February 25, 2007
My First Week of Work.
I think I’m going to like it here.
There was a substantial period of time where I deliberated over whether to move to
At first I felt like I was banging my head against a wall trying to get here—everything had to be difficult. All the apartments I wanted fell through, the job interview fell through, I got really sick, and so on until I felt like maybe I hadn’t made the right decision (though I knew in my bones I had). Then, little by little, everything started coming together in ways I couldn’t possibly have imagined. I found a great apartment in an incredibly beautiful (and safe) location just a 10 minute walk from Joe and
The company that I work for used to be quite large, but has downsized a lot in the past few years because it is spinning off in an entirely new (and exciting) direction. The research that the company is developing now is fairly new in the field of drug discovery. Basically, my company will partner with other pharmaceutical companies that have drugs that are not doing well in clinical trials and try to "reposition" them for other uses. So, my company would run a whole host of assays on that drug to see if it is affecting some other biological process. Because the biology of our bodies is quite redundant, a drug that was meant to treat, say, a heart condition, might actually be better at treating cancer or Parkinson's or dermititis. Because pharmeceutical companies spend an incredible amount of time and money developing drugs (and getting them approved by the FDA for use in clinical trials), it would be much more effective for them to reposition a drug that is not doing well (if it is even possible to do so) than to go back to the drawing board and start again. This is exciting to me.
The first thing that really stood out about my company was the level of respect with which everyone treats each other. I just haven’t seen that sort of a thing anywhere else. I feel like the company truly values my time there and that they are really exited to have me on the team and that is great.
My desk is in a cubicle, which is kind of weird. There are six of us in a row (three on each side) with our desks facing away from each other. Everyone has his/her cubicle decorated with pictures and little knickknacks to make the cube seem a little less cube-like, which makes mine kind of sad—the only thing I have up so far is the dojo schedule. Everyone is really, really nice, and most of them are quirky like me. We are going to get along splendidly.
The company has this get-together every Friday night called FLIC (which stands for Friday Libations in
I am beginning to realize how lucky I am to have this job. Evidently, the interviewed around 15 people before choosing me, which makes me feel good in a way. At FLIC, some of the guys were talking about how it is almost impossible to get a job in
I miss home a lot, but I am really excited to be here. It helps that I have a great job, a great apartment, and good friends around. Boston will probably not feel like home for a while, but I'm okay with that. I didn't move here to be comfortable.
February 16, 2007
The Great Trans-American Adventure: Nebraska
We spent an entire day driving through Nebraska and really didn't get any pictures. Nebraska really IS that boring.
Of note, though were:
1) The large sign in the middle of a field that declared "I LOVE SODOMY."
2) The number of very large trucks bearing the American flag.
3) The unflagging monotony of the landscape.
What they say about Nebraska is true--if going on a road trip, make sure your partner is driving that part so you can sleep through it. Trust me.
Of note, though were:
1) The large sign in the middle of a field that declared "I LOVE SODOMY."
2) The number of very large trucks bearing the American flag.
3) The unflagging monotony of the landscape.
What they say about Nebraska is true--if going on a road trip, make sure your partner is driving that part so you can sleep through it. Trust me.
February 15, 2007
Exhausted.
Being unemployed is tiring sometimes.
Yesterday I witnessed my first batch of "NorEaster" New England weather. It snowed. It rained. And then it did some funky thing like a snow cone machine gently dumping its contents on your head. Little icy crystals fell from the sky, the gutters backed up, and the entire city of Boston turned into one slushy puddle that was knee deep at times.
Overnight this crazy slushy mess froze, creating a city-wide skating rink. I spent the day traipsing about, trying not to fall on my butt with each step. My heart skipped with every car that drove by, just hoping it wouldn't spin out of control and careen in my direction. Luckily, it didn't.
I trained Aikido here for the first time tonight. The techniques are very different that the way we do them at home, but I'm excited to learn something new. By the time class was done, though, I was completely exhausted and hungry, and still had a 45 minute ride home on the train. Two weeks of inactivity have taken their toll. I could have eaten dinner in Porter Square (near the dojo), but knowing that I had food at home and being unemployed for now I decided to be good. I'm going to have to be careful--once work starts, it will be easy to spread myself too thin again, and it somehow doesn't feel safe to be walking around Boston while exhausted and hungry.
Rosie has been coming out of hiding more and more each day. She was completely traumatized by the trip across country, and still tenses at every little noise the neighbors make. Since we arrived, she has been hiding in a kitchen cabinet behind the basket of rice so that no one can find her but me. It really makes my day when she darts out of hiding to come and give me some drive by love, hunkering low to the ground to stay relatively hidden. At least she doesn't hate my guts.
Yesterday I witnessed my first batch of "NorEaster" New England weather. It snowed. It rained. And then it did some funky thing like a snow cone machine gently dumping its contents on your head. Little icy crystals fell from the sky, the gutters backed up, and the entire city of Boston turned into one slushy puddle that was knee deep at times.
Overnight this crazy slushy mess froze, creating a city-wide skating rink. I spent the day traipsing about, trying not to fall on my butt with each step. My heart skipped with every car that drove by, just hoping it wouldn't spin out of control and careen in my direction. Luckily, it didn't.
I trained Aikido here for the first time tonight. The techniques are very different that the way we do them at home, but I'm excited to learn something new. By the time class was done, though, I was completely exhausted and hungry, and still had a 45 minute ride home on the train. Two weeks of inactivity have taken their toll. I could have eaten dinner in Porter Square (near the dojo), but knowing that I had food at home and being unemployed for now I decided to be good. I'm going to have to be careful--once work starts, it will be easy to spread myself too thin again, and it somehow doesn't feel safe to be walking around Boston while exhausted and hungry.
Rosie has been coming out of hiding more and more each day. She was completely traumatized by the trip across country, and still tenses at every little noise the neighbors make. Since we arrived, she has been hiding in a kitchen cabinet behind the basket of rice so that no one can find her but me. It really makes my day when she darts out of hiding to come and give me some drive by love, hunkering low to the ground to stay relatively hidden. At least she doesn't hate my guts.
February 9, 2007
A Blog Worthy Day.
So, I failed at blogging while I was on the great trip across country. I have some tidbits and photos to come, as soon as I get settled in, but I wanted to document the day I had yesterday because it ruled.
I took my first ride on the bus here in Boston yesterday--Nan and I met and rode out to Roxbury to have breakfast at this awesome restaurant called The Haley House. The food was incredible, but the premise behind the restaurant even more so--they take homeless people off the street, give them a place to live and teach them how to bake/cook so that they can build their resume and get back on their feet again. This is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately--community building through food (mostly gardening), and I think this place is rad. If you can, you should go support them.
After breakfast, Nan and I walked over to the high school where Joe works and got to sit in on a class. This particular school operates under charter status, and the atmosphere there is really cool--the class style is more informal than I am used to, and the students seem to have a degree of freedom and respect not usually offered at public schools. It felt more like a supportive environment and less like a prison than any other school I've ever seen. The Principal knew every student by name.
The real reason for our visit was to see a drum clinic given by Brian Viglione (of Dresden Doll fame). He arrive a little late, so Nan and I helped him schlep his drum equipment into the auditorium and get set up. There were about 20 or 30 kids that showed up, and I wish more had come because Brian was awesome. He started it as kind of a more formal thing, talking mostly about giving your own voice to everything you do, and having a few of us come up one at a time to play a simple drum beat on his kit to demonstrate how each person sounds very different. Most of the kids were too shy to go on stage, but Nan and I were first in line. Brian was super enthusiastic about the whole thing, and by the end, every kid in the room was up on stage with a drumstick, jamming with Brian and banging on whatever they could find. It was so loud you could hear it throughout the whole school, and the jam lasted for more than an hour. There were even kids break dancing in the background. I have never seen so many high school kids participating in art like this, and it was awesome. Thank you Brian--it was truly a great afternoon.
Sometime during the ruckus, I had to leave to take a phone call--one that would decide whether or not GeneLogic, the company that I interviewed with on Monday would hire me. To my utter amazement, not only did they hire me, but the offered me $14,000 more than I was making at my previous job. I couldn't believe it. Somewhere, someone was pulling for me today. Thank you whoever was sending me good vibes--you have made this day awesome.
To celebrate, we all went out to sushi, and our entire order came in a giant pirate ship. What better way to celebrate than eating pirate booty fish out of a boat. mmmmm. So, if you were worried whether things were going well, they are. No more worrying--its a waste of time anyway. I'll see you when you come visit me.
I took my first ride on the bus here in Boston yesterday--Nan and I met and rode out to Roxbury to have breakfast at this awesome restaurant called The Haley House. The food was incredible, but the premise behind the restaurant even more so--they take homeless people off the street, give them a place to live and teach them how to bake/cook so that they can build their resume and get back on their feet again. This is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately--community building through food (mostly gardening), and I think this place is rad. If you can, you should go support them.
After breakfast, Nan and I walked over to the high school where Joe works and got to sit in on a class. This particular school operates under charter status, and the atmosphere there is really cool--the class style is more informal than I am used to, and the students seem to have a degree of freedom and respect not usually offered at public schools. It felt more like a supportive environment and less like a prison than any other school I've ever seen. The Principal knew every student by name.
The real reason for our visit was to see a drum clinic given by Brian Viglione (of Dresden Doll fame). He arrive a little late, so Nan and I helped him schlep his drum equipment into the auditorium and get set up. There were about 20 or 30 kids that showed up, and I wish more had come because Brian was awesome. He started it as kind of a more formal thing, talking mostly about giving your own voice to everything you do, and having a few of us come up one at a time to play a simple drum beat on his kit to demonstrate how each person sounds very different. Most of the kids were too shy to go on stage, but Nan and I were first in line. Brian was super enthusiastic about the whole thing, and by the end, every kid in the room was up on stage with a drumstick, jamming with Brian and banging on whatever they could find. It was so loud you could hear it throughout the whole school, and the jam lasted for more than an hour. There were even kids break dancing in the background. I have never seen so many high school kids participating in art like this, and it was awesome. Thank you Brian--it was truly a great afternoon.
Sometime during the ruckus, I had to leave to take a phone call--one that would decide whether or not GeneLogic, the company that I interviewed with on Monday would hire me. To my utter amazement, not only did they hire me, but the offered me $14,000 more than I was making at my previous job. I couldn't believe it. Somewhere, someone was pulling for me today. Thank you whoever was sending me good vibes--you have made this day awesome.
To celebrate, we all went out to sushi, and our entire order came in a giant pirate ship. What better way to celebrate than eating pirate booty fish out of a boat. mmmmm. So, if you were worried whether things were going well, they are. No more worrying--its a waste of time anyway. I'll see you when you come visit me.
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