Winter

So, I finally returned to Melbourne on Tuesday, after over nine weeks of travel.  It's been fun, with a nice selection of conferences, as well as seeing new places and old friends.  Of course, now that I'm back I have little excuse to not be hard at work.  In particular, I have three projects in progress that need to be completed soon, two of them having run to well over a year in length.  Unfortunately I'm still horribly jet-lagged from my travel; I've only managed to rise before midday once since my return, and that hurts my output.

But the thing that has struck me the most since my return is the weather.  Last year, I crossed the equator in September so I had two consecutive summers.  That's the sort of thing most people would like, but I'm not really a hot weather person.  I like winter in moderation, it helps me relax and reset.  (Winter in Ithaca when I was there ran a bit too long; snow in May is not to my taste.)  Plus, last summer here in Melbourne was excessively hot, to the point that I had difficulty sleeping.

Winter in Melbourne seems to be like late autumn in Plymouth, cool without being too cold and cloudy without being too wet.  So it looks like I'll get just the type of season I want.  Or in other words, one less excuse for not working :)