This is going to be a stressful week. Deadlines for my research are starting to approach, and this coming weekend I fly to Italy for the last of the Elba BaBar collaboration meetings. Every four years, BaBar has convened in the spring in Elba to discuss the work that is needed in order to get results to the all-important summer conferences. This Elba meeting takes on an urgent tone unlike any previous one, except maybe the first meeting. That is because BaBar stopped taking data in April and has since been in the intense analysis period, a period that was originally to start later this year.
There is a tremendous amount of pressure to get solid and timely results out to the community, to show that while BaBar was put down ahead of schedule the old elephant did not go down without a cause, and without a meaning. I am certainly wrapped up in that purpose, and with my colleagues we hope to make a powerful splash in the community this summer.
That doesn’t make this week any less stressful, unfortunately. With the need to get ready for a trans-Atlantic flight, something I haven’t done in two years, and at the same time to crank out results for this weeks slate of meetings, I can see the next few weeks being fun but exhausting.
Today, I am sitting in a cafe, thinking some thoughts about physics and enjoying what is a very nice day here on the peninsula. The weather has cooled off a bit, making this a lovely day. It’s a perfect day to conclude the weekend.
