Dance: Big dance events are coming back. Are you ready?

 As vaccination campaign making progress and covid-related restrictions getting eased in many states, big dance events are coming back, at least in some parts of the US.

I'd define a big dance event as "national (or international)-level and large (hundreds) attendance, fairly full contents (social dance, contests, shows, workshops), with solid management (event organizers and staff running scheduled agenda), and long time (2-3 days minimum)."

For upcoming July 4th holiday weekend, some people I know headed to Chicago for Tango event. Some others are going to Dallas for Wild Wild Westie, a West Coast Swing event with 600 attendance cap for this year.

Now is a transition time from closed to opening up. Depending on event organizers and their policies, precautions for covid vary among events. Some events are "vaccinated only". Mask requirements policies are different. You need to read their policies and announcements, and accept them to attend. You may or may not be happy about these policies, but in this case it is event organizers who have to make tough call. Respect their call, or just stay out until later.

That said, are you ready to go back to a big dance event?

Here is a short checklist.

(i) Do you want it? Do you have the desire to get back on the dance floor, now?

You can weigh in covid situation and your status here.

(ii) Is your body ready? 

Are you physically in good shape enough to dance many social dance or perform on stage? You might want to test your body out first.

(iii) Do you remember the dance? 

All these moves and patterns, and dance-specific valued issues like connection and feels (tango), or correct use of compression to position properly and look right (WCS)?

(iv) Do you have the time? 

You may need to free up a good chunk of time (2-4 days). Big dance event is by itself a vacation.

(v) Do you have the money? 

Bluntly, big event attendance costs transportation, accommodation, event ticket, and food/drink, at least. You can easily add sightseeing and shopping on top of it. It isn't cheap. 

You may get discount for being junior/student or working for the event. You may work as an invited professional or a vendor/service provider and get income through teaching and/or selling at the event. Award money might be applicable to dance professionals in some events.

Yet, most people are there as amateurs. Don't worry about making money. (You know the difference between pros and amateurs? You are a pro if you dance and get paid. You are an amateur if you pay to dance.) ...all these considered, do you have the money for the event?

(vi) Are you ready to have fun?

There are different dances and they have different cultures. But people come to an event to have their own version of fun. The "fun" can be to meet new and old friends, to see familiar faces, to enjoy watching performances, to dance socially, to dance for connection or for show-off, or to compete. 

By giving some thoughts on your "fun" and the reason, it may give you some insight on yourself; what gives you most fun, and why you dance.

We all got those 15 months off. How was your time?

 

Life: Colors of Juneteenth, the new federal holiday

 You cannot go wrong if you dress in red/white/blue for July 4th in America. Likewise, you dress in red/green and you are fine for Christmas party. Knowing specific colors for a holiday makes it easier to choose party clothes.

Personally, "wearing flag" is overdoing it (or possibly illegal). But using the color scheme should be fine.

Then, here it is. Juneteenth 6/19, the new American holiday, cerebrating freeing of slaves. On the day 6/19 of 1865, enslaved black people in Galveston, TX, became Americans under the law.

I checked out the colors for the Juneteenth.

They say it would be "blue/red/white" (as American holiday. The Juneteenth flag uses the color scheme) and "Red/green/black" (colors of pan-African flag adopted by black communities).

Apparently I can use my July 4th ties and shirts just fine for Juneteenth in coming years. Lucky enough.

[The Juneteenth flag]

The new holiday could be a triumph of civil rights movement, or could be a political bargaining piece that Republicans thought can be used in another deal making or publicity spin. Well, I have no need to be political or sarcastic here, and can just cerebrate. Either way, the holiday is now implemented. 

Our institute will observe the holiday on 6/21 Monday (tomorrow). We are told that "non essential employees will receive holiday pay and are not expected to work".  I'd be working to take care of something that were already planned, though (may show up later than usual).

Science/Life: Looking back to update biosketch is a good thing, because it can guide the future

 NIH has introduced a new format for Biosketch that we will need to attach to grant applications after May 25th, 2021.

 Instead of just copy and paste old one, I am taking my time to look back my projects from the past, ongoing, and planned. 

  Looking back is fun. There were projects that led us to interesting new direction. There were projects with modest success. Also there were ones that did not pan out. For each project, there were decisions. For each decision, there were reasons. It is easy to forget all these reasonings, but they were there.

  In general, I want to do only a few, select, the most interesting projects at a time. And that is how I am doing research. I am fortunate to be able to work in this way. Here I acknowledge collaborators who have enabled us to work in this way. Many thanks.

Apparently new format wants us to emphasize resource aspect (for example, what we generated, what we have and available, and so on). It is easy for us to take something for granted and overlook. Time to make a list.

Life: covid test, lift of mask mandate at worksite (5/19/2021)

 I was down with a cold with no fever (allergy?) for a few days. Apparently it ran its course in 5 days like regular cold. But this time, due to university policies, I needed to take a covid test before permitted to return to work.

So they arranged a covid19 PCR test with nasopharyngeal swab, which happened to be my first time. I showed up in the test site at the university hospital yesterday, and got a nose swab taken. I sneezed once.

This morning they sent an email stating "negative" and "I am cleared to work". 

I wouldn't know what exactly the sickness was. But even if it was a covid, my vaccine-trained immune system kicked it in 5 days like a regular cold. As I took off at the first sign and started working from home, no one was exposed. Bad for the virus, good for humankind.

I showed up in my office after 7 days and took care of some unfinished work, including submission of a revised manuscript. Hope the manuscript is going to be accepted.

Then this evening my worksite let us know that they are going to lift mask mandate on campus for all vaccinated employee (with some exceptions. in clinic, etc). 

Situations are changing rapidly toward "back to pre-covid days".  

In the US, PCR test itself does not have much power other than taking a snapshot of possible patient and let doctors judge if a possible ex-patient may return to worksite. Only when PCR is combined with contact tracing and some enforcement of isolation, PCR will be an effective tool to stop infectious diseases. The Chinese did it to stop community spread, but it was with the governmental power unimaginable in the US.

The vaccine really was the game changer. But only for the vaccinated. Theoretically, the game has not changed much or at all for the yet-to-be-vaccinated, including the vaccine refusers. You be careful, until the herd immunity is established by the vaccinated. Over-the-counter antiviral med for covid has been slow to come and is still an unmet need in this pandemic.

There are some scenarios that can change the game again, like emergence of vaccine-overriding lethal variants. Yet, worrying about them is the big pharma' and public health officials' business. I am feeling somewhat relaxed about covid now. Sky isn't falling, it seems.

PS 

The revised manuscript was accepted in a day (5/20/21). Lucky us.