Ben went on an interview to SLC last weekend. He took some beautiful photos to show me what the city looks like.
Ben received a job offer to work at the University of Utah as a postdoc in the lab of Prof. Matt Sigman.
Here is a photo of Ben hiking in Mill Creek Canyon. Ben says his 4 mile hike was just a blip on the trail map and that this local trail is actually quite extensive.
We are looking forward to moving out west in the upcoming year!
I like to plan trips. I think I would make a good travel agent or tour guide someday. Something to aspire to perhaps. I like doing research about good hotels, restaurants and sites worth visiting.
I also enjoy making lists. So in this post, I will list a few of the cities I am most eager to visit with Ben and what I would like to do in those places.
New Orleans, LA. I attended an American Physical Society conference in 2008 in New Orleans. I was really impressed by the food I ate all week. Usually conference travel results in poor food options–food courts and tourist trap restaurants–but not so in New Orleans. I had dinner at Cochon, which was only a few blocks from my hotel. I also ate at Emeril’s restaurant for lunch. Those meals were memorable and delicious, but even a dish of rice and beans at a less famous restaurant was still fantastic. I’d like to go back and take Ben with me to revisit Cochon and explore new places.
Kyoto, Japan. I lived in Kyoto for 6 months in 2000. The food in all of Japan was amazing! I can’t wait to go back and show Ben the skill of Japanese cuisine for using fresh ingredients to make the most amazing food I’ve eaten in my life. Their attention to detail and reverence for food allowed me so many food options–most were relatively healthy choices, including an abundance of fresh fish. I began to cook for myself when I lived in Japan and was so happy to have great grocery stores in ever neighborhood where I lived.
New York, NY. Ben and I visited NYC in January of this year. We are itching to go back. As soon as Ben’s cousin, Ann-Marie moves into her apartment in the northeast side of Manhattan–walking distance to the Metropolitan museum of art, I’m going to reserve an Amtrak ticket and head up to NYC. It’s a 3 hour trip from Baltimore and so convenient by public transportation. On our second trip to NYC, I’d like to check out a few different art venues (perhaps the Guggenheim and Whitney art gallery). I would also like to take Ben to the Delacourt theater in Central Park to watch a Shakespearean play in the evening. Admission is free and the performances are first rate. Other things I’d like to do is to spend a night at the Standard Hotel in Chelsea and while we’re in the west village area, I’d like to take a walk through High Line park again and watch a play at the Atlantic Theater Company.
Outer banks, North Carolina. I’ve never visited this state, but I heard that this area is truly beautiful. I can’t wait to check it out–but not during hurricane season or high tourist season, if possible. I hate crowds and traffic.
Chicago, IL. I love Chicago most of all cities. It’s the place where I feel the most at home–even though I only lived there for about 6 years. There are still many places where I haven’t been and would like to go–such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s museum and studio. I’d also like to eat a slice of pie at the Hoosier Mama Pie Company. If I can find a permanent job in Chicago someday, I would be very content to settle down there. I could endure the long, cold and dry winters as long as I can afford to regularly go to a good spa where I can get some skin moisturizing treatments.
Salt Lake City, UT. I have never been to this city, but I hear it’s great. On my first trip to Salt Lake City, I hope I can have dinner at Forage. It looks pretty cool on YELP.
I watched 2 redbox movies this weekend (with Ben, via Skype).
1) Big Fan
2) The Last Station
I don’t think I would recommend either of them. The first one, Big Fan, was quite disturbing and depressing. Patton Oswald, who played the main character, did a great job of acting and the story was non-traditional. However, I would not want to watch this movie ever again. I felt incredibly depressed afterwards.
The second movie, The Last Station, was boring and confusing. Why do people playing Russians (Leo Tolstoy and his entourage) have British accents? Weird period film that contains scenes that remind me of a 1970s Berkeley hippie commune. Both movies got decent reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which means that perhaps I don’t always agree with other peoples’ opinions about movies.
(Ben really liked Big Fan, but I think it’s because the main character had the same kind of football themed sheets that he had when he was a kid).
In the tradition of High Fidelity (a movie set in Chicago), I would like to make a list memorializing the six years of delicious food I have enjoyed in the windy city. A description of each meal, restaurant and it’s sentimental significance will be added in the upcoming months. The current order is subject to change and may be somewhat arbitrary.
1. Avec
2. Publican
3. Mado
4. Big Star
5. Paramount Room
6. Green Zebra
7. Poochie’s (Skokie)
8. Tre Kronor
9. Edzo’s (Evanston)
10. Renga Tei (Skokie)
Ben, please give input. Here are restaurants that didn’t make my cut but may still be contenders
Xoco, Nightwood, Superdawg, Hopleaf, Mercat ala Planxa, Tuscany, JP Graziano’s, Volo, Province, Salpicon, Campagnola (Evanston), Art of Pizza, Coalfire pizza, Spoon, TACquick, Union pizzeria (Evanston), Lula cafe, Irazu, dolsat bimbimbap at H-Mart in Niles, IL
On Thursday, I will turn 30 years old. I like this milestone. I feel like I can be proud of making it to age 30 in good physical and emotional condition. I finished college, got married, got my Ph.D. and learned to cook– all in the first 30 years of my life.
I watched the movie Greenberg today (stars Ben Stiller, directed by Noah Baumbach) and decided that I can identify with 40 year olds better than with 20 year olds.
I’ve been having a mid-life crisis recently trying to decide what I want to do with my career. It’s good to have this crisis earlier than mid-life, I think. Better than wasting 10-15 years at a job that I am not sure about. I experienced a lot of turmoil during and after college about what to do with my life and career. All the angst and anxiety turned into a good thing. When I entered grad school and throughout my 5 years at Northwestern, I felt very confident that I was in the right place and was very happy. I think part of my contentment came from overcoming the insecurities and confusion I encountered before I started my PhD. I hope that during my post- postdoc years, I can feel as confident and passionate about my career as I did between 2004-2009. I will continue to meditate and contemplate and see what kinds of opportunities are available when I start job-hunting this fall.
