Monday, August 30, 2010

a five minute analysis of nyc

Favorites:
- Infinite number of good brunch places, feeding my infinite love for brunch
- Walking proximity of most of the places where I spend my time...even if it's sometimes a long walk
- All girls dress well
- Central Park
- Free museums!

Least favorites:
- Overpriced groceries
- Multi-hour lines for any remotely popular event
- Trash bags lined up on the curb at night

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

hi from the delinquent one

I am here to report that the ranks of my lovely startup have swelled to 13, and very excitingly that includes a second female engineer! My life has gotten, oh, maybe 10x better since she showed up.

Friday, August 20, 2010

friday nights

Friday nights used to be the night to go out. I remember during training, and in fact for the first six months I lived in NYC, how psyched everyone was when Friday finally came around. The first-year population counted down the hours from 9am until 9pm on Friday, when they could change into short dresses and bring out the cross-over purses, and head out for a night on the town.

I'm not sure when that ended - maybe when winter rolled around - but by now I can't even remember the last time I really went OUT on a Friday. These days Fridays are no longer the beginning of the weekend, but are the end of a week - a time to relax and unwind after a long five days. Typical activities = burgers in the park, a beer or two at a bar, a walk through half the city. No more clubs, dressing up, staying out late. A few hours of conversation with good friends, and that's about it. No one is ashamed to call it an early night on Fridays.

I think I like that.

ps. someone poke Tracy and tell her to post :)

Monday, August 9, 2010

the day after vacation

At least 3 people came up to me today and asked, "Don't you feel depressed being back at the office after being away for a week?"

Depressed? Not really. The worst day was last Friday, when I was relaxing at home just thinking about how much work I had to catch up on and how I'd have to hit the ground running again come Monday at 8:30am. That was depressing. But once I got back here it wasn't so bad. I kind of forget already what vacation was like.

Everyone is pretty grumpy in the office right now though. I think the lack of summer is starting to catch up...summers are supposed to be relatively light work-wise, but this summer has been a doozy.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

high of 106

I spent the weekend in Dallas visiting friends in med school at UT Southwestern. A flashback to student life -- the existence of summer vacations, free evenings and weekends spent hanging out in friends' apartments, parties within a largely confined social group which revolves around people in your field of study (medicine) and class year (MS1).

As I was entering my second hour of lounging in the pool on Saturday, I thought vaguely about how different the med school life is from my life in New York now. NY means no summer vacations, little socializing to speak of on weekdays, every other party is a new crowd with new faces who I may or may not ever see again. It means thinking about what you wear even to go to the bookstore or Central Park, unlike in Dallas where everyone shows up to parties in jeans.

In New York, I have a core group of 5 or 6 friends who I see frequently, and everyone else shifts in and out of my wider social circle depending on circumstance and situation. In med school, my friends have a core group of 10-20 people who they see frequently, and which also serves as their wider social circles. They rarely meet people outside of med school.

It's interesting. I wonder which social situation leaves people feeling more satisfied, having more stable friendships or having a more steady flow of new acquaintances.