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A monthly blog started June of 2022. *discontinued* |
The blog is currently on hiatus, as of July 2023. Please come back in February 2024. This blog has officially been discontinued. However, my monthly writing challenge is still running:
-------------------------------------------- It's that time of the month again. Time to hear all about the general happenings of my life. Expect puns, quotes, poetry, tips, etc. Now with the infamous "Myth of the Month" (M.O.M.), where I bust a common myth every month. Just like Myth Busters. With less explosions. Maybe. (Rated 13+ just in case language or controversial topics arise.) |
April has been a bit rough, but fortunately it's almost over. And I hear that April showers bring May flours. Maybe I'll bake a cake. Highlights: Gave a talk to the whole department earlier this week. It went pretty well, I think. I haven't given an in-person talk since the pandemic began, so I'm a bit out of practice. I was supposed to give this same talk a year ago, but I got Covid the week before (the only time I've gotten it), so I had to postpone. Lowlights: My Aunt had half of her thyroid removed because they found a nodule. Doctor gave her a 4% chance the nodule was cancerous. Well, lucky her. She's in the 4%. Which means she has to have the rest of the thyroid removed, and I assume she'll be on thyroid medication for the rest of her life. However, this shouldn't be life-threatening. It just sucks. Cancer sucks. My furball is also having some health issues. Her bloodwork showed elevated liver enzymes, which is a bit of a concern in cats. The vet said it could be the medication she's on for asthma, so he wants to wean her down more and start her on a daily liver supplement. I actually think it could be her weight, so she's also going on a diet. And she's not going to be happy about it. Hopefully one of those things will work. She also needs dental work, which I hate because they have to put her under. A risk even for a cat without breathing problems, so we'll have to wait until we make sure her asthma is under control on the lower dose. It's been a lot, as you can probably tell. I haven't had a full weekend off this month, until this weekend. Yes, that does include Easter weekend; but I don't celebrate Easter anyway. I'm making the most of it, trying to catch up on everything, but I don't think one weekend is going to be enough. I was roped into giving another talk next month, so it's not over yet. In fact, it's never over. My threshold for burnout used to be a lot higher, pre-pandemic. I don't know what happened. How did I ever get through grad school? This is nothing compared to qualifying exams, committee meetings, grants, writing a 200-page dissertation and defending it. Believe it or not, my life is a lot less chaotic now than it once was. I just handled it better. One difference is that I worked hard, but I played hard. Nowadays there's no play, just the work. So I've been thinking a lot about time, how little there is and how I want to be spending it. Something needs to change, but I haven't decided exactly what yet. I just know what I'm doing now isn't really working. Whatever I decide will involve spending more time writing, so you can look forward to seeing more from me on here. Never fear, I haven't forgotten about the “Myth of the Month”! “Albert Einstein flunked math or flunked out of school.” There's a popular story that Einstein flunked math or flunked out of school entirely. The trope of an underachieving and misunderstood super-bright genius with learning disabilities is very appealing. It is true that many very smart people struggle in school. However, Einstein was not one of them. Although he was a late talker, Einstein got high marks even from a young age and was often at the top of his class. If there was a struggle with the educational system, it was that he disapproved of the teaching style, memorizing facts and following authority without question. It's also a myth that Einstein was left-handed. There's photographic evidence that he used his right hand for most things, including writing and playing violin. More info here . I'll try my hardest to talk about something that isn't work or health related next month. Can't guarantee anything. |