Wait for it

"I'm not standing still; I am lying in wait"

- "Wait for it" from the musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Sometimes, I wonder what my dog thinks I do all day. From his perspective, I seem to be sitting still. I am constantly in this one office chair, staring at the same brightly-lit screen in front of me, often tapping on the keys. To him, this activity seems monotonous and unproductive. But I'm not just sitting still. I am lying in wait. 

The SS United States was supposed to sink last November. Then it was February, then April, and now, we don't even have an estimated timeline. I thought I was going to go straight from vacation to the field last fall, but instead, I have been on standby for months. 

The extra time has afforded me the chance to build my plan. Idle scientists tend to dream, and I have dreamt big. While waiting for SS United States to sink, I have connected with collaborators about a potential citizen science project, sparked an idea for interdisciplinary research focused on the ship's interior, and connected with potential funders. If I have it my way, SS United States will be an absolute hub of Maritime Heritage Ecology over the next 10 years. 

The hardest part about all of this is finding the money to support my plans. As the landscape of science funding in the US has shifted, I've hustled even harder than before. I am cranking out proposal after proposal to keep my lab fueled and research progress moving. Every scientist is a fundraiser, especially in this day and age. 

Friends, wish me well as I work in the background to push science forward. My dog may think I'm just sitting still all day, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. Like an ambush predator, I am lying in wait.