Thanksgiving recipes

This year, my sister Eri, BIL Ryan, cousin Eric and I all celebrated the holiday in San Diego. My grandmother dubbed it "Thanksgiving West" whereas the rest of the family was part of "Thanksgiving East," like some bizzaro turkey eating offshoot of the old East Side West Side rap rivalry. Two recipes we tried out were big hits:

1. Pumpkin Ice Cream Torte, from Cooking Light. I made it with lactose-free vanilla ice cream from Breyers (OMG YUM!), which was super exciting because I hadn't eaten ice cream cake in like, decades. You have to make it the night before you plan to eat it, and it does take some time for each layer to set, but it's really easy. And really fantastic. Wah-lah!

2. We also made these tasty Sparkling Cranberry Tea Cocktails, which would be an excellent addition to any fall or winter gathering in need of a refreshing alcoholic beverage.



and just because I think it's funny:

Blast from the past

I'm in San Diego enjoying a sunny and warm Thanksgiving with my sister, BIL, and cousin. There are many things to love about San Diego- the weather, the prevalence of "dip" signs, the delicious Mexican food, and did I mention the weather? I don't know why we all don't just move here. Honestly, what's stopping us?
One of my favorite places in San Diego is Old Town- a historical state park that replicates San Diego during the mid 1800s. It's sort of like the southern Californian version of Sturbridge Village, but instead of actors churning butter and playing with a hoop and a stick, it's full of cute little adobe buildings that serve margaritas. Admittedly, Old Town may be perceived as hokey by some people, but I have no time for people who don't appreciate a penny candy store. Especially a penny candy store that sells... CANDY CIGARETTES!!! I can't believe these are still in existence- I thought they had been banned a long time ago, a la Joe Camel. Yeah, I know they are totally un-PC and smoking kills and everything, but aren't candy cigarettes awesome? I bought two types- the sugary white stick ones, and the gum ones wrapped in paper that puff sugar so it looks like you're smoking! Wheeee! I can't wait to give them to my nieces! Just kidding :)

My other Old Town purchase was a Mexican bingo set- we had this game when I was a kid and I hadn't seen one of these sets in years. I love the pop art look of the cards and the boards, with their bright colors and strong, simple drawings. My plan is to frame a couple of the tablets and hang them in my kitchen.




Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

There's a little Homer Simpson in all of us.

What next?

So I've finished my Ph.D. and I'm back from Australia, and for the time being, back in the lab wrapping up some loose ends. And now I've got to figure out what to do next. I've done some thinking and have come up with a long term goal- I'd like to stay in the microbiology field, but move away from academia and into public health, global health in particular. And right now I have to potential job offers at different ends of the spectrum.

1. Microbiology research in Australia. While on vacation, I met with a scientist who studies bacterial pneumonia in children, and we've been corresponding about the possibility of me coming there for 6 months to a year to do what would essentially be a mini post-doc. On the plus side, it's an interesting project and aligns very well with my scientific background and career goals. And one objective would be to get a paper out of the work, which would be a big-time CV booster. Most of you know that my graduate school experience was ...unplesasant. But, I've heard from a lot of other scientists that starting a new project in a new lab really rejuvenated their enthusiasm for scientific reasearch, and in general, doing a post-doc keeps a lot of doors open. On the minus side, I'm waiting to hear back about visa and funding issues, and so far, I do not have an official offer.

2. Teacher training in Uganda. I applied to a position to do laboratory training in Africa through Peace Corps Response, and although that spot was already filled, they offered me another position- working in science education at a teachers' college in Uganda. On the plus side, living in Uganda would definitely be exciting and interesting, and having work experience in Africa would be helpful in appling for future jobs in international health. I had some concerns that it would be a little bit too much like Peace Corps Part 2, but I talked to the placement agent and it does seem to be a much more professional assignment. A couple of the goals of the project are to incorporate HIV education into the science curriculum and to the enrollment of girls in Ugandan schools, so philosophically, it seems like very meaningful work. On the minus side, it's an education position and I'm a scientist, not an educator. I worry that it might be deviating too far off the track of where I'd like to eventually end up. If it were a health or laboratory job, I'd jump at the chance, but it isn't. Also, it would be difficult to keep up with my scientific contacts and apply for jobs while I was there, because of poor internet service. But hey, I could probably finagle a trip to the world cup!

So here's the dilemna: the Uganda people have officially offered me the job and need an answer very soon (within a week or so), becuase the departure date is in early January and the processing (visa and medical clearance and whatnot) takes about a month. So after six years of not having to make any sort of life decisions, I need to make a big one in the next few days. Both are good options and neither one is permanent (6-12 months, most likely). I think the Australia job is a better match for me, but it's not yet a guarantee.

So yes, oh readers of DCoE, I'm asking for your advice. What should I do? (other than pressure Australia a little bit for an official offer)

Book Review: Dracula

For the last book club, we went with a Halloween theme and read Dracula, by Bram Stroker. And as you know, vampires are so hot right now! I must confess that I was a bit intimidated by Dracula (the book, not the vampire, although I would certainly be intimidated by him were we to ever meet). It's long and it was written more than 100 years ago, which for some reason, made me assume that it might be a difficult and tedious read, not to mention scary. In fact, the opposite was true- Dracula was pure entertainment, full of action and suspense. It almost reads like a movie script, which makes sense if you think about it- before movies and television existed, people read for entertainment, and what do the people like? Fast-paced, exciting stories filled with vivid imagery (like Count Dracula crawling down the wall of his castle, lizard-style) and interesting characters, such as uber vampire hunter Van Hesling and a good-ole boy Texan, Quincey Morris. The novel is written as a collection of journal entries and correspondence between the central characters and starts out with the journal of a young English lawyer, Jonathan Harker, on his way to Transylvania to conduct business with a new client, a foreign count named...Dracula! We as readers know that Dracula is like, the most famous vampire ever, and the local townspeople try to persuade Harker to cancel his trip to Dracula's castle and foist rosaries upon him, but he remains blissfully naive until he spends a few days at the castle and notices a string of oddities. I'll spare you the rest of the details, but I will recommend Dracula as a fun book to read, especially if you want to bone up on vampire lore. I still need to watch the movie version with Gary Oldman.

New Blogs

My friends JR and Jessica recently moved to Paris, where JR is starting a post-doc at the Institut Pasteur. And they're blogging about it: Le Grand Experiment.

Meanwhile, my friend Byran has started a blog project called Socially Conscious Weekends. Every week he highlights one human rights/global health/social issue (for example, Conflict Minerals in Congo, gives a factual summary, and provides links on how you can help. I think it's a great idea- a lot of us wish we could be more socially conscious but can't find the time to really delve into it. So now, Bryan does the hard part for us, and it only takes a few minutes to read up on a topic and check out the links.

Meep.

This is of the funniest news articles I've read in years: A Danvers Principal is attempting to ban students from using the word "meep."

From the article:

Bob Thompson, a pop culture professor at Syracuse University, said he first heard students meep about a year ago during a class screening of a television show. "Something happened and one of them said 'Meep,'" he said. "And then they all started doing it."
The meeps, he said, came from all of the students in the class in rapid-fire succession. When he asked them what that meant, they said it didn't really mean anything.
"It's almost like they look at you like it's a silly question," he said.

But meeping doesn't seem to be funny to Danvers High School Principal Thomas Murray, who threatened to suspend students caught meeping in school.

That last line just kills me. (article via Ryan)

And...The Friday song is back! I couldn't find anything with meeps, so I had to settle for beeps.

Drive My Car, by the Beatles.