#50 Boston - What happened in Florida and Other Useless Observations - May 19, 2005
I am back in town - returned from the Sunshine State, and the city of Boston welcomed us at the airport with a scorching 45 degrees!! Overall it was not that much of an adjustment as I spent most of my time in Orlando in the Orange County Convention Center, which featured about the same temperature. Conferences, in particular this one, are very exhausting, and I basically headed home Tuesday and slept for a day-and-a-half (some of it in bed).
Some observations (most of them useless) from my trip:
You have heard of a hammer toe, right? Well, the guy next to me in the plane (a fellow attendee as it turned out) had a "hammer thumb" - an enormous behemoth of a finger I must say. Freak.
Experienced one of those families we love and cherish on plane rides, in particular the 5-year old son, who delighted his mother and us fellow passengers with a barrage of statements like "Are you sure we are on the right plane?", "Is anyone getting play dough?" (Ain't gonna be me!")
First time I flew into Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, DC - right over the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. Cool.
Palm trees in Florida were a site for winter-sore eyes, ahh, warmth, feels good, sense memory comes back.
Westgate Lakes Resort - my hotel - aha, this is where families with eight or more children vacation.
Met a 2 1/2-year old alligator in hotel lobby (his mouth was taped shut, which was a good thing). Meanwhile MGH in Boston with all its construction displaces whole colonies of mice.
Playing the name game at the ASCO convention, discover participants named Donald Trump (no kidding), Kim Chi and (very cutting edge) Roger Rodgers.
Love the non-smoking sign at the Convention Center (remember this is a cancer conference):
"Smoking is prohibited"
"Smoking causes cancer"
"Secondhand smoking kills, too"
"Your fellow oncologists and patients appreciate you not smoking"
Lots of business dinners in the evening, highlight is the French Restaurant "Le Coq au Vin", absolutely the best food in Orlando. Ingestion of alcohol leads to indulgence and revelations - who knew the pharma industry rep has a degree in Middle Eastern Studies and used to sell fork lifts?
Cabbie gets completely lost on the way to the restaurant, and gives us the grand tour of Orlando - we pass a church named "Mary, Queen of the Universe" (??)
If you wonder where the bee line (that we take so often) is, I am happy to report that we discovered it in Orlando (Bee Line Parkway, right near the convention center).
Conference turns into reunion with many friends from California - hello all!! It was good to see you.
Highlight of the conference for me is a movie called "Frankl's Choice" which juxtaposes the life and teachings of Victor Frankl, the developer of existential psychology, with interviews of terminally ill patients and cancer survivors (among them my boss Bruce Chabner, who is an oncology physician, and his wife, Davi Ellen Chabner). Here is a quote from his book "Man's Search for Meaning" - "Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible."
Aside from being THE meeting every year where scientific results in oncology get highlighted, this is also the mecca for marketers. The exhibit halls overwhelm with gargantuan booths, high-tech gadgetry, and every tschotschke known to mankind. Lots of cool little items, some of which now reside in my home..... at the end of the day you stagger out of there like a drunken sailor on shore leave and packed like a mule, just like after a sale at Filene's Basement....
Disney is unbelievable - those of you who have ever been to Disneyland in California know, it is in the hood, somewhere in Anaheim, in an uninspired neighborhood - just when you have given up all hope, there is the parking lot! Disney World in Orlando (if you are into that kind of stuff) is mind-boggling. You drive through the lush Florida vegetation, and all of a sudden the freeway signs turn Disney Color, you know just like at Toys R Us. Fake boulders appear out of nowhere, castles line the side of the road and you expect all vehicles to be driven by 6-year olds. 47 Miles of property are occupied by the different parks (Epcot, Disney, MGM, Universal) and all of them charge $65 a pop to get in!! The whole area reminded me of one of the old Star Trek episodes, where Captain Kirk and his crew land on a real pretty and clean planet, where all the people are smiling and have probably been drugged and brainwashed.
Back in Boston, work is insane, immediately following ASCO, organizing a huge meeting, which took place this afternoon, and went very well. Heading home now, exhausted, happy that it is Friday tomorrow.
Ciao for now!
pet:)
Some observations (most of them useless) from my trip:
You have heard of a hammer toe, right? Well, the guy next to me in the plane (a fellow attendee as it turned out) had a "hammer thumb" - an enormous behemoth of a finger I must say. Freak.
Experienced one of those families we love and cherish on plane rides, in particular the 5-year old son, who delighted his mother and us fellow passengers with a barrage of statements like "Are you sure we are on the right plane?", "Is anyone getting play dough?" (Ain't gonna be me!")
First time I flew into Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, DC - right over the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. Cool.
Palm trees in Florida were a site for winter-sore eyes, ahh, warmth, feels good, sense memory comes back.
Westgate Lakes Resort - my hotel - aha, this is where families with eight or more children vacation.
Met a 2 1/2-year old alligator in hotel lobby (his mouth was taped shut, which was a good thing). Meanwhile MGH in Boston with all its construction displaces whole colonies of mice.
Playing the name game at the ASCO convention, discover participants named Donald Trump (no kidding), Kim Chi and (very cutting edge) Roger Rodgers.
Love the non-smoking sign at the Convention Center (remember this is a cancer conference):
"Smoking is prohibited"
"Smoking causes cancer"
"Secondhand smoking kills, too"
"Your fellow oncologists and patients appreciate you not smoking"
Lots of business dinners in the evening, highlight is the French Restaurant "Le Coq au Vin", absolutely the best food in Orlando. Ingestion of alcohol leads to indulgence and revelations - who knew the pharma industry rep has a degree in Middle Eastern Studies and used to sell fork lifts?
Cabbie gets completely lost on the way to the restaurant, and gives us the grand tour of Orlando - we pass a church named "Mary, Queen of the Universe" (??)
If you wonder where the bee line (that we take so often) is, I am happy to report that we discovered it in Orlando (Bee Line Parkway, right near the convention center).
Conference turns into reunion with many friends from California - hello all!! It was good to see you.
Highlight of the conference for me is a movie called "Frankl's Choice" which juxtaposes the life and teachings of Victor Frankl, the developer of existential psychology, with interviews of terminally ill patients and cancer survivors (among them my boss Bruce Chabner, who is an oncology physician, and his wife, Davi Ellen Chabner). Here is a quote from his book "Man's Search for Meaning" - "Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible."
Aside from being THE meeting every year where scientific results in oncology get highlighted, this is also the mecca for marketers. The exhibit halls overwhelm with gargantuan booths, high-tech gadgetry, and every tschotschke known to mankind. Lots of cool little items, some of which now reside in my home..... at the end of the day you stagger out of there like a drunken sailor on shore leave and packed like a mule, just like after a sale at Filene's Basement....
Disney is unbelievable - those of you who have ever been to Disneyland in California know, it is in the hood, somewhere in Anaheim, in an uninspired neighborhood - just when you have given up all hope, there is the parking lot! Disney World in Orlando (if you are into that kind of stuff) is mind-boggling. You drive through the lush Florida vegetation, and all of a sudden the freeway signs turn Disney Color, you know just like at Toys R Us. Fake boulders appear out of nowhere, castles line the side of the road and you expect all vehicles to be driven by 6-year olds. 47 Miles of property are occupied by the different parks (Epcot, Disney, MGM, Universal) and all of them charge $65 a pop to get in!! The whole area reminded me of one of the old Star Trek episodes, where Captain Kirk and his crew land on a real pretty and clean planet, where all the people are smiling and have probably been drugged and brainwashed.
Back in Boston, work is insane, immediately following ASCO, organizing a huge meeting, which took place this afternoon, and went very well. Heading home now, exhausted, happy that it is Friday tomorrow.
Ciao for now!
pet:)
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6:08 PM
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