I have been on leave at the University of Arizona for nearly a full month now. It's time for another entry in my Covid Diaries. (For my official "covid diaries" see here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here, here; here; here, here; here; here; here; here; here; here; and here). My situation is a mixed bag. I have a lot of great news, but also non-trivial new challenges.
First, I love the weather in Tucson in November. My hosts have given me perfect working conditions with a nice office, and a lovely apartment a convenient fifty-minute walk through town. The free trolley connects my apartment with the university, but I prefer being outdoors and getting some activity walking to compus while taking pictures of local murals and the sky. I pinch myself that being paid to join a research group while on leave is possible in my academic life; although it's also a long time, too long away from my family. It's my son's thirteenth birthday tomorrow, and the occasion is bittersweet.
Anyway, let me start with the promising new. I am much better able to engage in socially complex activities: meet people for lunch in restaurants, hang out in cafes, attend lectures, give public lectures, and most amazingly of all: hike and talk simultaneously. Dave Schmidtz took me up Tumamoc Hill on Thanksgiving morning. And I felt so alive overlooking the city and the desert in the wind on top.
In addition, I often don't need any naproxen (my anti-inflammatory) to complete these activities. So, my quality of social and intellectual life has improved greatly while I have been able to cut back significantly on using anti-inflammatories. It's really enthralling not to be hypersensitive in environments with different kinds of voices or background noise. While I am still not planning to participate in large conferences, I am taking on commitments to give papers in workshops and department colloquia. I really did not expect this to be possible during the Summer when I felt I was stagnating.
Second, and unfortunately, my symptoms have shifted again. (As regular readers know this happens about every three to four months or so.) I develop mysterious headaches in the middle of the night without much rhyme and reason as far as discernable triggering conditions. (Having said that, going to bed on the late side or too much screentime before bedtime are reliable triggers of night-time headaches.) In addition, even on quiet days, I need many more breaks while writing on my laptop and even while reading books.
I have started to work in blocks of two hours, and it is not uncommon that I only have the cognitive energy/focus for one or two such blocks during a day. Because I don't have other obligations, I still get a lot of work done. But I have shifted my attention from my book project -- which feels too big right now -- to developing some paper projects. In fact, for the first time in a half a decade, I have three papers under review at journals.
My leave ends next week, and I'll spend a few days in Boulder with my best friends before I re-unite with my family for our annual holiday break on a near deserted island in the Bahamas. (Yes, don't cry for me Argentina!) Taking unpaid leave from my job in Amsterdam is the smartest thing I have ever done for myself (other than giving up my job Stateside to give my relationship with my better half an opportunity). But I could not do it without the sacrifice of my immediate family. Luckily, I am clearly much better than I was before, and I have grounds for confidence that 2023 will keep improving. I have three weeks of quiet before, in January, I start preparing for my giant lecture course (which starts in February).
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