Geez, I keep writing these while traveling. I started this blog during an unplanned 4-hour layover at Bush International in Houston (interestingly, this isn’t the first time I’ve blogged there).
SONG INSPIRATION
I suppose technically Fergie deserves some credit for this title. The title popped in my head earlier this week while I was running some errands.
SUMMER 2019 SO FAR…
A month ago, I was spouting about summer productivity. I’m happy to report that nothing has changed in the last 4 weeks. In fact, I’m extremely pleased with my progress on data reduction and analysis. I’ve completed several tasks, some of which have been in the queue since my committee meeting 8 months ago. But dats grad school tho. Given my current progress, I’ve divided the summer into 3 chunks of time correlated with each month for ease. Each time period is associated with a theme, which will ideally characterize the primary tasks I need to complete in order to be on time for a technical review in the fall. They are as follows:
June – Data Reduction & Analysis
July – Data Synthesis, Reading, & Writing
August – Writing, Revision, & Tech Review Preparation
Of course, life doesn’t comply with simplistic timetables. But a simplistic timeline can prime your headspace and motivate you. I’ve kept things vague to allow for flexibility. I’ve already been invited to serve on a review panel in June – a fantastic opportunity – which will cost me a week of progress. Mais, c’est la vie.
MISSISSIPPI / NOLA
Studies have shown that the ideal vacation length is ~8 days. I came close last week with a 6-day trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans for some family time. It was just what I needed. A change of scenery. Loved ones. Delicious food. The older I get the more I treasure returning home. It’s bittersweet. One-part euphoria. One-part nostalgia. One-part guilt-ridden sadness. My parents – and extended family – are aging. And there’s less opportunity to visit. Each time I return home, the past retreats. Old memories grow older. My parents, silly and spry as they are, move a little slower and grow a little grayer. The same goes for my friends, of course, but that’s different. We grow together, although a sense of melancholy washes over me when I see them too. It’s one reason why I get sentimental and – I’ll be frank – emotional, when I travel. Every time. Whether I’m going home to visit my parents or heading to a professional conference, I get emotional. It’s a maelstrom of emotions I’ve learned to mask with (flight) anxiety. And I OOP – sorry I got too deep. Let me reel that in. The trip was energizing. However, I’m excited to return home for Thanksgiving to see more friends and family.
Advice: Treasure your time with the people you love, but don’t let the fear of losing – or leaving them – stop you from chasing your dreams. It’s hard. It can hurt. But sometimes it’s a necessary part of life.
REAL RECOGNIZES REAL
Time is precious, a commodity like most other things, and in short supply. I’m getting older and busier. There’s less than a year of graduate school – ideally – remaining. There’s a very real chance that I’m living my last months in the Valley (dramatic much), so I’ve prioritized several relationships in my life. In the past, I’ve blogged – okay, let’s be honest – ranted/harped on the importance of removing people who don’t add anything to your life. However, in the last couple of months, I’ve entertained a sobering question: Which relationships will last? That question doesn’t come from a place of animosity but a realization I’ve only recently acknowledged as my time here winds down. In the past month, I’ve visited four very close friends. All >1300 miles away. All worth the financial sacrifice. The question: Which relationships will last? has a more sentimental note (perhaps you’re noticing a theme today). Lately, when I socialize with friends, I wonder where we’ll be in one, five, or ten years. How many of my current relationships that I take for granted will be gone by my next birthday, or my 35th or 40th birthday? Occupying this hypothetical space may not be healthy long term, but whether I like it or not it will happen. It’s inevitable. Sadly, I can foreshadow which people with whom I’ll likely lose touch. Perhaps the best way forward is to continue to invest in the people with whom I have powerful symbiotic relationships.
Advice: An introspective exercise isn’t a bad thing, but don’t dwell in your head too long. Instead, focus on what’s in front of you. Prioritize the people you love and who love you. There will always be people who flow in and out of your life.
CURRENT SHOWS
Recently finished: 1983; Bonding; Game of Thrones (s8); Medici the Magnificent (s2); New Girl (s7); Rebellion (s1); Versailles (s3); World of Dance (s3)
Currently watching: Legend of Galactic Heroes: Die Neue Theses; Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta (s8); Rebellion (s2); The Could’ve-Gone-All-The-Way Committee
Thank you again for reading! My next blog is scheduled for Thursday, July 4th. Until next time….
The Planetary Novelist 