Morning after

This is from last night, as you might guess.  The cake is lemon and white chocolate, delicious and moist.  I did blow out the candles (all in one blow) and made a wish (which I won’t share or it won’t come true!)  Yes, in many ways I’m still a child where birthday celebrations are concerned!  There’s one more slice in the fridge for me to enjoy tomorrow; I forgot about it until it was about 10 minutes to chemo time, and I didn’t want to restart the 2-hour fast.  Jerry has been a little unsettled, since there were people in his house today, and I wasn’t available for most of the day, so when I sat in my chair, he immediately jumped on my lap and refused to budge, even after I tried pushing him off.  When I stood up, he of course had to move, but then stuck next to my feet.  Don is glued to a sports game, and is surprisingly wide eyed (instead of his usual “resting his eyes”)  He was also the target of some of Jerry’s extra energy, and they were playing for a long while.  It’s always good when the boys are well and energetic, even if it’s tiring sometimes.

My sister came over after work and we had dinner and spent some time just relaxing and chatting (and teaming up to tease Don for various things)  It’s great having her here, even though there’s work, but that’s all good.  She heads home tomorrow afternoon after her meetings are done, but we’ll probably have a chance to have lunch or a snack and I’ll load her up with a few things to take back.  We talked for a while with the kids, who inform me that they have their birthday and Christmas requests already lining up 😛 so I can be prepared.  I’d already decided what my nephew’s birthday present will be, and unless he has a massive change of heart, it will not change.  (Frankly, though, Auntie and the parents will probably enjoy it more for a while!)  Anyway, we ordered in, as it was easier and more comfortable than getting dressed and going out again, and had a nice time.  

I spent today in a 5-hour Zoom call for the first day of reviewing the grant applications.  I can share that this is the first time these particular awards are being offered, and we received about 120 applications, of which 78 were passed to the various review panels, and we’ve whittled the list down to about 23 with the intention of awarding about 6.  So it’s a competitive process; as I’ve said before, I don’t know enough of the science to be able to assess the scientific merit of the papers but I’m learning so much.  I have to say that I have even more respect for researchers now, as I see how much work they have to do just to qualify, then even more to contribute to their fields.  I also noted today, as we went through the introductory process, that there are people working in fields that did not exist while I was at school.  Genomics, for instance, was a pipe dream.  Being able to edit strands of DNA was another; and then it was unthinkable that there were ways to isolate DNA at home, with easily obtainable items.  Of course, it’s entirely possible that it was understood, but our teachers weren’t current, and it definitely didn’t make it to the syllabus for high school!  I did tell my elder niece that the types of careers that will be open to her will be more varied and very different from when her grandfather studied the same subjects, or even me — the world changes and grows, and she should not be limited to what was known and comfortable to her elders.  There’s going to be exciting developments in her future, and she should be prepared to strike out in new directions.

OK, I’m heading off to bed.  I have another long Zoom call tomorrow as we’re on day 2 of the evaluations (I’ll probably have to nip out of the call if my sister comes over before we’re done)  I’ve already taken my meds, and Jerry is giving me signs that he thinks it’s past his bedtime.  Good night!