Happy New Year

You may recall from last year that I don't especially care for making New Year's resolutions.  I certainly didn't get my dissertation submitted in 2013, which was one of the few goals I set for that calendar year.  However, any chance to pause and reflect is a good thing in this frenzied world.  And I had a hell of a year to reflect on.

The first half of 2013 was crammed with crises, crying, and hard-won minor captaining victories.  But somewhere along the way I also discovered that I'd found a true friend in my buddy Martin, and having that kind of support on that side of the ocean has been an unexpected blessing.  Then there was a quiet summer, choir tour, a September of late nights in the library, a fall term of feeling that I was spinning my academic wheels, and finally the breakthrough of a good meeting with my supervisor.  I capped off 2013 the way I rang it in: dancing down Colorado Boulevard in the Rose Parade with the Stanford band, and cheering on the team at the subsequent game.  Sadly, this one reminded me far too much of the way the team used to play when I was an undergraduate.

I'm back in Cambridge now, after one of those long day-night-day travel slogs that make time seem a confused fantasy.  I'm told the UK has been experiencing massive storms while I was away, but tonight the air is calm and damp, the city quiet and expectant.  Here's to another new start.