So, finally 40 is here! I have been dreading this day for so long, and the suddenly, it is here. I think the fact that tomorrow is my last day at CDC, and everything involved with that (packing, cleaning) made me actually forget about the big 4-0. Well, this morning I woke up in a hotel room in Durban staring at the ocean - the morning being a little grey, but hey, when you have lived your entire life inland, any view of the ocean is fantastic.
So, 40. Actually, what is the big deal? Do I feel different today? No. Do I look different? Well, I have more grey hair, but that is not different from yesterday, or the day before that. However, let me put this challenge out there: dear scientists, please find PERMANENT grey hair removal formulas!
Well, seeing as everyone tells me that life starts at 40, I will keep on blogging to see if this is really true.
The day (and my forties) are off to a good start. Okay, so Hitesh calling me at 01:15 (yes, that really is just after 1 in the morning) was a big surprise, but so sweet! He is in Boston at the moment, so please understand that he is not some crazy person phoning people at 1 in the morning. I had taken a sleeping tablet a few hours before, so I am afraid I was not very "compos mentos" when I spoke with him.
I woke around 6 in the morning to a grey, cloudy sky, but as I said before, seeing the ocean, great. Heidi and I went for breakfast at Nino's just a few metres from the hotel, but boy, did those few metres turn into miles when we had to get back to the hotel in the driving rain and wind. I thought Heidi was going to fall over a few times. That's the benefit of being obese, the wind can't get you!
Anyway, right now I am in a meeting with some of my favourite people - the PEPFAR treatment partner M&E officers. I love these people - they have a passion for data, and can fully understand my love of Excel and colour-coding. I am SUCH a geek.
Anyway, have to quickly deliver a presentation, so, speak later!
Go 40!
