Going Down Under
There was no wifi. I'm not adverse to being untethered for the duration of a 15hr flight, but I had anticipated using a portion of the time to get some internet-specific work done. Plans evolve and assumptions can be undermined. I spent an inordinate amount of time considering what to pack for this trip, and then rethinking each decision. I wanted to be prepared for any weather eventuality and, at the same time, try to only bring what I might need. It's an interesting, and perhaps impossible balance to achieve. No amount of research can predict the future. Outliers, like the unseasonable, 90-degree temperatures I encountered in Melbourne this past week, can happen. Experience has taught me to pivot, (and to dress in layers!), but it's a skill that's easy to take for granted. Many people I met here are very aware of "the next four years," and wanted to talk about it. I am at a loss what to tell them. Staying focused on work, matters that I can influence and control, has helped at least temporarily assuage concerns about what has begun unfolding. Adam Grant's recent NYTimes Op-Ed is so true: whatever we think is going to be happen is going to be wrong. Human-centered systems have too many moving parts, unknowns, and shifting dynamics to forecast. So, I ended up doing as much work as I could offline during my flight here. Plan again, change again, take a different path. Not because I want to, but because sometimes there is no choice.
