Jaffe

Congratulations America

2008-11-07T06:47:00.001-05:00

Still undecided?

2008-10-24T23:25:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that anyone is still undecided... but maybe this will help those who are...

Celebrity sighting!

2008-10-23T20:03:00.002-04:00

Some of my cousins in L.A. are obsessed with celebrity sightings. Some of the people they have pointed out to me were so low on the celebrity list, I didn't know who they were even after they told me what movie/TV show/commercial they were in.

That celebrity culture exists, albeit to a lesser extent, in New York City. And I admit that I was pretty excited when I saw that Abe Vigoda shopped in my Food Emporium.

I thought all of my celebrity sighting days were over with my move to Boston. So imagine my surprise tonight when I saw who was sitting next to me on the bus on the way home from work.

What? You don't recognize him? Maybe this would help...

Ai caramba!

Boston Pumpkin Festival, 2008

2008-10-19T19:26:00.011-04:00

Yesterday was the Boston Pumpkin Festival, which took place in Government Center, and had a display of about 7,500 jack-o-lanterns. Pretty impressive stuff.

Thank you Colin!

2008-10-19T11:11:00.003-04:00

Colin Powell this morning on Meet the Press:

Just one heartbeat away...

2008-10-16T20:32:00.003-04:00

This was forwarded to me earlier today by C Lo. Although I know this is meant as a parody, but how close is this to the truth? Let's hope we never find out:

Palin as president

Election 2008

2008-10-13T20:44:00.004-04:00

I think I speak for everyone when I say that I'm tired of the US presidential campaign. The economy is a disaster, we're in a war that's costing a fortune in both lives and money, and there's no end in sight.

This election should be a no-brainer. When an administration presides over (or is responsible for) the worst 8-year stretch in our country since I've been alive, the opposing party should be able to put up anyone who meets the requirements for becoming a US president. This is an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry about the President of the United States.

Article Two of the Constitution sets the principal qualifications to be eligible for election as President. A Presidential candidate must:

* be a natural-born citizen of the United States;
* be at least thirty-five years old;
* have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen years.

Natural-born citizen of the U.S.... check
At least thirty-five years old... check
Have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen years... check

I'm in!

My candidacy has already caused a groundswell of support. Check out the news coverage here.

Talking pretty

2008-10-12T22:09:00.002-04:00

Everyone has a story. Everyone has people in their family who seem like they're from another planet, or been in situations that were so awkward that just thinking about them makes them embarrassed. Fortunately, none of us needs to share those elements of our personal lives. David Sedaris does it for us. I've read two of his collections of short stories, Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and both had me laughing aloud. As outlandish as some of his stories are, there's always an element that's familiar to the reader.

A couple of days ago I saw that he was performing at Symphony Hall, but didn't buy the ticket because I wasn't sure I could make the 7pm show this evening. Fortunately, I live just around the corner, so after a little dinner I wandered over to see if there were any tickets left with 15 minutes until showtime. I found a guy selling one of his tickets because his friend didn't show up, so for $30 I had a front row balcony seat for my first show in Symphony Hall.

David Sedaris didn't read anything from his new book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Instead, he chose to read some unpublished stories, which ranged in content from biographical (a very interesting trip on Amtrak) to political (trying to understand how anyone can be an undecided voter in the upcoming US presidential election). Anyone who has heard him on This American Life knows the kind of wit and humor Sedaris has in his delivery. But one of the highlights of the show was the Q&A with the audience after his readings. His interaction with the members of the audience was so natural, the conversation could have easily happened in my living room... minus the microphone.

Taking a bite out of the big apple...

2008-10-07T22:00:00.003-04:00

Without a doubt one of the nicest things about living on the east coast of the US is being able to visit other cities easily and cheaply. This past weekend I visited New York to meet up with some friends - $36 return on Bolt Bus, a (relatively) new bus company that has plugs for your laptops and free wifi. Definitely a change from the trip I took to Boston on Lucky Star a couple of years ago!

Lots of catching up with friends, drinks in the East Village, a walk in Central Park...

all only a few hours away...

Moving at the speed of life...

2008-10-01T20:07:00.001-04:00

I moved to Boston on July 3, 2008. Those of you who read Jaffe regularly will recognize that date as (roughly) the day I disappeared. Sure, I've posted a couple of things since then, but nothing about life in Boston since the move.

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Matt, a friend from grad school (who, incidentally, has the same birthday as me). The email was about raising money for the genetic disorder that is both Matt's clinical and research interest. He's running the Chicago Marathon along with some other people who have been touched by the disorder, called Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS). I'll add a link in the support sidebar, for those of you interested in reading more about this syndrome and supporting Matt in his first marathon.

Anyway, I had no idea that Matt was a Jaffe reader, but his last line in the email was this:

P.S. If you get the chance drop me a note to with a quick update--your last blog update was in July....

The reason I started the blog was to give my friends back in London a chance to experience settling down in New York through my eyes. There are a lot of people that I knew I wasn't going to speak with weekly or even monthly, and I thought the blog would be the perfect way to stay in touch.

After two and a half years, I was back to settling down again, and I guess I let the blog get away from me. It's not that I haven't thought of posting, it's just that there has been so much going on that I haven't felt like a quick post here and there really captured how quickly things are moving here.

Quick posts are clearly better than no posts... thanks Matt.

Welcome to Beantown

2008-07-27T22:23:00.004-04:00

Turns out staying up until 2:30am having drinks with your friends isn't such a good idea when you have an 8am train to catch!

Anyway, I managed, and after arriving at Back Bay Station around noon (in spite of taking the Acela, which only went fast for about 10 minutes of the trip), it was just a short walk to the real estate agent to get my keys and then on to the new Chateau Jaffe.

Since I had a few days before my things arrived, I brought a pillow and a sleeping bag, and immediately took a nap on the floor... but not before I noticed the nice gift the management company left for me.

A very nice welcome.

Countdown to Beantown, Part 4b: Squeezing in some last goodbyes

2008-07-27T22:22:00.002-04:00

The night before my train to Boston, some of the people from the lab thought it would be nice to go for dinner and have some drinks. It was a relatively small group (there are only so many times you can say goodbye, so I was glad to keep it small), and we settled on Sake Hana, just a short walk from the lab. It was a beautiful evening, and Sake Hana had seats close to the open windows in the front of the restaurant for us to enjoy some sushi and drinks.

After dinner, we decided to go to the yard in the back of the apartment complex that I've lived in for the last two years. We had plenty of alcohol left over from previous Hall lab 'events', so we grabbed the gin and sake and made our way out to the back to enjoy the rest of the evening.

No need to go into a lot of details, but it's worth mentioning that the evening ended with a slice of pizza with Sean at Pizza Park (not really worth putting a link here) at about 2:30am. A perfect New York moment to end my time in New York City.

Countdown to Beantown, Part 4a: Squeezing in some last goodbyes

2008-07-22T20:59:00.005-04:00

It's clear I have a lot of catching up to do with a three-week disappearing act. I'll start with my final couple of days living in New York.

Not knowing what the Chinatown situation is like in Boston, one of my last dinners in New York was with Songhai and Hang, two friends who moved to New York a little bit before I did two years ago. Songhai was starting his lab (temporarily on our floor, and then upstairs in the same building) and Hang was doing a postdoc at Rockefeller. Both of them learned about my adventurous eating spirit after we went to Grand Sichuan a while back and I ate everything they ordered (including a baby luffa). So two nights before I left we went back to the Grand Sichuan. As has been customary since my days of eating out with Yihong, I left the ordering to the pros. Eat now, ask later...

The highlights of the evening were:

Sliced Lotus Root
Husband and Wife Lung
Salivating Chicken

谢谢你 Hang and Songhai!!!

Countdown to Beantown, Part 3: The Pre-Move Holiday

2008-06-30T17:35:00.001-04:00

Avid readers of Jaffe will already have noticed the pictures from my trip to London in my flickr badge. This was the longest stretch I've had in London since the move to New York a little over 2 years ago. Managed to fit a lot of catching up into the 8-day trip, but unfortunately didn't have a chance to see everyone. As it turns out, just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean everyone else is!!!

In spite of everyone having to work, my time in London was basically an 8-day version of my 5 years of living there. Watched a football (soccer) match in a pub on Exmouth Market, where Serena and I ran into the manager of The Eagle Pub, one of my London favorites; had a picnic on Primrose Hill; lunch at Italia Uno (unfortunately they didn't have the Torta della Nonna); tea at the LMCB; went for a walk along the Thames; and of course, Wimbledon!

Also tried some new things - a walk in Holland Park, a beigel (they spell it differently in London, apparently) from Brick Lane Beigel Bakery, and some afternoons in Serena's Institute.

Definitely the nicest trip I've had to London since leaving a couple of years ago.

Next stop, Beantown!

Countdown to Beantown, Part 2b: More Farewell Drinks/Dinners

2008-06-20T16:52:00.003-04:00

We had a lab dinner last week - the traditional 'leaving-do', as they say in London. I suppose this one could double-up as a Restaurant of the Week:

Zipi Zape
152 Metropolitan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-599-3027

Zipi and Zape are two popular Spanish cartoon characters that were chosen as a theme for the restaurant when a Spanish chef partnered with twin sisters (one of whom is the woman taking our food order from Aurelia in this picture) to open a tapas restaurant in Brooklyn. Sketches of the cartoon are on the inside and outside of the restaurant, and help give the place a really relaxed and low-key feel.

We had two tables outside in the front of the restaurant, which is on a (relatively) quiet street in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. I say relatively quiet street because Metropolitan Avenue seems to be a shortcut for large trucks, which a few times during the meal came tearing down the otherwise very quiet street.

Other than the occasional truck, sitting outside was really nice. The weather was perfect. We arrived around 7pm, which gave us almost an hour-and-a-half before it got dark and became a bit too cold for the people who didn't wear sweaters or jackets.

Zipi Zape is a tapas restaurant, and since Aurelia (who is from Seville) was clearly going to be the most familiar with the choices, we let her order. We had a couple orders of the tasting menu (as well as the vegetarian version, which, unfortunately for the true vegetarians in the lab, had quite a few seafood dishes), a couple orders of paella (including paella negra, which is made with squid ink, and vegetarian paella), and a lot of white sangria.

The food was excellent. Everything was very fresh, and extremely tasty. In the end we ordered way too much, which turned out to be a nice little bonus for lunch the next day (the paella was even tastier after a day in the frig and re-heating in the microwave).

Check out the pictures from the dinner by clicking on the badge or the date under My New York pics!

Star Spangled Banner

2008-06-15T20:56:00.004-04:00

Most of you who read Jaffe will know that before most (all?) major sporting events in the US someone leads the crowd in the singing of our National Anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. Last night I was sitting at home getting ready to watch game 5 of the NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, listening to the National Anthem being sung by Ashanti:

Those of you who like to click on all of the links in my entries may notice something peculiar about Ashanti's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. No, it's not that she improvised a bit with the tune. It's that she got a word wrong!

OK, so it was only one word, and a lot of people may not even notice. But if you're a professional singer, and are hired to sing the National Anthem, I think you should learn the words.

Countdown to Beantown, Part 2: Farewell Drinks/Dinners

2008-06-15T13:20:00.004-04:00

A couple of posts ago I wrote about the Boston move and the search for an apartment. The lease is signed, deposit check has been sent, so everything is a go.

With a trip to London planned for the end of this coming week, and the move happening only a couple of days after I get back, I've started having my farewell dinners and drinks to say goodbye to my friends in New York.

Thursday was a very nice evening out with my current supervisor and his wife. We went to Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse, a place that I've wanted to try for a while. Smith & Wollensky is exactly what you would imagine a steakhouse would be like. Men and meat. Appetizers like 'Tomato and Onion', which is literally a stack of slices of tomato alternating with slices of raw onion, and main courses like this:

would leave most people digesting their meal for days. Definitely worth skipping lunch next time!

Last night was drinks with friends from New York and the surrounding area. I asked around to some people 'in the know' for advice on the bar, and Anastacia came up with Nightingale Lounge in the East Village. A good choice - no cover, good cocktails, DJ, chilled out atmosphere. Christina and Uli came in from Long Island (with, as Christina put it, a small asian posse), Shoshana and Len made it in from New Jersey, and a lot of the Manhattan crowd showed up in spite of the rain.

I'm sure there are some pictures out there... will put some up when I get my hands on them!

Wow...what a pupiddu!

2008-06-05T15:48:00.003-04:00

That's what Teo's friend Marco said when he saw this movie of Teo's recent salsa performace:

Bravo Teo!

Let the countdown begin!

2008-06-02T22:50:00.003-04:00

I'm guessing that the majority of people who read Jaffe already know this, but I'm moving to Boston!!!

Serena and I were in Boston at the end of last week to look for a place, and after seeing 16 apartments (yes, 16 apartments) in Cambridge, Beacon Hill, Fenway, and Back Bay/Symphony, we found a very nice one-bedroom garden apartment around the corner from the Prudential Center.

The move is set for the beginning of July, and the grill for the patio will be purchased the day after I arrive!!!

Happy Birthday Brooklyn Bridge!

2008-05-22T23:01:00.002-04:00

Tonight was the start of the Brooklyn Bridge 125th birthday celebration, which included a concert by the Brooklyn Philharmonic and fireworks over the Brooklyn Bridge.

Music, fireworks, and cake... a nice combination.

Guitar hero

2008-05-13T23:43:00.003-04:00

OK, so it's been a while since my last post. Not that I haven't had anything to post about, just not a lot of time to sit down and write something worthwhile! Rest assured, I saw some interesting films at this year's TriBeCa Film Festival, ate some good food at a couple of restaurants, and even went to a music concert!

All of that will be posted soon (notice, no links in the last paragraph), but tonight I wanted to put up a video that was sent to me by the real Dr. Jaffe. Anyone who has attempted to play guitar (or Guitar Hero on Wii) will appreciate this.

Yes, it's real.

Random facts

2008-04-26T19:38:00.002-04:00

Seen on The Cube at Astor Place.

I want my bacon!

2008-04-25T14:44:00.002-04:00

A lot of people like bacon, some more than others. But this is a bit too much.

Does it really need to be said? There's something wrong about a bacon cake. Actually, there are a lot of things wrong about a bacon cake...

Feiner Passover Seder, 2008

2008-04-24T19:09:00.002-04:00

Seder plate

Happy Passover

2008-04-18T18:31:00.003-04:00

Anyone who has ever had Matzah will understand why Passover is not my favorite holiday.

For those of you who haven't had Matzah, this little video will give you a little taste of what you're missing.

Enjoy!