i have returned to baltimore from a few weeks on the west coast, where i visited santa cruz for work and portland for pleasure. now, the difficult work of assembling drafts of my postdoc job applications begins, filling me with dread.
in santa cruz, i got to experience the lovely redwoods and enjoy the beach town in the limited downtime between exhausting work intensives. long sessions of expert talks filled the mornings, which were difficult to sit through dhe to the lack of early coffee and cold, low pressure showers (i eventually bought my own coldbrew from town to keep in my dorm, but couldn’t solve the shower). afternoons were filled with meetings and sessions, culminating in group dinners and then, for me, more work trying to keep up with a recent, largely failed JWST observation from one of my observing programs. the apparent (at this moment) failure of those observations, one of three chances i have to make this program work, have haunted me for the last few weeks. i spent too many nights agonizing over the data before coming to terms with the setback, all without any of the creature comforts of home. still, the workshop was worthwhile, if not restful.
then, i launched north to pdx for a few days to visit friends and family. i stayed with jonas in his new apartment in northwest over the weekend, probably the most time i had spent in that part of the city in my life. i can’t tell whether the portland trimet bus system is especially good compared to other cities (for instance, baltimore) or whether my familiarity with the routes, buses, and destinations gives me confidence in traveling around without a car that i just haven’t recaptured elsewhere. i bussed to visit family in southeast, crossing the (relatively) new bus and bike bridge on the 17.
im glad to be home, but still looking for a moment to truly rest. ive finished reading solaris by stanisław lem (the novel was good, but the tarkovsky movie elevates its more interesting, latent themes, in my opinion). ive made a great pot of frijoles charros following this recipe. i took my bike for a spin around druid hill today. mostly, though, ive been thinking too much about applications, and telescope proposals, and papers and students and work i owe my collaborators.
i hope i can find a way to take a real break this summer, one devoid of travel or work, before the summer itself ends and the new academic year begins, bringing new deadlines, anxieties, and challenges with it.
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