Day 318: A message from high above the clouds...

Placement Complete? Check!

I write this post as my aeroplane to Chicago warms the rain-slicked tarmac of Cedar Rapids Airport, Eastern Iowa. To be fair, the tarmac should be nice and toasty by now- we’ve been in this exact position for the last hour. Oh well! Lets hope my connection to SFO has been delayed in an equal fashion.

And so ends my final week in Iowa. 

It has been a few days of continuing farewells so I guess it goes without saying that I head to the West coast with a bittersweet taste in my mouth. 

I spent the day enjoying some quiet time in my apartment on Monday. Also known as waiting aimlessly for DHL to collect my shipping sometime between 9am and 6pm. Needless to say, they arrived around 5pm, when the day was just about done. Certainly little point in me heading into the lab. 

Luckily, I used the day to perform many of the meaningless, but necessary, tasks I had to complete before I left; laundry, cleaning, making phone calls- all super exciting!

Tuesday happened to be the last day I would see one of the ladies form the lab next door who has become a good friend of mine during my time in the US- to fittingly celebrate our crossing of paths (and subsequent ending of this path), she took me out to the Indian Buffet restaurant, somewhere she regularly visits that i hadn’t managed to get around to doing. It was gorgeous! The nicest homemade naan breads I think I’ve ever eaten. We said our goodbyes (and, like all of the goodbyes, I have and will write about, it was very bittersweet!) and I headed out of town to the local mall to visit AT&T about adding a data plan to my phone contract. Another boring, time-sucking activity that simply needed to be done before I fly. Whilst i was there, I took the time to treat myself to some UIowa Hawkeyes gear- gonna be reaping the black and gold all over Bath, watch out TEAMBath!

The mid week basically flew by. Wednesday night, I headed out with everyone who was still round for drinks. Basically, lots and lots of wine, followed by impromptu martinis. This was a really good night- one of the best during my time here. Since my boss and supervisor were absent, the dynamics of the group were slightly different and I spent much more time talking to people who are usually more reserved in the larger group we are used to seeing one another within- it was brilliant!  

J and I were forced apart on Thursday- definitely the low-light of my week. We spent Thursday morning having breakfast at the BEST place in town, the Bluebird Cafe and then took advantage of the blazing sunshine to sneak out with some other guys from the lab for Fro-Yo at our favourite joint for lunch. J and I did what we undoubtedly do best- took lots of photos, made some emotionally soppy (and completely heart-felt) declarations and sobbed a little as we waved one-another away.  Its not even a slight exaggeration to admit that my time in Iowa City would have been such a very different, much quieter and probably much less enjoyable, affair, had I not spent the majority of it with this girl. I have made not just one friend for life, but a whole family of friends, when I think about J’s wonderful family and how welcoming and nurturing they have been towards me this whole year. In a way, though she was the best friend I had made during my time here, it was weirdly easiest to say goodbye to her as I KNOW we will see one another again in the near future- we both love to travel (and one another) too much for that not to be the case. 

I also had to say goodbye to the actual lab, as I wouldn’t be going back in before going home- weird, but progressive. I felt, and still feel, like leaving that lab behind somehow completes my transition from a young-adult pretending to do scientific research, into some form of an actual scientist. I have a much broader, more detailed and accurate view of work in scientific research then I imagined one year could develop- not to even mention the practical skills I have acquired and honed. I can’t overstate the importance of this year.

With that all sorted,  I used thursday afternoon to do some much required packing and cleaning. The not so exciting part of leaving, but had to be done if I wanted any of my security deposit back on the apartment. Friday lunchtime came around too fast. It was time for the final, much anticipated goodbyes to the Ahern lab. We went to Donnelley’s. I split sliders, fried pickles and a pound of sweet potato fries with my good friend, J.L, and enjoyed a couple of peach and blueberry cocktails. Before I left, I also grabbed one last cupcake from Molly’s- probably in my top five of good things to eat in America- just in case I don’t get a chance to introduce my family to their other location in NYC. 

J.L insisted on picking me up form my apartment at 5am this morning to drive me to the airport- this was really lovely of him- and meant that I didn’t spend most of what I though was my last hours in Iowa with a strange cab driver. Rather, several humungous storms deviated the plan. Which leads me right back to the sitting on the tarmac of CID airport. 

lets hope we move nice and quickly so I can make my 10.15 connection at Chicago O’Hare!!!!

UPDATE- Finally, I have left Cedar Rapids! Sadly, despite my SFO flight being delayed until 11am and my epic 1 mile, cartoon-style dash across the busiest airport in the world at 10.55am, I arrived just in time to watch my plane taxi away from the gate to the runway, without me on it. 

After a brief chat with a lovely American Airlines lady, I was booked onto the 2.25pm departure- giving me three hours to chill before needed to think about boarding. So, what to do? Mexican food and Margaritas, of course! (Well, I am technically on holiday!) I enjoyed a burrito, chips and guacamole, grabbed a much needed venti caramel-macchiato  and settled myself down between some tourists for a nap at the gate. 

If I had a spiritual bone in my body, I’m pretty sure now would be the time to start praying to the gods of weather that the storms forecast for the afternoon held off on crossing Illinois until my tin can was firmly at 30000 feet. 

UPDATE #2 I have made it to my SFO departure! Yes! (BONUS- I’ve somehow nabbed a ‘main cabin extra’ seat instead of the usually economy seat I was booked on. SCORE! More leg room, closer to the exits and, perhaps the best part of all, not next to a screaming child!) 

After the obligatory mini bottle of chardonnay, I intend to settle in for nap-time to charge my batteries before I face San Fran International and my wonderful family. My single wish is that I land safely to see my neon-pink case in one-piece, rotating on that luggage carousel (we’ll se about that!) I’ll post the finale to this blog in a few weeks time, when I will be a fully fledged (and self-appointed) master of all cities American. 

See y’all later ;)

Love love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Day 314

Busy, busy, busy! 

I have been rushing about so much this last week it seems to have passed in the blink of an eye! Mostly good rushing, though, which makes it all worthwhile!

Today is Monday and I’m still sat on my bed when I would usually be on the way to the lab by now. Why? Today is shipping day. I’m crossing every feasible limb in hope that DHL actually does come to fetch my boxes/my boxes survive the journey home. Regardless, this fourth weekend day is very, very much appreciated after the weekend- even if I am supposed to be preparing things to leave. 

Much of the last seven days has been spent trying to finish things up in the lab; I have currently completed 74 of those 120 ligations I mentioned in my last post- slowly but surely! (Also, on this note, when the lab who is using these libations finally publish their paper- I will be credited for this work! Yay! A paper as an undergrad isn’t very common, so the possibility is very exciting for me!)

On Wednesday, the lab headed about 30 minutes north to a village called Mount Vernon to the Lincoln Wine and Pizza Bar that specialises in home-made wood-fired pizzas. About fourteen of us squashed around the biggest table they had and indulged in good pizza and beer (probably the best I’ve had in the US!) My boss bought his daughter, who was turning four that day and his wife, who I hadn’t seen for a few weeks, so that was really lovely. Good lab quality time! 

Thursday was definitely bittersweet. Technically it was my final day in the lab and my last day in the lab with my boss, my supervisor and one of the undergrads, who were all leaving that weekend for various reasons and I wouldn’t be able to see again. Me and Y, the undergrad, went for a nice lunch at the hospital cafe and exchanged sad goodbyes with the hopes of meeting up in NYC in a few weeks. 

Saying goodbye to my supervisor, L, was infinitely harder. We left work around three and she took me to a gorgeous vintage bakery on the east side of town. Between us we ordered lemon and blueberry cheesecake, chocolate raspberry ganache tart, lemon and vanilla naked cake, raspberry and chocolate macarons and russian cookies- it was all yummy! We talked for about three hours, putting off the inevitable goodbye, before the bakery owners kicked us out so they could close. It was really important for me to spend some time with L before I left, since she's been a big part of my enjoyment of my time here. She gave me a beautiful ‘good luck’ clover necklace as a leaving gift, which I love! I wrote her a little recipe book with all of the baking recipes I have attempted whilst being the US and gave her a double batch of brownies and a Cath Kidston handbag.

That evening, my boss invited me round to his to spend some quality time with him and his wife and daughter before they flew out to the East Coast over the weekend They bought Pimms and made a beautiful spread of food (his wife is an AMAZING chef), including my favourites, BBQ! As a nice little surprise, good friends of the lab, J and his wife, A, also popped round for the evening and we had lots of fun discussing must-dos for all of the cities that my family and I will be visiting over the next few weeks. Saying bye to little B was a toughie! My boss’s wife and I insisted on a mini photo shoot before I went home to savour the moment- I’m really going to miss my surrogate American family! 

Early the next morning, J picked me up from my apartment ready for our Kansas City road trip. J’s best friend from high school (who I met at J’s graduation) has lived there for the last few years, and J’s ex-roommates have just moved down there from IC, so we were excited to see everyone for a party weekend before we all go our separate ways and J returns to her parents’ in Nashville to continue her job hunt. 

The drive took about five hours when you include our Maccies breakfast/supermarket detour, haha. We bought essential independence weekend supplies; champagne, lots of vodka, food for breakfast burritos, chips, salsa and cocktail-making ingredients, and then headed to J’s best friends apartment to meet everyone. 

We spent the day by the pool, drinking cocktails, champagne and beers with a wonderful assortment of J best friend’s close colleagues, J’s roommates, J’s good friends from home and everyone’s various friends/boyfriends. We partied by the pool until the sun ( which was so, so hot!) began to set and we made our way back to the apartment to take naps and get ready for the evening. 

The whole group reconvened to make our way to the Power and Lights District (also just known as P&L)- the huge party scene in downtown KC. We had a great night, listening to live music, doing a bit of dancing,  just enjoying the warmth of the night and the atmosphere of the city.  Since bar close isn't until 3am in KC, we finally wandered back about four and crashed at the apartment. 

Saturday was just as fun; we made breakfast burritos (because I’d never eaten them before and, oh my god, were they good!), browsed a shopping village area on the outskirts of the city, got vietnamese food for lunch (my first Pho!) and got ready for a yard party/BBQ/Fireworks at the home of some of the group’s good friends. 

After another late, late night, J and I were up at 8.30 am on Sunday for the drive back to IC. As goes without saying, this drive was not nearly so much fun. We were tired, hungover and I had the prospect of having to pack all of my belongings up to return to but we tried to enjoy the quality time together as much as we could, doing some radio karaoke and getting terribly greasy take-out food to soothe out bodies. 

I was so glad to be able to see everyone and say goodbye before I leave- I’ve met that many good friends during my time here and am so grateful! The girls and I have extravagant plans for a greek island hopping holiday as out reunion in the near future- fun!

 These next few weeks will likely be similarly hectic, to the extent that I probably won’t write about any of it until I’m back in England in early August, so I’d like to finish by saying what an important year this has been for me- as a scientist and as a person- and how blessed I feel to have shared my time with such genuine, fun colleagues and friends. 

Thanks for making me feel like a part of your family, guys!

Love love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Day 306

Wow, another post, already? I guess I’m just anxious to keep a record of everything that’s happening in these busy times so that I can remember it all later on!

The early part of this week was spent, as usual, in the lab trying to plough through the list of tasks I have remaining before I leave. I am currently preparing about 120 tRNA in-vitro chemical ligations in order to send to our lab’s German collaborators- the most I have ever sent is thirty, so 120 is a big ask, particularly since it is a distraction from my main focuses at the moment that are supposed to be a) training one of the new undergrads in the methods I’ve been optimising for the last few months (because once I leave there are some things that no one else in the lab has been trained to do !), b) writing my report/constructing my research poster so that my boss can read/correct it before I leave and c) enjoying my final weeks without stress. Regardless of my supervisor’s encouragement to do just that, I am committed to finishing these ligations before I leave the lab! 

I spent Tuesday evening baking fruit scones, making goats cheese and garlic breads, italian herb pizza breads and fresh potato salad because on Wednesday morning, my supervisor (and of course my good friend, but I’ve always referred to her as my supervisor in these blogs so I thought I’d stick with that!) picked me up from my apartment for our little Chicago day-trip. When I turned 21, she told me she planned for us to go and see a gig together as my present, since we have quite similar music taste and a few weeks ago she purchased tickets to an open air Rufus Wainwright concert just a few miles north of Chicago as part of the Ravinia Festival at Highland Park. I’d been super excited about this roadtrip/picnic/concert all month, especially since friends of mine who used to live near Chicago couldn’t speak highly enough about Highland Park and how special the concert area was. 

L and I swung by the lab to pick up G, the research intern and headed straight to our favourite place, Dairy Queen, to get pre-trip milkshakes (so, so bad for me but so, so tasty!) The drive to the city took about four hours, which L and I spent channel hopping the radio and talking rubbish, while G snoozed in the back (that boy would literally sleep through an armageddon). 

When we reached the city the weather was pretty dull- about 15 degrees Celsius with very, very low hanging cloud. Not the best conditions for a picnic! Luckily, we’d planned to spend the hours we had in the city before the gig visiting the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and doing a little shopping in one of the vertical malls. It was a lot of fun being cultured and grown up, but I was definitely ready to get some picnic food and wine! 

Ominous Cloud outside the Chicago MoCA

Ravinia Park was truly one of the prettiest places I have been to in the US. Whilst still being a full-functioning modern performance arena, the park was full of trees and twinkling lights and felt like we could have been anywhere but a few miles outside the third largest city in America!!!! We had our little picnic blanket, a couple of bottles of red wine and a gorgeous spread of food; prosscuito, cheese selection, summer fruits and bread (not to mention the goodies I made the night before). 

Rufus Wainwright was brilliant- what a voice and such a true musician! And the chilled out music suited the atmosphere perfectly; sun-setting, candles flickering. About half way through his set, Rufus was joined on stage by, randomly, Liza Minelli. Seriously. We couldn’t quite believe it- such an unlikely duo! Rufus was followed by a similar artist, Cat Power, who we listened to under the moonlight with blankets and hot chocolates.

At about ten o’clock we made our way back to the rental car and started the return drive to IC- we didn’t want to stay overnight since L is writing for her post-doc fellowship deadline and I’m busy with all of those ligations! As expected, G fell asleep pretty much as soon as we started moving but I kept L company as she drove. We stopped in Illinois for Gas and Ice cream and then again at Interstate-80’s big attraction, ‘The World’s Largest Truckstop.’ By this point it was about 2.30 am and I was pretty delirious. L dropped me home at about 3.30 and I was so hysterical I didn’t sleep for another hour or so. Feeling tired on Wednesday morning was SO worth it though. It was really special to spend some quality time with L. She has been a really important part of my life in the US- my mentor, my friend and, to some extent, my in loco parentis. Although I’m pretty certain I’ll see her again sometime in the not-so-distant future, It was nice to get away from the lab (where we’re both so busy at the moment we are constantly talking about work) and make some memories. 

On Thursday, the package my Mom sent to the lab from England arrived. Safe to say, the huge box of British goodies (mainly biscuits and chocolates) went down so well- really brightened up everyone’s moods and I think everyone had fun trying things that we just don’t have in the states; malteasers, magic stars, crunchies, curly wurlys, mint matchmakers, kinder buenos, malted milks, custard cremes, bourbons, jammy dodgers, party rings, jaffa cakes and more! I also finally collected my new glasses from the opticians. They’re tortoise shell Ray Bans with baby blue insides and I LOVE them. Its been ages since I had new frames so I’m very excited about these!

Friday came around much too quickly for a girl who’s conscious of every second thats running out to finish her lab-work.  I waited around excitedly for Friday afternoon to come, so I could be skyped into my Dad’s surprise fiftieth birthday- It was a lot of fun to see his reaction as I wasn’t sure my little brother would have really managed to keep it secret. However, my Dad was honestly taken aback and seemed to have a really, really good night. Plenty of kudos to my Mom and Sister for pulling that off and all of the work they put in leading up to the day!

Friday also signalled the start of my final weekend in Iowa City. It was also the last night of one of my friends here before she moved out to Kansas City, so we took the opportunity to go for happy hour mojitos and then bar-hopped the remainder of the evening. Lots of fun, as usual! On Saturday my boss threw a work BBQ and I spent the day leading up to this grocery shopping (buying ingredients for S’mores- yay!) and doing other bits and pieces. Mainly, I needed the day to catch up on my sleep after the busy week I had. 

J and I

I headed to the lab Sunday morning and somehow managed to (very, very painfully) trap my sciatic nerve on the way there. I spent a few hours doing things I needed to prepare for the week ahead (my official last week in the lab) and then slowly hobbled back to my apartment, where  I have spent the remainder of the day watching netflix on my back as It literally caused me agony to even move a toe. I’m still feeling very immobile and just keeping my fingers crossed that when I wake up I’ll be falling normal again. 

The next week is full of exciting plans! On Wednesday I have a little farewell dinner with the lab and lab friends at a stone-oven pizza and wine bar in a town about twenty minutes north of IC. Thursday is my last day in the lab with my boss, C and my supervisor, L, as they head out to a conference on the East coast July 5th- this will be really sad, but i’m mentally preparing myself already!!! On Thursday eve, J and I leave for Kansas City for 4th of July celebrations in the sun with her ex-roommates and best friend from High School- lots of nice plans for my last weekend before meeting my family in San Fran!

Time to sleep so I’m nice and fresh for Ligations tomorrow!

Love love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Day 298

Summer time is in full swing and it makes me so happy! 

This week has flown by, as all of them seem to have done lately.  I’ve been looking forward to seeing the film version of The Fault In Our Stars since I even knew there was a film being made. It finally made it to the cinema last week, so a couple of my fellow undergrads  (with fair warning that I would be embarrassingly emotional!) joined me at the movies on Tuesday after work. It was so good! I was really pleased at how true to the novel they kept it and aside from the sad, sad story, we did a little shopping and had a fun afternoon out of the lab. 

On Friday, J and I took an early weekend and left the lab to enjoy the beautiful weather. We got frozen yogurt downtown and walked to the capitol building (left over from when I.C was the State capitol) to enjoy the sunset. After a gossip and plan making session we headed to the artisan market to get dinner and parted ways with plans for the day after. The next morning I went to the gym, ran my errands and got ready for J and her sister, D, to pick me up to go to the pool. We went to the city park, which has a huge swimming pool surrounded by sun beds- it is all hidden away in a cute little forest to ‘lay out’, as J and her sister call it. We spent three or four hours tanning in the blazing sun and then moved downtown to buy fresh fruit smoothies. It was a beautifully relaxing day, and so good to see D again! 

Iowa City Capitol Building 

Sunbathing at City Park Pool

Sunday was equally as chilled. In the afternoon, I had arranged for the lab to meet at Leaf Kitchen cafe for afternoon tea. Me and J met the new Brazilian undergrad and walked to meet my boss, his wife and daughter, my supervisor, L, our friend from the lab opposite ours and G, our lab’s research intern. The afternoon tea wasn’t exactly what I expected (or what any British person would consider Afternoon Tea, for that matter) but it was still really tasty! We had vegetable quiche, grilled vegetable, soft cheese and vinaigrette on bruschetta, strawberry and peach tartlets and scones with jam and cream. Of course this was all served with tea- I tried the honey brush ginger and earl grey- and topped off with chocolate truffles. 

Afternoon Tea!

This week was short and fast! I spent most of Monday to Wednesday preparing my presentation for the lab retreat which we headed out on on Thursday afternoon. As the seven of us- my boss, my supervisor, the two grad students, the lab’s synthetic chemist and the research intern (I was only undergrad asked to attend, which was very flattering)- all piled into the suburban and jumped on the interstate, the heavens well and truly opened! In fact, in the space of the next hour of driving, I received nine flood/tornado/storm warning messages from my cell network. I’m not sure I’ve ever been on the road in weather like it. The rain was so hard we couldn’t see three metres in front of us- which didn’t exactly bode well for the open-air theatre we were on our way to picnic at. My boss had bought tickets for a production of my favourite shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing. By the time we reached Spring Green, a little town just outside of Madison, WI where the American Player’s Theatre is, the rain had thankfully turned into a slow drizzle (which, in the 30 degree heat, was actually really refreshing!)

Picnic in the drizzle

My boss, C, bought a cooler full of beautiful picnic food- crusty breads, a selection of cheeses, humous, dips, meats and wines- which we enjoyed under a candlelit woodland pagoda whilst listening to a violinist. Just as we were finishing up and getting ready to follow the woodland walk up to the open air theatre, the torrential rain reappeared. The play was scheduled for 7.30 but was postponed until 8.00 due to the rain, during which time we got brandy-coffees and plastic ponchos and enjoyed the damp heat. Much to my relief, the play wasn’t cancelled due to bad weather and was so, so good! The theatre was full, but we were lucky enough to be on the front row- the actors were literally centimetres away! I’m completely biased, since I love the back-and-forth of Much Ado, but I really think that this experience was one of my favourites from my time in the states, and so good that it was shared with my lovely lab-mates! 

We didn’t leave the theatre until almost Midnight and didn’t reach out hotel in downtown Madison until past 1am. We checked in, S, L and I sharing a room like we did last month in Chicago with the four boys in pairs in the rooms either side of us and promptly crashed. The next morning, we all convened by the lakefront for breakfast and proceeded to one of the University of Madison-Winsconsin’s conference rooms to begin giving our presentations. It took about three hours for us to finish our individual talks and all in all I was pretty pleased with mine since my boss seemed equally happy with it. This is good for me to hear as it means I can get to work writing my placement report and have it ready before I leave in a few weeks time. 

Giving my presentation

After the presentations we headed back to the lake-side for lunch and beers in the sun. A few of us went for a little sightseeing walk around Madison and up to the observatory which overlooks the city- it was so picturesque! That evening we went to an Irish gastropub for food and left around 9.30pm for the drive back to IC which ended up taking about four hours, passed by radio channel-hopping to nineties ballads that we did bad karaoke too and eating potato chips. 

Safe to say I overdressed!

A fox playing in a park in Madison 

Not sure how many of these I’ll have the chance to write before meeting the fan in San Fran- times a-running out! I’ll just be trying to make the most of it before I jump on that plane! 

Thanks for reading!!! 

love love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Day 284

This weekend was an important milestone for placement year- Emma’s homecoming! despite having left England a few days after me last summer, Em’s ten months in Perth have already come to an end. Though I wasn’t physically there to welcome her off the plane at Gatwick this Evening, I was most definitely present in spirit after spending the a good majority of the day before Facebook messaging with Em’s Mom, Jane. As much as I wish I could be there now to bear-hug my long-unseen chummy, Jane herself made the good point that I myself will be home (and subsequently down to Cornwall, probably, to see them!) very soon now. Also, belated congratulations are in order for the award presented to her at conference she presented in on Tuesday- Proud of ya, gal! 

So, Exams in Baff are finished, Emma’s returned to the UK, many of my other friends' placements are drawing to a close: I have to make the most of the little time I have left here! 

With that in mind, I was super excited for “my” postdoc’s birthday BBQ last weekend! L turned a self-proclaimed ‘double sweet 16’ with style; sun shining, plenty of tasty food, a keg, gin cocktails and, later, some live music and dancing! Being my absolute favourite person in the whole continent, I had to go all out, baking-wise. With L’s sweet-tooth in mind, I made the world’s most chocolately chocolate cake. Three layers of cake, chocolate cream icing, topped with triple chocolate brownies, melted white and milk chocolate and assorted flavoured baking morsels. The result? A very heavy, devilishly-calorific treat that made the Birthday girl even happier than when I’d surprised her with triple choc brownies for breakfast the morning before.  Of course, I couldn’t just leave it there. Whenever things get a little stressful in the lab, a Snickers bar is L’s go-to pick-me-up. So? Snickers and Caramel Cheescake! Overall, both desserts went down really well. Too well, perhaps, since many of my colleagues suggested I skip science and just open a bakery- I’m still not sure whether that’s a compliment?!?!

Snickers Cheesecake

After drinks and the barbecue (with special guests; potato salad, slow-cooked brisket, bratwursts, bean salad and *drumroll for my favourite…* pickles!) we (about seven of us from the lab, including L and her boyfriend, of course) headed into downtown to a bar called the Yacht Club to watch a band perform and do a bit of dancing. A few hours later, I headed back to J’s with her to crash, since she lives much closer to downtown than I do. 

Last weekend also saw me take advantage of one of the few things that are cheaper in the US than in the UK, before I leave: the opticians! I saw the optometrist for my glasses and contacts and ordered new ones of both. This is exciting as I haven’t had a new pair of frames since just after starting Uni. Sadly, I was told that my distorted depth perception can’t be fixed, and would probably continue to get worse unless I opted for laser treatment but otherwise, all was very much similar to usual. 

This week I continued to make plans to maximise my time in the US. L and I booked tickets for a road-trip to Chicago to see Rufus Wainwright at this open-air ‘concert in the park’ type affair in a fortnights time. It will be so nice to spend some quality time together and we have already planned in detail the picnic we are going to lovingly craft to join us! J and I are also currently in talks over a road-trip to Des Moines one of the weekends before July (which is rapidly approaching) just to do something different.

On Tuesday I have plans with the new Brazilian undergrad in the lab to go see the film version that has just been released of a book that I have loved for a very, very long time. She’s not read the book, but we’re keen to do something fun to help pass the hard week that’s inevitably ahead and this sounds very promising. 

Unfortunately, this weekend has been a little less exciting than last. On Friday night I was convinced by L to join friends of the Ahern lab at our favourite local wine bar, The Bread Garden Market. We had a few ciders, some cheese and bread and a good ol’ chat for a few hours before parting ways. I had a very pressing date with Family Guy and my bed after a long week at the bench. (Talking about Family Guy, I saw Seth Macfarlane’s newest film, A Million Ways to Die in The West, this week and completely loved it! Definitely recommend it if you enjoy Seth’s typical smart humour!) 

Today has been a busy day of doing grown-up things that I have been putting off. I awoke early to check up on Em’s flight progress this morning, had a light run to the lab, spent a couple of hours finishing off reactions that need to be ready for monday, went to the post-office, then to buy the week’s food shopping, followed by an afternoon of cleaning the apartment, laundry, packing boxes to ship home, making chicken tikka for tea, FaceTiming with the Parents and then writing a little more of my placement report for Uni. 

My plans for the morning are to do a little more cardio and then make up some bulk meals to freeze for the next couple of weeks so that I haven’t got to worry about cooking should I be busy in the lab (Which is really likely because I have HUNDREDS of reactions to send to Germany before I leave!) Tomorrow afternoon I’m meeting a friend for yoga and heading out for dinner, afterwards.

Now to go and dye my hair and savour the privilege of my own bathroom while I can!!!!

Love love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Day 263

It has been a beautiful, sunny weekend in IC- about time considering all of the rain and storms we’ve had recently! Despite having been out partying Friday night (and not getting to bed til’ way past four am), I needed to be up relatively early to head into the lab. Because I left early Friday evening to pop home and get ready for J’s graduation party (more on this, below), I didn’t get chance to finish everything at work that I wanted to and as such popped in this morning to inject some frog eggs with some RNAs and grow up some plated bacterial colonies in the incubators.  After a few hours I decided it was time to go and enjoy the heat, first with a jog and a swim and then a salad and some sunbathing in one of the downtown parks. All in all, a relaxing Saturday that has been very much overdue in the excitement of the last few week or so!

Woo! Congrats, J!

Yum! Fruit salad in the sun at the park!

So, as mentionned above, my good friend J graduated from UIowa with her Bsc in Chemistry this weekend- so, of course, we had to party! We started the night with her family, our lab and all of her roomates and friends at Brix Wine and Cheese Bar having a civilised catch-up, taking plenty of photos and enjoying the company. It was so, so lovely yo see J's parents, sister and uncle again after staying with them in Nashville last November, especially since I don't know when we will see one another again! I had the fortune to meet J's much talked about best friend from Kansas City, who was an absolute blast, as well as, her freshman roomate and her boyfriend, who I had weirdly so much in common with and were so, so sweet! Afterwards, we headed back to J's where she opened some presents and we did a bit of pre-drinking, before saying goodnight to her family and heading out to the bars. As always, we had a fab night- ended perfectly by drunk-food pizza and cupcakes!

Sunday followed in a similarly chilled fashion, I ran some errands (groceries, cleaning, laundry) and then met my Boss’s super-sweet and lovely wife, P, and baby-B for brunch at the quaint, vinatge-chic Leaf Kitchen! We headed back to theirs and Baby-B and I entertained ourselves by baking some sugar cookies and rainbow cupcakes whilst my boss spent time working on some important grant applications that are due in the near future. I had lots of fun borrowing a child to play with for the afternoon- definitely the best way to do it!

Last week was work’s Frontiers in Membrane Protein Structural Dynamics conference in Chicago, which my boss asked me to tag along to- and, of course, there was no way I was passing up a road-trip to the Windy City with my lab buddies. And, gosh, was I so glad they invited me! We had an absolute blast!

My boss, our post-doc and another PI from the Mol. Phys. department picked me and our lab’s lovely grad student-soon-to-be-post-roc, S, at 8.00am on the Wednesday morning (with some freshly-baked fruit scones I’d concocted to fuel our trip) in a HUGE Chevrolet Suburban- literally so big that my 6’ 4’’ boss had whole row of seats to stretch out in and there was even a table in between the driver’s and front passenger’s seats.

Fruit Scones for the trip!

Okay, so I might not have understood 80% of the seminars that we attended (Which, admittedly, was still only about 50% of the seminars we were supposed to since the weather was beautifully scorching hot and my boss insisted we instead spend the time drinking cocktails and exploring the city…no complaints here!)… but honestly, just being surrounded by professionals at the forefront of their research careers was an invaluable experience. I was lucky enough to have to opportunity to meet the German collaborators and, more specifically, the actual grad student from Berlin who I have been sending tRNA reaction products to for the last couple of months. He was really nice and I loved being able to put a face to the mysterious scientist working so many thousands of miles away!

Anyway, aside from the work portion of our trip, food, drink and tourism definitely took up the majority of our time. We drove the Hilton, Chicago and decided that we’d leave parking the beast to the hotel’s valet staff, checked in to our rooms, and S and I immediately set off to sight-see and take plenty of snaps before the key-note began that evening. 

First we headed just across the Michigan Ave. to Grant Park to see the Buckingham fountains, followed by a brief photo-op beside Lake Michigan and a short stroll north to Millennium Park to see the Cloud Gate sculpture. S and I walked as far up Magnificent Mile as we could, of course detouring to Nordstrom’s and Macy’s along the way, before we gave into our rumbling stomachs and succumbed to the temptations of Chicago’s traditional Deep-dish at Gino’s Original Pizza. 

Millenium Park, Anish Kapoor's 'Cloud Gate'

Deep Dish!

The following day, upon strong encouragement from my boss and his good friend and a colleague of ours from the lab across the corridor, S and I joined them for drinks in the 30 degree sunshine, ice-cream on the lake-front and a leisurely stroll around the city’s aquarium and downtown area. After a shower and another couple of drinks at the hotel, we met up with my supervising post-doc and our german collaborator to head out for dinner. We walked to a highly recommended restaurant called ‘The Publican’ and, through shear serendipity, arrived just at the right time to walk straight to the last available table at this very, very popular and super-busy restaurant. 

Out for drinks in the sun, I, of course, had a Pimms!

I could honestly sit here and write a good couple thousand words about the meal we ate, but I’m just going to stick with the fundamental fact: This meal was the probably one of the best I have ever eaten, anywhere in the world. The food is served family-style and the service was impeccable. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who’s ever anywhere near downtown Chicago- specifically try their pickles and charcuterie plate, followed by the bread and butter pudding, but you honestly wouldn’t be going wrong with anything on the menu at this beautiful place! 

Amazing food at The Publican

Bread pudding with salted caramel ice cream and chocolate mousse cake with butter toffee and goat's milk ice cream

After our meal, we headed a couple of blocks to a popular bar, ‘Au Chevalle,’ for my colleague’s very much endorsed ‘pickleback’- a shot of whisky followed by a shot of homemade pickle juice. You might think this sounds disgusting- but let me assure you of just how wrong you’d be! I had two and would have definitely gone for numbers three and four had I not needed to be up at 7am the following morning for the rest of the conference! 

Not content with the sightseeing packed days I’d already enjoyed, I skipped the Friday second session of talks and lunch, to do a little shopping and squeeze in a brief visit to the impressionism and 18th/19th century exhibits at the Chicago Art Institute- of course making sure I was back in time to cheer on my PI as he presented the work he’s been doing in our lab to the consortium on friday afternoon! That evening, a whole group of us- all of the UIowa cohort, our german colleagues and various Big Names in Biophysics, went for food and drinks at ‘The Gage’ on Michigan. Again, an excellent choice! I enjoyed an elderflower and tequila conceal, a juicy burger with curry-gravy fries and couldn’t help but steal some of my boss’s fried pickles (my absolute FAVOURITE american food) and duck confit poutine. 

S and I on a Friday night in downtown Chicago.

Such a great food weekend! As nice as Iowa City is- I’d definitely move to Chicago in a heartbeat; for the food, for the shopping, for the atmosphere and entertainment. I loved being able to wander the city on my own, and basically cement what, over the week, had blossomed into a true love affair with the Midwest capital. So much so, in fact, that I woke up early Saturday morning to have a final few hours alone in the city before driving the four hours back to IC. 

The week of work between Chicago and this weekend was definitely one of the busiest since I’ve been back from my birthday trip- and as such, I was really, really happy to get a surprise package from home containing lots of foods that I have been missing and the McBusted T-Shirt that they had bought me as a souvenir from the concert a couple of weeks ago! It felt so good to just have that little bit of contact from home, and made me realise how excited I am to get back to normal in a few months time (no matter how sad I’ll be to be leaving the US)!

My plans for the upcoming week include hot yoga and sushi with my friend, A, on wednesday and getting back into healthy food ways and exercising ready for the oncoming Holiday Of A Lifetime in only 54 days!!!

Okay, bedtime for me- need to be in the lab bright and early in the morning ready to measure some oocyte currents!

love love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx