It seems as if this journal is becoming mostly a listing of those we've said goodbye to. On Friday I learned of the death of my former colleague, Cintra R. We met back in the extremely faraway days when the major accounting firms were called the Big Eight (as opposed to the Big Four, or by now probably Big Two). She was doing technical writing for one of the firms, and I was editing and revamping some of their publications. We hit it off right away, and over the next 40 or so years we remained more or less regularly in touch. She made numerous changes in her career, from corporate to academic to corporate to academic, changing cities frequently in order to accept a new job or appointment. Over the last few years we'd lost touch, but I thought of her frequently, and I always felt that we'd see each other again when the workload was lighter and the world less crazy. Sadly, that didn't happen. I don't know the cause of her death; I do know that she was a cancer survivor, that heart disease ran in her family, and that she was a smoker. So it could have been one or a combination of those factors that caused her to die far too soon. She will be missed.

More than six months since I've posted. Well, no point in promising to do better, since I know that I won't. I'll just say that I've been watching Buffy every evening--first time in 20-plus years that I've seen most of the eps in order. I still adore this show, and, as many others have said, it holds up surprisingly well in both writing and performances.

Saw "The Body" last week--it's just as harrowing today as it was when I first saw it. SMG was an underrated actor. Her performance was raw and subtle and heartbreaking. The rest of the cast was outstanding too, especially ASH. I wish I had even one TV series on my current list that I loved as much as I loved Buffy.

Got an invite to the annual freelancers' lunch--first time as FL rather than staff. Could say so much more. Won't.

I'm going to try to post a bit more frequently in 2016, but my goodness it's hard work.

Lots of work-related change coming up this year, which will take some adjusting to. Only one new year's resolution this time, but at least it stands a chance of being adhered to: more music. Very much more music.

We shall see/hear what comes to pass.