And now for a week of learning about clinical cohort studies and the governance of large-scale biorepositories. The temptation to skip bits and jog around Manchester is strong. I have an ugly flight itinerary through Philly, but 6 books to see me through.

I'm feeling pretty low. My life is getting all brassé, and I'm only sort of in control of it all. I've never been especially good with periods of major change, and this is definitely one of them. Like the others, it looks super-great on the surface: wrapping up 2 years at McKinsey which went well, now a carefree month of traveling out East, and ( Read more... )

If rape or arson, poison or the knife
Has wove no pleasing patterns in the stuff
Of this drab canvas we accept as life
It is because we are not bold enough!

Even if you forget about someone, they continue to exist. They go on with their lives without you. And you can find them again, eleven years later, and realize that the little Polaroid in your head has virtually no bearing on this new adult who only faintly resembles the fresh-faced kid you once knew. You can vainly try to "catch up", although even ( Read more... )

We got back last night from a memorable 6-day stint in Costa Rica. A few memories before they get fuzzy:

1) ChoqueWe're on the public bus to Monteverde. It's early afternoon, and the sun is on high. The bus is climbing through the foothills that surround San Jose, when suddenly the traffic rears up ahead of us and we grind to a halt. And stay ( Read more... )

I'm watching Underground, the Yugoslavian film from the 80s. Tamar's brother is on the phone so Tamar's getting ice cream so I'm updating in my free 45 seconds.

Realized today that "Il n'y a pas de quoi" and "No hay de que" mean exactly the same thing. Huh!

It's 11:36 PM, and Aurora likes to wake up with the sun at 5:30. So I should be quick. But... here comes a long list of short notes that encapsulate the last week of our lives ( Read more... )

I've been a dad for 2 weeks now. This morning she got monikered Aurora Yael Teitelbaum by an Orthodox rabbi, so now even God has to call her that. She's totally adorable and has a strong cry and poos at a quarter the frequency but quadruple the volume of most babies. Walking and Bach are the best ways to calm her if you aren't lactating ( Read more... )

There's really a strong hierarchy of formality in letter-writing. Like:

Here's the...
Here is the...
Please find attached the...
As discussed,
As per our conversation yesterday,
Pursuant to yesterday's discussion,

etc. etc.

I think it's silly to not just say what you mean.

Today's society is so wayward and self-indulgent that selective addiction is becoming an adaptive tool for survival. For example, here at work we have a kitchenette with a wide variety of goodies for snacktime. I just met a colleague as we each prepared our respective pick-me-ups. He had coffee and a jam bagel; I had bran with skim milk. I'd just ( Read more... )