MSTP Gathering at Our Place!

To cap off a good Birthday celebration I thought it would only be fitting that I host the next MSTP gathering in my small apartment!  I invited everyone over for a Saturday evening dinner so Saturday morning I did some grocery shopping to get all of the ingredients for that evening.  In addition to preparing for the meal by purchasing food, I thought it would also be fitting that I burn some calories, so Michelle and I went up to the gym for a nice long run Saturday afternoon.  Paul spent most of his time sitting at the DMV and waiting for his number to be called. Poor kid.

Anyway, for dinner I made the spicy black bean and spinach vegetarian lasagna and Tiggy salad.  I also set out snacks of bruschetta and couscous amongst other things!  It was a really delicious meal.  I also busted out our Charles Shaw and threw that in the decanter for grins.

The gang, and then some!  Still missing a few, we'll get a group photo yet!

It was a great evening and even though I was running around like crazy cooking, trying to shower, and trying to relax simultaneously!  We were watching the Pirates and indulged in some ice cream bars that Eric donated to the mix.  Those coming from Oakland made their way home a little early, but Josiah, Annie, Eric, Michelle, Paul and I stayed up for a few more laughs and fun games.  It was an epic evening to say the least.  I am really happy that I was able to host and that everyone enjoyed the food! I am sure this summer will be full of other great pot-lucks, and I can't wait!

Paul's First Day as a Resident!

Paul has been going to orientation for the past week and hearing all of the rules associated with being at a new hospital and a new employee.  I am sure it consisted of a lot of powerpoint presentations and lectures.  I think there was also a good deal of snacks...

Paul looking off into his Pittsburgh future from Mt. Washington

He had been doing a lot of different online modules at night and getting everything set up including email, medical chart access, his computer, and the like.  All in preparation for this first day of work as an intern!  He is starting in Cardiology and his first day was on the consult service!  He gets to sleep in and start at 8:30AM, so no early mornings yet!

First day as a UPMC resident!

My Golden Birthday!

The years are flying by so fast, and I cannot believe that I turned 23!  This was my first birthday in Pittsburgh, and it was so weird that in a new city, it was really only Paul and the MSTP that knew it was my Birthday...haha, just kind of an awkward feeling.  I stayed up late the night before baking peanut butter oatmeal cookies for my class and for the Hackam Lab.  I wanted to try a new recipe, and I thought it was only fitting that I revert to first grade traditions of bringing a treat on my birthday.

Paul gave me one of my presents early which was a large canvas portrait of us together on the Charles Bridge in Prague.  It's a great picture, and an amazing present.  He did a great job picking that out!  We hung it in the room, and it's so colorful that I think it will be easy to decorate the room around that picture.

On Thursday, my actual birthday Paul drove me to work because he was heading to Children's for training too.  I had to badge him into his training room, so I hope others found their way as well!  We found boxes from amazon in our apartment walkway which arrived just in time for my birthday.  Paul got me awesome birthday presents:  Finger Spatula, Salt & Pants, Moo-Air-Latte!  They were exactly what I had wanted! 

I worked in lab most of the morning and went to look at different immuno-florescence pictures with Macky.  After lunch there was the Children's First Annual Research Symposium.  One of the lab members was giving a speech so I wanted to see all of the different talks.  The person right before him talked about depression in pediatric IBD, which I  heard at the IBD conference in Florida.  There was some pretty cool stuff, and amazing food!  I snacked like crazy and then took the shuttle to get to class in Oakland.

Fuel and Fuddle - My 23rd Birthday!

I had to present the introduction to an IL-17 paper which went fine. I don't know much about immunology, but Taylor was working that area which made a big difference!  My classmates bought a cookie cake and after class we all went out to eat at Fuel and Fuddle.  There was a Katy Perry concert downtown at the Peterson Events center, so Oakland was pretty crazy and full of tweens with short skirts and excessive makeup.  There was also a mix of older girls/women dressing in a similar fashion which was interesting. 

This was why I was SOOO full...

We had to wait a long time to get a table big enough for us at Fuel and Fuddle, but after we sat down and grabbed a drink it was worth it.  The food and drinks we so filling I could barely move.  My stomach was distended to maximum capacity.  My wonderful classmates dusted off their vocal cords and sang happy birthday while we lit the MSTP Birthday Candle, which we decided will stay with us for the next 8 years... (9 for Zel...) haha.

Josiah cutting the cake, praying he didnt' stab himself again...




The MSTP crew out for Birthday Dinner!  Love them!

   It was a great Birthday.  I returned home full and bloated, the sign of a success....

MSTP Gathering at Josh's House!

On Saturday night, we were all invited over for food and drinks at Josh's house in Squirrel Hill.  It was great to get together with everyone in the MSTP!  Josiah even came home early from a venture north to meet up with the crew.  The first few weeks of class we were missing Annie and Shinjini as they were finishing up school in other places, but now the group is finally together.

Our wonderful hosts, Josh and Camilla

Paul and I arrived at Josh's with Taylor pulling up alongside us.  They had an amazing deck to sit on any enjoy the evening.  Josh and his girlfriend went to the Strip District to pick up some food for the evening and put on an impressive spread of homemade guacamole, salsa, other dips and Sangria!  Paul and I brought over hummus and pita bread, one of my favorite treats.  As the night continued, Eric whipped up some garlic rubbed bread with ricotta to add to the buffet.  The final main course was stewed rabbit and fish tacos.  It was quite the spread of food!

The funny this is that Josh and Camillia are vegetarians cooking these exotic meat dishes.  I guess Camillia is going to be heading to China to start off her archeology graduate degree, so she's making the switch to meat eating in order to eat local Chinese cuisine. 

Zel diving into the rabbit...

We finished the evening by playing a game that is a spin off of apples to apples, for people who don't mind terrible jokes, ahha.  Annie brought the game, and it brought up a lot of laughs and lasting inside jokes.  Paul and I were exhausted, so Josiah, Paul and I jumped in the Hyundai and headed home for the evening.

It was a great get together, and I am hoping to host dinner soon.  It's too bad we don't have a massive porch to hang on, but I am sure it will be fun where ever we are!

Anderson's in Pittsburgh!

After our first week in the apartment, we had visitors!  Kathy and Dooze took a road trip to come and visit us and see our new pad.  We weren't unpacked fully, but we were making good progress and it was starting to look more like a home.  They arrived Wednesday evening and we hung out and lounged.  Dooze claimed the couch as his own and slept there for the evening.  I had work and class the next morning, so I went to be early.

Anderson Alyce Sandwich

Thursday I was at work all day, went to class, and then stopped at the gym for a little work out.  Paul, Kathy, and Dooze took the day to run some errands and do some grocery shopping.  We even have a spare stock of spaghetti sauce!  Dooze sent out some emails to professors to see if they would be able to meet on Friday to discuss research opportunities.  He's trying to line something up so he could come out next summer.  It would be awesome to have him hear doing research at Pittsburgh.  It's a great place to learn.  He received some positive responses, which was great!

Our Little Place

On Friday I headed off to work in the morning and met up with them in the afternoon. Dooze had a great meeting with someone who researches asthma on campus, which is a very positive sign!  After I got home we walked over to Whole Foods.  I knew Kathy would enjoy it with all the fresh ingredients and healthy food!  We grabbed some bruchetta mix and some other odds and ends for dinner.  I was full from the edamame, bread, and wonderful cheese!

Making treats in the kitchen, where any good party starts!

After dinner I met up with the MSTP's at Zel's house.  Josiah and I bussed downtown and walked the rest of the way.  We had a great time laughing and hanging out at Zel's.  He has a really nice house in South Oakland.  We migrated to Peter's Pub and to Hemingways and the laughs continued as you would assume! 

Mt. Washington

Looking over the city of Pittsburgh!

Saturday morning we got up and decided to tour Pittsburgh a little bit.  We went up to Mt Washington and looked out over the city.  We also headed down to the strip district to look at the markets and get some odds and ends.  Paul found some good deals as always.  There were a lot of specialty shops and I am sure my mom would love to go down there the next time she's here.

The Strip District

Saturday night we walked around and went out to dinner at Mad-Mex.  They had great food and we were completely stuffed!  Sunday morning, we were up and had to say goodbye.  It was a great weekend with them here, and it went by too fast!  I think Jack is going to be visiting sometime later this summer, so we'll have more visits I'm sure!

Out for dinner, so full!

Dooze and Kathy

First Day: Pittsburgh MD/PhD

June 1, 2011

My first day in the MD/PhD program at University of Pittsburgh!  It's crazy to think that it is finally here. We all showed up for some complimentary breakfast and to get all of our forms and get started for the summer.  I was pretty intimidated that I was beginning a program that I would be in for the next 7 years, but it was a great feeling.  Our entering class is excellent.  We have four girls in the class: me, Michelle, Annie, and Shinjini.  It will be fun to get to know everyone.

My first day I went over to lab in the Children's Hospital.  I took the shuttle from Oakland and was at Children's in no time.  This summer I am working in Dr. David Hackam's Lab. (Hackam Lab Website) He works on the innate immune response in the digestive system.  It's a great lab and connection to Inflammatory Bowel Disease.  I am so excited to be working in his lab this summer and learning with the group of clinicians and post-docs who are there.  There are also a few medical students doing summer research there and finishing up their scholarly projects.  We have really hit it off and have running jokes about different lab quirks, it's pretty hilarious.

We are getting started on a few projects that are going to be really exciting.  I have a good feeling that I will most likely be returning to the lab and staying in touch over the new few years.  It's a good fit and a fun lab to work in!

In addition to laboratory work during the summer, we also have class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  It's like a journal club and we discuss a paper each Thursday.  I will be presenting the first two weeks, so it's nice to be able to get it out of the way.  Hopefully that will allow me to focus on my lab work and make some progress.

I am feeling right at home...

The Men Arrive in Pittsburgh!

Mother and I arrived in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and we worked to get the apartment ready to move in when the men arrived.  They were planning to leave on Thursday night and drive the whole way through, arriving in Pittsburgh early Friday morning.  I was anticipating them making it around lunch time, but we got a call in the morning around 6:30 saying they would be there in an hour!! I wasn't sure what to do, so I emailed my boss quickly to see if I could stay home and help move in.  Luckily he agreed!

The truck the last time I saw it - Wisconsin!

All of our stuff ready to move!

Right when we got the call, I looked out to our front window's to see if there were any open parking spots.  I ran down to the street and threw a box and an old chair out there to hold the parking spaces.  I wasn't sure it would work, but they stayed open.  However, once they rolled up, an even larger spot, closer to the house was open for the taking.  It was a stroke of pure luck that they were able to park without a glitch! 

We had the truck and trailer unpacked in no time. Paul was going strong without any sleep and helped me unpack most of the morning.  We were rearranging and unpacking boxes left and right.  It was nice to have his help.  Once we got the beds set up, Dad went down for the count for a early morning nap.  It didn't even take a bed for Joel, he was out like a light on the tiny love seat and slept there while we unpacked loudly in the same room.  He drove from 11PM to 7AM without stopping, what a man!

Uncle Buck out for the morning...

Heading upstairs with a load, they were still finishing the roof!

Much too early in the morning to be done unloading the truck and trailer!

Washing the floors with the essentials!

After getting settled, we headed over to the Sharp's Edge for dinner to grab a bite to eat.  We did some more miscelaneous unpacking and getting settled.  Joel took another nap and Mom and Dad took quick walk to Home Depot to help with repairs.  Dad also built the fancy desk we bought at Ikea.  Paul and I went out to the HofbraHaus to meet some of my fellow classmates.  It was nice to chat with everyone.  Josiah gave us a ride home and we found Mom and Pops just getting ready for bed.  They stayed awake and talked with us for a while before we all called it a night.

Who needs a stepping stool?  We should be good on our wine supply!

Early Saturday morning, Dad, Joel and Mom decided that they were going to take off for home.  Joel had some things to do and there was a possibility that they would have to go to Madison to do some more work with Kendall Ave for another inspection or something.  They make good time getting home, but unfortunately, they didn't get much better mileage because they were going against the wind most of the way home.  It was hard to say good-bye and to send them on the road.  We are so grateful that they were able to help us move out here.  We couldn't have done it without Dad, Mom, and Joel and Matt's generosity in lending us his trailer.

The moral of the story, is that we're now in Pittsburgh, with all of our stuff!!  It's time to get settled and pay some rent!

Little Richie Roadtrip!

After our minor morning set back (as a result of too much wedding fun), mom and I slowly packed up my car and got set to head to Pittsburgh!  I was doing a lot of odds and ends that morning and we were simultaneously getting the truck packed and ready to come out later that week.

In addition to me recovering, packing and getting a few things ready to move across the country, Lyssa came over for one last relaxing SunDrop on the back deck.  As soon as the Grand Am drove up, we cracked open a cool Sun Drop and then headed outside for some good laughs.  She also brought over a house warming gift which was a massive Wisconsin Flag!  Ohh don't worry, I won't forget about Wisconsin!

Alyce, The Little Scheister, Lyssa...

I felt like I needed to get Lyssa a parting gift as well, but I wasn't about to give her a set of Sisterhood Pants, so I glanced around my room for the perfect memory.  It was a 8x12 picture of me in first grade, looking like a young scheister with a master plan...  It's all too perfect, considering I have her Ms. Lyssa picture hanging proudly in the living room.

Once mom and I got up the courage, we hit the road.  We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa Marsh's before taking off to HWY 43.  Grandma pulled out the atlas and we looked at where exactly I was moving to on the map.  It was so cute of them, and I was happy that I was able to stop in before taking off.

Ready to head out! Packed full!

Mother and I got stuck in some major construction traffic on HWY 43 which added a lot of time to our travel.  After getting to Milwaukee, the traffic wasn't too bad until hitting Chicago.  We were stopped for about 20-30 minutes, which is pretty good.  We were using the Ipass like professionals and making it through the tolls no problem.  We went beyond Chicago a few hours and then decided to call it a night.  We stopped at a hotel and crashed for the evening.  We didn't even upack.  I just grabbed my toothbrush, slept in my clothes and grabbed some continental breakfast in the morning.  It was classic gross alyce.

Can you even see me in the front?!

The next day we were cruising across Ohio and didn't hit much traffic either.  It was a fairly decent drive and we were in Pittsburgh shortly after lunch.  I called Peter and he came over to give me the apartment keys.  Apparently the tenants weren't totally moved out, so we had a lot of cleaning to do before it was livable.  We headed to the Sharp's Edge to grab a brew and celebrate the fact that Little Richie had made it the whole way!

Our first stop was Wal-mart in which the Garmin led us to someones house, then a hill, and then on the third try, we actually made it to Wal-mart!  There was a lot of cleaning ahead, but mom and I powered through.  The first night we had to sleep with the fire escape open because there was something wrong with the door, so Mom and I locked ourselves into the master bedroom.

It was really hot, but we woke up during the middle of the night freezing, because aparently the crew workers had the air conditioner temp set at 65, yeow! 

I had to go to school the next day (June 1st) to get my badge and ID and directions on how not to get kicked out of the MD/PhD program.  Mom was great and did a lot of the cleaning while I was at school.  It was a fairly painless move to Pittsburgh!  We went to Ikea and grabbed a few salads before the boys' arrival!  I couldn't have done all the work without mumsy's help!

Filling up with Little Richie's Mother's Milk!  Black Gold!

Wedding Bells: Jay and Perry Kelly

Before Paul and I could go to the wedding in Green Bay over the Holiday weekend, we went to Madison to help Foley clean up the Cheateau apartment.  I dug in quickly and claimed the oven as my project.  I cleaned the dirt as Foley and Paul sorted through all of stuff that was left in the apartment.  We tried our best to get everything as clean as good as possible.

Becca was hanging out in her room (Paul's old room) and came back to the apartment after work to smell all of the Clorox and cleaning solutions.  I was fumed to the max!  Although it was gross, we got a lot of work done before the day was over and started to relax.

Friday night Becca, Paul, and I decided to go out on Friday and meet up with Paul's buddies down on capitol square.  It was a blast and we decided to continue on to Plan B!  Haha, I won't go into details, but it was amazing.  Paul and I were dancing up a storm and Becca was mingling around the dance floor.  We got Ravi up on stage (and Paul too!) hahah.  It was SOOO MUCH FUN.  I have to say though that the best part was seeing Becca as we were walking out of the joint.  We saw her bouncing around on the dance floor with a man with a 2 foot tall afro!!

Saturday morning we Paul and I woke up and walked down to Panera Bread to meet with Cindy Carlsson for coffee and snacks.  It was so wonderful to be able to catch up with her and tell her about our plans for school and live in Pittsburgh.  She is such a wonderful person, and I am looking forward to keeping in touch with her over the next few years as I continue through medical and graduate training.

We continued our cleaning campaign and went to Mike Foley's going away party.  Becca came out with us (as Foley's new roommate) and we ate food and relaxed.  It was a nice little party and good to see Foley, Ashley, and Tina again!

Sunday morning, we packed up and started home to get back for Jay and Perry's wedding.  I drove home as quickly at possible, showered and was ready for a wedding in record time.  I threw on my highest shoes and we met Paul at Emmanuel Lutheran in Seymour.  The ceremony was really nice, and Joel and Jay held it together pretty well up there in front.  Curty was double fisting the cameras as usual.

Nothing like some healthy parking lot brews!

Jay and Perry Kelly!

After the ceremony Paul came back to our place and the men packed up Matt's trailer with all of our stuff that was heading to Pittsburgh.  They were able to pack it up really quickly, it was impressive!  We jumped back into dress clothes and headed into Green Bay to see Grandma VB.  Luckily when we walked in, Grandpa was there too, so we were able to spend a few minutes with them.  It was nice to see Grandma looking so well and enjoying herself.

Grandpa and Grandma VanBoxtel - cute as always!

After a short detour to where Legends used to be, we made our way to the reception and enjoyed dinner and drinks.  After dinner it turned into your classic dance party, Wisconsin wedding which was an amazing way to spend my last night in Wisconsin for awhile.

Our Dancing Crew for the Evening!

Paul's hips were not lying that night...

Ohh Hillary, how I've missed thee...

I had a great time seeing everyone and Mom and I had soo much fun that we delayed our departure for Pittsburgh the next day.  It was definitely worth it.  I absolutely love weddings and the fun that goes with them.  It doesn't get any better than a getting down during a Wisconsin Wedding Reception during my last night in Wisconsin!  Congratulations Mr & Mrs. Kelly!

The Girls go to a Brewer's Game!

In order to cram even more into my last week or so living in Wisconsin, we decided to organize a Brewer's Game adventure down to Milwaukee with the girls!  We chose to go to a night game on Tuesday so we could get cheap tickets.  I think with all of the fees, the tickets cost a total of $2.00!  Hahah, then once we got there, we moved down and got even better seats for free!

So, Tuesday morning I made brownies and then quickly drove to BC to pick up Lyssa again and we took off for Milwaukee to meet at Liz's apartment in Waukesha.  It was a nice little adventure getting down there in the Hyundai. We had made a wrong turn and the GPS instructed me to pull a U-turn.  So I did, in a super busy intersection, ahah.  A massive tractor just honked and laughed, it was absolutely classic!

Using "Doggie Sarcasm"

We arrived at Liz's and got things settled and packed into the cooler for a complete BBQ.  We had the grill master (Liz) so we decided to go all out.  I had boiled the brat's in some old skunky beer that morning.  They were homemade from Curty's stash so I grabbed a pack and cooked them up!  I also brought some Shawano Bottled Sun-Drop for that excellent bottled soda taste!

Tossing the ball back and forth while having a brew.

Lindsi and Becca were driving down from Madison to meet us so we could all pile in the van and head to the parking lot to tailgate. It was a repeat of last year, but we didn't have Lars, and it was absolutely freezing!!  Lindsi was in shorts, eek!  But she was able to cover up and stay warm with the American flag!  The BBQ was great fun despite the cold; probably because I absolutely love tailgating!

Grill Master Liz in the wind breaker jacket!

Becca cutting up the scandalous Brownies! Muhu-haha!

Lyssa posing in-front of the trash: White Trash

We finally made our way to the gates to go in and find our nose-bleed seats.  We decided to ditch the nosebleeds and find something a little closer, which worked like a charm.  We watched the game and laughed with the couple that was sitting in front of us.  Lyssa brought some Big League Chew to get the party started, so we all had nice juicy wads of bubble gum in our mouths.

Roomie Reunion... Lyssa is the tallest, sad fact.

Haha, check Lizzo out in the background.

It was a great game and we were trailing for most of the game.  The sausage race is always a favorite, with Lyssa cheering her brains out for Polish, as usual.

Go Polish!

We were cheering nice and loud and Lyssa and I were doing all we could to get on TV!  We had the American flag waving like mad during any short time span were we could stand up and not annoy the people behind us.  To our astonishment, it worked!! We got a text from Matt and from Gregg saying that we made it on TV as they were scanning the Brewer's crowd!  AMAZING!  Haha, all that jumping around paid off!

We made it onto TV! HECK YES!

Luckily the Brewer's pulled through and won at the end with a clutch play.  It was an awesome game!  We filed slowly out of the stadium and made out way back to Liz's apartment to finish the night with some girl talk.  Becca and Lindsi headed back to Madison because they had to work the next day, but Lyssa and I had the honor of sleeping in Lizzo's KING BED!  Haha, we had three little girls in the bed, it was too classic.  Oddly, we all had enough room.  Liz had to get up early for work the next morning, and Lyssa and I took off for Seymour early. 

Post-potty TP, trying to get a reaction from the crowd.

It was quite the adventure, and I am sure I can fly back to Milwaukee for another one really soon!  September?  Ohhh yeah.

Kendall Ave Make-Over!

In trying to finish a deal for our house, we made quite a few runs down to Madison to get things situated.  One such run was the morning after my going away party at Jackson Point.  I woke up early as anticipated and flew down to BC to pick up Lyssa from her house.  I knew she wasn't feeling up to par quite yet, so I bribed her with a long john Curty had picked up from DQM.

We jumped in the tan mini-van and headed down to Madison just like the good-ole days.  We were rolling with the windows down, talking stupid and laughing so hard that I almost peed my pants on many occasions.  The best part on the way down however was stopping at McDonald's were we ordered some hangover remedies and some extra large sodas.  (Hi-C for Lyssa as always, and I tried out their lemonade)  We were greasy and nast as you would assume, and Lyssa was wearing her usual post-bash cut-off.  Well, apparently the high school boys disagreed and decided to give us their number on the back of a McD's receipt.  Hahah.  It was too good.  We jumped back in the mini, HWY 151 sound and rolled into Madison in style.

We arrived and Becca was ready to start moving her stuff to Paul's apartment.  I luckily remembered the keys and we got things rolling.  It was essential that I cleaned Paul's apartment before Becs moved in and had to live in the man-pee and stinky kitchen.  Bec's was in the transition apartment and we had her moved in, in no time.  It was a pretty impressive feat for us ladies.

In addition to moving Becca, I also had to find a way to clean the house so it was acceptable for the people who were trying to buy our house to move in.  We wanted to close, so I went down and cleaned every nook and cranny I could find!  Lyssa mowed the lawn and we started packing every last item from the house into the mini-van.

We of course had to celebrate our accomplishments so we went out to Cheeseburger's in Paradise and Curty treated us to a nice dinner for our help with the house.  We came back to Bec's new pad and got read to hit the town of Madison one last time.  It was a fun night, but the cheeseburger's meal was lodged in my stomach the whole night, making me uncomfortably full until the next morning!

The Pina Colada that stays with you for 2 days... ugh.

Milkshake = DD = Double Delish + Designated Driver

Would you like some pita-points?

Dancing after so many "finger tickle" laughs..

The next day we finished up odds and ends at the house and met Lindsi on State Street for lunch at the Sun Room Cafe.  It was a nice little treat before heading home to Seymour. Lyssa and I didn't know that we would accidentally turn the mini into a storm chaser, as we out ran the tornadoes, hail, and lightning storms that were sweeping Northeast Wisconsin!  We got to her place in BC just in time to run onto the porch for cover... it was classic.  We probably should have stopped, but we pushed through on HWY 41 just like the move Twister.  It was a blast!

Lyssa and Becca staging a sit/lay-in protest in Kendall's living room...

Storm chaser accomplice...

We're going to miss you Kendall Ave!  It was an amazing few years and many more memories!