First off---HAPPY 1995!

I hope you all had a delightful and restful holiday. I arrived in Cambridge on Friday after a three week sojourn in Joisey. Tired was I. Had left NYC with a temperature below freezing and clouds galore only to be met in London with 44F sunny blue skies that I ever did see!

Anyway, that would soon change. It has been raining since then. :) It's good to be home, right?

I handed in my first year post-graduate exam today. It was one of those nasty take homes...which also didn't make the holidays as great. Ah, but this time I learned the art of procrastination at home. :)

This month is to be the start of my thesis work with the arrival of the tech and the post-doc for the project. The optics lab was to have been built by Christmas. Well, as I peaked in yesterday, it is about 1/2 way there.

Not much has happened since my last emails. I spent Thanksgiving in London (actually the Saturday after the Thursday) with the Marshall Scholars of my year and the years past who were in the area. I made a pasta and vegetable dish for 20 people (yeah, Kim learned to cook!) and had a jolly time taking it on the train and Tube. I did have a nice time. Didn't see much of London. Attempted to go to Westminster Abbey, but there was an Advent service in progress. Walked around. Saw Buckingham palace from far away. The best part of the trip was seeing all the other Marshalls. With all our busy schedules I rarely even get to see the Marshalls at Cambridge.

On Dec 6 I was exposed to RUGBY! I went down to Twickinem (sp?) which is between Oxford and Cambridge to see the University Match between, you name it, Oxford and Cambridge. I am happy to say Cam won 26-21. It was most exciting! And then we went to a pub afterward to celebrate! I must admit the game is a bit strange, but for all you American Football fans out there, I prefer rugby over Amer Football anyday! More action! More fluidity!

Somehow the weeks have flown by and I found myself on the road to Westwood, New Jersey aboard my first transatlantic flight. A Boeing 747 with Upper Deck! I shall never forget those wings! What a massive machine. Amazing how it flies (but of course we all know from first principles, Bernouli's principle, etc.). Saw Orion from the window on a crescent moon-lit night. Beautiful!

Oh, I left on a 45F sunny day in England. On those days you don't want to leave this gorgeous countryside. Arrived in NYC and there was snow in the air. Nothing stuck, which is a bummer, but it was mighty cold. We had a green Christmas. I soaked in everyday the sun shone in NJ. Three weeks past, I saw Generations (comments have I on that one!), slept late, watched some movies, read three novels, played with the dog, saw some dear friends and family, and tried to work on the exam. Soon it was time to fly home.

Virgin Atlantic, the airline I traveled with on both flights, is an amazing line. I highly reccommend it! They take very good care of you and feed you lots of good food!

The trip back was a bit uncomfortable but that is because I haven't learned yet how to sleep sitting up. The flight left at 11pm EST and arrived 11am UK time. I think I managed 2 hours of sleep. I think I am still getting over it. Then I just worked on the finishing touches to the exam, which has been handed in as of 9am UK this morning. And I have let out a sigh of relief.

I hope to encounter more adventures soon. And I shall send you updates.

I hope this note finds you all well. Miss you all.

Luv,

Kim