Please come to Boston....

[OperaTenor]

It looks as though we will be in Boston at the end of June. Piq has a work-related conference from the 22nd to the 26th, at which point Altoid and I will fly out to join her, and we'll have a mini vacation. I already e-mail *ignaf about it, and he thinks he'll be in town then. Anyone else? Serenity?

Hopefully, we can make our way down to Asylum Ave. and finally meet the people who've made this all possible.

[Serenity]

Do you have an itinerary? Let's meet. Check your PMs.

[piqaboo]

So far, no specific itinerary.
Looking for ideas, and hoping to meet!
We decided to stay over for the 4th.
Somehow, it didnt dawn on me that there was anything special about July 4th in Boston til someone scornfully pointed it out. I was all set to go home on the 3rd til then.
Blonde, blonde, blonde!

[jamiebk]

So far, no specific itinerary.
Looking for ideas, and hoping to meet!
We decided to stay over for the 4th.
Somehow, it didnt dawn on me that there was anything special about July 4th in Boston til someone scornfully pointed it out. I was all set to go home on the 3rd til then.
Blonde, blonde, blonde!

Oh Piq!!!! How cool...Boston on the 4th of July! You are in for a real treat! I am envious. I used to live near there and I can tell you that there is nothing like the 4th on the Esplanade:
http://www.july4th.org/

[Serenity]

I've lived here ten years and have never ventured into Boston on the 4th; I'm always in New Hampshire partying with family. Every year I say, "One of these years, I'm gonna......"

I know there was another thread related to this

[piqaboo]

Gues you have no excuse to put it off any longer, Serenity!
'cause after all, visiting out of town internet addicts trump everything.

Thanks for the link, jamie!

I confess to qualms about flying non-stop (read "fully fueled") from the East Coast on a major US weekend. And its not airport congestion that's got me 'qualmish'.

[Serenity]

No, kids trump everything. Is the conference "biotech-related"? Are you renting a car to drive toward "Mecca" (aka Asylum Ave)?. Has Selma (of-Nine) debriefed you of the dangers of driving in the Northeast or will you be lolligaggin' staring at the trees and vegetation along the highways? Are you doin' Martha's Vineyard? Cape Cod? Whale watchin'? Freedom Trail? Fenway Park? Fanueil Hall? Boston Garden (Fleet Center)? Sam Adams Brewery Tour (not recommended for Altoid)? The Cheers Bar? A cruise of the Boston Harbor while having dinner and watching the skyline? Altoid may like the Aquarium or the Children's Museum. Would you drive out to Tanglewood? Have you checked the opera house?

[BigJon@Work]

Will you finally be able to tell us if Serenity is male or female?

[piqaboo]

Will you finally be able to tell us if Serenity is male or female?

I sincerely hope you are not truely in doubt of this.

[piqaboo]

No, kids trump everything.

Well, yes in truth, but I thought the smiley would take care of that.

Is the conference "biotech-related"? Are you renting a car to drive toward "Mecca" (aka Asylum Ave)?. Has Selma (of-Nine) debriefed you of the dangers of driving in the Northeast or will you be lolligaggin' staring at the trees and vegetation along the highways? Are you doin' Martha's Vineyard? Cape Cod? Whale watchin'? Freedom Trail? Fenway Park? Fanueil Hall? Boston Garden (Fleet Center)? Sam Adams Brewery Tour (not recommended for Altoid)? The Cheers Bar? A cruise of the Boston Harbor while having dinner and watching the skyline? Altoid may like the Aquarium or the Children's Museum. Would you drive out to Tanglewood? Have you checked the opera house?

The conference is DIA (Drug Information Association), and is about new product development, data management, and running clinical trials, so in a sense, yes biotech related. From what I've read of your job, you might be able to get yourself sent to it - there are definitely relevant talks.

Re the rest - not planned yet, and somewhat deferred to OT for a couple weeks, while I meet a deadline at work. We're expecting to have car access (I'm a Californian - cant imagine a vacation without one, even when its silly). Driving style- listen to the traffic reports. We'll let you know the make and color of car, in case we get listed as the cause of a sig alert due to lollygagging and looking at alla purty green trees 'n things.
We'd like to meet up with as many e-pals as possible, so we're looking into a drive to Asylum Ave fershure. And anywhere else someone might be willing to get together for a while.

While past performance is no guarantee of the future, Altoid has been a good travelor in times past. I confess to being strict about some things, like the times scheduled for extended drives - they need to fit into nap time, or meal-in-the-car time or some such. We'll keep our fingers crossed, play it by ear, and run the legs off her every chance we get.

[Serenity]

Will you finally be able to tell us if Serenity is male or female?

Not if I wear a disguise!

[BigJon@Work]

Will you finally be able to tell us if Serenity is male or female?

I sincerely hope you are not truely in doubt of this.

I still have a little doubt . . .

[Serenity]

I've tried to be neutral so as not to invite bias. Tell me what you think I am and how did you come to that conclusion (here or PM). [Inquiring minds want to know]

[Serenity]

Tell me you're going because you have to and not because you want to. Do you have to report back to work with a summary of relevant presentations? Is someone from your company tagging along? The Rare Diseases and Oncology sections could have been of interest but none of the specific presentations interest me. Tuition is a little pricey. I hope you have an interest and see its relevance for your company. Don't want to bum you out though.......You are on the Right Coast! Boston will feel similar to San Fran! You may be able to get around on the subway, save on gas ($3.45) and skip snarling traffic.

[barfle]

Tell me you're going because you have to and not because you want to.

That's why I went to Honolulu three weekends a year for about nine years. Then the bums decided they could do their training over the Internet, so I quit.

And look what I got myself into!!

[piqaboo]

Tuition is galmighty pricey.
It wasnt my first choice of conferences this year, but my boss wanted "someone senior" to go. She's been and thinks its worthwhile. Its fairly relevant to my current job (oncology clinical research data manager). I'm gonna try and sign up for a couple of the Sunday seminars to boot.
Wheeeeee.

[BigJon@Work]

I've tried to be neutral so as not to invite bias. Tell me what you think I am and how did you come to that conclusion (here or PM). [Inquiring minds want to know]

I always assumed that Serenity was a female handle. But when you revealed what you did to your supervisor's mask, I knew you were a guy.

[Shapley]

I always assumed that Serenity was a female handle. But when you revealed what you did to your supervisor's mask, I knew you were a guy.

That's right. Women never do that, though they're often near a dog that does... (my apologies to George Carlin).

Serenity is like that Saturday Night Live character that no one ever knew the gender of.

(Don't worry, Serentity, I know your gender, but I won't tell...)

[BigJon@Work]

I never said women don't, just that they rarely use it as a weapon . . .

[Serenity]

I've tried to be neutral so as not to invite bias. Tell me what you think I am and how did you come to that conclusion (here or PM). [Inquiring minds want to know]

I always assumed that Serenity was a female handle. But when you revealed what you did to your supervisor's mask, I knew you were a guy.

That's a brilliant observation but how do you know that I wasn't daydreaming about it and posted it as if I had actually done it to see what the reaction would be; kind of like a War of the Worlds thingy. Well, at least we both enjoyed a good laugh.