Hard to believe it’s been another 4 weeks already, but time flies when you have a deadline.
SONG INSPIRATION
This month’s blog is inspired by Nicki Minaj’s “Yikes”.
SPRING BREAK 2020
Spring Break could not have come at a better time (for me, at least). After two months of data reduction and writing, I needed a break away from my laptop (he said as he types out this blog on his laptop) and a mental vacation. By the end of last week, I was burnt out – unable to focus, inefficient, and mentally exhausted. As a result, I risked life and limb (partially true in this moment) to flee the country during a pandemic and isolate myself in a bubble of carefree relaxation. If I’m going to persist another two months after spring break, then I really need to recharge my batteries. I’ve almost completed the Methodology & Results sections for two chapters. When I return from Spring Break, I plan to wrap that up in the following week or two and begin the Introductions & Conclusions. The goal is to have two chapters out to my advisor by the end of the month, or early April at the latest. I can do it – I just have to muster the energy and concentrate. And sometimes that requires a little self-care beforehand. Continuing with last year’s trend, I’ve opted to spend another spring break internationally – albeit much closer than last year. I traveled to Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico to lay on the beach and eat carbs guilt-free – at least for a week.
Advice: Build breaks into your project timelines. I anticipated this week long break for months, which impacted how I worked leading up to it. “Proper prior preparation prevents piss poor performance.”
TWO MONTHS REMAINING
Once I return from Spring Break, it’s full speed ahead. I’ll have two months to complete a thorough draft of my dissertation to submit to my committee, prepare my defense talk, and defend. That’s what we in the business call a “metric fuck ton”, but I’m feeling much better since I’ve written a good portion of my dissertation already. The next 6 weeks will almost exclusively entail writing & figures (with the occasional job application). I’m down with that – anything to prevent anxiety. The cancellation of LPSC (Lunar and Planetary Science Conference) 2020 has given me an additional week of productivity immediately following spring break. If all goes reasonably well, I will have 2/3 of my dissertation written in 4 weeks. Whew!
COVID – 19
We are in the midst of a pandemic. One of the truths that many people – especially those in America and the western world – have failed to realize is that life doesn’t go on as normal during a pandemic. It can’t. The normal capitalist paradigm of productivity and pace of life goes right out the window when people are sick and / or dying. While China is beginning to recover, the number of US cases are spiking. We might be on a log-linear plot here – or an exponential increase. There’s reason to believe we could hit 10,000 cases in the US alone within a week. All of those people will need to be isolated for 2 weeks. What happens if/when we hit 100,000 or 1,000,000? We’re looking at significant economic impacts. The good news is that people, organizations, and governments are taking proactive steps to slow the halt of Covid-19 (I only refer to it by its government name).
Although worrying in many regards (I have older parents with pre-existing health conditions), I admit that I find the sociological and psychological aspects of this crises intriguing. We are living in wild times, experiencing events which haven’t occurred in decades, centuries, or perhaps millennia. How we deal with these monumental tasks is paramount to the survival of our institutions and way of life. That’s big talk, but in all seriousness – if you can, stay home when you’re sick. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Isolate yourself if necessary. And check on the sick and elderly. Humanity will survive this, but let’s make sure we don’t lose our humanity in the process.
CURRENT SHOWS
Recently finished: AICO: Reincarnation; Killing Eve (s2); Salt, Fat, Acid, & Heat; The Witcher
Currently watching: Banana Fish; The New Pope (technically s2 of The Young Pope)
Thank you for reading! My next blog is scheduled for Thursday, April 9th. Until next time….
The Planetary Novelist 