 102.
Also, if you're interested, there was a story about the event in a local magazine. Click here.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Six of one, a half-dozen of the other
Any way you slice it*, here's to a very Happy 6 monthaversary!
*How many other idioms can I use here?
*How many other idioms can I use here?
Sunday, November 2, 2008
NO on Prop 8
May 17 was the happiest day of our lives. We had planned to have the wedding in Banff for a while, but we easily could have gotten married anywhere in Canada or in any of the 50 states. Moreover, it was trivial to have our marriage recognized when we came back to Chicago. (When I registered Michelle for my Northwestern staff benefits, I didn't even need to show a marriage certificate.) Of course, things are only this easy for some of us.
If you live in California, you know that your vote in the presidential election is essentially meaningless. But please don't let this stop you from exercising the privilege to vote on Tuesday (if you haven't already). This should be the easiest choice you'll ever have to make on a ballot, unless they put a proposition to revoke women's right to vote on the 2010 ballot. It's really that basic: maintain equality or take away rights for a segment of the population. There's simply no logical reason to ban same-sex marriage.
I know I'm preaching to the choir. The two or three readers of this blog have probably already voted. But the latest polls suggest that the race will come down to the wire. Tell your friends and coworkers. Vote NO on Prop 8.
If you live in California, you know that your vote in the presidential election is essentially meaningless. But please don't let this stop you from exercising the privilege to vote on Tuesday (if you haven't already). This should be the easiest choice you'll ever have to make on a ballot, unless they put a proposition to revoke women's right to vote on the 2010 ballot. It's really that basic: maintain equality or take away rights for a segment of the population. There's simply no logical reason to ban same-sex marriage.
I know I'm preaching to the choir. The two or three readers of this blog have probably already voted. But the latest polls suggest that the race will come down to the wire. Tell your friends and coworkers. Vote NO on Prop 8.
Friday, October 17, 2008
B-Roll
A few years ago, Michelle did an interview for a Discovery Channel series called "Most Evil" where she talked about some of her research from grad school. Yesterday, I discovered that they now have a bunch of clips from the series on their website, including part of Michelle's interview. So, if you're interested, you can check it out here.
During her brush with stardom, Michelle learned about "B-roll", the extra footage they sprinkle in with the main interview. (The clips of Michelle walking down the hall, opening the door, etc. are B-roll.) We thought it was interesting that they give it a name.
Anyway, if the clip interests you, you can also read Michelle's paper on the topic here
During her brush with stardom, Michelle learned about "B-roll", the extra footage they sprinkle in with the main interview. (The clips of Michelle walking down the hall, opening the door, etc. are B-roll.) We thought it was interesting that they give it a name.
Anyway, if the clip interests you, you can also read Michelle's paper on the topic here
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Weekend in San Francisco
Last week Brian had a retreat for his fellowship in Marshall, CA (yeah, I didn't know where it was either! But I did learn that there are some oyster farms are on the way...). So we went up to SF the weekend before to visit with friends and eat some yummy meals. Nathan and Angi were kind enough to put us up for the weekend (thank you to others for offering, too!) and drive us around - we really appreciated it.
We arrived Friday afternoon, and stopped in at the Lim lab to say hello. Brian had a chance to talk with Wendell, and we spent a few minutes at a poorly planned Beer Hour. From Mission Bay, we headed to San Tung for dinner. The tally of dishes for dinner was pretty impressive, we came down on 6 orders of wings and many other plates. Many napkins were sacrificed in the completion of this meal (yeah, I know, gross):
Saturday morning we slept in and headed back to the Sunset for a nice dim sum meal (we haven't even tried to have dim sum again in Chicago since our first disastrous experience). It was here that we had our first baby sighting of the weekend's baby trifecta - 2-month old Susannah, daughter of Alex and Charlotte. Adorable! Not a great picture, but she's the little bundle on Alex's chest:
After dim sum we went over to Ben and Erin's house to hang out with Baby #2, Esme. Last seen at our wedding, she is now about 14 months old and full of energy and curiosity. So incredibly sweet:
In the evening we drove out to Half Moon Bay for some really nice sushi. We haven't eaten much sushi out in Chicago aside from rolls, because we just figure we'll be disappointed (unless we're prepared to pay big $$!) It was great, though the lure of In 'N Out was *almost* strong enough to pull the boys in on the way home... but no, they resisted. You'd better believe that Brian regrets it now!
Sunday morning Brian and I BARTed over to the East Bay to round out the baby trifecta, and visit John, Erin and Natalie in Oakland. Anjuli joined us as well, and we had brunch at a cute diner. Natalie is also only about 2 months old. It was neat to see old friends as new parents, it always brings out a side of people you haven't seen before. Once again, not a great picture of the baby - when they were out of their coccoon-like carriers, I was too distracted to take photos!
After that lovely visit, we BARTed back across the bridge. Brian went off to meet his ride to the retreat and I went to Lara's cute new apartment right next to Parnassus. It was fun being back in that neighborhood, though I really do not miss having to park and find parking on those hills! We set out to meet up with Nathan, Angi and others at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park.
It was incredibly crowded (that's what beautiful sunshine and a ton of free music will do) and it took us a while to cross the park, but we finally found them, along with Ben/Erin/Esme and Alex/Charlotte/Susannah. The babies left, and we went over to watch (well, listen to) Gogol Bordello before leaving the park. As expected, the crowd was diverse and enthusiastic. Nathan and Angi went home to catch up on work for the weekend, and Lara and I had dinner at Fresca before I went to the airport. Great food and conversation - a perfect way to end a perfect weekend!
We had such a great time, it was so nice to catch up with good friends that we haven't seen since the wedding (and before!) Going back to SF was a joyful experience, reminding me of what a great city it is, how many awesome people we met there, and how lucky Brian and I were to have lived right in the fog-belt. Looking forward to the next trip already!
We arrived Friday afternoon, and stopped in at the Lim lab to say hello. Brian had a chance to talk with Wendell, and we spent a few minutes at a poorly planned Beer Hour. From Mission Bay, we headed to San Tung for dinner. The tally of dishes for dinner was pretty impressive, we came down on 6 orders of wings and many other plates. Many napkins were sacrificed in the completion of this meal (yeah, I know, gross):
Fifteen people at a table for 10? Bring it on:
Saturday morning we slept in and headed back to the Sunset for a nice dim sum meal (we haven't even tried to have dim sum again in Chicago since our first disastrous experience). It was here that we had our first baby sighting of the weekend's baby trifecta - 2-month old Susannah, daughter of Alex and Charlotte. Adorable! Not a great picture, but she's the little bundle on Alex's chest:
After dim sum we went over to Ben and Erin's house to hang out with Baby #2, Esme. Last seen at our wedding, she is now about 14 months old and full of energy and curiosity. So incredibly sweet:
In the evening we drove out to Half Moon Bay for some really nice sushi. We haven't eaten much sushi out in Chicago aside from rolls, because we just figure we'll be disappointed (unless we're prepared to pay big $$!) It was great, though the lure of In 'N Out was *almost* strong enough to pull the boys in on the way home... but no, they resisted. You'd better believe that Brian regrets it now!
Sunday morning Brian and I BARTed over to the East Bay to round out the baby trifecta, and visit John, Erin and Natalie in Oakland. Anjuli joined us as well, and we had brunch at a cute diner. Natalie is also only about 2 months old. It was neat to see old friends as new parents, it always brings out a side of people you haven't seen before. Once again, not a great picture of the baby - when they were out of their coccoon-like carriers, I was too distracted to take photos!
After that lovely visit, we BARTed back across the bridge. Brian went off to meet his ride to the retreat and I went to Lara's cute new apartment right next to Parnassus. It was fun being back in that neighborhood, though I really do not miss having to park and find parking on those hills! We set out to meet up with Nathan, Angi and others at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park.
It was incredibly crowded (that's what beautiful sunshine and a ton of free music will do) and it took us a while to cross the park, but we finally found them, along with Ben/Erin/Esme and Alex/Charlotte/Susannah. The babies left, and we went over to watch (well, listen to) Gogol Bordello before leaving the park. As expected, the crowd was diverse and enthusiastic. Nathan and Angi went home to catch up on work for the weekend, and Lara and I had dinner at Fresca before I went to the airport. Great food and conversation - a perfect way to end a perfect weekend!
We had such a great time, it was so nice to catch up with good friends that we haven't seen since the wedding (and before!) Going back to SF was a joyful experience, reminding me of what a great city it is, how many awesome people we met there, and how lucky Brian and I were to have lived right in the fog-belt. Looking forward to the next trip already!
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