Gab's Farewell

We had a little party for Gab tonight after the talks. M went to a local supermarket and picked up a cake for him. It was surprising good for a supermarket cake. I think Gab was touched by our gesture and the CD we made for him. It's strange that he will be leaving for Naples directly after the meeting and we won't see him again when we go back to work next week. Seeing Jon and Cris and Takuya here was really just like old times when we were all still in the D lab. But after tomorrow people will go back to their prospective labs and their lives and we won't see them again for a long time. Personally I am thinking that this will be my last meeting so it might be years and years before I see some of them again.

I was sittng through the talks today and realised how, in a way, we are really fortunate. It's easy to forget what kind of a priviledged environment that I am part of. Usually I take it for granted that I am surrounded by some of the most intelligent people on the planet. The professors at Caltech are so good, and I had gotten to a point when I thought that it was how things are everywhere else too. Then I hear some of the other talks and realised that (perhaps I am biased, but I think not) EHD has these amazing ideas that no one else has, and that we are doing some of the most exciting research around. Strange isn't it, and T was telling me that the D lab is like heaven on earth. Funny coming from a guy whose last months before leaving was absolutely miserable. But I guess you can hate someone for their policies and respect the ideas that they have.