The Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, CA)

As I have mentioned in the last post, I seized the day (Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, to be exact) to go to San Francisco. The main site on my list was of course the Golden Gate Bridge, but originally I had planned to see also the local Chinatown, "the crookedest street" (a section of Lombard street, which is exceptionally steep), the Transamerica pyramid (a local landmark), and the cable car. As it turned out, I could accomplish just the Golden Gate bridge, yet it was still all worthwile the visit!
When I finally arrived (after travelling on the hilly streets of the city and in particular going through the Presidio, which I knew beforehand from a movie of the same name) at the Golden Gate, which is the narrow junction between the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, the sight was incredibly soothing, and I could not help to become all meek and mild about the beauty of this location. The bridge itself is a very impressive structure, and the view around the Golden Gate is breathtaking, I have no other words. I saw Alcatraz, I saw downtown San Francisco, I saw all the sailboats on the water, and I finally laid my eyes on the Pacific Ocean.
Actually, I could not resist, so I laid even my hands on it. Next to the bridge there is a beautiful beach, and I climbed all the way down to the water and touched it with my hands. I lingered a bit, beholding the scenery and contemplating for a while, and then I climbed back up to the trail, from which I came. (Up was of course more complicated, and I knew that beforehand, but I simply had to.) Back on the trail I contemplated some more about the sunset, one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. In fact, I believe it is not possible to catch that moment with my camera, but I took a photo as a souvenir, so as to remind me of what I felt then.
And yet I had to part from my new favorite spot, as I was going back to San Jose the same night, and then to Chicago the next day.

AVS meeting (San Jose, CA)

From Monday, Nov. 9, to Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, I was an attendee of the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Vacuum Society. This is a scientific conference, which was held in San Jose, California. As promised earlier on, I am presenting my new outfit. (Unfortunately the shirt is not the one I bought originally, but that is another story.) The meeting was held at the McEnery convention center in San Jose, and Xiaofeng (another postdoc from our research group) and I were staying at a nearby motel. Xiaofeng deserves all the fame for picking this place, which was clean, inexpensive, and within less than five minutes walking from the conference. (The bottom right picture shows our room seen from the parking lot.)
The talk went okay, and fortunately I could give it already on the first day, so the cabin fever did not rise to a point where it would simply kill me. Yet I was nervous, of course, as it was the first time ever for me to speak at such an event. Well, as it is customary at big conferences, the crowd picks their favorite speakers, so two talks before mine the room was completely packed; when the next talk started, the speaker thanked the previous one "for leaving me with some of her residual audience"; and when it was my turn I could have thanked my predecessor for leaving me with a residue of the former residual audience ... In other words, the room that could hold more than 100 people was half full at best, but it was not entirely empty either. I think I was able to convey my message, and I did not get laughed at. On the other hand, I guess my standards are a bit on the low side, as the person who attracted the really big audience was honored with the conference award for up-and-coming scientists that are 35 years old or younger. She actually got invited to speak there, while ordinary folks like me have to apply for a slot. (And yet I am glad that there are better scientists than me out there!)
Anyways, I took advantage of the opportunity of being in California, which is now the third State of the United States I have visited so far; the first and second being Illinois and Georgia, respectively. I walked around San Jose a bit, and one thing I liked better there than in Chicago is that the buttons for the pedestrian traffic lights indicate the direction of crossing the street. In Chicago there is often just one for both possible ways to cross a street at the corner of an intersection, so then the pedestrian lights will both be active when it is ther turn. However, occasionally there are two, and then it can be hard to find out which one is for which street.
Although Homa found it a bit strange to do such a thing, I went to see a movie on one night: "The Men Who Stare At Goats". In one word: hilarious! One might argue that the time out of town could be spent more efficiently to see more things, but I guess the point is that I felt a bit on vacation, and therefore I was a bit reluctant to be efficient. Plus, I am having a very nice memory now. The movie theater happened to be just two blocks from our motel, so I could not resist, as I also had not been to the movies for longer than I liked.
The weirdest thing, however, was the artificial snowman I discovered on Tuesday night. Well, while I was welcomed back by a chilly breeze in Chicago (currently below 50°F, or single digits in °C), it was constantly 60°F (15°C or more) in San Jose. Only for two days I was wearing a jacket, and I did feel a bit strange facing the snowman wearing no more than a sweater (and pants, of course ...). I caught myself thinking that it might be a bit early for displaying winter items, but then I realized that it was mid November, and it was just the mild Californian weather that was getting me confused.
The conference ended on Friday at noon, but I returned to Chicago only on Sunday. On the Saturday in between, I went to San Francisco, more specifically the Golden Gate Bridge, but about that I will tell you in a separate story.

What I Am Is What I Am

The title of this post is actually borrowed from a pop song from the 1980s, which is originally perfomed by "Edie Brickell and New Bohemians". I thought is would do a great motto, also because I think it is a nice combination of funky music and cool lyrics. Click here to watch the video on YouTube - I wish my singing and guitar-playing skills were this good, as I would then perform the song myself instead, but I'd better leave it to the professionals.
As I said, the chorus line, "What I Am", is a good motto for this post, because in the recent past I have been judged by two people in a very different way. Dr. Aashani (see her picture on a previous post) told me that a fellow Sri Lankan, who works as a graduate student just down the hall from my office, has noticed me around, and for some reason that is inexplicable to me she thinks I am very scary. She even told Aashani that if I started talking to her she would actually faint! Well, perhaps there is more than just stereotypes to nationalities, and maybe I being a German do have a rough edge. Maybe some people think that I might be harsh. That may be so, but please also note that the frightened girl's name is Harsha ... I swear I didn't make this up! (What's even better, part of her last name can be understand as German for "grab 'er" - no, I didn't!)
Nevertheless, not everyone seems to think that I would do a formidable scarecrow. My new student Zhu, whom I dedicated another one of the previous posts, told me that she thinks I am as cute as a panda. I am not sure how much of a compliment that is, but maybe she actually meant "panther" ...
Turning back to Edie Brickell's song, there is another interesting line, "Religion / Is a smile on a dog". While I will certainly not start a discussion on faith here, I must admit that I do love this part. I used to date a girl a long time ago, whose family has a collie; the dog and I were best friends, and I do remember that I used to think that he looks like he is laughing when he was hackling. The reason, however, why I raise this matter at all is that it seems to me that one's image with fellow human beings is just as little substantiated as "a smile on a dog".
PS: I would like to apologize to Harsha that I am making fun of her - but hey, at least that means she is right about me!

Elevators

This post is about elevators. The picture shows the two in the Science and Engineering South (SES) building at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), which is where I work. More precisely, it is where my office is, as my lab is actually in the basement of the adjacent Research Resources Center (RRC). I am mentioning that because I run back and forth between my lab and my office several times per day, and the latter is on the top (fifth) floor. Unfortunately, these two elevators are not exactly reliable. A few months ago two students got stuck in the one with the small door, and for a while it was switched on only intermittently. Now, people are anyways supposed to take only the small one, and the big one requires a swipecard; yet in case one is down it makes sense, at least to me, to open the other one to everyone. This is possible, as it has occurred already, but often the people who switch off the small elevator for another repairment/maintenance/whatever forget to make the big one available for us humble non-swipecard-holders. Although I have to admit that taking the stairs once in a while would do me good (check out my recent confession when I bought a new suit), the lack of elevator service does take my swearing abilities to another level! (Did you note the pun?)
The other elevator, however, is much more pleasant. It is located at The Water Tower Place, a shopping mall in downtown Chicago (on the Magnificent Mile, or Michigan Avenue). The mall has eight floors, and the elevator takes you from ground via two straight to seven, in almost no time. Macy's, where I bought my suit a week ago, is just next door and can be reached from any level of the Water Tower Place. Oh, and by the way, mischievous me published this little clip specifically for my friend Dominik, who is afraid of heights.

Revolving Door

This post bodes both ill and good news. The former is that my colleague (referring to the previous post, my "associate") Jing is leaving the group, because her boyfriend has transferred from Chicago to Michigan. I am quite sad that she is quitting, because she is both a good scientist and fun to talk to. Yet the good news is that there is already a replacement, which I also enjoy training and working with. Hence the title of this post ...
The new student's name is Zhu, a former undergraduate from Peking University in Beijing, China. According to her, "you can call it the Harvard of China". That is of course an ambitious statement, but Zhu is quite fast in picking up whatever I teach her, even considering that she has some background in our technique already. She is also very friendly - she gave me a box of cookies, so I can sustain the work in the lab better. She is a graduate freshman (freshwoman? freshperson?), so she is currently quite busy with her own teaching duties and taking classes, but we still manage to make noteworthy progress in her training on the equipment. She is quite tough: tonight I gave up at around 9:30pm, and she returned to her office to continue her preparation for the next upcoming test. Suddenly I feel old!

Graduates Past, Present and Future

Good news from the graduation front! The three girls on the pictures have all passed their PhD defense. Congratulations (from left to right) to Dr. Panchatapa "Tapa" Jash, Dr. Aashani Tillekaratne and Dr. Jelena Jelic (from India, Sri Lanka and Serbia, respectively). Tapa had actually graduated in July, Aashani yesterday, and Jelena today. However, the photo was taken yesterday, at Aashani's celebration (that's why she is the only one dressed formally), and therefore the image is entitled "Graduates Past, Present and Future". Note that Aashani and Jelena are inclined toward Tapa - does that mean that they lean toward the past, and hence the PhD is actually elusive? In other words, citing the high school graduation motto of a college friend of mine, you are "King (Queen) for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime"? Well, I may contribute my own experience: although I don't go by "Dr. Alex" myself, this is how I am typically introduced to scientific guests to our lab and also potential new members of our group. Then new graduate students do treat me respectful, and for undergraduates I am already part of the academic establishment and hence to be ignored. Hence, welcome to my world, Dr. Tapa, Dr. Aashani and Dr. Jelena, but don't worry - I think it's definitely worth it!

Anniversary (Happy New Gear)

As of today, I have been in the United States of America for exactly one year. So, how did the U.S. of A. and I celebrate our anniversary? Well, I am a rather thrifty person (in my humble opinion, that is), but today I did spent a lot (and I mean: a LOT) of money just on a new outfit. Benefiting from the stores being open on sundays on this side of the Atlantic, I set out to grab myself some new gear for the conference I will attend in the near future. Shopping on Sundays is generally impossible in Germany, as it is considered unfair to mothers and fathers, who would be deprived of precious family time otherwise. For the same kind of attitude, people are much more prone to ride mass transit instead of driving that here. As for myself, I actually owned a car once, but could not afford to maintain it eventually, so I have been a pedestrian and customer of public transportation ever since. Even in Chicago ...
As I said, I went out to buy a new outfit, which means: a suit (jacket and pants plus belt), a shirt, a tie, and a pair of new shoes. One place to get all these things is Macy's, a department store chain (much like Kaufhof in Germany). One Macy's branch is located just next to the Water Tower Place, one of the local malls. I quickly found everything I needed, which pleased me - in Germany it is much harder to find the right size for me. That has to do with the fact that I am 5 ft. 10 ", and I weigh about 220 lbs. At this point a statement of my colleague Jing crossed my mind; she said: "When I came to the U.S. I realized that I am not fat." Check an earlier post for a picture, so you can make up your own mind. I believe she was being silly, but I am still a bit impressed that even a guy of my, well, physical presence can find the right clothes in almost no time.
Yet a make-over does not come for free. I don't think my choice was unreasonable or particularly luxurious, and yet it all adds up to about the same as the air fare for coming to Chicago from Germany. A malicious person might say, so much for those Euros all being - once they get the chance they turn into mindless shop-a-holics. But at least I bought my things at a place that has a five-pointed red star in its logo, didn't I?
Oh, and if you want to see the new outfit, please wait for the conference pictures. It is the Fall Meeting of the American Vacuum Society, which is going to be held in San José, CA, and I have made arrangements to spend the weekend after in San Francisco. In other words, stay tuned for a whole bunch of pics to come!