Pandemic Atlanta Lockdown - Week 11

A mini hike in a mini forest

This week continues to be busy. I try to focus on my research. I also went to the nearby Morningside Natural Preserve for a walk with my colleague on Sunday. We maintained social distance, and no humans were encountered or harmed during our adventure. 

This was the Memorial Day long weekend that I was supposed to spend in Suriname. Now I am home for almost 24/7 due to the COVID-19. There were years when I traveled back-to-back without rest or sleep. Specifically, the years 2013, 2015, and 2017. In 2013, we had a busy Christmas/year-end vacation with trips via flights, a cruise, and trains: 🇸🇪→🇫🇮→🇸🇪→🇩🇰→🇸🇪→ 🇩🇰→🇸🇪→🇵🇹. 2017 took this further - it was utterly nomadic with my migrations for the whole year: 🇵🇹→🇧🇪→🇵🇹→🇧🇪→🇵🇹→🇧🇪→🇸🇦→🇧🇪→🇵. 2015 was interesting too, with my summer in Croatia with a short-term scientific mission, and weekends in various neighbor countries of Croatia.

ODL Summit, Santa Clara, 2015

It was 25/07/2015: I returned to Lisboa from Croatia after my summer internship a few hours ago. Now I leave home again with my suitcase, to the metro station. Going to the airport for my next flight to San Jose for the ODL Summit. I walk like a zombie - my brain doesn't work, but my legs move in the right direction. I surely lack sleep. Do I really need to do this? I ask myself. It happens to me at times - I overdo things to tire myself. But then, I say, "I will never remember these tiring moments spent in transit. But the good memories will last." Ironically, five years have passed, and I still remember the tiring moments clearly. Those are surely a big part of travel memories. The excitement, tiring last-minute packing and journey, and the excitement again at the destination, and the good memories after the trip.

Lovran, Croatia, 2015

It is not clear when I can resume random walks and fun travel to random countries. There are also talks about a "new normal." So far, the pandemic has regressed our life conditions and the world quickly. When Singapore banned Chinese nationals from entering, it seemed surreal and weird. But within weeks, the world nations have started to block each other from entering. International travels have virtually come to a halt. We are not sure whether we will ever return to normal. Is the new normal a better one or a dystopian one? Only time will tell.