New Year musings

Long time no blog... and a Happy New Year to you too. Grinding away at yet another scholarship proposal, it is easy to lose any sense of accomplishment within the research arena. I am always happier after the year has turned, the winter solstice passed and the promise of spring sustains hope of warmth eventual. It never ceases to amaze me that I am not improving at writing these tedious applications but they, and the meetings and endless admin they engender, continue to employ many days which could be more profitably filled reading research material.
Offspring are still trotting about the globe, one chasing kangaroos and the other visiting that hell-hole (for me) Las Vegas, for her birthday. She will stay at 'The Venetian' and I can hardly wait for the vulgarity of the pictures that will ensue from that encounter.
Several friends younger than I are in the early stages of battling breast cancer. All I can do is watch and wait, and compare treatment plans in this country and another. It's a grim business, getting older.