Missed a professional opportunity

[mtbc]

To my considerable surprise, I was one of maybe fifty-ish people to be invited to a two-day national workshop related to my current job, all expenses paid by the Sloan Foundation. However, it happens in-person, this spring in another state. The workshop was originally slated for a couple of years ago, it has already been repeatedly postponed due to the pandemic, I guess they decided to finally hold it.

Not only does my personal life remain in some disarray but, more significantly, we have varieties of omicron stalking the land now, possibly even more variants by then. In interacting with attendees in a university and hotel setting, I do not believe that I could have properly immersed myself in it and felt safe, my place is better offered to somebody less risk-averse who can contribute wholeheartedly even in these conditions. Regardless, goodness, I would have loved to go; I communicated my regret accordingly and hope to be considered for future events.

Comments

[wpadmirer]

It would not be safe to go right now. Large groups of people are super-spreader events even if they don't mean to be. I do hope you get invited another time!

[mtbc]

Thank you for validating my fears, I appreciate it!

[thewayne]

Pity. Hopefully the opportunity will come again in less plague-filled times.

[shadowkat]

I'd have done the same thing. I don't understand the whole in-person conference bit going on at the moment - I'd hold off until at least 2024.

[mtbc]

Fortunately my employer also largely agrees: unless I were like a keynote speaker or something, they'd not approve it anyway.

[mindstalk]

DisCon/Worldcon 2021 does seem to have been pulled off without superspreading. Mid December in DC, mask mandate, vacc mandate, allegedly good mask compliance.

Whether this conference would have done as well I dunno. Plus getting there, and full Omicron.

[mtbc]

Omicron certainly changes the likelihoods!