Travel part I: UCLA

I recently returned from spending three weeks in the US. I have lots of Thoughts every time I travel. Maybe I will put some Thoughts here. 

I started in California, at UCLA, where the weather was pretty symmetric to Melbourne weather, except off by a season. Their cool weather was the start of spring, where ours was slipping into autumn. 

The vegetation was nearly identical. Lawns and native Australian trees. 

From the photos, it could be Melbourne. The way to tell it apart is by the big banners every 10 feet proclaiming that you are on the UCLA campus. 

 

And by listening. 

...

No squawking parrots. None. 

There were squirrels, but they were pretty silent, comparatively. 

 

The first week of the trip was less structured from a work point of view. I arrived early to do some quiet work and to try to adjust to the time zone, so that I wouldn't sleep through the workshop. 

That plan would have worked better, I think, if I had picked a different hotel.

I received a notice just before my arrival that the hotel would be hosting high-security visitors. I should expect extra security and protesters. 

I didn't anticipate the fact that they would put me, the Nobody staying at the hotel, overlooking the portion of parking lot where the protesters were cordoned off. That was a bit obnoxious. 

I didn't anticipate that on Wednesday evening around 9pm, they would shout into a direct speaker in my room the fact that the hotel was closed to protesters, and anyone in the lobby would be subject to arrest. Direct speaker into my room!

And I didn't anticipate the fact that the security guards would make me wait outside in the dark on Thursday, after my long long evening walk, to search for my name on a list of guests. That I would need to repeat my name and my room number over and over, and over and over again, before finally someone new arrived to let me through. That didn't feel secure at all. Anyone listening now knew exactly who I was and where I was staying (overlooking the protester car park, FYI), and now someone listening could safely use my name and room number, for example at the hotel restaurant (just charge the meal to "my" room -- here's the name and number!). It was unnerving. 

And finally, I received a notice under my door:

In summary, it reads:

"Dear Guest, Do not be disturbed when thousands of students run screaming past your window at midnight in their underwear. It is a tradition."

My text to Tim: "Blargh! Next time don't let me pick the hotel on campus!!!!"

What happened in February

Jessica: Time to write a family newsletter. What happened in February?

Jonathan: It was hot.

***

It wasn’t that hot. The daily high temperatures ranged from 20 degrees C to 38. That’s 68F to 100F, which isn’t so unusual for summer. You can see from the graph below, from the Bureau of Meteorology, that there were more cool days in the high 60s F and low 70s F than hot days near 100 F. Plus after (during?) hot days, Melbourne typically has a drastic cool change: the wind swaps directions suddenly, and the temperature drops about 20 degrees C. Or from 100F down to 68F in about 15 minutes. Melbournians love it. I think I might prefer more constant summer temperatures in the high 20s C or low 30s C (around 80 degrees F). We didn’t get too many of those days in February.

***

What else happened in February?

At the beginning of the month, Tim was in Santa Clara California for work for the first time since 2019. His company has built a new building since then. Tim kept sending pictures like this:

Cool building, Tim.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and I participated in Melbourne’s Midsumma Pride March. Looking back to the temperature graph, you see that sharp spike early in the month? Yup. That was the hot weather we had for the march. A bit too hot, actually. That would be part of Jonathan’s memories of heat.

On February 13, another of those big heat spikes ended via a massive storm. The storm was particularly bad at Monash – it took down a lot of trees, blocked the public transit, and campus was closed the following day. It took me a long time to get home that day. Photos below show the damage in front of the Science building, and a view of a small part of the long line for train-replacement-buses to get out of the city after that storm. Luckily, I commute from the suburbs back into the city, so my wait wasn’t quite as bad (I wasn’t in that line). 

On February 15, when the temperature was back down in the cool-zone, we cashed in on our Christmas present: The family went to see Groundhog Day the musical. That was fun.

There were a couple other small heat spikes before the end of the month as well. My photos show that Tim and I went with a friend to check out his boat on St Kilda harbor on 25 February, which was definitely a day on the hotter side of warm.

But otherwise all my pictures of February are pictures of gorgeous summer weather.

This is my favourite time of year not to be in winter. Even when it is hot. 

 

Honestly?

I returned home after a month in Canberra on Saturday afternoon. I hauled my bags through the summer heat in the Melbourne tram system, then up the stairs in our apartment building to dump them in the front entryway with a sigh of relief. Home.

Tim was away for work. Jonathan was out with friends. So for a few hours, it would be just me in the blissful peace of my own space in my lovely living room--

Except what?

The Christmas tree was still up, fully decorated. Looking the other way, the Christmas stockings were still hanging over the fireplace. The full nativity set was still arranged next to the dining room table, one sad camel tipped on its side. 

We had a family conversation on the 5th of January as I was packing for my month-long trip. It went like this.

Me: "Hey I'll be gone for a month. Do you want me to start helping you put away Christmas? If so, it has to be today."

Tim and Jonathan: "No don't worry about that. We've got it. Just finish packing and we love you."

And so I headed off, sure that the Christmas clean up was in good hands.

Up until I found it untouched on 3rd February.

So rather than unpack my bags, I dug out the Christmas boxes and started wrapping up ornaments, folding up Christmas linens, packing away Christmas lights. 

Three hours later everything was done, stashed away back in its box in the high cupboard. Except the tree. I got it into three parts. But I couldn't figure out how to fold the parts into the box. I hauled it into Tim's office and left it for him.

Tim gets back from California today. I'll be at work, but he'll find a partially disassembled Christmas tree on the floor of his office. 

Because nothing brings more warm fuzzy feelings than Christmas.

In Canberra

I've been in Canberra for almost four weeks now, teaching a summer school class. The class has been fun, but pretty intensive, with no breaks. For example I finished planning Monday's class on Sunday night. And then I had to plan the next one on Monday. And then the next one on Tuesday. And so on. And now it's getting late on Wednesday night and I need to organise two hours of material for tomorrow.

*Sigh*

But it has been nice being somewhere a little different, and a little warmer (on average) than Melbourne. We've had multiple days in a row with warm summer weather. That's different and fun and exciting. 

And I've seen a lot of birds and animals in Canberra. 

Like water dragons. 

And red-rumped parrots.

And an echidna -- sorry for the poor photo.

Campus is lovely. 

Over the second weekend, Tim and Jonathan came out to visit. We did some walking.

And a visit to the Canberra mint.

 

And the third weekend, which was a long weekend, a friend invited me to join her family at a beach house on the coast, and that was amazing and needs its own post. 

Anyway, Canberra has been great, and I'm happy to have come. And I'm really ready to go home again. 

*Sigh*

Resolving

To be completely honest, I am burnt out. 

I like working with people, but I haven't been able to keep up with the meetings, with students, with collaborators, with responsibilities. Up until the holidays, I was working most evenings and most weekends just to keep my head above water. I've let a few important balls drop, including one or two when I've been sideswiped by an unexpected migraine. The migraines seem to be increasing a bit in severity as well -- possibly due to the fact that I am aging, but also possibly because I'm doing too much and trying too hard to pretend the migraines aren't there when they've always been there. So rather than looking forward to the new year with anticipation and curiosity, I find myself facing the idea of returning to work with some unwelcome dread. I don't want to go back to the place where I'm letting all those people down again. 

Things have to be different this year. They have to be. But I'm not really sure what that's going to look like. Jonathan has been asking what I'm resolving to do in the new year. I'm not much into resolutions, but I know there needs to be a change.

I've stepped out of one position, effective immediately -- but the paperwork hasn't yet come through, so I'm not sure what "immediately" means. Also, I agreed to write a couple dozen reviews in January related to the old position rather than drop the new person into it. So there is also that. 

And I won a prestigious internal grant this past year, which will allow me to try to focus more on research and less on teaching and administration. So that will also be different. But it comes with strings attached -- I'm supposed to leverage it into an even bigger grant and a big grant application. 

Dread.

I know what I need to do. I need to take things slowly, one day at a time. I need to plan little steps to finish the big projects. I need to devote reasonable amounts of time to homework -- more than I've been scheduling in the past year -- and I need to be able to step between projects. And I need breathing space between projects, not meetings after meetings after meetings. 

My superpower has never been that I am smart or kind or curious, although I aspire to be all of those things. My superpower is that I am organised. I can look ahead to what needs to happen in a year, and I can make the skeleton of a plan, and I can fill in the details as I go. For example, below is the plan that I showed to the committee to win the prestigious internal grant. 

Organised. But not even organisation can overcome a calendar packed completely full. So I resolve to keep gaps in the calendar every week. Every day. Big gaps for thinking and being and solving. 

I hope the gaps will be enough to help my head get back to a better place. I hope they allow space not just to deal healthily with the migraines, but also space to relax and laugh and think and enjoy some of the things I stopped enjoying last year, like reading novels or writing and thinking.

So I guess I resolve to do less. You read it first here. 

Happy New Year

For the last couple of years, we've met up with Jonathan's friends and their parents to watch the city fireworks. One of the main areas for fireworks is only about a 20 minute walk up the road, so we head out there with a blanket and glow sticks. Here are a few photos of the night.

Happy New Year everyone. 

Modelling

Nathan and Michele got us a little model house thingy for Christmas, and I've spent many many hours during the last week, between Christmas and New Year's Day, putting it together. 

I took photos along the way. First is a picture from Boxing Day, 26 December. You can see the piles of stuff required, and the ground floor mostly assembled.

From the 28th December: Here's the 1st floor added, with the bathroom complete.

On 29th December I finished the bedroom and office.

Then the railings and stairs.

Zoomed out view again of the bits and pieces and stuff.

Happy New Year! January 1st pictures of the ground floor furniture: Piano.

Living room and fireplace.

And then finally last night I completed the rocking chair with tea table, and the phonograph this morning.

It has been fiddly, messy, and hugely addictive. Good thing I finished before work starts up again!

Still to do: finish attaching the wiring and the battery. There are five tiny LED lights wired into the structure. 

And clean up the mess. 

Thanks Nathan and Michele!