Interesting times

"May you live in interesting times"
- traditional Chinese curse

It's early on a Saturday, and I am at my computer. I'm not even sure why - at this point, it's pretty much routine. I spend all day at this desk during the week, and I can no longer tell when it's the weekend. The longer I'm stuck at home, the more work and life blend together, making it impossible for me to shut off and relax. 

Outside, the wind bends trees and threatens my lawn furniture. I can hear rain against the roof, walls, and windows. It's an appropriate metaphor for recent events, as the world around me gets stormier, stranger, and more chaotic. I am done with this pandemic - have been for months now. Add to that the escalating political news out of my nation's capital, and it's taking more and more of my energy to remember the difference between what I can and cannot control. I am fried, dear friends, so as the turbulent world rages outside, let's take a moment to focus on the positive.

Throughout the pandemic, I've used trips
to the beach to keep myself centered.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary forum on Shipwreck Ecology. The panel discussion was hosted through the virtual conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, and it was incredibly interesting. Shipwreck ecology, if can be considered an academic field of study, is incredibly young, with only a small number of studies so far treating shipwrecks as habitats. Unlike natural reefs made of boulders, shipwrecks change and degrade over time, which in turn influences the biological community. We are just beginning to dig into and understand that process. It's an incredibly interesting topic. 

Meanwhile, I'm having fun analyzing video data that my team recorded last summer in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. I find it calming to review the footage, watching the ROV camera moving gracefully through the water while anemones sway in the turbulence created by its thrusters. The underwater world is so insulated from what happens above it. 

Friends, I hope you are staying sane this winter. We are living in interesting times.