In Auckland
I left for New Zealand yesterday, or maybe I should say two days ago. I caught a flight from Oakland, CA, to Los Angeles on Oct 2 where most of the team met up. Dale, Alfonso, Tyler, Steve and I all caught a 13 hour flight to Auckland, leaving at 11:40 pm. Because of the length of the flight as well as crossing the international date line, we landed in Auckland at 8:30 am on Oct 4. We are now waiting for our flight to Christchurch where we’ll spend a day and a half before heading to “the ice”.
The flight to Auckland was completely full. I had a middle seat. However, I was really tired, so I ended up sleeping most of the flight. I also had some new noise canceling headphones. They cut out a lot of the background noise and really help reduce the fatigue of flying for me. I wear them even when I’m not listening to music or watching a movie. I find them more comfortable than ear plugs.
I still have some work to do that I didn’t get done before I left: a paper review to finish, a tenure case review, some letters of recommendation, etc. I also had a proposal that I didn’t get finished, but I’ve had to decide not to submit it. I just had too many things that I wanted to do. Now it is time to finish up those critical items, and mentally move into field mode. I’m looking forward to being able to focus on just the daily life and science of a focused field season. The demands on my time are still there, but because they are focused on daily life and one suite of science questions, I have time to think about things more deeply than I often can at home. I can feel that transition starting to happen already. I’m sure that when we check into the Sudima Hotel in Christchurch, I’ll feel one step closer to being in the field!
The flight to Auckland was completely full. I had a middle seat. However, I was really tired, so I ended up sleeping most of the flight. I also had some new noise canceling headphones. They cut out a lot of the background noise and really help reduce the fatigue of flying for me. I wear them even when I’m not listening to music or watching a movie. I find them more comfortable than ear plugs.
I still have some work to do that I didn’t get done before I left: a paper review to finish, a tenure case review, some letters of recommendation, etc. I also had a proposal that I didn’t get finished, but I’ve had to decide not to submit it. I just had too many things that I wanted to do. Now it is time to finish up those critical items, and mentally move into field mode. I’m looking forward to being able to focus on just the daily life and science of a focused field season. The demands on my time are still there, but because they are focused on daily life and one suite of science questions, I have time to think about things more deeply than I often can at home. I can feel that transition starting to happen already. I’m sure that when we check into the Sudima Hotel in Christchurch, I’ll feel one step closer to being in the field!
