Blog of Bermanism

Well, it is still raining here in San Francisco. The majority of northern California has been declared a disaster area by our illustrious governator and the rainfall totals have reached 200% of normal in the San Francisco area for this time of year. Cities are flooding, people are dying, and we haven’t seen the sun in about three weeks.

So, what do normal people do when it is raining non-stop, when people have lost all of their possessions, and when a new river has formed in between your toilet and your big screen TV? Drink beer, of course!

My new lab went out for some beers tonight to a place called The Cliff House. This restaurant/bar is located right on the ocean, up on a cliff (hence the name), in the most northwestern corner of the San Francisco peninsula. In fact, it is very close to the VA hospital that I work in. We went there tonight to give a send-off to one of the postdocs in our lab who’s last day was today, and it was actually a really nice place. By nice, I mean upscale. They had a bar made of Zinc, aptly called the “Zinc Bar”, they had a full menu of drastically overpriced food, and they kept the beer flowing as long as we could drink it. Adding to their credibility, they had Fat Tire on tap, which is one of my favorite beers. Anyway, this place was really nice, and if it weren’t storming like there was no tomorrow, I could imagine being able to look out of the bar’s many windows into the ocean (on a sunny and clear day (unlike today) The Cliff House is apparently well known for its sunset views). Anyway, since we had our whole lab there tonight, we got a table in the “Bistro” which allowed us the pleasure of Fat Tire Ale from our friends in Fort Collins, Colorado along with a healthy helping of calamari. Sadly, I cannot tell you if the calamari was good or not because I seem to have come down with a fairly nasty cold that has subsequently dispensed with my sense of smell, and thus my sense of taste (see my previous post for details).

Anyway, this lab outing was my first real social experience with the lab. I tend to be less social at work than I normally would be and I like to get out with the people I work with to get to know them on a personal level. Knowing someone always helps you work with them better, in my opinion. This outing also gave me a chance to get to know Dr. Swanson a little better. This was the first time that I was able to talk with him in a social environment, not about a work-related topic. I think we’ll get along well.

Anyway, we bid adiou to Olivier (the leaving postdoc), wish him luck in his visa application (so he doesn’t have to go back to France), and we hope that he finds success in whatever he does. I also want to thank him for allowing me to take over his lab bench, desk, and computer for the duration of my employment in this laboratory. Finally, I highly recommend the Cliff House to anyone who is looking for a romantic spot for dinner. The newly remodeled restaurant looks very upscale, and the views are spectacular, even during a storm, at night. I know this post is a little on the random side, but hey, I’m trying to write something every day now, so you’ll get a little of everything from me.

Oh, and I’m going to start sending rain from our area to the south so that they can stop having brush fires from the extensive drought that is going on there. Apparently, the San Andreas fault works as a sinkhole for all of the moisture in the United States as well as being one of the most active earthquake-causing faultlines in the US. We love it!

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