Christmas (and pre-Christmas) 2024
After MFF I flew back to the UK for the final two weeks of the work year, as usual. Sometimes people ask why I bother, and perhaps if I didn't have loads of January travel on the books each year I would consider just staying in the US through Christmas. Still, the last couple weeks of December in the UK are some of the nicest - everything is decked out for Christmas, there are parties at work, and generally people are in a good mood.
First up (on the Thursday after I returned) was the potluck party put on by the telescope group, which used to be a small and casual "half a dozen people sitting around the table at 5pm" occasion but since last year (when they moved to the main office break room) has evolved into a raucous packed party that goes on until midnight, involving performances and karaoke. I was still recovering from my MFF indulgences and didn't stay extremely late, but it was still fun.
The following weekend I made my way over to Manchester to attend the monthly furmeet - I've not been regular at meets this year as work (teaching) has largely left me trapped at home working most weekends, but with lecturing finally done for the year I could attend guilt-free. It was not a highlight meet in any real sense, but a good number of friends were there and it was nice to catch up and unwind a bit.
The next week (my last in Liverpool) brought the "official" work Christmas party, which much like last year coincided with the "everyone present about yourself" seminar that we schedule once a year as an icebreaker activity among the staff/postdocs/students - a particularly effective combination, as the good vibes can flow from one event to the other (with a stop at the pub in between). To mix things up, this year I structured the format of the "present about yourself" in two-truths-and-a-lie format, which I was worried might turn people off (and it did probably lower the participation slightly, particularly among other academic staff) but was a lot of fun for those who did participate. As usual I was able to allude to my furry-ness without being weird about it (one of my true facts involved commissioning loads of art, with an example shown on the slide), although the item that got the most attention was the lie that I used to be an avid video game speedrunner, which some of the students thought was extremely impressive.
On Thursday my former student (who'd moved to California after receiving her PhD in 2020) was back in town - like last year she didn't have an interest in giving a talk (I offered) and due to a train delay missed the group lunch as well, but we were at least able to catch up in a basic way.
After one more day of work it was then time for Christmas travels to begin: on Friday I packed up and took the train down to London, although much like last year I was not flying out right away (or even the next morning) but spending a day in town. The occasion this time was that a couple of British expat friends were passing through London on their way to the UK to visit family for the holidays: Riff was coming in from Toronto while Mut was coming in from Paris. I met Riff on Friday evening in time for a late dinner, and we spent Saturday visiting some of the touristy spots and the Science Museum before Mut got in late-afternoon. We spent a couple hours having tea in the train station before Mut continued on north and Riff and I headed west. I was hoping to meet up with some of Riff's friends for dinner/drinks, but our mutual schedules didn't quite work out and I ended up just heading to my airport hotel after dinner while Riff headed to his friends' house directly.
The next morning (Sunday) I boarded the long flight back to New Mexico - although this time was a little less long than usual, with an efficient (tight) connection in Denver before continuing onto Albuquerque. I arrived in time for dinner - my former grad school roommate (and current UNM professor) picked me up at the airport and we headed across town for some New Mexican goodness before heading back to his place where I got an early bedtime.
My parents picked me up on Monday and brought me back down to Socorro, where I spent the rest of the day working (trying to finish up a paper revision that I didn't quite manage to finish on the plane). Tuesday was Christmas Eve, which followed the usual traditions - folding and filling luminaria bags and then setting them out around the house, lighting them in the evening before walking over to the neighbors' Christmas party. And Christmas itself was also pleasant - it is the one day of the year I categorically refuse to do any work, and even though I didn't get (or give) any spectacular gifts it was still nice. My parents invited a couple of foreign coworkers who were stuck in town to join us for Christmas dinner, and while they weren't amazing company (both were fairly quiet... much as I am on these occasions) it was a good deed of sorts and made a nice Christmas gesture.
But that's the end of my short-lived break - the next few days will be pretty busy, since even though I'm just at my parents' place I have a busy schedule of travel/vacation lined up in January: quite a few things need to categorically be finished by then.
First up (on the Thursday after I returned) was the potluck party put on by the telescope group, which used to be a small and casual "half a dozen people sitting around the table at 5pm" occasion but since last year (when they moved to the main office break room) has evolved into a raucous packed party that goes on until midnight, involving performances and karaoke. I was still recovering from my MFF indulgences and didn't stay extremely late, but it was still fun.
The following weekend I made my way over to Manchester to attend the monthly furmeet - I've not been regular at meets this year as work (teaching) has largely left me trapped at home working most weekends, but with lecturing finally done for the year I could attend guilt-free. It was not a highlight meet in any real sense, but a good number of friends were there and it was nice to catch up and unwind a bit.
The next week (my last in Liverpool) brought the "official" work Christmas party, which much like last year coincided with the "everyone present about yourself" seminar that we schedule once a year as an icebreaker activity among the staff/postdocs/students - a particularly effective combination, as the good vibes can flow from one event to the other (with a stop at the pub in between). To mix things up, this year I structured the format of the "present about yourself" in two-truths-and-a-lie format, which I was worried might turn people off (and it did probably lower the participation slightly, particularly among other academic staff) but was a lot of fun for those who did participate. As usual I was able to allude to my furry-ness without being weird about it (one of my true facts involved commissioning loads of art, with an example shown on the slide), although the item that got the most attention was the lie that I used to be an avid video game speedrunner, which some of the students thought was extremely impressive.
On Thursday my former student (who'd moved to California after receiving her PhD in 2020) was back in town - like last year she didn't have an interest in giving a talk (I offered) and due to a train delay missed the group lunch as well, but we were at least able to catch up in a basic way.
After one more day of work it was then time for Christmas travels to begin: on Friday I packed up and took the train down to London, although much like last year I was not flying out right away (or even the next morning) but spending a day in town. The occasion this time was that a couple of British expat friends were passing through London on their way to the UK to visit family for the holidays: Riff was coming in from Toronto while Mut was coming in from Paris. I met Riff on Friday evening in time for a late dinner, and we spent Saturday visiting some of the touristy spots and the Science Museum before Mut got in late-afternoon. We spent a couple hours having tea in the train station before Mut continued on north and Riff and I headed west. I was hoping to meet up with some of Riff's friends for dinner/drinks, but our mutual schedules didn't quite work out and I ended up just heading to my airport hotel after dinner while Riff headed to his friends' house directly.
The next morning (Sunday) I boarded the long flight back to New Mexico - although this time was a little less long than usual, with an efficient (tight) connection in Denver before continuing onto Albuquerque. I arrived in time for dinner - my former grad school roommate (and current UNM professor) picked me up at the airport and we headed across town for some New Mexican goodness before heading back to his place where I got an early bedtime.
My parents picked me up on Monday and brought me back down to Socorro, where I spent the rest of the day working (trying to finish up a paper revision that I didn't quite manage to finish on the plane). Tuesday was Christmas Eve, which followed the usual traditions - folding and filling luminaria bags and then setting them out around the house, lighting them in the evening before walking over to the neighbors' Christmas party. And Christmas itself was also pleasant - it is the one day of the year I categorically refuse to do any work, and even though I didn't get (or give) any spectacular gifts it was still nice. My parents invited a couple of foreign coworkers who were stuck in town to join us for Christmas dinner, and while they weren't amazing company (both were fairly quiet... much as I am on these occasions) it was a good deed of sorts and made a nice Christmas gesture.
But that's the end of my short-lived break - the next few days will be pretty busy, since even though I'm just at my parents' place I have a busy schedule of travel/vacation lined up in January: quite a few things need to categorically be finished by then.