Chronicles of the Boonies

Remember those days in senior year of high school when you showed up late and had to park in the parking lot 14 gajillion feet away? That was always the first thing that came to my mind when I heard the word “boonies.” Until now. For the next two months, I’ll be working in an NYU Medical Center lab. Sounds kinda cool right? Except that this lab is like the furthest possible satellite campus I’ve ever heard of, and it’s an hour northwest of the city. Try to point out Tuxedo Park, NY on a map. Actually, don’t waste your time because you won’t find it.

So instead of talking about my research and the fact that I spend an entire day under creepy yellow lights (UV rays from white light damage proteins), I figured I could talk about random/weird things that happen while in this very random/weird place. Let’s see… so today I got enzyme on my face, and I’m pretty sure some of it got in my eye. Not wanting to embarrass myself by telling my mentor that I managed to splash the contents of a reaction tube on my face (I had already embarrassed myself on the first two days), I grabbed a paper towel and casually “blew my nose.” In case you were wondering, blowing your nose while attempting to inconspicuously wipe your face and eye isn’t as easy as it sounds. Anyway, it started burning so I had to run to the bathroom. I still don’t know if it was all in my head. Even writing about it makes my cheek itch.

After work I drove around because the area around Tuxedo Park is full of lakes and parks and nature reserves. I came across a sign for “Blue Lake” and turned down the narrow dirt road. After driving for about a mile, I came across a huge lake with giant forest-y hills in the background. Absolutely gorgeous. Oh, and did I mention that I saw IBM’s super secret confidential secret building? It looks like something out of a movie. A movie that I want to make soon, but I’ll leave that for another day.

super secret ibm headquarters

Alright it probably wasn’t very secret, because I later saw on the main road a giant “IBM - Nonsecret, Very Public Headquarters” sign. Not really but yeah. Anyway, as I was driving through another park in Sloatsburg, another place you’ve never heard of, I saw this old lady decked out in hiking boots and hiking poles(?) just going at it. She must have been like at least five miles from the nearest building or car or anything. Good for her. I sure as hell don’t plan on doing that any time soon though.

Oh yeah so I forgot to mention the place I’m staying. Last Thursday, I moved into a room in a house in Sloatsburg. It was mad awk (try to spread that phrase. It’s a good phrase) because I basically moved in when no one was there. That night, I still hadn’t seen the landlord, and I was definitely thinking I moved into the wrong house. I was just waiting for some huge dude to walk into the house and kick the crap out of me.

Luckily, my mentor at the lab also lives in the same house, so when I saw him come in I was greatly relieved. I only just met the landlord half an hour ago, so now I can say that I slept in a random person’s house for three nights.

I’m nearing the end of my thought stream now. I probably made that up. Thought stream? I can’t think of the right phrase. Anyway, today I’m starting my first day of WUDI, Westchester Ultimate Disc, Inc. It’s an ultimate frisbee league that plays at SUNY - Purchase, and I’m really excited. I plan on using my new camera to take some action shots or something. Maybe I’ll post them on here later. Anyway, I’m surprised you’ve read this far. Cool beans. I say that now.