Time snapshot

Happy April. 

This morning, we finally had a time change, last of the world, I think. I know this because I have meetings with people in the US and Europe. The US changes first, and has to meet an hour later. The UK changes next, and I shift to meet an hour earlier. Then I change. That puts our group meeting two hours off of our previous meeting time. What was a 7:30am meeting time for me would become 5:30am. No way am I meeting at 5:30 in the morning. So we change the meetings to the opposite ends of the day. I go from early morning meetings to late evening meetings. From now until October, I'll meet my colleagues after 8:30pm. That's ok. It will be dark now by 6:30pm. And getting darker earlier until June. 

In the pandemic realm, our state has gone more than a month with no virus cases. We are pretty much fully back to normal, just face masks on public transit, and more flexible work arrangements. We aren't getting vaccinated very fast in this country, which means we'll be susceptible to outbreaks for a long time, and short lockdowns and state border closures. But meanwhile, we appreciate every day free of pandemic. We walked to the beach on the bay yesterday, and it was bustling.

So life carries on. 

Day by day, I know what is happening. I still can't plan things out too far in advance, though. Back in December, when we had first eliminated the virus, we thought Australia would be in a safe travel bubble and we'd be able to move around the country easily. I applied for and received funding to collaborate with a colleague in Sydney in May. Then right around Christmas time there was a virus outbreak, and snap lockdowns and state border closures to contain it. People who had traveled from Melbourne to Sydney for the holidays were given only a few hours to rush home, or be stuck indefinitely and subject to two-week quarantine when they were eventually allowed back. 

Since then, my university has been very wary of interstate travel. My visit to Sydney, scheduled for May, wouldn't be approved today, in early April. I don't know how much will have changed in four weeks. So maybe I won't travel. 

In non-pandemic news, I gave a virtual public lecture on Thursday. This was an incredible amount of work, curating pictures and stories and building slides appropriate to share with a public audience. Forty-five minutes long! (Too long.) It came together, and it worked out well, I think, but the public lecture filled most of my free time for multiple weeks. I am still tired. Maybe I can catch up on some other things, finally. Now that it is April.