For here or to go?

Without having a car, i've had to rely on (very kind) workmates to give me rides to and from, when it comes to grocery shopping. This has its advantages - in that they've been here for sometime and so know the better places to shop (was recently introduced to a FABULOUS bakery that has amazing bread. I shall definitely have to go back). Then, on the downside, it means that i've got into something of a two-three weekly cycle when it comes to eating and meals. Thus, immediately after a shop, i'm all for eating at home and cooking myself (unless its been a very long day at work). But then as we get to the tail end of the cycle, and meals become a bit less interesting, the temptation to eat out grows.

Of course, lacking a car, means that the choice isn't very wide at the moment - but with a short walk downtown (if i so wish), i can't really moan. A favourite place at the moment is Norm's - in fact the first place i ate when i arrived in Charleston this time around. It's a simple affair - they offer pizzas, salads, subs, wraps, chicken wings etc. Nothing fancy, but its bloody good - and good value too (at least the subs are - not had the pizzas yet, but they look ok). Anyhow, they also sell Newcastle Brown Ale - always a plus, and are generally just a nice place to sit and relax after work (you can guess that i occasionally find myself wandering there can't you). So, its not high cuisine, but for something quick, simple and tasty, it fits the bill well. And its a damn sight better than McDs.

Channel Hopping

It's now been a little over a week and a half since i got my TV, and a little over a week since i could watch it (they choose NOT to give you the cable you need to hook up the TV to, well, your cable - why? Your guess is as good as mine. Especially as they give you batteries for the remote). Anyway, once hooked up, you begin to understand why some Americans give you sympathy when they find out that we only have five terrestrial channels in the UK. Thankfully, i managed to get the TV working with a couple of days to spare for the second season premiere of "Lost" and a few days before that of "Desperate Housewives" (hilarious, i have to say). Aside from that, you could ask if i've watched anything else decent and the answer to that would have to be no.

You see, having 50+ channels is all very well but if they're all rubbish, what's the point? I'm fortunate in that, being a fan of a few American shows, you don't have to look far to find repeats of them (Friends, Sex and the City, The Simpsons) as well as those one or two shows that barely made it to the UK (such as the fantastic "Family Guy"). Of course, the major annoyance here are the commercials - 15 minutes at least for every hour - about double that of the UK. And they seem to come at the most illogical times. I swear they must just throw darts at a diary to determine when they're gonna put them on. Hell, seems that's how they pick the shoes they're gonna put on!

Slow

For those regular readers of this blog page (of which i am assured there are some - but i shall take that with a truckload of salt), there haven't been many posts to speak of in the last week or so. This is mainly due to two things. The first is that, having managed to grow my cells to a point where i can actually do experiments, it's meant that have to spend some time, well, doing experiments. Fingers crossed they'll work okay. On top of that, i have a few other things on the boil too at work - including writing a review - as well as trying to revise a paper from my old work that i wrote before i came over here. In short, it's busy. But, hey, it's all good. The other reason is that, having been here for three months (today in fact), i have settled into life here and am growing accustomed to these Americans and their (strange) ways. Thus, the things that would have had me raising eyebrows in the first couple of weeks now seem rather less out of the ordinary. That's not to say that they're still interesting (or more usually amusing) but just that it's not the 'Oh my God, i HAVE to tell everyone about this!' effect so much anymore. I suppose this is a good thing as it makes me feel less like an alien in a foreign land. Anyway, i shall continue to post as often as both workload and eventfulness allows - the show is certainly not over, although there may be a slight commercial break now and then.

Independent Learning

Being a frequent visitor to Port City Java - a local Starbucks equivalent that has an outlet within spitting distance of my place, i've grown accustomed to the sight of large groups of students crowded round tables with a veritable library of books spread out over every possible inch of space. Of course, me being my usual inquisitive self often means i sit nearby so i can listen to what's going on. The presence of MUSC in Charleston naturally means that these are mostly medical students discussing various aspects of the body in gruesome detail. There's a surprising number of these tutor groups going on throughout the week - i counted 8 last week alone - and often some of the tutors are back later in the week to be tutored.

This seemed to be in direct contrast to what i used to see in the UK. Being in the department of Medicine often used to bring me into contact with medical students (and used to instil me with terror over the fact that these were the future generation of doctors). In the UK, the system of teaching had changed from the traditional lecture style to Problem-based learning, usually revolving around case studies - where the students were given the history and had to figure out what the score was. Trouble is, they sometimes didn't know what they were supposed to have learned and could miss out on vital clues. This all seems to be exacerbated by the fact that there was the general sense that it was each to their own when it came to learning. I certainly don't remember any such group tutorship going on in the UK (correct me if i'm wrong) or little group discussion at all outside of the lessons themselves. Unless it was in the pub!!!

Assimilation

Having now been here for twelve weeks, i've pretty much managed to get around to calling most people back over there in the UK - except those who i don't have a landline number for (and before anyone asks, this has been primarily through work phones - i still haven't got around to getting a landline yet. I will soon. Honestly!!). This has been very pleasant for me - and has helped me stave off any homesickness. However, the most worrying thing to date has occured when three of the friends/family have spoken to have told me that i've developed an American twang already. Now, I'm not a person to over-react but I have since been praying fervently that this is not the case.

Most of you probably now that my accent is reasonably indistinct - such that people from the North often say i'm from the South and vice versa. Sure, the occasional Yorkshire word or two will appear from time to time but thats about it. I've also managed to live for a few years in Manchester, and a year in Liverpool (near enough) without picking up much of the local accent along the way. In short, i'm damned if i'm gonna start now. But then all my American friends tell me (without a hint of irony) that 'Resistance is Futile! So if you happen to see me when i'm back there next year, feel free to verbally abuse me if i start talking like something out of 'Deliverance'.

50 Years Young

Yesterday was the 50th birthday of the big boss of the lab - Yusuf and so, being such diligent workers (and not wanting to creep at all), a surprise party was thrown for him at his house. This was the brainchild of Ashley, Chiara, Stefka and Kellie - and involved much whispering around the corridors for the previous week. Yusuf is something of a wine and cheese lover, so this was the theme of the party - with wine and cheese (and other nibbles) from four countries - Italy, France, Spain and the USA (Yusuf likes Zinfandel so the latter was a must). The surprise just about worked although was nearly given away by Fernando (a Spanish member of the lab) who had decided that half-heartedly hovering behind a chair was enough to conceal himself from Yusuf (who had been deftly steered out of the house for a couple of hours by Lina). Anyway, Yusuf was surprised, much fun was had by all, the wine flowed and it was very pleasant indeed.

In addition to all the fab cheese and wine (good choices from Ashley and Jim again), there was, as you'd expect, cake on hand including a 'ball and stick' model made out of sweets (only at a scientist's birthday party, eh?) It was rather amusing that Yusuf figured out what the molecule was within seconds of him opening it - i guess it just goes to show that you can take the man out of the lab, but not the lab out of the man! As you'd expect, we all ate lots and drank lots (especially the latter) but i managed to avoid too much of a hangover by drinking nearly a gallon of water when i got in. So a happy 50th to Yusuf - halfway to 100. It's all downhill from here!!

'Out' and About

Having lived in Manchester for pretty much seven and a half years, i've been rather spoiled when it comes to the gay scene. As most people in the UK probably now (at least those that have seen 'Queer as Folk'), Manchester has its own gay village in the city centre - where there are approx. 20 bars and clubs (if not more). Well, after twelve weeks of living here in Charleston, I finally managed to make it out to the couple of gay places that they have here - Dudleys (bar) and Pantheon (club). This was mainly because i had managed to sort my experiments so that i didn't have to go in to work at all today (Sunday) and so could afford to be out late and not get out of bed till the afternoon. So, what was it like? Dudleys is a pleasant enough place - the staff are friendly and chatty, and someone perched at the bar (as i was), is talked to by most people coming up to get the drinks. As you'd expect, they were even more talkative once they found out i was English!

Pantheon is very much a dance club. That sort of music is not always my cup of tea but i found it okay. The club itself consists of a long enclosed bar in the middle with tables, chairs and booths on one side and the dance floor on the other. The crowd are very mixed in terms of age, sex and colour (as you'd expect, with it being the only real gay club here). If I had to draw a comparison to the style of the club, I'd say its like the lower two floors of Essential in Manchester (for those of you that have been there). The most annoying thing for me, though, was the fact that they had dancers ON THE BAR! It's bad enough trying to get served without having some guy in hot pants walking up and down in front of you. Whats worse is that some of these dancers seem to think that they are God's gift and that you should be honoured to have them dancing in front of you. I just had to resist the urge to empty a glass of iced water over them!

TV Quick!!

Having been thrown somewhat back to the Dark Ages and managed to live without a TV for a good eleven or so weeks now (has it really been that long?!), i've finally cracked and so a primary mission for me this week is to find and buy a decent TV. Of course the reason for this has absolutely nothing at all to do with the fact that a lot of the major American TV series are starting in a week or two (i.e. Lost, Desperate Housewives amongst others) and that I take no small amount of pleasure whatsoever from torturing folks back in the UK cause i know whats gonna happen ahead of them. That's just coincidence. Honestly! Anyway, having bought the DVD of the aforementioned "Lost" (which I believe is in week 7 now in the UK?) and watched all 24 episodes in just under a week, I heartily recommend it to anyone who hasn't tuned in yet. Start watching now before it's too late (there is a slowly developing story arc that may make it difficult to tune in later - i shall say no more).

Of course, getting a TV means the advantages of seeing such shows, but also the disadvantages of having endless commericals thrown in your face (you thought they were bad in the UK, try here!). These range from the annoying (um, all of them) to the bizarre (ads for revolutionary new drugs that have voiceovers listing all the side effects - its enough to make you swear off all tablets in an instant). There is also the news here too - yep, the International news that, on average, contains about 2 out of 25 items from outside of the US borders. Is it any wonder that the Americans sometimes find it hard to look beyond their own borders? Perhaps not - they're usually staring at the TV in the corner.

Have a break...

This week has been something of a slow one for me - not intentionally, i might add. After having a long spell of unbroken experimenting, my cells have reached the end of their useful life and so i have the joys of thawing some more out and waiting for them to grow. This is not always an easy task as you might imagine - the cryotubes containing the cells, if overfilled or not particularly sturdy, can happily explode at the drop of a hat. This happened to me yesterday - fortunately, i was kneeling on the floor trying to sort out the liquid nitrogen container and so managed to avoid all the cryotube shrapnel. Suffice to say, i was very very cautious when i had to get more tubes out later on.

In some ways, i feel a little guilty having such an easy week. I'm still doing experiments, i should add, but the behind-the-scenes controls and negatives that are required but perhaps not quite as interesting. But then in other ways, part of me is enjoying it as much I can. Figuring that i've been in the lab virtually every day since the day after i arrived, i deserve to have a bit of a breather. This has also given me a bit more time to catch up on reading papers, making some notes and other desk stuff as well. Of course, the good thing about this stuff, is that it doesn't necessarily have to be done in the lab. I think the local coffee shops may have had a slight upturn in takings this week! Oh, and a minor Ophelia Update: She seems to have drifted off up North and so likely isn't going to be making any toilet stops in Charleston soon.

To Be or Not To Be....

It seems rather appropriate that the most recent hurricane to surface in this neck of the woods was named Ophelia, particularly as it's been somewhat indecisive in both path and strength. Fortunately for us here in Charleston, she appears to have decided to head further north and, at last check, was heading towards the NC/SC border, although it's still a matter of debate as to whether she's going to make it to land anyway. It seems somewhat academic right now, anyhow, as Ophelia fluctuates between a Tropical Storm (winds of 39-70mph) and a Force 1 Hurricane (winds of 70 mph) - certainly not the monster that Katrina was (179mph upwards). Call it a lucky escape - if Ophelia had made it here, then she would certainly have caused some damage, flooding downtown (i.e. MY street!) and probably blow a few trees over. Thankfully, she's skipping on by. Of course, the sheer size of tropical storms and hurricanes means that it's turned somewhat windy here - to look at all the latest info on Ophelia and, indeed, the other storms and hurricanes that will no doubt be surfacing, i'd recommend this site.

As the Hurricane season continues, the weather here is generally beginning to break from the hot and humid summer months. It's definitely hot still, believe me, but the humidity is much lower, there's a wonderful refreshing breeze that comes off the sea from time to time and it is, basically, a lot more tolerable. In short, unless some of you have an urge to spend the summer months sweating like a pig, i'd certainly recommend visiting from around this time onwards to around April/May when the humidity begins to climb again. Just watch out for hurricanes on the way!

Four Years On...

Years from now, i suspect that the question 'Where were you when the twin towers fell down?' will be like 'Where were you when Kennedy was shot?' or 'Where were you when man landed on the moon?'. I can tell you exactly what i was doing at the time the first tower was hit - watching JFK on video (I'd recorded it the night before) at my Dad's house. A week and a half later was when i started my PhD (seems such a long time ago!). Over here, as you can imagine, the mood is very sombre today - i imagine even more so in New York than here in Charleston. Many of the papers and, I believe, TV channels (no TV yet, so not sure), have retrospectives on the events that are certainly the most shocking and memorable of recent history.

Since the World Trade Center collapsed, i have been to Ground Zero twice - once in July 2002, when the rubble had barely been cleared, the dust was still clinging to the surrounding streets and buildings, and the memory of it was all to close. More recently, this February in fact, there were signs of development - the rail link that ran under the Center had now been rebuilt and, as most of us know, plans are going ahead to build a new Freedom Tower - reaching even higher into the sky. I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me can see the justification - wanting to show that such atrocities will be overcome. Part of me thinks that this is American attitudes taken to the extreme. Part of me thinks that a simple memorial to the people who died would be much more of a fitting use of the space.

Spare a moment to remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Fish out of Water

The end of the short week rolled round and with it, an invite round to a friend's for cocktails and sushi. Now, given that i've never had sushi before, i thought this would be as good a time as any to try - mainly because it doesn't require to pay money for something that i might not even like. I have to say i was somewhat apprehensive - the thought of alcohol and raw fish was enough to get my stomach churning, but i put all this to one side and went. Fortunately, the fish used here was cooked.

Anyway, not only did we have the delight of eating the sushi, but also of making the rolls ourselves. This is done using what i guess is a mat of thin bamboo, placing some cling film down and then a sheet of seaweed. Rice goes on the sheet next (sticky is usually good) and then whatever else you decide to add (i made some with smoked salmon, cream cheese and asian pear. Fantastic!). Then you carefully roll it over, using the cling film and mat to get a good roll shape. Once the roll is sealed, its a matter of removing the cling film, taking a sharp (preferably serrated) knife and voila! These were accompanied by soy sauce and such to dip in, and some noodles on the side. And on the whole, it wasn't bad at all - so i'd certainly be happy to go out and try some in a sushi bar/restaurant. Best comment of the evening, though, came from some chinese guests who told me i used chopsticks very well. I was tempted to tell them about the time i almost took someones eye out with them, but thought it would spoil the compliment. And how, i hear you ask, was the fish and alcohol combination? Well, it managed to stay down.

Miracles

Despite having a very bad start to the week on Tuesday, things have overall generally picked up. Sure, some of my experiments are being right royal pains-in-the-arses (still not succumbed to saying asses just yet) but i'm at the point now where i know why they're being like that and, consequently, will hopefully be able to sort things out. This weeek, there have been two major occurences that, for me, are nothing short of miraculous given events in the past few weeks.

The first, is that my social security number FINALLY managed to arrive at my house. Not bad going, you have to admit, taking a little over nine weeks and involving multiple phone calls, e-mails and trips to the office. I had wondered if they would somehow lose my details again, given that they were moving to new premises a couple of days after i arrived, but i guess they managed to hang on to it. Of course, this now means i can move forward on various fronts - mainly getting a landline phone, and sorting out my driving licence so i can get round to buying/leasing a car. Watch this space on both issues.

The other miracle (for me anyway) is that the federal government finally acknowledged it's shortcomings in dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and have agreed that it acted wholly inadequately. Since writing my post of a couple of days ago, many workmates (who, it seems, are as addicted to this blog as some of you lot) have remarked how shocked and disappointed they were with the government response. This is especially something to think about here given that we have Hurricane Ophelia lurking off the coast with a predicted course that will bring her pretty close to us here (before you all start worrying, let me point out that Ophelia is at most a strong tropical storm/force 1 hurricane right now. Katrina was force 5). Still, 2 in one week is pretty good going, you think>

Picking up the pieces

It's been over a week and a half since the city of New Orleans was almost blown off the map by Hurricane Katrina and things are beginning to happen. The hole in the levee has been plugged and the water is slowly being pumped out of the streets (revealing the grim sights underneath). The devastation caused by this disaster is hard to judge from afar, but the shockwaves that this has sent throughout the country are easy to feel. There is immense sympathy for the people of New Orleans but the majority of this emotion - disbelief, grief and above all anger, has been directed at the Federal Government for their incredibly bad handling of the situation. With the war in Iraq occuring on distant shores and largely beginning to leave the collective public consciousness, the fact that the aftermath of Katrina is occuring on US shores has been very much like a slap in the face to some people here. Suddenly, the idea of spending an absolute fortune on the armed forces for purposes abroad seemed very wrong.

Consider the following: A day after Katrina had left Louisiana, the government sent two Naval ships to the area to help, but they'd take several days to get there. Yet Katrina was known to be heading that way for a couple of days before - indeed, was going to go right OVER New Orleans (it veered away late and dealt the city more of a glancing blow). The levee mentioned above was built to withstand a force 3 gale. Katrina was force 5, yet the officials insisted that it would hold. Many people who had remained in the city (they were unable to leave because they were so poor) were told to go to the convention center but not told to take any supplies, despite there not being any at the convention center itself. These are just a couple of the examples of general poor organisation of the response from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), an independent part of the United States government that provides a single point of accountability for all federal emergency preparedness and response activities. Apparently, katrina was the THIRD worst scenario that they had response plans for. Plans? What plans?! And despite all that was happening, there was still time for some good old-fashioned back slapping by the men in DC (The response was said to be 'exemplary' and 'fantastic').

It's not uncommon for FEMA to catch blame in the messy aftermath of disaster - a similar thing in 1989 when Hugo hit South Carolina and in 1992 when Andrew struck Florida. Chief scapegoat at the moment is Michael Brown - the current FEMA chief. The former head of the International Arabian Horse Association, he had no background in disaster relief when old friend and then-FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh hired him in 2001. Brown has been the subject of many many criticisms of late by Senators and Congressman alike - who curiously had no problem with him when they had Senate hearings to confirm his appointment as deputy chief. However, amid this ongoing game of 'Passing the Buck', it seems that some people are forgetting the true victims of this natural disaster - New Orleans and her people. The Big Easy will never be the same again.

Feels like Monday

I'm sure most people have had those kind of days where everything that you do seems to go badly wrong - or just basically not right. Hell, i'm sure somebody somewhere will have had entire YEARS like that. For me, these days are usually Monday - with the weekend fresh in the memory, and a whole week ahead, it just naturally lends itself to the string of disasters that can happen. Well, today, being the first 'proper' day back since the long weekend (cause, you know, i've had so many days off :-) ) meant that it was going to be just like Monday. And then some.

As I type this, i'm sat in a local coffee shop (Port City Java - excellent coffee!) having basically run away from the lab early. Why? Basically, everything i touched seemed to either break, disintegrate or just give up. I can't really complain - i've had a good long string of work where everything has been going well, results have been slowly coming together and i've been able to make some (reasonably) good conclusions. The balance of things in the universe suggested that one day sooner or later, i was gonna have one of those bad bad days to tip the balance. All that remains for me to do now is pray that this is the ONLY one for the moment - i don't think my body could quite handle the caffeine day in and day out!!

Labor (sic) Day

Whereas the last weekend in August is traditionally a UK long weekend, things differ slightly here with today, the first Monday of September being a bank holiday - it's official designation being Labor Day (i don't know about anyone else but I still can't get used to the lack of a 'u'). Curious as to what this meant, i asked a number of American colleagues if they could shed light on the matter - but to no avail as they had as much of an idea as I did (actually, maybe even less) - evidently, it is now so entrenched in US customs that the history behind it has 'gone missing'. Turning to that old standby (the "Ask Jeeves" website), i managed to track down the story behind the holiday.

Labor Day was created by the labor movement and constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the USA - essentially a big 'Yay' to the workforce. The first Labor Day holiday was actually celebrated on a Tuesday - September 5, 1882 (exactly 123 years ago today i should add) in New York City and it wasn't until two years later that the official designation of the first September Monday was given. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886 - and as time passed, government recognition of the holiday grew. The first statewide legislation was passed in Oregon on Feb 21st 1887 and was followed that years by four more states (New York, Colorado, Massachusetts and New Jersey). By 1894, a further 26 states has recognised the holiday and on June 28th of that year, Congress passed an act making the day a legal holiday in the District of Colombia and the territories.

All this makes me wonder. With many of the UK grumbling about not having enough bank holidays (an extra one between the August and Christmas holidays is often suggested), perhaps we should get the Trade and Worker's Unions working on it. After all, it'd give them something USEFUL to do for a change. Happy Labor Day, people!!

Evolution of species

Ever the social butterly, last night was taken up with a meal at a chinese restaurant (one visited often by the couple of chinese post-docs in the lab) followed by drinks at a bar/club in town - "The Living Room", situated on upper King Street. This was to celebrate the birthday of Jola's sister (Jola is a friend and colleague) who has been living here for the past couple of months and is leaving next week - so it also doubled as a farewell gathering. Anyway, arriving at the club around 11 found it quite empty - and we wondered if many people actually went there. It was no surprise to find that as time went on, the crowds began to come in - and whereupon I uncovered a whole new species that, i guess, must have evolved independently - the American Chav.

The perfect specimen of US chav-dom (of which there were a couple i admit) looked about 18 years old but carried himself with a swagger as if he were at least 25 and a fair few pounds heavier. He had a baseball cap on backwards, a black vest and some pale casual trousers on that seemed to rest halfway down his backside (there was a belt - though it clearly wasn't doing it's job properly). Oh, and of course, there was the ridiculously oversize shiny watch and chain - and a tattoo that looked like one good wash would bring it off. Thus, i spent most of the night quietly observing their behaviour, as a naturalist does with a pride of lions - and saw that it was very much similar to the UK chav - except perhaps with a bit more R and B thrown in for good measure (a highlight of the evening was when a group gathered on the dance floor to have one of those breakdancing competitions ala the video of the Run DMC song - "It's Like That"). Hereby, i propose a new term to describe this subset of chav - the ChavUsa. Now what are the odds of the Oxford English Dictionary accepting this?

Running on Empty

As in the UK, a major topic for discussion over this side of the Pond is the price of gas (aka petrol) - although this tends to be a general rant rather than the more specific focus on government taxation of petrol. I often gently remind our dear transatlantic cousins that they have it pretty good - indeed, they often are disbelieving when i tell them how the prices compare back home. It's $2.89 a gallon here which, roughly speaking (i.e. I can't be bothered to do the calculations exactly) is about 45p a litre. When i left the country two months ago, the prices there were about 82p a litre and, i can imagine, would only have gone up if they have changed at all.

This week, however, all bets are off with regards to gas thanks to Hurricane Katrina and her wanderings through the Gulf of Mexico. Y'see, apparently she's managed to affect oil production as she managed to come across a few oil rigs out there. This means that two of the major oil lines that serve New England (and us here on the way) have been affected. Now when they are due to start working again is anyone's guess (i suggested having an office sweepstake). Suffice to say, this has escalated rather quickly with queues forming at gas stations yesterday and reports today that the gas stations were going to be closing at noon, although others insisted this was illegal for them to do (how it can be illegal for a company to close it's outlets is beyond me but i didn't have the energy to argue). Anyway, it was certainly refreshing to see that the Americans can panic just as well as the Brits, if not better (it's said that people were going crazy to stock up on food supplies as well -as no gas, means no deliveries of course). Fortunately, the governer of South Carolina issued a statement to help calm things down - apparently there is no fuel shortage....yet. Everyone is being asked to be careful in order to conserve what they have. But in a country so reliant on cars, is that going to be possible? We'll have to wait and see.