We went to a New Year party, held on the evening of the first, at Fukui-san's house. She is a good friend of Masako-san, our host mother.

We attended a party at her place earlier this year, well last year I guess, around thanksgiving. The bar was set high, but once again the food was marvelous and the company was superb.

I had a memorable conversation with a Russian scientist who is married to a Japanese woman and has been living in Japan for a couple of decades. He taught me a lot about gene research and rolling stones... The phrase "a rolling stone gathers no moss" came up in our conversation. A proverb I had always interpreted as advice to keep moving. Something along the lines of; "...go light and go fast man or you’re going to get some unwanted fuzz collecting on you…"

My Russian friend pointed out that in Japan moss is considered a beautiful thing because it represents permanence and wisdom (not to mention it looks kick ass in those manicured Japanese gardens)... Too much darting around is frowned upon. I was surprised I made it to 32 without ever considering that interpretation.