Sensa

Census.

The national census starts today, a public holiday has been called, we have been advised to linger at home, and schools have been closed as it’s teachers who are tasked with carrying out the census. Apparently the census will take at least a week, so the reasoning behind just one public holiday is not clear and doubtful will ever be.

I went for a coffee nearby to meet María, the elephant PhD researcher, and saw a gang of census-takers in yellow T-shirts visiting a house in the neighbourhood. I scuttled back in case I was breaking the very unclear rules. The streets were much quieter than normal (evidence pictured) and some establishments were closed. It was like being in UK lockdown in Spring 2020: same feeling of wrongdoing if you needed something from the shop if you’d already taken your daily exercise.

In the afternoon I was stuck on a succession of calls so it didn’t really matter where I was sitting for them. Although I did have that repeat sensation of working in isolation and it not suiting me, as it never has, pandemic or no pandemic. I like a healthy dose of cross-fertilisation of ideas in the workplace.