A new start

I haven't blogged much in the last week or so. Frankly, this was a miserable Christmas and New Year, due to both personal and work reasons. For those that might have concerns about me not commenting on your blog entries or not receiving email, bear with me! I've actually been quite busy and have not had much time to read other blogs.

So, what is the new year bringing? We'll for one thing I will actually be back on the mountain from tomorrow afternoon to carry out a little bit of my own astronomical research - looking for weird and wonderful molecules that may or may not be out there in space. This doesn't happen very often these days as I'm so involved in operations and instrumentation, but it'll definitely make a nice change. What's even nicer, and this is what used to make my job so pleasant, is that I have a couple of observers/collaborators who have never been here before. This will be such an experience for them and I'll do what I can to make it unforgettable. I still remember my first trip to the Big Island, years ago in 1991, and that's when I fell in love with the island.

They've arrived at the perfect time. The bad weather has finally ended and the sun came out over the weekend. The forecast is for good weather at the summit, at least until Saturday and then things look a little dire again, but we should get some decent data by then. I can take them to a couple of good restaurants in Hilo and then stun them with the beauty of Manua Kea while there is still plenty of snow around. They might even get to see people ski in Hawai'i!

So, all in all, something good to look forward to for the beginning of 2009.