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Valedictions, Portents, Entertainment
Jan. 7th, 2025 05:55 pm"And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.", wrote T.S. Eliot in "Little Gidding" (1942). Curiously appropriate, for the end of 2024 and the start of 2025, I had the privilege to attend two valedictory partings, one in person for my neighbour Rachel E-M. (where I spent a good part of the day in the company of Jon M) and the other for Peter Lyons back in Perth. Both events were touching, dignified, and honourable. True to her style, Rachel's was quite colourful and celebratory of a life where her chronic illness was utterly dwarfed by the enormous personality of love and wit that she carried. For Peter, his quiet charm and great intellect carried through; as one speaker observed, Peter was such a goth his life ended on Friday the 13th! I will miss both these brilliant and lovely people so much, and they will remain forever dear to my memory.
But one's own life does go on. As is appropriate for that arbitrary marker of the new year in the Western calendar, I have been engaging in a lot of projections of what comes in the year ahead. Certainly, in my workplace, this is required. My superiors want to know! And as much as can be determined, there will be trips and presentations to Aotearoa, New Zealand, for eResearchNZ and one to Brisbane for eResearchAU. Study-wise, I will be putting in a lot of effort for my doctoral studies in climatology at Euclid University, but I also have several academic papers to co-author this year, with other publications planned and in progress. Studies will also be supplemented by language classes in Chinese, Spanish, and some Portuguese as I will be taking international trips to both China (perhaps two), and then an extended trip to South America later in the year. My music project with Mel S., continues to develop on a daily basis, and a new artistic project has begun with Liza D., both of which should witness productions by the end of the year.
There is a lot more that can be said about these and other future plans or past events. But the present should not be ignored. I've had a relaxed and interesting introduction to the new year. The evening itself was spent quietly in the company of Erica H., having escaped my inner city pad as the noisy hordes descended. A gathering more to my style was hosted a few evenings later by Fiona C. at the peninsula, a "Casual Not-NYE" party, where I knew nobody but the host encountered thoughtful, considerate, and open-minded people, and found some new friends as a result. Finally, I have to mention to events at Federation Square's open-air evening cinema, which I attended with Nitul D., screenings of Nolan's mind-bending films "Inception" and "Interstellar", both very satisfying stories and performances, and with excellent scores. Both were delightful events with delightful company.
But one's own life does go on. As is appropriate for that arbitrary marker of the new year in the Western calendar, I have been engaging in a lot of projections of what comes in the year ahead. Certainly, in my workplace, this is required. My superiors want to know! And as much as can be determined, there will be trips and presentations to Aotearoa, New Zealand, for eResearchNZ and one to Brisbane for eResearchAU. Study-wise, I will be putting in a lot of effort for my doctoral studies in climatology at Euclid University, but I also have several academic papers to co-author this year, with other publications planned and in progress. Studies will also be supplemented by language classes in Chinese, Spanish, and some Portuguese as I will be taking international trips to both China (perhaps two), and then an extended trip to South America later in the year. My music project with Mel S., continues to develop on a daily basis, and a new artistic project has begun with Liza D., both of which should witness productions by the end of the year.
There is a lot more that can be said about these and other future plans or past events. But the present should not be ignored. I've had a relaxed and interesting introduction to the new year. The evening itself was spent quietly in the company of Erica H., having escaped my inner city pad as the noisy hordes descended. A gathering more to my style was hosted a few evenings later by Fiona C. at the peninsula, a "Casual Not-NYE" party, where I knew nobody but the host encountered thoughtful, considerate, and open-minded people, and found some new friends as a result. Finally, I have to mention to events at Federation Square's open-air evening cinema, which I attended with Nitul D., screenings of Nolan's mind-bending films "Inception" and "Interstellar", both very satisfying stories and performances, and with excellent scores. Both were delightful events with delightful company.
