But How Much Baby Do We Really Need?

For those who don't have song lyric recall, that's a line from "Daydream Believer."

In an event that rarely happens in my life, but never goes unnoticed, the actual soundtrack that was playing at the time actually fit the scene.

Last night I was talking with Brian Delanney, Michael Rae, and CR Hacker Boy Brother (who is very into online privacy and therefore I assume would not want to be named) about how much money it would take to fund the rodent studies for the CR mimetic drug (I am simplifying a very complicated concept here, apologies but I have little time), and out of the annoying hotel music that I was unable to find the switch to turn off the strains of "Daydream Believer" begin to play. I said, "Finally a song I actually like," as we had suffered through "It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To" and other such torture. There was a moment of silence in which I mentally wrote the headline of this post. It will take at least ten million, it seems. My fantasies of fundraising are starting to seem less and less like fantasies and more like possibilities.

Being here at the CRS Conference is like having all my childhood fantasies of being Princess Leia come true. I am surrounded by Jedi Knights, blockade runners, and interesting creatures from another planet. It definitely feels like the first movie, when all the characters have just met but you have this sense that they'll be appearing in several sequels over the course of many years. Luckily, I am not wearing my hair in an unflattering style. Princess Leia never got the hair thing right until _Return of the Jedi_, I think we could all agree.

I am learning so much. Yesterday the presentations from the scientists were fantastic, about Every other day fasting, a history of CR science, and all sorts of things. I love to watch the scientists be catty about each other and argue. I have understood almost everything, and what I haven't, others are explaining to me.

The food has been infrequent... yesterday we decided to skip lunch because we were running low on time, and I hadn't eaten breakfast, so I wasn't feeling too good. I ate a bunch of almonds and stole and abandoned apple from a desk (missing VLC's habit of carrying fruit around.) I don't trust the restaurant here to make an eggwhite omlet so I haven't been eating breakfast and I miss my eggwhite scrambles!

So much more to say but a CR scientist who is making a presentation this morning needs the computer, so I'd better run!