Halloween and a Hurricane

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Casey and I went to a friend's Halloween party last weekend dressed as Clark Kent and Dorothy - couldn't come up with a good couple's costume with the time we had to put it together. People really liked Casey's costume, and seemed impressed with themselves when they figured it out. He got lots of "Hey! It's Superman!" comments from strangers. The cashier at Walgreens called him Superman no fewer than 15 times. Here are pictures from that night: 

I was looking for shoes like this, but could only find them online and didn't have time to order them...

Clark Kent saving the day with Keystone

Hosts of the party: Captain America (pre and post injection)

Our friends who hosted the party also had pretty unique party favors: they gave away goldfish to all of their guests. They had been at a restaurant earlier that day that was having a carnival-like day and was giving fish away as prizes. The restaurant ended up with too many fish, so our friends took home about 40 extras, which became the party favors. We named our fish Chester.

Chester, our new pet goldfish

Switching gears now... the reason I'm writing a post today (on a Monday) is because class was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy, aka Frankenstorm. Which is really fortunate because we were supposed to have a histology practical today (that I wasn't at all ready for) that will be postponed until later this week. Casey gets to stay home from work too, but still has to actually do work. We stocked up on a few supplies early Saturday morning, and a few other people had the same idea, but the store wasn't all that crowded. Yesterday evening, however, we went to the grocery store to get some fish flakes for Chester and found about 20 people in line per register! It was crazy. The shelves were essentially empty and everyone was a little on edge. One elderly woman was yelling at an employee and flinging her cart around wildly. We decided that Chester could eat bread crumbs for the time being until the storm passes. 

It's interesting to see the range of responses people have when bad weather is about to strike. The city shut down its transportation systems last night to prepare for potential flooding and other damage caused by high winds. The hospital and medical college were quick to send out their disaster-preparedness plans, and to tell everyone to stay home and safe unless they worked in an emergent setting. They cancelled all elective procedures as well. Old women at the supermarket were yelling and throwing around large metal objects, possibly trying to get a head start on causing damage before the hurricane hits. And then there's the financial industry. Casey's company was expecting people to come to work as of midnight last night. Never mind the fact that the city put out warnings telling people who lived above the 11th floor to consider staying somewhere lower due to high winds (he works on the 44th floor). They decided that people could work from home only after hearing that the stock market would be closed today (the first weather-related closure in 27 years). They were kind enough to check in on him though - to make sure that his home laptop was functioning and that he could still make the necessary calls to get his work done. Ah, priorities. 

The weather isn't too bad right now - there's just a little wind and it looks kind of gloomy outside. The streets are eerily quiet, which is a rarity for NYC: 

Ghost town

I'll post more pictures as the storm moves through if anything cool happens. They have evacuated certain parts of NYC that are in low-lying areas, like Coney Island and parts of Brooklyn. Our area wouldn't be evacuated unless the hurricane was category 3 or 4, and large parts of Manhattan wouldn't ever be evacuated at all. I guess they're pretty confident in the strength of their skyscrapers. Probably the saddest part of Sandy is going to be that I never got the chance to take pictures of the fall leaves in Central Park, which will likely all be stripped after the 40-50 mph winds tear through. Oh well, there's always next year! Stay tuned for anything exciting. 

Anniversary Trip to Vermont

Hi family and friends!

First I'd like to apologize for my gap in posts. Casey and I have been a bit busier than we were anticipating, and I let the ball drop. I wish I could say that I wouldn't let it happen again, but that's probably not true. Now, on to the updates.

I started med school in late August, and it has been a total whirlwind. I have been enjoying classes (to the extent that any sane person can enjoy biochemistry) but have been a little overwhelmed with the workload. We've had 5 tests already and have our 6th in a week and a half. Each test seems to cover as much material as a semester-long class in college would cover (it's probably not that much, but it seems like it). And what's lovely is that all of the tests have been on Mondays, so my weekends are typically spent holed up at my desk pouring over reaction pathways and how cytoskeleton is constructed.

We did get a chance to get away for our anniversary a few weeks ago though, which was awesome. We rented a car and drove up through upstate New York and into Vermont, just kind of driving aimlessly and being happy that we could see trees. The fall foliage was just about to get into full swing. It actually turned out to be a good time to go, because the trees were starting to change, but the hotels weren't completely booked (I only had to call about 6 to find an open one... which had just gotten a cancellation). On our prior trip we ended up sleeping in the car one night because all of the hotels were full. Here are some pictures from that trip (repeats of what's on facebook, sorry...):

As you can see we went apple picking and basically did a lot of driving around looking at trees. It was great to be out of the city for a weekend, and I'm hoping we'll get to go again soon.

Also I started a new part-time job around the same time school started. I'm working with an affiliate of New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Medical College that develops minimally invasive surgical devices. It's been a really cool experience so far. We're a small group, so I've been able to work with the engineers, surgeons, and business folks all at the same time. I have a concept of doing something similar down the road in about 35 years when I actually know something, and this has been great exposure to the process of getting a device to market.

Casey has been enjoying his job more lately. He recently went to San Francisco for a tech conference on OLEDs (the stuff new fancy TVs are made out of) and learned a lot of things that I don't understand. He'll have to guest write to explain it all.

We're going to a concert tonight - will post more pictures and updates later!

And also, I wanted to include a little snippet from one of my clinical observations. As a part of the medical program, we're in doctor's offices once a week and get the chance to take patient histories and medical records, and we are supposed to reflect on experiences that we have with patients. Here's a piece of what I wrote:

"I really enjoyed speaking with Ms. G this week. After speaking with Dr. N about my interview, I realized that her move to Manhattan was quite tough on her socially and that her children wanted her to live closer so that they could spend more time with her, but that they ended up being too busy to do so. She lives alone and can’t have any pets due to her complicated bronchial disease, and wants to go back to work but hasn’t been able to find a part-time job that she is qualified for – mainly from a physical perspective. To me, she did not appear to be depressed and seems to be handling her life and living situation very well. However Dr. N indicated that it had been an ongoing challenge for her to adjust to life in Manhattan, and that it probably still is.

After interviewing Ms. G, she said that we should have lunch sometime since we actually live in the same part of town. After struggling through biochemistry, histology, molecular biology, and the other subjects I've been buried in for the past two months, it was really nice to hear a patient say something as simple as “I enjoyed speaking with you today” and that she wanted to get lunch. I love that every patient has a story to tell, and am excited to get to someday be involved in people’s lives from that totally unique perspective that comes from being a physician. It’s also interesting to me to see how people handle disease and how some are still just as happy as they would have been if they weren’t sick. I think it says something about the strength of the human character to have such resolve over keeping a positive attitude, and is something that I hope to learn from my patients and apply to my own life in the future." 

Storage Outtakes

As I mentioned in a previous post, we have a two week gap period between when our sublease ends and when we can move into student housing. Which means we had to get storage. I mentioned how steep I thought Manhattan Mini Storage's prices were, and how I had found a great little company that dropped off a storage closet right at your front doorstep. Or the door to the apartment building in this case. Turns out I had a tough time getting back in touch with the guy, who was supposed to call me to get payment info but never did. But it also turns out that if you play coy with Mini, they give you discounts. The day after I spoke with their sales rep, I got an email for 20% off. The day after that I got another discount. And another. Until finally the price was comparable to that of Mr. Flaky Closet Storage Man.

So I bit the bullet and signed up for a 4' x 4' x 5' unit, which I thought would have plenty of room for the few items in our studio. I started packing and sizing up our stuff:

The boxes from my fun trip to Home Depot

I thought I was being so organized by measuring everything out and planning exactly how it would all fit into 80 cubic feet of space. I even decided that I would have room left over.

Another perk about Mini is that they provide a free "taxi" to the facility, which is actually a large moving van. So the day after packing, this guy shows up and we load everything inside.

I show up at the storage facility and unload everything onto three large dollies. I had never been inside one of these places before, and didn't realize how creepy they are. All of the lights are turned off and flicker on only when you walk under them, turning back off immediately after you've passed. Everything is white and sterile, and there are surprisingly few people for a place this large. The hallways are just wide enough for you to push their dollies through, which led me to a few minor accidents en route to my unit.

This actually isn't a black and white photo...

Realizing why it's called "mini" storage

I finally unload all of my junk, and realize I may have slightly misjudged the amount of room our stuff would take up. Not accounting for the corrugated walls totally threw me off! The (former?) engineer in me felt shamed, but I was still convinced I could wedge the remainder of our stuff into the unit. Here's how it looked after the first trip:

Plenty of room left!?

About a week goes by, and as I'm gathering the rest of our stuff I'm starting to doubt my planning abilities even more...

Where did it all come from??

When I finally get everything together and realize how much space the vacuum cleaner, microwave, printer, computer monitor, etc. take up I decide we're gonna need another unit. Blast. I decided to get the cheapest one possible, which was on the second level instead of the first, meaning it was five feet off the ground. This didn't seem like a huge deal when I was loading stuff into the ground unit, but when I show up with a second truckload of stuff I realize why the top units are so much less expensive. There were really only five or six steps to get to the top, but while lugging suitcases and boxes I felt like Rocky going up that long flight of stairs. Only not as graceful, and in slow motion.

Cue motivational theme music

To add to the fun, there was a mutant horse fly that really wanted to hang out on me and kept getting disturbed when I would move. I think he may have been drawn to the sweat. Gross. 

Stage one of Operation Storage is now complete, thankfully, and we're going on vacation until we move into student housing, when we get to do the whole process all over again. Good times!

Free Summer Nights

After attempting to start a business for a year using our own capital, Casey and I learned to be really cheap. I guess "frugal" sounds better, but let's be honest, we were just cheap. Many of our dinners consisted of beans and rice, we refused to pay for even basic cable, and we rarely ventured outside of our apartment to see movies (unless it was a matinee at the dollar theater). Unfortunately there aren't dollar theaters in New York... a discount theater here would probably sell tickets for $9. On the bright side, however, there are plenty of free activities, especially during the summer. There are free concerts, film festivals, yoga, dancing, and best of all, people-watching. You may have to (get to?) enjoy such entertainment with a few hundred / thousand other New Yorkers, but your wallet's gratitude makes up for it.

Concerts in the Park

The New York Philharmonic offered 5 free concerts in parks around Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs this summer. A typical concert would last from 8-10pm, but I'm pretty sure people start showing up at around 5 or 6 to get good seating. Being the punctual adults that we are, Casey and I made an appearance at around 9:15, only to find that Central Park's Great Lawn was completely packed. According to the NY Phil's website, as many as 200,000 people show up to the concerts each summer, with over 14 million total in attendance since the series began in 1965. I guess we should have been expecting the crowds, but it was still impressive to see so many people squished like sardines onto the field, and even more impressive how respectful and quiet the audience was. 

Since we were quite (un)fashionably late, we ended up wandering to a bench behind the Great Lawn that was set back from the crowd. Unknowingly, we actually selected a an acoustically-pleasing setting - somehow the music echoed off the trees just right and we could hear the orchestra perfectly, without the noise from the rowdy attendees in the back. After the concert ended there was a fancy fireworks show, which we missed most of due to our nestled position behind the crowds. We did see a tiny dog making a bee-line out of the park in fear of the noise, but weren't quick enough to grab him. Here are a few shots from the night: (my pictures weren't great; these people did a better job)

A blurry shot of the castle

A spot close to our hidden bench that is eerily vacant

Back side of The Met

Stay tuned for the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, free yoga sessions, and dancing on the Hudson River! 

Smoothielicious

Something I was not expecting about living in the northeast is hot summers. One reason to vacate the south, I thought, was to avoid the 9 month stretches of 90+ degrees. Well, the summers here may not drag on for three quarters of a year, but temperatures can still (and often do) break the dreaded triple digits. Add to that layers of humidity, car exhaust, and a few million other bodies, and you feel like your right back in Texas. Plus, most apartment buildings in the city are old and have window units instead of central air, which gets the job done most days except for the absolute scorchers.

There are very few pools in the city besides the ones on rooftops of luxury apartments, and the scattered public pools NYC has to offer are usually pretty crowded. Some people venture to the public beaches in the surrounding areas, which I've been told are equally as crowded and in my mind are filled with people like the cast of Jersey Shore... No thanks.

Oasis of relaxation? Maybe for some...

Instead of going for a swim somewhere with hundreds of other greasy, sunscreen-drenched bodies, I prefer to cool down by eating cold food. As the temperature outside climbs, ice cream trucks and snow cone carts pop up all over the city. Mister Softee, a chain of soft serve ice cream trucks, in particular seems to be on every street corner. The stuff isn't half bad (as a self-proclaimed connoisseur of ice cream, I can't say it's my favorite), but the name always makes me giggle, so it gets points for that. Another place well-known for its cold treats is Eataly - an Italian restaurant / grocery store / experience that is pretty unique. According to their website, they have "real Italian gelato made with the best ingredients from near and far" ranging from Rochester, NY to Bronte, Sicily.

There are times, however, when I don't feel like spending $5 for 2 ounces of ice cream. On these days of frugality I turn to my own creation: my world-famous smoothie. Ever since we got our blender as a wedding gift almost two years ago, I've had a slight obsession with making smoothies, and now all but refuse to drink a one made by another (objectively inferior) person. The blender and I have had some good times together. Twice now (both times within the past few months), the removable plastic insert that fits into the blender's top has not been securely locked into place, and has fallen inside while the blender was on. I'm still finding little spots on the walls, ceiling, and microwave since these smoothie explosions. A few other times I stuck a spoon too deep into the blender, causing a similar (albeit smaller) explosive event. But the blender, being a faithful appliance, has not given up on me yet.

Back to the smoothies. They have given me such great memories that I thought I would have to share the recipe. It's simple, inexpensive, and health (in moderate portions). Here are the ingredients:

Summer Smoothie

(makes two servings)

1 Large Banana

4-5 Strawberries

Handful of Blueberries (20-25)

1/4 Cup Non-Fat, Plain Greek Yogurt

1/2 Cup Milk or Soy Milk

1 Tbsp Peanut Butter (optional)

3/4 Cup Ice

The peanut butter is optional, and adds quite a few calories, but I usually keep it in because it adds protein, flavor, and thickness. I try to buy peanut butter that only has "peanuts" as ingredients - no added salt or sugar. (Jiff isn't the best option, but will still totally work). I use Greek yogurt because it has the lowest amount of sugar of the yogurts I could find, and the smoothies are sweet enough on their own. Also, Greek yogurt is a little creamier and adds and interesting texture. 

One reason I like making smoothies so much is that you can use up fruit that is a little too ripe to eat by itself - instead of throwing mushy bananas away I usually just blend them up! You can mix up the fruit too if you like. Peaches and nectarines are great add-ins.

Directions are pretty self-explanatory. I always start with the fruit, add in the milk and yogurt, and blend for about 30 seconds. While the blender is still going, I add in the peanut butter and blend for another minute or so until smooth. Next I add the ice, use the pulse mode for about 20 seconds, and then puree for about a minute. That's it! Sometimes I'll add a few extra blueberries to the top - they make for a nice little treat when you're drinking it.

The final product, in all of its glory

For the health conscious among us, here is the nutritional info (serving size = 1/2 of the above recipe)

• Calories: 170
• Fat: 5g
• Cholesterol: 4.3mg
• Sodium: 91.1mg (6% RDA)
• Potassium: 466.2mg (10% RDA)
• Carbohydrates: 28g
• Dietary Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 6.7g
• Vitamin A: 6%
• Vitamin B6: 26%
• Vitamin B12: 11%
• Vitamin C: 45%
• Vitamin D: 16%
• Vitamin E: 7%
• Calcium: 15%
• Iron: 3%

Fit for the Blogosphere

It is official: we just received our housing offer from the school! I can say with certainty that we will be living in student housing in the second week of August. The date has been set, the forms have been submitted, the signatures complete. All that's left is to pick up the keys.

Perhaps this doesn't seem a blog-worthy topic to most folks. I wouldn't have thought that a year ago, after finding an apartment in Albuquerque, the first thing I would do would be to write about how excited I was to find an apartment. But in Albuquerque, finding an apartment involves walking into a leasing office, looking at floor plans, bickering over an acceptable apartment size ("those 50 extra square feet will pay off in the long run honey, I promise..."), and handing over a small security deposit and application fee. I think in New Mexico we paid a non-refundable $150 application fee and a $200 security deposit. Which I thought was steep at the time.

Finding an apartment in New York is a completely different animal. And when I say animal, I don't mean the cute little fuzzy chinchilla featured here. Apartments are turned within days in this market, sometimes within hours. Submitting an application is a frighteningly costly ordeal that leaves you riddled with guilt, doubt, and fear. Brokers are rarely people you can trust, and even if they are legitimately good people, you end up not trusting them anyway after you see their fees (which are typically 10-15% of your total rent for the year). And then there's the application fee (sometimes hitting the $1,000 mark) and security deposit (1-3 months rent), after which I don't know how anyone has money left to buy furniture!

Anyway, Casey and I are incredibly fortunate to have student housing as an option, which removes all of the normal nastiness of the NYC real estate market. The only downside -- no pets (I can hear Casey letting out a sigh of relief from here...). For those of you who are interested in viewing our future abode (and maybe your future hotel!), I've included some pictures from the housing website below. I'll post more later when we move in, and until then, stay happy!

Exterior of the building

Friendly doorwoman

All of the latest trends in home furnishings

A friendly reminder to study

I don't think these guys come with the apartment

Place to get your sweat on

Cajun Cookin' in the Shoebox

Casey and I try to cook from home as often as we can since restaurants here are crazy expensive. One of our favorite recipes is red beans & rice, which we love because it's simple, healthy, and (best of all!) inexpensive. Here are the ingredients (this makes about 4 servings):

1 lb kielbasa

2 cans red kidney beans, low salt

1 can diced tomatoes, low salt

1 large green bell pepper (or 2 small)

1 white onion

1 cup brown rice

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Ingredients for our red beans & rice recipe 

Back in Albuquerque, Casey and I would cook together... one of us would usually cut up vegetables and the other would measure spices and start cooking. Here, however, we have about 1 square foot of counter space to work with, making cooking more of an individual activity. Plus it can get dangerous having knives fly around in such a small space! I've developed other interesting habits after living here for six months, and not all of them are bad. For one, I wash dishes as I go, instead of after I'm through cooking - partly because there isn't any room for dirty dishes except the floor (which I have used in the past...) and partly because I would run out of dishes otherwise. I also have learned to use every surface as workable space, including the top of the microwave and fridge, the sink, and the stove top when it's not on. One habit that hasn't quite stuck yet is removing the dishes from the oven before pre-heating. I usually end up remembering about 15 minutes later, and trying to play Operator with the pans I've left in a 350 degree oven. Fortunately they are pretty durable! 

The one upside to having such a compact kitchen is that very little movement is required on my part. I can basically stand in one spot for a few hours and make an entire meal. Plus since I have to clean as I go, there isn't ever a huge mess at the end like I was used to last year. Lots of little interesting trade offs.

Anyway back to the recipe. The rice gets made separately and takes about 25-30 minutes, depending on how many people you're serving, so that goes on first. Next I slice the kielbasa and toss it into the frying pan for about 5 minutes, until the edges are slightly crisp. You can use turkey kielbasa to cut down on the fat content - I met in the middle and got a turkey / pork / beef kielbasa blend. If you use 100% turkey I'd recommend putting a little olive oil in the pan so the kielbasa doesn't stick.

Turkey / beef / pork blended kielbasa frying

While the kielbasa is cooking, chop up the green pepper and onion so they're ready to go, and toss them in with the meat. Cook until the onion has softened:

Next, add the remaining ingredients (kidney beans, tomatoes, and spices) and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes to blend the flavors. Serve the red bean and kielbasa mix over the rice, and enjoy!

The final product!

Oh and if you like it a little hotter, you can add 1-2 tsp of cayenne instead of just 1/2 tsp. The best part of the recipe is that all of the ingredients (excluding spices) were about $15 - less than $4 per meal. A total steal for NYC!