"Indian wisdom says our lives are rivers. We are born somewhere small and quiet and we move toward a place we cannot see, but only imagine. Along our journey, people and events flow into us, and we are created of everywhere and everyone we have passed. Each event, each person, changes us in some way. Even in times of drought we are still moving and growing, but it is during seasons of rain that we expand the most - when water flows from all directions, sweeping at terrifying speed, chasing against rocks, spilling over boundaries. These are painful times, but they enable us to carry burdens we could never have thought possible. Floods are painful, but they are necessary. They keep us clear and strong. They move our lives onto new paths."

- Lisa Wingate, Tending Roses

my breath fogged up the glass, so i drew in a face and i laughed

A little Jason Mraz - inspired, in part, by my friend Maisie.


"Lucky" Official Video With Colbie Caillat

I just watched the Leona Lewis redo of the Snow Patrol song Run. At first I though, "eh, not bad." But then I listened to the original again, and the original version is hard to beat. Amazing lyrics. Here are the videos for you to decide.

Here's the live Leona Lewis version:


And if you're still awake, here's the original Snow Patrol version:

Philadelphia for ASHG

Only small portions and slim residents here. Ahh the Philly cheesesteak...

... The Park Hyatt sure has a nice gym.

Fall colors

Given that I lost my old compact camera and my old cell phone finally called it quits, I bought myself a toy, the LG Dare. Here are a few camera phone test photos of the Fall colors from my street in Bethesda.

Canada is beautiful

Some recent photos of Gatineau Park, Quebec over Canadian Thanksgiving/Columbus Day holiday weekend:

Back to the hustle and bustle of America, and loving it.

Last night in Oxford

It's my last night in Oxford until 2009. Tomorrow I return to NIH to finish the remainder of my DPhil. I will miss backgammon games at the Royal Oak, afternoon tea time, the endless miles of centuries old architecture, and of course my amazing friends in Oxford and London. Today I had a pretty good last hurrah that started out in London with scones and clotted cream, followed by a curry lunch, a spot of tea, a shot of whiskey, four freshly fried donuts, and an exciting ride on "Chaos" at the St. Giles Fair in Oxford.

I suppose I'm packed and ready for tomorrow's next big adventure. It will be an early 5am rise.

The fair is coming!

The Oxford St. Giles' Fair is back! All of St. Giles St., from St. Giles church to the Martyr's Memorial was blocked to traffic today to set up. You know what this means? Bumper cars, roller coaster, fun house, ghost train, helter skelter, the twister, waltzer, cotton candy, popcorn, and SCARY CARNI's! The St. Giles's Fair has been taking place in Oxford since the 17th century. I'm just hoping that they've upgraded the rides since then...

St. Giles Fair 1895:A few photos from my walk home today:

Bring on the fun!

Just in time for football!

I can't wait to watch USC football in realtime!

Bath

Bath is my new favorite city in England! As an impromptu mini vacation, Chelsea and I traveled to Bath this weekend. In addition to the Roman baths, the Georgian architecture was incredible. I would highly recommend Bath as a travel destination for anyone visiting England.

The Royal Crescent:

Bath Abby:

The Roman baths:

How to Make a Cup of Tea

Thanks to the English, I now have an obsession with tea. By obsession, I mean more than just the addition of a daily cup to my morning routine. My kitchen counter is decorated with a variety of teas, and I have become quite particular about when and how to prepare each type. For instance, a "rushed" early weekday morning (aka 11am) would involve an eye opening cup of classic Twining's english breakfast (tea bag in a cup) plus a dash of milk. A slower more relaxed morning calls for tasty black english caramel or black chocolate mint looseleaf tea with a substantial helping of 1% milk. The weekend and early afternoon involves a bit of green tea, steeped at cooler temps. For a relaxing late afternoon on a cool English day, some wonderfully fragrant jasmine dragon pearls (compliments of Cheryl and Amy) hit the spot! Each night I wind the evening down with decaf tea, usually of the herbal mint, lemon, or rose variety. It is amazing how much joy one can get from the prospect of a warm drink on a chilly English day. Friends are always welcome to pop on by for a cup and a chat. Usually a cookie is part of the deal. Although a scone, jam, and clotted cream make for tasty perfection.

The Lemons visit Oxford

Last weekend, Amy and Cheryl visited Oxford as part of their exciting whirlwind tour of the UK and Ireland. Now that they both live in NYC, we usually only see each other at Christmas time when the "Chaotic Lemons" return home to Orange County for the holidays. It was great catching up with them Saturday and Sunday and meeting Amy's cousin Paul who is also a graduate of Oxford.

Tea time! "Enjoying" the English weather and taking a break between the Oxford botanical gardens and the Oxford natural history museum (sadly the Pitt Rivers museum is closed for renovation until 2009).

Half pints at The Bear.

Also on the evening's agenda:
A brief stop at Eagle and Child, gin rummy at the Turf Tavern, and scrabble at the Royal Oak.

What's a visit to Oxford without a view of the "dreaming spires?"

The View

The view from my apartment. I spend a lot of time looking out this window...

Return to Oxford

I am back in Oxford until mid-September. While stepping off the bus and onto the cobblestones of Gloucester Green square, I was greeted by a surprise. What a joy it was to see so many flower baskets lining the streets and walkways. The English love their gardens; this week, the summer gardens seemed to hug the streets.

Half Blood Prince

I'm ready for November.

Luray Caverns

Last Sunday we visited Luray Caverns in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.

A fallen stalactite:

My favorite scenic spot was the reflecting pool.

Totem pole valley:

"Wall-E!"

Holy crow, eh?

I have just returned from two and a half wonderful weeks in Ontario, Canada visiting Matthew and his family. Here are a few photos from the trip.

Beautiful Bella

While in Kingston, we attended a Holstein auction... with bbq, beer, live country music, and of course, cows! With not just two colors, but three!

Grandpa Murphy's lake cottage.

Beautiful and serene.

Matthew's mom and me relaxing at the beach on Lake Ontario.

This is the season for weddings. We attended two while I was visiting Canada.

The groom and best man looking very dashing before the wedding.

Black Tie

Christ Church college guest night. We are dressed up in honor of Bhooma's successful thesis defense and to give her an impromptu hen party. But honestly, you don't need a reason for black tie attire in Oxford.
On the way to dinner, we were looking fabulous on the famous stairs from Harry Potter.

Science stuff

It's time for some real time science videos. Geeky, perhaps. But I still can't help pausing in amazement.

Higher quality flash version here (compliments of Matthew):
http://aimediaserver.com/studiodaily/videoplayer/?src=harvard/harvard.swf&width=640&height=520

Here's a clip for those of you who were bored in the genetics section of Biology 101:

I am happy to say that Matthew has been accepted into the University of Ottawa for medical school. This is fantastic news and ironically brings us one step closer to being in the same country. In the meantime, I plan to keep an eye out for affordable flights from OC, CA to ON, CA.

Family time

Having my parents visit Oxford last week was such a nice treat. During their trip, we enjoyed clotted cream, bangers and mash, fish and chips, and a Sunday roast. We watched cricket, attended a garden party, and spent the majority of our evenings playing backgammon at the best pub in Oxford, The Royal Oak. The transatlantic distance seems much smaller now.

Health Food

In London.

For Fun

In response to Chelsea's blog, here we go... for fun:

Four jobs I've had:

1. Hostess - Souplantation
2. Researcher - Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
3. DataCAD Draftsman - EBTA Architects
4. Research Associate - Ambry Genetics

Four movies I've watched more than once:

1. Lord of the Rings

2. Office Space

3. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

4. Once

Four places I've lived:

1. Orange County, CA

2. Boston, MA

3. Bethesda, MD

4. Oxford, United Kingdom

Four places I've been:

1. Paris, France

2. London, England

3. Yokohama, Japan

4. Ontario, Canada

Four TV shows I watch (an amazing feat without a TV):

1. Rome

2. House

3. Heroes

4. Scrubs

Four people who email me regularly:

1. Matthew

2. Mom

3. Bryan Traynor - NIH supervisor

4. Oxford administrative staff

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Sushi

2. Buddy's pizza

3. Komoda Bakery long johns

4. Zosia's (Hamtramck Polish Vilage Cafe) liver and onions

Four places I would like to visit:

1. Whistler, Canada - bring on the moguls!

2. Kyoto, Japan

3. Bombay, India - to see Rupa!

4. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:

1. Spending time in Ontario

2. Trip to Maui

3. Thanksgiving in Cali

4. Finishing my DPhil

People I've tagged (to do this too):
1. Bonnie
2. Amy
3. Rupa

Smell's like bananas!

My favorite snack, Aunt Arlene's banana bread (muffins)...

...and they're fresh out of the oven!

If you live in Oxford, stop on by...
:)