(1) Hanging out with our gang of about ten interns. We've become a pretty tight group. We email each other regularly during the workday to coordinate lunch breaks, after-work activities, and weekend excursions. This past week, we went to the grocery store after work and bought ridiculously inexpensive wine and beer (90 cents per can) and celebrated Amitabh's birthday at a Chinese restaurant downtown. The crazy Chinese restaurant manager came over and scolded us for bringing drinks into her restaurant, even though the waitress gave us permission. She claimed that if we brought our own drinks, we'd probably bring our own Big Macs and french fries next time, and would soon be holding our own picnic in her restaurant.
Around the table clockwise: Jackie, Roshni, Sahil,
Jason, me, Thomas, Amy, Amitabh, and Mason.
Jason, me, Thomas, Amy, Amitabh, and Mason.
(2) Programming a reporting form that significantly accelerates the process of collecting and cross-checking data from GLC approved countries. In fact, this new reporting form, which took a couple full days to code, essentially eliminates the need for someone like myself to cross-check each country's annual patient outcome data next year. It automatically tells the country what steps it needs to take, how to input data, whether discrepancies exist with the information reported in the previous year, the specific nature of these discrepancies, and where these errors are occurring in the data tables. Two days to eliminate roughly six weeks of work. But we're in Switzerland, after all. Things are supposed to be efficient, right?
(3) Going to Pickwick's Pub Trivia Night with Dave and their son Spencer (visiting for a week) in downtown Geneva. It was actually a lot of fun, and we were surprisingly successful, given the fact that most teams had twice as many brains.
The "Three Amigos."
(4) Joining the Imbrocks for a family viewing of "Slumdog Millionaire" in their living room.
(5) It's nice to get a good laugh in here and there during the workday, and they're getting more and more common these days, especially towards the end of the week. By Friday, a week's worth of emails and data analysis have made us all a little punchy, so the impact of intern inside jokes gets amplified. In addition to lightening the mood and increasing overall happiness, I've also noticed that laughter functions a bit like a computer screensaver: the squinting that accompanies a good hearty guffaw prevents you from getting Excel grids permanently ingrained in your vision.
(6) Speaking of laughter, here's a series of Facebook notifications that I received by email one night that made me crack up. Two things you need to know as background first. One, the bureaucracy here at the WHO, though sometimes necessary, can sometimes be hilariously absurd, especially when it pervades not just the staff but the intern community as well. Two, you should also know that Alex is the coordinator for the weekly intern soccer (football) matches. After the first soccer game, I offered to help him out if he ever needed assistance recruiting more WHO players. He took me quite seriously. In fact, he made an official title for me, though with the complexity of the emerging intern bureaucracy, he had a tough time deciding just what to call me...
Forwarded conversation
Subject: Alex Unicef named you an officer in the group "WHO interns 2009"...
------------------------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@facebookmail.com >
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:18 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Subject: Alex Unicef named you an officer in the group "WHO interns 2009"...
------------------------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:18 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "sub-coordinator (male football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
To see the group, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?
Thanks,
The Facebook Team
___
This message was intended for msilvest@fas.harvard.edu. Want to control which emails you receive from Facebook? Go to:
http://www.facebook.com/
Facebook's offices are located at 1601 S. California Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304.
----------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:24 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Sports sub-coordinator (Male football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?
http://www.facebook.com/
----------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:28 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "sub-coordinator (Sports, Male football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?
http://www.facebook.com/
----------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@facebookmail.com >
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:35 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Sub-officer (Sports, Male football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=79978914241&mid=ce99f9G79aeG2b38281G18
http://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?notifications&md=Z3JvdXBfYWRkX29mZmljZXI7dG89MzExNTA=&mid=ce99f9G79aeG2b38281G18
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:35 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Sub-officer (Sports, Male football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?
http://www.facebook.com/
----------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:37 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Sports Sub-officer (Sports, Male football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?
http://www.facebook.com/
----------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@facebookmail.com >
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:38 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Sports Sub-officer (Male football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=79978914241&mid=ce9aa2G79aeG2b383aeG18
http://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?notifications&md=Z3JvdXBfYWRkX29mZmljZXI7dG89MzExNTA=&mid=ce9aa2G79aeG2b383aeG18
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:38 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Sports Sub-officer (Male football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?
http://www.facebook.com/
----------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:44 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Sub-coordinator (Male football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?
http://www.facebook.com/
----------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 6:46 PM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Sub-coordinator (Male Football)" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=79978914241&mid=ce9caeG79aeG2b386e3G18
http://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?notifications&md=Z3JvdXBfYWRkX29mZmljZXI7dG89MzExNTA=&mid=ce9caeG79aeG2b386e3G18
http://www.facebook.com/n/?
http://www.facebook.com/
----------
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@facebookmail.com >
Date: Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 11:26 AM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Vice Captain, Male Football" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=79978914241&mid=ce9caeG79aeG2b386e3G18
http://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?notifications&md=Z3JvdXBfYWRkX29mZmljZXI7dG89MzExNTA=&mid=ce9caeG79aeG2b386e3G18
From: Facebook <notification+5bsbnkqn@
Date: Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 11:26 AM
To: Mike Silvestri <msilvest@fas.harvard.edu>
Alex named you "Vice Captain, Male Football" in the group "WHO interns 2009" on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/n/?
http://www.facebook.com/
----------
Has a nice ring to it, huh? That'll look great on my resume!
