Some of you may know that the lab I work in recently moved to a brand new building. The new John A. Moran Eye Center is having its grand opening this week and it’s being celebrated at a huge gala in a swanky downtown hotel. This is a black tie event that will include a reception, dinner, dancing, and entertainment. Some of the things I’ve heard about this party include the following:

1) On the order of 1000 people will be there.

2) Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn (who suffers from the degenerative eye disorder, retinitis pigmentosa) is going to be a guest and is supposed to bring with him Hollywood-type entertainment.

3) John A. Moran has friends in California wine country who will be donating a lot of fine wine.

4) This is an event I will likely not see again in my lifetime.

Despite the hype, I wasn’t going to go because Scott was going to be out of town and I didn’t feel like going stag. However, after gentle persuasion from a lot of people at work who really emphasized point 4 above, I started thinking I would regret not going. Also, a good friend from work said that I was welcome to go with him and his wife and that they would pick me up on their way there. So I finally RSVP’d saying that I’d go alone.

So I was telling this story to Arvind this weekend and and he said he was in to fly in for the day to go with me! After all, who can pass up a party like this? So for once, despite all his Vegas connections, _I_ will be the one taking _him_ to the party with Steve Wynn.

Some of you know we recently switched our phone service to Vonage.  We wanted to keep our old phone number but we had to use a new one temporarily while they made the switch.  Just to let you know, the old phone number is now accessible and the temporary one no longer works. 

We just got back today from visiting our friend, Arvind in Seattle.  This was my first time in Seattle and it didn’t dissapoint.  It was a gorgeous 65-70 degrees every day when most of the country was in triple digits.  I always thought that any place more humid than Salt Lake (just about everywhere) would really bother me, but the cool breeze (cold breeze at times) was extremely pleasant. 

The area around Arvind’s apartment was on the 12th floor of a high rise in an area called Belltown.  It had a spectacular view of the Seattle skyline and Elliott bay.  It was also near tons of nightlife and restaurants.  We ate at a bistro, sports bar, pizzeria, steakhouse (supposedly the best in the area, El Gaucho), . .the list goes on and on.  It feels like we’ve been eating non-stop for days. 

We went to Pike Place Market, where the fish are being thrown and where the original Starbucks is located.  I bought some Ranier cherries, a local favorite and walked past plenty of street musicians.  I thought the most amazing thing was the flower stands.  We saw booth after booth of huge spectacular flower arrangements for $5-25!!  It was unbelieveable.  These are the sort of arrangements you would buy at FTD or 1-800-flowers for anywhere from $50-150.  Even though I know the mark-up is rediculous on the online vendors, I couldn’t help but feel like these ladies selling flowers there in the market were being ripped off.  They were practically giving away these beautiful bouquets. 

We also took a bus to the University of Washington in Seattle so Scott and I could check out the Math/Health Science buildings on campus.  Despite being 10-15 minutes from downtown, the university had a real campus-town feel with a huge street filled with bars/eateries.  I’m not used to seeing so many trees so the campus was absolutely gorgeous with plenty of shade.  I have to say, though, that had a kind of old/unpolished feel.. .gravel sidewalks, unkempt trees, buildings that look like they’ve never been renovated.  The student union left a lot to be desired.  It was a little run down and the entire place was pretty much shut down–I’m not sure where all the summer students were.  Scott’s math building looked like any other I’ve seen (except for a great view out of some of the windows) but we couldn’t really locate the buidings where I might work.  Being involved in genetics/neuroscience/ophthalmology research, I’m used to being in buidings that are the newest and most impressive on campus.  There was no such thing here.  Perhaps we gave up too soon since we had been walking for over two hours when we went looking for the health sciences buildings on the medical campus. 

Anyway, the trip was a great success and was only marred by the incident many of you have no doubt heard of since then.  On Friday, a man walked into the Jewish Federation and shot 5 women, killing one of them.  One of the others was shot in the arm as she tried to protect her pregnant abdomen.  All of the activity was just blocks from Arvind’s place and affected traffic all around the area.  It was hard to ignore that we were in a much bigger city than Salt Lake–we could hear every siren and see every cop car in the area from the our perch on the 12th floor. 

It was a very eventful weekend.  We did have lots of fun seeing Arvind and our friend John.  Thanks Arvind for letting us crash at your place and showing us a good time!  If you haven’t been to Seattle, it’s a beautiful city.  It was a breath of fresh air and a much needed reprieve from the summer heat. 

Oh, one final, but important thing.  We drove past several times, the gorgeous Qwest Field–home of the Seattle Seahawks.  The stadium looks so neat on TV but is even more impressive up close.  We could see it from Arvind’s apartment and the arches are lit up at night in spectacular blues/purples/greens.  If only the football season had started.  I would have loved to see a game there.  Hey, it’s just an excuse to go back to Seattle soon, right?

Welcome to my new site. This beautiful new template was designed and supplied by my sister, Richa.  Again, sorry to those who commented. . the comments got lost in transit.

A little behind on the upcoming football season? Check out SI.com for off-season moves by your favorite NFC teams.

Lance Bass of former boy band ‘N Sync has made public what we have all known for a very long time; he’s gay.  See the story on CNN.com.  As Jerry Seinfeld would say, “not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

For those of you who may not have looked this up yet, the NFL kicks off its regular season on Thursday, September 7th. The Miami Dolphins will be playing at the home of the superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers at 8:30pm ET on NBC.

For you others who are really hurting for some football, the preseason begins on Sunday, August 6th with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, OH. It will be Oakland v. Philly at 8pm ET on NBC.

Chicago fans: wondering if Grossman will hurt himself before the regular season? or if the newly acquired Brian Griese can steal the job? Chicago plays in San Francisco in their first preseason game on Friday, August 11th. Their preseason game at home against San Diego on Friday, August 18th will be nationally televised on CBS at 8pm ET.

I’m driving to work and am waiting in the left turn lane.  A pizza delivery car is the only car in front of me.  We get the green left turn arrow and he’s just sitting there.  One second. . two seconds. .three seconds.  I can see that he’s looking at himself in the rear view mirror, so I tap on the horn, just to let him know that the arrow is green.  He looks at me from his side view mirror and flips me off!! And then like a girl, he slams on the gas and shoots around some other cars in my lane before slowing down to put some cars between us.  What the hell is wrong with people.?  Then again, I’m probably giving him too much credit.  He was probably a teenager–not a person at all.

If you haven’t already gone out to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, you must! You may have heard that it’s not as good as the first, but that is absolutely not the case. This is hands down the best movie I’ve seen all year. It’s the kind of movie that puts a smile on your face and keeps it there for hours after you’ve seen it.

Original music was done by the amazing Hans Zimmer. The music alone is enough to make you happy in this movie. In case you don’t know who he is, Hanz Zimmer also did the music for Crimson Tide, The Rock, and Gladiator.

You must see this movie on the big screen. Do NOT, in any circumstance, wait for the DVD. It’s darker than the first. . .less predictable than the first. . .has all the excitement of a well done anticipated sequel. . . .and of course leaves you wanting more, with a massive cliffhanger at the end.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is due out in the summer of 2007.

What is the best way to get rid of nerves?  I have a presentation to give at 2pm this afternoon.  I am prepared and not _that_ worried about it, but I hate this waiting and uneasiness.

I saw this posted on some forum by someone in Arkansas:

“My current speech professor wrote for Clinton. She says that the reason he was such a great public speaker is because of his warmups that he did before speaking. Deep breathing for 5-10 minutes, neck stretches, vocal cord massage. Anything to help you calm down will help you out.”

Usually, my solution to _EVERY_ problem is to workout. . but it’s not really an option here.   So maybe I should try it.  Maybe the Clinton warmup will help.  I guess I’ll have to figure out where my vocal cords are.