Welcome 2009

This morning, the first flower on my second Christmas cactus opened fully; its pale pink cousin, which peaked in early December, still has a couple of buds waiting to unfurl.

Rarely have I been so happy to see New Year's Day arrive. 2008 wasn't completely miserable: my friends and family all made it through the year alive and, for the most part, sort of happy, a major collaborative project that may help to shape the future of electronic records in New York State wrapped up successfully, and I got to see San Francisco and the Grand Canyon. However, between discovering that a trusted colleague was in fact a thief, experiencing some significant personal woes, learning that our crusading governor had a secret life, and watching as the economy tanked, it really was pretty lousy.

I fully expect that the theft, the abrupt resignation of the governor, and the recession will continue to have repercussions -- expected and otherwise -- throughout 2009, but for some time I've been hopeful about the new year.

I also hope that you are enjoying this New Year's Day and that 2009 brings all manner of good things to you.

Christmas cactus . . . and clearing for takeoff

I have two Christmas cacti: a large one that produces pale pink blossoms, and a small one that produces fuchsia ones. The big one is just starting to bloom, and the little one has a bunch of teeny little buds.

I took a few minutes this morning to grab my camera and document the opening of the first blooms on the big plant. Every time I look at them, I can't help but smile.

I'm taking to the sky tomorrow so that I can attend the kickoff meeting of the Distributed Custodial Archival Preservation Environments (DCAPE) project in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Thursday and Friday. Owing to my flight schedule, I won't have much free time, but I will be able to see at least some of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill campus and the Louis Round Wilson Library, which is home to the university's manuscript, archival, and rare books collections. And, of course, there should be lots of cool DCAPE stuff to report . . . .