Doing Something for Those with Nothing

Last Friday my department spent half of our day performing community service at the Rhode Island Food Bank. They have a new marketing campaign they'll be launching at the beginning of May, and they needed assistance assembling displays that will be distributed to Dunkin' Donuts and Whole Foods stores in the area. Before we began, there was a short talk by the director- did you know that a $2.99 donation can provide 10 lbs of food to a family in need? It just goes to show that a little can go a long way.

I really enjoyed interacting with my co-workers outside of the office environment- I am lucky to have such a great team. (No, I'm not just saying that- most of them don't know I have a blog or know and don't read it.) Even though I'm excited about moving home, it will be hard for me to leave my RI work family.

Here are a few pictures from our department outing...

Our group picture--the lighting was not the greatest in the warehouse where we were working. Naturally, I'm on the left side right in the streak of sunlight and can't be seen.

Deb and I taking a break for a photo op

Here are the cans that we had to stack on the displays. Jim, Amy, and I raced Bill, Kevin, and Lauren to see who could stack the cans the fastest (we're not competitive at all!). The cardboard display was made of two parts, a top and a bottom, both of which had to be socked with empty tin cans (labels out, Dan!). After assembly, the team had to place a cardboard cover over the display without disrupting the cans! You'll be happy to know that my team came out on top.

Doesn't Lorna have a great smile?

Glenda (left) and Jeanne make building boxes look easy

Don't mess with Jim!

Deb! In the office (and outside of work, I guess) I always call Debbie by her first and last name together, so it feels a little incomplete to just type her first name.

Look for more pictures to come- I'm having some difficulty loading the rest of them onto my blog.

And speaking of volunteering, I'll tell you about the clinic I've been volunteering at in Providence later this week.

It's Not You, It's Me

I was going through my magazines, cutting out my favorite pictures and articles, when I came across an article I dog-eared from the January 2010 issue of Marie Claire (I got a free subscription!).


You're Not Lazy, Just Normal

Ever wonder who those people are, streaming out of the gym at 6 a.m., all finished that early-bird Spin class and raring to tackle the day? They're mutants--at least according to a recent article in Science. A variation of the DEC2 gene--known as the insomnia gene-- allows some humans to feel refreshed and energetic after just six hours of sleep. Mice with the mutant gene spend an hour-and-a-half longer each day on the running wheel compared to their counterparts. Humans born with the gene just make the rest of us feel bad.


Even if it's not 100% accurate, it does make me feel a little better though.

Spring in Indy Part II

On April 9, I drove from Novi, MI to my parents' house to stay while I was in town for work. (It feels weird to say that it's my parents' house, not my house, but I guess it's kind of true.) It was so nice to be at home- it's not every day that you have someone else offer to make you dinner or do your laundry when you're an adult. [Note: We have this joke in my family that comes from a line in the movie Ghostbusters. When they are on the top of the building with Gozer, she asks Ray if he is a god, and he says no, to which she replies, "Then you must die!" He and the rest of his crew and almost flung off the building by lightening out of her fingers. Winston then tells him, "Ray, the next time someone asks you if you are a god, say yes!" So, long short somewhat shortened, if someone asks you something e.g. do you need money?, say yes!]

Click here to see the clip from the movie (it's towards the end)

Other great quotes from this movie that are often referenced by my family include:

-Where do these stairs go? They go up!

-Does this pole still work?

-We can stay there tonight! You know, try it out!

-I collect spores, molds, and fungus.

-Ray has gone bye-bye, Egon... what've you got left?

-Whoa! Nice shootin', Tex!

We had gorgeous weather, which allowed for my Mom and I to take Izzie on lots of walks. It was the perfect time of year for spotting wildflowers- we saw purple, white, and yellow violets! I can't remember the last time I saw white violets, and I don't ever recall having seen yellow violets, except in pictures. Izzie is so funny- whenever I'm home and I put on my tennis shoes, she thinks I am going to take her for a walk! My Dad takes her for a walk every Saturday and Sunday morning in Cool Creek Park, a small park near our house that has trails through a wooded area. I love that spoiled dog.

I taught four classes the following week with Susan, a pharmacist from Ohio. She has been giving immunizations for 5 years now, so her field experience was very valuable and added a great deal to our presentation. Since she had more practical knowledge, we split up the day, and I took the clinical section, which is basically the first few hours or so. I talk about all of the infectious, vaccine-preventable diseases that the pharmacists already reviewed in their self-study prior to coming to class. It's a miracle I haven't had anyone fall asleep on me. I try to keep things interactive, and by that, I mean I pass around a sign-up sheet (pretending like I need it) that I then use to call on the pharmacists to read questions (I'm so sneaky!).

Monday's class was in Bloomington, home of Indiana University. I haven't really spent any time in Bloomington, except for the grad orientation meeting several years ago at Lake Monroe. Nick went to school at IU (absolutely loved it) and often raves about how wonderful Bloomington is. I'm looking forward to getting a personal tour someday. We had class on Tuesday and Wednesday at a company office in Indianapolis, which is where I saw many people that I previously worked with while I was in Indy.

Wednesday night I ate dinner with my pharmacy supervisor, Amy, at P.F. Chang's. I worked for her as an intern for five years before graduating from pharmacy school and will be working in her district when I move back to Indy this July. We spent a lot of time catching up, then talking details about my transition from RI to IN. I found out that I am going to be a pharmacy manager when I move back! I couldn't be more excited about having a home pharmacy, developing a team, and getting to know my patients, one thing I've definitely missed this year. (I only work in the pharmacy one day per week, so it's hard to become really close to any of the customers unless they come in every Thursday or Friday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.) Amy is a wonderful mentor, and I feel so lucky to be able to move back to her district. Indy is full of what I call "my people"--after working in the same area for a while, I've been able to get to know other professionals and develop a support network. (I also have also developed a support network in RI, all of whom I will miss dearly.)

On Wednesday night, I drove to South Bend in preparation for a class early Thursday morning. I'm glad that I chose to drive up the night before. If I didn't, I would have had to get up before 5 a.m.! Let's face it, I'm much more of a night owl than an early bird (although that is slowly changing- I've gone down from 4 alarms to only 3! I'm sure my neighbors hate me, but let them. If I told you what it was like living next to my new neighbors, let's just say that you wouldn't feel so sorry for them.).

I had a blast working with Susie- I was sad to see her go back to Ohio! Susie is high-energy, flexible, and always up for an adventure, all the things you want in a traveling work partner. Even though we were busy, we did have time to talk a lot about work, family, pharmacy, etc. She has a condo on Sanibel Island and if I ever have the chance, I'm going down there to visit. (Nick's parents and grandparents also have condos on Sanibel- sounds like the place to be!)

Other exciting news- I finally signed the lease for my new apartment! It is the first apartment I posted pictures of on my blog- click here to see them (it's the first apartment). My Mom and I went downtown on Friday afternoon so that I could sign the lease and show her the apartment. (She took a few hours of vacation to spend some time with me, isn't that nice?) She really liked the apartment- although not necessary, it's never a bad thing to have a Mom's seal of approval. After the apartment, we did a bit of shopping at Circle Center before driving back to Carmel.

Friday night, our family friends, Jim and Linda, were in town, and the entire family went out to dinner with them at Barcelona Tapas. I first discovered this restaurant through my brother, and I haven't been able to get enough of it since! I recommended it to Susie while she was in town, and she raved about it the whole next day. My favorite is their baked goat cheese with marinara sauce and warm garlic bread.

On Saturday, I met Nick's family for lunch at Clay Terrace. Andrew, his nephew, was given the release to be in public (he was born prematurely and had precautions about being in public due to the potential for catching RSV, which can be very serious for babies with underdeveloped lungs), so it was nice to see him out and about. After lunch, I headed down to Lisa's house in Speedway. There are very few places where I feel just as "at home" as I do at my own home, and Lisa's house and her parents' house (two different places) are definitely on the list. It's hard to believe I've been going there since the fall of 2003! (We met our freshman year in college at Purdue.)

Saturday afternoon Lisa took me to the Twist 'n Pup, a new local (you guessed it) hot dog and ice cream place. They have lots more than just those two items, but since those are their namesake, Lisa and I both tried hot dogs and butterscotch-dipped vanilla cones (amazing!!). Later that day, Junie came over, and we traded stories. Since I had been raving about Barcelona Tapas and neither of them had been there, the three of us went there for dinner with Lisa's brother, Sam. (Just as good the second night! My new favorite: the caramel and supposedly strawberry churros!).

Sunday morning was spent going to church with Lisa, followed by quick visits with her dad and mom. I had an early afternoon flight, so I went back to the airport after lunch. It was definitely a busy trip, but I was energized by the idea of moving back home in less than 3 months.

I didn't do a very good job taking pictures (Sorry Julie, Lisa, and June!), but here are a few I took around by parents' house.

These daffodils are lilacs are from my parents' backyard. I wish I could arrange flowers half as well as my Mom can.

I loved the crab apple blossoms in the spring. It looks like snow when the petals are blown down by the wind.

I was trying to take pictures of Izzie- I think she must have heard something when I was taking this picture. After this she got distracted and decided that she'd rather lick my camera than have her picture taken.

Izzie sleeping on her designated part of the couch.

Mr. Rocky! I can hardly believe he will be 19 years old this October. I've got lots to say about him, but I'll save that for another blog post.

It was great to be at home for a week! A little pampering, plus time with family and friends goes a long way. If I didn't get to see you when I was home, I'm sorry! Not much longer, and you won't be able to get rid of me!

Welcome to Hockeytown!

FLASHBACK: After my mom came to visit, I began a two-week tour to train other pharmacists to become immunizers. Tuesday , April 6 I flew to Detroit and met Corrinne at the airport. Corrinne was the previous resident and now works in Massachusetts as a staff pharmacist, but she flew out to help me (paid, of course) to teach several classes. I love teaching these classes, but the full eight-hour day can get tiring and make you go hoarse if you aren't careful.

I was a little nervous about our travel luck when we (I should say "I"- maybe I'm the one with bad travel luck) had some difficulties after renting the car. I got a black Pontiac Vibe, which was a nice drive. I also rented a GPS to help me get around (If you know me, you know that I am almost always 1. late, which I am working hard to correct and 2. lost). When I went to turn on the GPS, it gave me an error message. I flagged someone down to help me, and I felt a little better when even he couldn't fix it. Our second GPS was in German, so we couldn't figure out how to change the language settings. Finally, our third GPS worked, and we were on our way.

We taught our classes in Novi, Michigan at a regional company office. Our first class started on Wednesday, and we had a wonderful group. The pharmacists were engaged, asked thoughtful questions, and seemed excited about the program overall. Corrinne and I tag-teamed throughout the day on Wednesday and again on Thursday morning. Corrine left at lunchtime on Thursday, so I had Thursday afternoon and all of Friday to teach by myself. The classes were very cooperative and patient, especially during the skill assessment.

Several weeks before my trip I looked into activities in the Detroit area. I didn't know who was going with me (if anyone), but I knew that I wanted to explore at least one night. The timing worked out perfectly- there was a home Red Wings game on Wednesday night! I grew up watching Red Wings hockey with my dad (he's a *huge* fan), and I've always wanted to go to a game. (I think I went to one when I was very young, but I don't remember it well enough to count it.) There was a great deal online- 2 tickets, 2 hot dogs, and 2 drinks for $48 dollars! Our seats weren't bad, either, especially for less than $20 each. We were in the 10th or so row on the second tier on the aisle.

It turned out that Corrinne had never been to a professional hockey game- what a way to start! The Red Wings team has a lot of history- they don't call it "Hockeytown" for nothing, and the fans are wonderful. They remind me of the Red Sox fans in Boston- they are there because they *love* the team and the sport. All of the Wings fans were into the game, high-fiving each other (and me!) when they scored. Another bonus- you don't see very many people talking on their cell phones (I love towns that teach their fans etiquette!).

Below are some pictures and a video from the game...

I love old signs like this- isn't it nostalgic?

A shot of the retired jerseys hanging from the ceiling. I remember when Steve Yzerman retired (it wasn't that long ago)- I think I cried when I watched the ceremony.

Corrinne and I at the game. I borrowed a jersey from my Dad. I almost didn't wear it to the game because it was so big (and I felt a little silly), but I am so glad that I did. I looked like a true fan (everyone else was wearing the same thing).

All of the fans went crazy during this fight in the first period. This is one of the reasons why hockey players generally don't have the best orthodontia.

Speaking of fans, the place was packed! Even all of the nosebleed seats were taken. (Keep in mind that this is a Wednesday night!)

Even though I played indoor soccer, I am always amazed by the line changes that occur during the game. (For those that aren't familiar, you basically do the same thing in indoor soccer.) It is so seamless- you don't even notice the changes most of the time if you're watching the puck.

I managed to capture the crowd's reaction after one of the Red Wings' goals.... click on the box below to experience part of Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings were down for part of the game but managed to score several quick goals in the last period to win! Even though there was a mass of people after the game (I felt like a sheep) that we had to climb through, it was definitely worth staying for the whole game.

The final score- Red Wings 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 3.

On Thursday night I was able to have dinner with Flora, who will be next year's resident. She is from a suburb of Detroit and came for the immunization training (one step ahead of me already!). Not only is Flora a hard worker, she is a joy to be around- I wish I was able to work with her longer that just a week. (Her first week is my last week at work. My goal is to show her the ropes and help familiarize her with the area. And, as you might have already guessed, I'm working on a welcome basket.) I was so bummed that I didn't take a picture of the two of us, but you'll hear more about her in June blog posts.

After the session on Friday, I drove back to Indy for another week of training. See my next post for info on my second week of travel.

Adventures in Beantown

Wow! So much to catch up on! I'd start from the beginning but that would take much to get you up to speed. Instead, I'll start with my Mom's visit to Rhode Island.

Over her spring break, my Mom came to visit me for a long weekend at the beginning of April. I was a little concerned that I wasn't going to be able to pick her up at the airport because of the flooding in Southern Rhode Island, but none of the roads (no pun intended) were blocked. My mom's plane was right time (wasn't expecting that), so we had to stall a little before our reservations. I thought we should eat at an authentic Italian restaurant in Federal Hill, so we had a lovely dinner at Pane e Vino. Besides the fact that we were right next to the waiters' station (Mom has always had some bad restaurant luck), it was a wonderful, relaxing meal.

Since I took my Mom down to Newport when she visited before, we decided to head up to Boston for the day. I had been wanting to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum since a) I read about it in my '1,000 Places to See Before You Die' book and b) my friend Courtney said it was one of the most beautiful places in Boston (she goes to school in the city, so I trust her as an accurate resource). Ms. Gardner was an avid collector of art from around the world. Within several years, both her husband and father died, leaving her with almost $3 million dollars (this is back in the late 1800's- who knows how much money that equals now!). She used her money to build the museum and buy additional pieces to add to her collection. The only stipulation of the museum was that everything had to be left where she put it, even after her death. The second part of the "contract" was that there was to be a celebration on her birthday every year. (This woman was very particular. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure she and I would get along.)

My favorite part of the ISG museum by far is the courtyard. It opens up to all three floors of the museum. It is just as much a piece of art as the rest of the building- fresh flowers, marble statues, and a fountain, to name a few highlights. Above the courtyard is a ceiling made of glass.

The museum doesn't look like much from the outside... you probably wouldn't even notice that it was there if you weren't looking for it.

Here is a picture of the courtyard, although it is not my favorite. They won't let you take pictures inside (it was torture!), so this is the best one I could find online. Wouldn't this be a gorgeous place for a wedding?

There were paintings by many famous artists- this picture was done by Michelangelo.

"El Jaleo" This is a very interesting piece by Stewart. The painting itself takes up an entire wall- a small recess was built just to highlight this painting. It is much more beautiful in person- the fabric looks so fluid, and full that it almost reminds me of a wedding dress.

After several hours at the museum, we had a quick lunch after checking into the Park Plaza Hotel. When I was talking to my Mom before her trip, she realized two things 1) I had not spent the night in Boston and 2) I had never experienced room service in a hotel! If you haven't ever had a chance to use it before, I highly recommend using Priceline.com to find a last-minute deal on a hotel or flight. We were able to book a room for less than half of what we would normally pay if we booked through the hotel's website. Priceline allows you to select where you'd like to be (it even goes down to the neighborhood level in bigger cities like Boston, New York, etc), the number of stars of the accommodations, and the price you'd like to pay. If you have gone too low, it will come back and tell you to change some of your options. Otherwise, if all parameters can be met, the hotel is booked right away and it tells you where you will be staying. You have to be a little bit flexible, but it's definitely worth a try.

The Park Plaza Hotel- it was a perfect location... close to a T stop, Boston Common, and Paper Source (I swear I did not even know that it was less than two blocks away!)

Isn't it nice to know that there will always be someone to open the door for you?

On Saturday night, we stayed in to watch the final game of the NCAA tournament. I asked my Mom if she wanted to go to a sports bar or restaurant to watch the game, but she preferred to stay in and relax (fine by me!). When she was growing up, one of her favorite memories was ordering room service with her Mom. My Grandpa did quite a bit of traveling, and my Grandma would go with him from time to time. She was able to sleep in, read all day, take a nap, and, her favorite, order room service. :) It felt special to share something with my Mom that she shared with my Grandma.

On Sunday morning, we went to Easter service at the Park Street Church on the other side of Boston Common. I had done some research ahead of time (imagine that!), and it looked like a place that we would enjoy. It was a fairly traditional service, but it had one of my favorite ceremonies in the church- baptisms. There was a girl from China who was baptized- her story was very beautiful.

The church is actually a part of the Freedom Trail- it was founded in 1809!

After church was over, we took the T to get breakfast in Cambridge. I know, not exactly the closest place to eat, but there was a place that I didn't want to miss after I did my research (ha!) on the best places to catch brunch in Boston. There were a lot of fancy (and therefore, $$$$) places that were on the list, but another one caught my eye when I read that it was voted both "Best New Restaurant" and "Best Brunch" by several Boston area magazines. The Friendly Toast is not a chain (there are only two of them total- the other is in New Hampshire) and is kind of in a weird location (not easy to find by any means). Thank goodness they had an extra sign to guide you to the back of the building, or we never may have found it.

The Friendly Toast has a relaxed atmosphere, filled with 50's and 60's memorabilia. My chair had a green, metallic plastic covering the seat, and there was a small ceramic cow holding our salt, sugar, and pepper on the table. I had butterscotch hot chocolate with marshmallows (to die for!) and "Hansel and Gretel waffles"-- gingerbread waffles with pomegranate molasses and whipped cream! Mom had the "Drunkard's French Toast"-- French toast topped with a Grand Marnier and raspberry sauce. Click here to see more of the menu.

A picture of the inside of The Friendly Toast- it would have been a blast hunting for the decorations!

It doesn't look like it in this picture, but it was packed! Thank goodness we got there before 10:00 AM.

A picture of a magnolia tree in bloom in Cambridge

We drove back to RI on Sunday afternoon and took a long nap- all that running around made us exhausted. I had to work on Monday, but we did get to make dinner together on both Sunday and Monday nights. On Sunday, we had homemade pepperoni and banana pepper pizza, and dinner on Monday night was tacos with fresh salsa and guacamole and margaritas.

We got to the airport on Tuesday when I realized that we hadn't taken a picture of the two of us on my camera the whole weekend! (We had one taken of us in front of Park St. Church, but it is on Mom's camera.) To make up for it, we took the picture below while waiting for our flights.

Thanks for a great weekend, Mom!

Spring in Indy

I'm writing to you this week from Indianapolis- I was in Detroit for training until last night. From there, I was planning on driving to Merrillville, IN for a continuing education pharmacy session with the Indiana Pharmacy Alliance. But, after more than 12 hours of continous lecturing by myself, I had almost lost my voice. Instead of driving west, I headed south to sleep in my own bed and rest my voice.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day- sunny, high 60's, slight breeze. It is the kind of weather that you can be comfortable wearing shorts or jeans, but you don't get too hot either. My Mom and I took Izzie on a walk in our neighborhood, and we saw a sure sign of spring- wild violets! I haven't seen this many in a long time, and I have never seen white violets before growing on their own. I picked a small bouquet to bring the outdoors in. Fresh flowers are so wonderful to have inside. I don't know what it is about them, but the combination of bright colors, fragerance, and shapes are just lovely.

Much more to write about, but I'll fill you in more tomorrow. I'm going to do one of my favorite things that I can only do at home- play the piano.

Flight Pattern

I am getting ready to take off from the Providence airport to go to
Detroit. I'll be on the road for 2 weeks- one in Detroit and another
in Indy training pharmacists to provide immunizations. Hopefully I'll
be able to access my blog on my laptop before Saturday, but I may be
writing shorter updates from my phone.

My Mom is headed back to Indy tonight- we had a wonderful time
together. We didn't take too many pictures (oops!), but I'll post the
ones we did take soon. I think my favorite part of the visit was just
talking and drinking coffee- catching up like she used to do with her
Mom.

I'll keep you posted.... Cheers!

--
Sent from my mobile device

Sarah Moran
morans1520@gmail.com
317-345-3322

Happy Birthday, Nick!

A very special Happy Birthday to my Nicky, who is celebrating his birthday in China this year! He'll be gone for 6 weeks while completing a surgery rotation and taking some time to travel. If you'd like to see what he is up to on the other side of the world (he is exactly 12 hours ahead of me), you can visit his travel blog, which he is keeping along with his friend Lee, who is also in China.

Walk the Line

Happy Easter! Hope you were able to celebrate with friends and family.

On Friday afternoon, my Mom flew into Providence to visit for a few days. After I picked her up, we headed to Federal Hill, an Italian neighborhood in Providence. I wanted to take her somewhere nice to eat, but there are an innate number of restaurants, which left me cluelessly as to where to start. Enter Open Table.

Open Table is a website that allows you to look at restaurant reviews, make and cancel reservations online, and earn reward points towards dining at restaurants (not sure how this works yet, but I'll figure it out). Mike, a co-worker of mine who does quite a bit of traveling, swears by Open Table. He uses it whenever he's traveling to find the best spots without doing a bunch of legwork. I guess it's similar to Trip Advisor but focuses merely on food.

After looking at the options, I chose Pane e Vino, which was also recommended by a friend. We were a little early, and it looked a little empty... I get nervous if a restaurant isn't busy on a Friday night because that usually means it isn't very good! Turns out other people just got out to eat later. We had a lovely dinner- I had Caesar salad and Mom had halibut with olive oil, garlic, and cherry tomatoes, accompanied by the Italian version of a giant tater tot. Dessert was a warm apple tart with a small (it looked like they scooped it out with a melon baller... I mean, I know our portions in America are too big, but give me a break!) bit of vanilla ice cream.

We spent all day Saturday and part of Sunday in Boston- more to come on that later. (I know, I still owe you details of my trip with my Dad to Newport.) Tonight we made homemade pepperoni pizza Roth-style (friends of mine that first introduced me to pepperoni pizza with banana peppers- yum!) and watched "Walk the Line," the movie with Reees Witherspoon and Joaquin Phonenix about Johnny Cash. I didn't really know his story, so it was pretty interesting but it was too long- 135 minutes without anything blowing up seems like forever.

Hope you have a great week! Cheers!