There was another parallel that struck much closer to home: his father's death from prostate cancer at 39. "I think I've been preoccupied since I was 11, and my father died, with the idea of the age 39: Would I live that long?
Oppenheimer first became interested in film-making as an undergraduate at Harvard, where he studied theoretical physics and cosmology - "I was preoccupied, as I still am, with what we are, where we come from and what we are made of" - before switching to philosophy.
When he arrived, bags in hand, I was so preoccupied that I didn't offer him a kiss hello.
83rd over: England 309-8 (Giles 39, Hoggard 1) Richie has gone, and I was so preoccupied that I missed his final words.
I can get so preoccupied that I don't see anybody.
During the day, I am preoccupied with thoughts -- "I will never catch up," "If I don't keep up I will be buried," "I will never have enough time to do what I need to do on my computer". Day or night, these recurring thoughts are intrusive and paralyzing.
At that time, the thing that most preoccupied me -- I had begun teaching in New York and was very struck by this -- was the extent to which Americans regarded themselves as living on a more or less separate planet from the rest of us.
Secondly, as someone who loves journalism and the media business, I'm preoccupied by what I see as an unprecedented wave of mediocrity sweeping through the news business, which suffers from deteriorating business models coupled to questionable management.
I was deeply preoccupied with what I had seen and eaten... and knew I would be back shortly for a further exploration.
But I wasn't preoccupied by this – I was busy identifying with Jimmy.
