Unusual Sunday

Today was a long day. It does not happen often that I set up my alarm for 6 a.m. on a Sunday. It started a little stressful as all of a sudden I realized I was running late for the metro in the middle of my tea, which resulted in me running out quickly. As I wanted to lock the door I realized I had left my keys inside and I had locked myself out! Luckily my car and house keys were separate in anticipation of this exact scenario so I could still drive to metro; and again luckily I could ask my brother to bring me my extra key later in the day.

I arrived at the national mall. Most people go there to see the cherry blossoms these days*; but not us. We had science meetings in the National Natural History Museum. The museum was not yet open to the public. It was kind of like A Night at the Museum!** We entered from the back door; We were guided to our meeting place. It was so nice to finally see the faces of people I had either heard about or worked with during the past year; We had worked and collaborated with each other over phone and email, despite time and distance barriers among others. People from Italy, Germany, different parts of the U.S. (California, Arizona, etc.), all came for this meeting at D.C. It was nice to see the mission PI in person. To know that my name and work was familiar to his ears. I was lucky and fortunate to be there among them today.

We had to break into small working groups and go to different rooms several times during the day. That process involved taking the elevator to the main floor, passing through the public visiting the museum, and getting to our conference rooms. The whole experience was so surreal. As I was passing through people, skeletons of dinosaurs, sounds of Africa, dried elephants, kids and parent, just to get to a room where we could hear everything we collectively know about asteroid Vesta to date, I felt like a character in Dan Brown's Lost Symbol***: going about our goal and mission and ignoring everyone and everything that was going on in the museum. I also felt like we were time traveling: seeing skeletons and remnants dating God knows how many thousand years back to the latest and greatest science and technology. Discussions about publication plans were mostly about those that would appear either in Science or Nature! The whole experience was so surreal and dreamy to me. Was I really there? Did I ever imagine such a day as part of such a team at such a place? If all that was not enough, we had lunch in the Old Post Office. As we were having lunch there, I related to the atmosphere of the train station in Hugo!**** I do not know what was it today with me and movies?! Have I been watching too many movies lately, or was I just overwhelmed? Probably both.

Tomorrow is going to be even more surreal; At the end of the day we will get a tour of meteorite collections in that museum. Pieces that hit the Earth from comets and asteroids similar to Vesta. It becomes a full circle.

* They are already disappearing this year due to unusually warm winter and early spring season that we had.

** http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477347/

*** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Symbol

**** http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970179/

خانه دوست كجاست؟

امروز سراغت را گرفتم. پرسيدم خانه دوست كجاست؟ و او گفت دقيقا ميداند كه تو كجايى. نشانى درخت بزرگى را داد، و گفت درست زير آن درختى و گلهاى فراوان به رويت. رفتم، برايت سيب هم گذاشته بودند. نميدانم سين هاى ديگرى هم بود يا اينكه فقط سيب را دوست داشتى. هر چه بود سيب بود، سبزه بود، سهيلى هم پنهان بود. عيدت مبارك!
جايت قدر يك باغ گل سبز است.

I did it!

I wrote such a lengthy letter in response to request for input about things that could be improved in my workplace. We will see if people begin to dislike me now and give me hard time, or in fact things start improving. Did they really want our input to improve things, or did they just have to ask to be legally polite? We shall see!

Success

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

In your own words

These are the quotes you wrote on your websites and profiles, or as captions to your photos; These are the quotes you truly lived by.

"Time is a winged bus that is only one step behind. You have to embrace it... the worst thing is to not enjoy the present because you're scared of the future"
-Alan Cumming

"There is no end.
There is no beginning.
There is only a passion for life"
-Federico Fellini

"Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless..."
-Paul Bowles

I was so proud of myself for having found a jewel in a hidden cubical on the third floor.
I will always treasure the jewel I found in you.

Be water my friend

You left a hole in our hearts and filled yours with our tears.

Rest in peace Soheil. You are greatly missed.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the weather mild and springy. There were more people in the funeral home than it could properly host. Two big service rooms and the hall way were all full and overflowing with people sitting and standing around. Yet everyone quietly and peacefully was mourning, and crying. The atmosphere was oddly peaceful, as if you were floating around, happily greeting each and every single friend and family, the unique way you used to do. We could feel your presence and your always contagious smile and delightful gaze. We could not see you but we could easily picture you. Googoosh was singing sadly for you. Your haft-seen table was on your right, the flag of Iran on you, a big picture of you with your family to your left. Brenda had arranged everything just as you would have liked it. She had picked poems and quotations from your favorite poets and characters. Cecilia was playing around just as you loved to watch her. Everything was perfect; Except that we did not see you; Well we almost did. Your twin brother was a carbon copy of you. I do not know how many people greeted him with a mixture of sad-confused-happy look as I did. He was too kind just like you. He was playing you. He was you there, and he promised to be there for your wife and kid.

Soheil. So many of our hearts are broken; but somehow you managed to calm us down yesterday; even when you were gone. You showed us what a great life you had; How many wonderful people you were surrounded with. You were telling us, do not cry, I had a great life. You reminded us over and over "Your cup was always empty, be water my friend!"

Soheil

Soheil! What happened? Where is your beautiful smile? Your cubical is so unbearable without you. I was going to send email for our new year's outing. How can I do it without you with us this year? Soheil! I cannot believe you are gone. I got a forwarded email. I was hoping some stupid secretary made another stupid mistake when copying and pasting a name from the directory. I went to see you in your cubical. Cecilia's picture is there. Your notes, nicely organized papers are there. Your love and passion for life is there. I looked at your cubical, I faced your office mate questionably, he nodded yes, I broke down.

Soheil! What happened?

http://www.soheilphotography.com/#!/soheil