Sunday, June 27, 2010

Boston

before last monday, heading up to boston for this seminar on comparative effectiveness research was a good educational move for my work with the committee. but after an unexpected call from the senior senator from minnesota that afternoon, having the committee pay for my trip seemed a little selfish as i would no longer impart my knowledge for their benefit. but after making sure my office was still okay sending me (probably as a reward for the past year and half of health reform), i happily booked my tickets and hotel room for a few days outside the diamond confines of dc.

so under the guise of this seminar, i escaped dc for a few days to visit boston (where i have never been). and i'm glad i went. the conference itself was uneventful and i was definitely out of my comfort zone of policy and politics as this was a scientific methods discussion and i gave up my scientist-card the moment i barely passed o-chem. but the true purpose was simply to walk around a new town, eat some food, catch some sights, and enjoy a relaxing few days...and that i did.

as tempted as i was to stroll through boston common wearing my purple and gold, i fear that i would've been mugged in broad daylight and the police would've encouraged it. so i refrained from my gloating and just enjoyed the city on its own. and i must say, it is a beautiful city. walking down commonweath, you'd be hard pressed to find a more serene street anywhere else. with red brick row houses facing a park-like divider lined with plush green trees, with a george washington statue at its helm before opening up to the public garden and boston common.

staying in the south end, i was privy to the "new money boston" as it was put to me by a tour guide. i was definitely pleased to have been recommended some wonderful gastronomic pleasures and wish i could have taken advantage of all of them. but i will highlight my first non-conference dining experience at b&g oysters. nestled into a corner of tremont st, it definitely held its own amongst the numerous dining choices available to me on those stretch of blocks.

and of course, what would a trip to boston be without visiting harvard. as much grief as we give our cambridge friends, i was still anxious to stroll along the campus and hopefully soak up some ivy league intelligence. and i must say, the campus is exactly as you imagine it to be (though not necessarily full of tourists gawking about)...with its large brick buildings, large shaded quad, and historical influence exuding from its grounds. i made sure to sit there for a while and let osmosis do its work...i instantly felt my iq jump a few points.

overall, though my time was short, i truly enjoyed myself. and i thought about how close i was to having gone to school at boston university and how different my life would be if i had. it seems that i've been having a lot of those "grass is greener" moments recently...and at the end of the day, i just have to enjoy and focus on the patch of lawn that i am sitting on now.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Moving On

don't worry reader, this title does not represent my retirement from this blog, though i have noticed a severe drop off in posts (my bad). but what it means is my departure from the legislative, history-making senate finance committee. i have been offered the health legislative assistant position with the senior senator from minnesota, amy klobuchar, and today, i accepted.

i must say, it is very difficult to leave the prestige of the committee room, but this move to a personal office will be both a unique experience and a learning opportunity for me. at the same time, i worry that my penchant for acting smart will be called into question and everyone will realize that i really have no idea what i'm talking about. but even beyond personal fear or the risk of disappointing my new boss, i'm most afraid of the embarrassment i'd feel if my current colleagues were ashamed that i made such mistakes after sending almost two years under their tutelage.

but whatever i'm feeling, the wheels of progress are turning. come july 19th, i will not be strolling into the dirksen building, ride the elevator the two floors i could have easily walked, or enter 207 and walk down the hall to my desk as i spy who's already in the office. instead, i'll be entering hart, feeling better as i ride the elevator three stories, and walking toward an unknown cubicle. it is an odd feeling, but a good one, knowing that i am moving forward with my life. but at the same time...change is hard.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Ulcers

i'm not generally someone who is overwhelmed by pressure or lets things i can't control get to me...but when it comes to lakers playoff basketball, i am stressed, agitated, and rather irrational. after this disappointed game 5 loss tonight, if anyone tried to poke at me i wouldn't be surprised if i threw a punch.

but instead, i'm going to calmly picked up the remote that i threw across the room, pound two shots of jameson to numb the pain, close my door, and rant to the blogosphere where no physical harm can be done.

so tonight's game was the perfect example of why i hate the 2-3-2 format for the finals. the top-seeded team should be rewarded for their achievements in the regular season...and yes, the lakers do have home court and can take the last two games at home. however, when two great teams do what they're supposed to do and split the first four games by each winning one on the road, then the pivotal game 5 should be played at home for the top-seeded team. that is they're reward for having outperformed in the regular season. instead, they're faced with a difficult road game when it matters the most.

i'm not guaranteeing that lakers would have won game 5 if it had been in la, but i'm sure it would've made the supporting cast feel much more comfortable. instead, granted the celtics played great defense, no other player besides kobe's single handed efforts to keep the lakers in this game and gasol's meager 12 points were in double digit scoring...no one rebounded the ball...no one played with a championship desire. just because we won last year doesn't mean we can coast...play hard 12 minutes every quarter, 48 minutes every game, 82 games a year, and then win 16 games in the playoffs. that's what every coach has preached to a player ever since they stepped on a basketball court.

i know we're banged up and i don't underestimate how important having a healthy bynum is to the lakers...but the rest of the players need to step up as nate robinson and big baby has for the celtics. where's odom? where's artest? where's brown and farmer? kobe had 19 points of the lakers 26 in the 3rd quarter. i didn't need him to do that to show me he is one the greatest players ever. what i needed was for other players to play and for the lakers to want this, to prove that last year wasn't a fluke and that we can beat the greats.

so guys...for my sanity, for the avoidance of physical harm, for the two maine lobsters riding on this series...please, step up your game.