9=8

That's been Joe Maddon's motto all year. It takes everyone on the team to make it to the final 8 standing in October. And yesterday, the Rays proved that they could make it by following this mantra.

Every game has seen a different hero. Starters, bench players, bullpen, rookies, everyone contributed and I'm so proud of all of them. We were at the game Thursday and yesterday. We had gotten great tickets months ago for the Twins series and both games we had a lot of fun. But I have a confession to make. Both games I rooted against my Twins, for the first time in the 22 years I've been watching baseball.

The Twins were supposed to have a rebuilding season this year after losing Santana and purging the rest of their starting rotation. Instead, they have put together a winning season and late in September are still in contention for the central division pennant. That's very admirable of them, and I am thoroughly impressed. But if they happen to eke past Chicago, even I wouldn't be stupid enough to bet on them making it past the first round. The majority of the starting rotation has never pitched into September, let along October in a playoff atmosphere. The Twins have choked in the first round of the playoffs in three of their last four appearances. And I stand by my assertion that if they couldn't get the job done with Santana, Mauer and Morneau all having career seasons (still dwelling on 2006), then they need a miracle.

This is the Rays' year. It is their story that in 11 seasons they haven't had a winning season, and this year they will win 90+ games. I see so much in them what I saw in the 2002 Twins, with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, when they took everyone by surprise and made it to the playoffs. The little guys finally won, and frankly, the Twins aren't the little guys anymore. I rooted for the Rays because for 5 years we watched shitty baseball, and our last season here we got redemption. We went to so many games where the visiting team drew more fans than the home team. And the Rays forgave Tampa Bay because after clinching a playoff spot yesterday, they didn't disappear into the clubhouse to celebrate, they brought the champagne out to the fans. They all trotted around the perimeter of the field giving high-5's and hugs.

I cannot describe how excited I am for playoff baseball this year. It takes the edge off of moving, switching jobs, and facing the cold weather.

But today, on the last game of the Rays-Twins series, after the Rays have secured their place in history, I'm rooting for the Twins. Joe Mauer is in the batting title race, afterall.

France and Frankenkitty

I got in from France very late Monday night and honestly meant to write sooner, but this pesky thing called life keeps getting in the way.

France was pretty much perfect. After nearly 30 hours of flights, layovers, and trains, I could barely stay awake until I saw the French Alps and realized it was totally worth it. Worth having to give up my cushy aisle seat for a middle seat on an 8 hour international flight to appease a family with screaming children. Worth the 6 hours I had to spend guarding my suitcase at Gare de Lyon train station rather than walking around Paris for an afternoon. And worth the nauseating car ride 5 km winding up the side of a mountain once the train from Paris arrived in the Alps. Because when I finally dropped my suitcase in my room and opened the sliding door to the balcony, this is what I saw:

The conference center was on the outskirts of a small ski resort town in the Alps. The center itself was built specifically for French scientists and can be used either as a conference center or a vacation spot for the scientists and their families. The rooms were small, but since my assigned roommate didn't show, it was fine for just me.

Everyone told me that this particular conference (one of a series on a diverse set of topics) would be entirely different than any I had been to. I am used to going to large conferences with thousands of physicists where there are multiple presentation sessions going on for 12 hours a day. This conference consisted of 102 physicists, all with the same research interests. It was the first year that grad students and post docs were especially encouraged to go, which was why I got the funding and was able to go. There was only 1 session at a time, and only held in the mornings and evenings. The afternoons were free for us to socialize and network. We were
especially encouraged to go hiking in the mountains and visit the small down down the hill.

The first full morning of the conference, I met a French woman who is just finishing her Ph.D. in Switzerland. We hit it off amazingly well and spent the whole week hiking and learning about each other's cultures. The conference was mostly Europeans, so I got a very eye-opening lesson as to what fascinating research is being done overseas and how oblivious American scientists can be at times. The frustration they felt about their lack of recognition in America was palpable and led to a little tension at times. But it was a lesson I am grateful to have learned, and these bigger truths were in a sense far more important than the details of the research presentations.

After and exhausting 5 days hiking in the Alps and listening to presentations, I took the train back to Paris and stayed there for 3 days. Despite my fatigue, I was bound and determined to make the absolute most of my short time in Paris. So after a four-hour train ride and dumping my bags in my hotel room, I set out on foot for le Louvre.

Honestly, visiting le Louvre wasn't initially on my list of things to do, but it was Friday evening and not much else in Paris is open, except restaurants. I overheard someone on the train saying it was open until 10 pm so I thought I'd go see what all the fuss was about. I spent several hours wandering aimlessly through the museum trying to make sense of the layout. And my tour book said they had made substantial improvements in general navigation around le Louvre. But I did see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo along with miles of other paintings, sculptures and artifacts.

The next day was "Catholic Day" as I visited Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle. These were my favorite places I visited. I am embarrassed to say that I had no idea Notre Dame was still in use as a church and was surprised to see a mass going on and tons of religious pilgrims flocking to this holy site. In between tours of the cathedral, I took the tour of the towers which consisted of climbing the approximately four hundred stairs of one tower and walking outside along the perimeter of Notre Dame to the bell tower on the other side. This is where I saw the infamous gargoyles that guard Notre Dame and watch over the city of Paris. The view from the towers was absolutely amazing.

But the gargolyes were my favorite.

In the bell tower, you could actually go see the bell that was made famous by Vicor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Next, I went to Sainte-Chappelle, a holy chapel that was build in the confines of the palace of Louis IX. It was built to house holy relics (among them supposedly the crown of thorns) which were only on display to the public on Good Friday. The chapel itself was absolutely stunning, the second floor walls (the main part of the chapel) were mosly made of stained glass. I have never seen anything like it. While the size was nothing like Notre Dame, the beauty and intricacy of the stained glass was just as humbling.

The third day I took the shuttle boat up and down la Seine where I first visited Musee d'Orsay, which houses just about every impressionist painting you can think of. And thousands more you didn't know existed. I also walked along le Champs-Elysees from la Seine to l'Arc du Triomphe, which was pretty cool. I saw some filthy rich people shopping, more people gawking (such as myself) and several beautiful women who were probably models. Lastly I went le Tour Eiffel. It was getting too late for me to go to the top, which was just as good. It was packed.

Unfortunately, since I was a woman travelling alone I was too scared to do much at night. I mostly tried to finish up my sightseeing right around dusk and then ate dinner in the evening pretty close to the hotel. It's not that I felt particularly unsafe in Paris at night, but the streets were so tangly and the stores all closed early and I was really scared I'd get irretrievably lost.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip. I was scared to death to go and wished Dean could have come with but it was worth all the time and stress leading up to it. I am trying to get the rest of my approximately 3 million photos loaded to share with anyone who wants to see. While I recognize this shouldn't be difficult, I expect it to take a little time and it's not currently at the top of the list so it might have to wait awhile.

Lastly, McLovin had his surgery on Wednesday. His incision is a little scary (we have dubbed him Frankenkitty) but he is already moving better than he was when he still had the bad arm. His posture has improved dramatically and he has made the transition to full-fledged tripod without incident. I can't seem to get a really good picture of him, but I got a pretty close one of the surgery site because it's so freaky. Because he's still so little, they had to practically shave him bald and the incision seems to take up his whole right side. I think he'll look a lot better once the fur grows back. But for now, he's definitely comfortable. The vet said to ease her own mind she opened up the arm during surgery and confirmed there was very little blood flow and the tissue looked unhealthy. Despite my initial reservations, this was definitely the right thing to do.

Au Revoir

Sorry to once again be missing from the blogosphere. As anticipated, things have gotten very crazy very fast. The move is slowly coming together. We put in our notice, arranged for the movers, and Dean's mom is flying down to help with the drive and the kitty-moving. The only thing missing is a place to go. We've narrowed it down to two apartments and we are waiting on some additional photos. Hopefully one of these will work out, but if not it doesn't seem too difficult to find housing, especially through the University affiliated housing exchange where I found the two current prospects. Mostly the people that post there own duplexes they are trying to rent out half of, which will be very comfortable for us. And the prices are much more reasonable than going through a commercial rental property.

Some troubling news to share: McLovin needs to have his arm amputated. I took him to a different vet than the one the rescue group was paying for to get him evaluated for neutering. Given his paralysis, I was nervous about putting him under anasthesia and wanted a second opinion. The rescue group would have paid for neutering through a high-volume, low-cost clinic but I didn't feel comfortable with that in this particular situation. However, to pay full price at the rescue vet was going to be quite expensive. So I took him to a reasonably-priced cat specialist who looked closely at his arm and determined he wasn't getting proper circulation in his arm and he'd be all around better off losing what literally is just dead weight. She showed me the red flags, and ultimately I agree that the arm should be amputated, and she's right, he'll get around much better without dragging it. But I'm very nervous about the surgery, it is quite involved. And it's one more thing that needs to happen in just the next couple of weeks. But I'm grateful she caught it and I can't imagine what I'd do if I hadn't taken him in and his health started deteriorating due to circulation issues.

Anyway, I'm off to France tomorrow morning. I know I haven't made the rounds in a little while, and I likely won't be able to until I get back a week from Monday. I'm really excited and scared all at once. I'm all packed and my arrangements are in place. I'm of course bringing my camera and will share thoughts and pictures when I return. Wish me bon voyage!

Lottery Meme

I found this meme over at Jeni's and I really liked it. I think it is very revealing, and let's face it, who doesn't fantasize about having a never-ending stream of moolah.

You just won the mega powerball jackpot to the tune of 150 million dollars...

1. What would be the very first thing you would do?

Pay off my credit cards. Then I'd pack us up and move us out of the ghetto.

2. Where would you choose to live?

I'd choose to be a snowbird and live the summers in Minneapolis and the winters in Florida, on one of the Sarasota beaches.

3. What kind of house would you live in?

In Minneapolis, I'd buy a big old house in the middle of the city with an open floor plan, lots of windows and a huge screened-in porch for the kitties (sounds a lot like my dad's house...). In Sarasota, I'd buy something newer, Spanish style with high ceiling and lots of stone tile. Both houses must have a library and a large basement (or some extra space) for Dean's "man room".

4. What kind of car would you buy?

A Toyota Highlander hybrid. Not too luxurious, but energy efficient and roomy enough to cart the cats back and forth from Minneapolis and Sarasota. ;)

5. Where would you vacation?

I don't know about vacation. To me, vacation equals relaxing so my favorite place to vacation is just at home or the beach. But I would love to travel more. Two places I would absolutely love to see are Alaska and India. Alaska only during the summer time, I'd take one of those cruises that go from Seattle up around Canada to Alaska. And I've always been intrigued by India - the culture, the food. And in general (I hate to stereotype, but it's unavoidable here), in general Indian people are so hospitable.

6. Would you have anything on your body fixed?

Liposuction. And electrolysis. Have I mentioned I'm a brunette of Eastern European descent?

7. What kind of hobbies would you engage in?

I'd buy a boat. Like the one my mom and Tom have at the lake, just big enough to cruise around in without coming off as pretentious. Since presumably, Dean and I would be sharing this money, we'd probably end up investing in more sports memorabilia. Separate from vacation, I'd like to tour the country and visit all the ballparks since watching baseball is already a hobby of mine.

8. What charities would you donate to?

Definitely the MS Society and the American Cancer Society. The big national animal charities, SPCA, Humane Society as well as Alley Cat Allies. I'd also make big donations to the local animal rescues that have helped me out in the past - Cat Call and St. Francis.

9. Would you give money to your relatives?

Yes, I'd for sure pay for my sister's college and help the rest of my family out in any way I could.

10.Would you run away from your current life?

No, but I'd make some changes. I love my life but like everyone in this economy money would make a lot of things easier. I'd definitely hire a maid!

11. Would you continue to work?

I would work half time. Not working at all would drive me crazy, but as things are now I don't have time to do what I afford to do, let alone what I could do with a fortune.

12. Would the money change you in any way?

It would make me more accessible. I could see my family and friends a lot more. But it definitely wouldn't change my values. I'd still be a democrat!

What would you do if you had that kind of money?

Multimedia Catblogging

I'm going to try to post a kitten video so that you guys can see Ray/McLovin. I took a video with my camera because I assumed my parents and in-laws would want to see how he can walk. But the video is 50MB and this was the only way I could think of to share it. Fermi - try to top this for catblogging!