Ten things I'll miss

With the shut down of my company, I'm led to think about the things that I will miss about OSI. Of course there are always thing that we hate about work, but there are the small things that keep us coming back day after day. 

10. Location location location. Our office was right across the street from Target. Since I don't have a car, being able to walk across the street (okay, six lane highway) to get anything I needed (or didn't need. It is Target after all) was super convenient. 

9. Riding on the LIRR. Not because it's the bet train service ever. No. I liked hearing the all too often announcements that plagued the LIRR riders and made them late. We were going to start a twitter account called "LIRRexcuses" because they were always unique. 

8. Tiny Thai. Run by one of the nicest ladies ever, Jenny.  TT was a standby lunch location for us, as long as we could get there right as she opened her doors. TT is small and unless you get there at noon, you're not getting a table. After a few times visiting, Jenny had my order memorized and always brought us amazing food. 

7. Fun club activities. BF said we wasted a lot of time, but in reality we were working together and building a work community. Fun club organized a ping pong tournament, soccer match, volunteer days, a scavenger hunt, the summer picnic, Chinese new year, the fall football showdown and the end of the year holiday party.  OSI worked hard, but we knew how to have fun. 

6. Food feedback. My coworkers were my guinea pigs when it came to food. Any desserts made at home would inevitably make their way to my office and would provide sugar rushes for the chemistry department. I'm going to have to send the snacks I make during my unemployment to BFs office!  Can't go eating them all myself. I won't have any time to job hunt, I'll be at the gym the whole time. 

5. Bagel day!  Thursday is a tough day to get through because you are so close to Friday, but still a full day away. Our company made Thursday - Bagel day and it really helped us work through the end of the week. It was also a time when everyone, from every department, would come together in the lunchroom and chat. It really helped me get to know so many people I would have otherwise not seen or had interactions with. 

4. My book club an workout ladies. The book club generally didn't read the book, but the workout girls definitely worked it. Book club made us fat with fondue and sangria and the workout girls sweated with Insanity and Combat. Hopefully we can still get together and "discuss the last book." Aka - get together and gossip about life after OSI. 

3. My manager. Now I'm not trying to suck up or tease out a good recommendation. My manager helped me fit into the company from day one and guided me through all the trials and tribulations associated with being the new girl. 

2. The Dancab. We had a small group of NYC commuters an we took the Dancab to and from work everyday. Those rides were always full of laughs and fun stories. It helped make the long commute feel a little brighter. 

1. The people. My little OSI family made the long commute worth the trip. I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with at my first job. Luckily he pharma industry is small and I'll likely see many of them again. 

Goodbye OSI. 

Bittersweet Celebration

I'm settling into my unemployment quite well.  Though I'm not technically unemployed, yet.  Due to Warn Act laws in New York State, companies of a certain size must give their employees 60 days notice before they can just shut down.  So technically, I'm still employed by my company.  They just don't want me to come to work.

If only I could get paid indefinitely to not come to work, I'm quite good at this not working thing.  The house is clean, the dishes are done and all the laundry is folded.  Yesterday I got to sleep in, I headed to my 9am Crossfit class and did some grocery shopping.  I even got a pedicure, something my running weary feet loved.

It's not all fun and games though.  As much as I want to imagine this will last, I realize I only have a few months before they won't be paying me to sit at home.  I've been dusting off my resume and contacting all my friends and former advisers.  I am so thankful for all my friends and colleagues that have reached out to me.  I have had the privledge to work with some amazing people over the years, including those that I have just parted with at OSI.

I know that all my friends will come out of these sad times even stronger.  While I don't want to say that it was a good thing, the site closure, but I'm sure there are opportunities out there for all of us.  The world of pharmaceuticals is strangely tiny, I know it isn't the last time I see my friends.

This is a celebration cake.  Not of the end, but of a new beginning in my life, a new chapter.  Full of sweet, early summer peaches, and covered in tangy, sharp ginger cream cheese frosting, this cake is a little bittersweet, just like this week.  Make it for yourself.  If you're having a rough week, it will totally cheer you up.

A Wilde Day

I'm sitting here today disappointed, a but disillusioned and unemployed. You read that right, jobless. After landing what I thought was my dream job two years ago, I find myself once again looking to the future and deciding what to do next.

As some of you know, I have been working at a pharmaceutical company on long Island. That company was OSI pharmaceuticals. While I can't disclose the full details of what happened (here's the news article about the site closure) I can tell you the story of my yesterday. 

It wasn't a surprise that our company was closing.  It was just shocking how quickly everything happened yesterday. A friend of mine had just returned from his honeymoon, I'm heading out of the country on Thursday for vacation. No one expected for Monday to be their last day at work.  No one thought they would be packing up their desks and saying goodbye to colleagues and friends.  I would have savored that last ride on the LIRR if I knew it was going to be my last one.

We all emptied our offices, carried our stuff to our cars and met up at the bar across the street.  Someone at the bar must have tipped off the news, because they showed up about thirty minutes later.  Since yesterday I've received about fifty LinkedIn and Facebook requests, started polishing my resume and surfing the internet for opportunities.

Now I am on the job hunt again. I have some time to find a new position, the company was very generous with our compensation at least.  Sadly I'm a little disillusioned with the whole pharmaceutical research business. If the new model is for big Pharma to buy smaller companies and close them, I can only hope to hold a research position for five years before another layoff.  Maybe I'll see what else I can do as a PhD chemist.  Clinical or regulatory affairs, patent law, consumer products development, there are so many options, it's time to start investigating.  And making cookies.

One Year Ago: Blueberry Mallomars
Two Years Ago: Cheesecake Brownies

Apricot-packed Oatmeal Cookies

A Wilde Original

I brought these cookies to work yesterday morning.  We ate them as we commiserated after hearing the news.  Actually, I ate one for breakfast before the meeting and then another one after the meeting.  They are super delicious and filling.  Be sure to use a new bag of dried apricots, I used dried Turkish apricots from Fairway.  They are amazing.

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups chopped, dried apricots
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

In a large bowl (I mean really large!  There is a lot of cookie dough in this recipe!), beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until fluffy.  Turn mixer to low and add eggs, one at a time.  Add vanilla and beat until combined.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Slowly add the flour to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low.  Once all the flour is absorbed, add chopped apricots and mix for about ten seconds.  Add oatmeal and mix for about 30 seconds.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.  Scoop cookie dough with a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop and place on the baking sheet in rounded mounds.  You'll get about 15-16 cookies.  (You can make smaller cookies, just reduce your baking time)  Wrap the baking sheet with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.  You want to dough balls solid.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Place 5-6 cookie dough mounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake for 23-25 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges and still slightly doughy looking in the middle.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire rack.

Store in an airtight container, share with your favorite friends.