Cynically Optimistic

I should have been writing, I know. Instead I took Saturday night off and went to BLOWOFF! It was worth it. The night was incredibly from start to finish. Great tunes, sexy crowd, and all around a good vibe from smiling happy people. Even while the club was trying to shut down people wanted to dance.

Want to see some photos?

The Highline Ballroom really is a great space with an excellent sound system. With a few notable exceptions, nearly everyone I know in the greater New York City area was in attendance, which made it extra special. Big thanks to Bob and Rich for bringing a great DC party to NYC.

Best. Blowoff. Ever!

Posted by Jeff at 09:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Blowoff in NYC was a killer time!!! Rami (from Project Runway) showed up, too. Such a sweet guy, but I was glad to get away without having my chest hair draped.

Posted by Jeff at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hey it snowed! I took a break from writing my thesis to go for a walk in the park with Tom. It was magical.

Posted by Jeff at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thesis Proposal is still due on the 29th. 10 Days to go, and I'm not even close to being done. Hopefully it'll be streamlined and good enough that I can use it for an actual grant submission and get a few extra bucks i my wallet to go with the moths and tumbleweeds.

I did manage to find a swank corner office in which to work. Small things.

Posted by Jeff at 01:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I celebrated the Year of the Rat with some of my lab mates. The Chinese guy in the lab organized a big dinner at New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe Restaurant. Inside was a tropical theme married to exposed brick. Somehow it worked. Here's what we had for dinner:

1. steamed crab meat and pork juicy bun
2. eight delicious: smoked fish/aromatic beef/ preserved duck/ jelly fish/shanghai dough/aster indicus/ spicy cabbage/ little bamboo shoot with brown sauce
3. jumbo shrimp with ginger and scallion
4. sauteed fish fillet with chinese yam and lily ball in wine sauce
5. sea cucumber with shrimp eggs
6. pork shoulder in honey sauce
7. steam whole fish
8. house crisp duck
9. vegetable in season
10. seafood soup
11. house style fried rice
12. sweet eight jewel taio
13. fruit

The dumplings and the pork shoulder were my favorites. Also of note, the seafood soup had sea sponges in it, which was interesting. I felt like I was eating a loofah. Chinatown was in such disarray after the previous night's festivities. Confetti and streamers of mylar and paper littered the gutters and covered cars. As we left dinner a cleanup crew was outside assisting street-sweepers. Oh, and the NYPD's paddywagon drove by, too!

Posted by Jeff at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I didn't really mention it before, but I got a new camera for Christmas. It's a Canon 40D. Right now all I have is a 50mm f1.4 lens and and the awesome Speedlite 580EX II. Review here if you're interested. This might put me ahead in the technology arms race with my Iowa Peeps. Or maybe it bumps me into a different class. I still have my trusty Canon SB800 IS pocket digicam to keep it real.

Anyway, I'm still reading the manual.

My big exam is coming up to let me stay in grad school. Advancement to Candidacy Exam / Qualifying Exam / Thesis Proposal Exam - call it whatever. Written part is due on Feb 29. I have zero words on a page. I can start stressing anytime now.

Superbowl was cool. I have no strong opinion on either team, so it was a quality game where the underdog won - fun for me! Plus we had chili and guacamole and cheese and cannoli and cookies. And dark chocolate m&ms. Mmmmmmm

I almost never post YouTube videos, but I saw a really great video for a Snoop Dogg's song Sensual Seduction. It's pretty much how music videos would be if I were an art director. I would love to find a tutorial for Photoshop to figure out how to do that crazy Fat Albert-esque effect toward the end. No, not the part where he's flying through space on a round bed. The OTHER awesome part.

Aaaaaanndd... Star-Wipe to black.

Posted by Jeff at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)