Time of the Month

April showers

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.