Can’t believe it’s been 4 weeks already – I guess that’s what happens when life is a doozy.
SONG INSPIRATION
July’s blog is inspired by Megan Thee Station’s viral hit, Mamushi.
RECLAIMED SUMMER
To quote Representative Maxine Waters, I have reclaimed my time. After 2 weeks and 100+ hours in the Japanese language immersion program, I withdrew. There was simply no way to keep up with the demands of my day job and I’ve had opportunities that required additional time investments. However, I had so much fun learning/using Japanese again and I’ve recommitted myself to daily study. I also invested in new learning tools that can – gradually – improve my vocabulary and kanji comprehension.
What will I do with my reclaimed time? Since leaving the language program, I have had more time to devote to research, advising, writing, and self-care. I’ve taken the week off in an attempt to reset. I definitely need to maintain a balance of work and leisure for the rest of the summer. After all, this Fall is jampacked with deadlines, an upper-level course, conference prep, paper submissions, advising, and new projects.
ACADEMIC JOY
Despite the 2 grueling weeks in language school, this summer has been one of the best I’ve experienced in academia! Not only have I been fortunate to work with 3 curious and competent students, but I’ve also realized just how much I love advising, mentoring, and nurturing. In addition to research, I’ve started building my newest course – Geology of Rocky Planets – which I will teach during our winter semester (J-term). I’m thrilled to introduce students to the discipline of planetary science. We’ll cover the geology of the rocky inner planets, past and active space missions, and – hopefully – enjoy some guest lectures by outstanding scientists in the field. I’m also revamping my volcanology course using the feedback from last Fall. Aside from research and teaching, I am collaborating with a badass team on an external grant and I have a conference in Chicago next month. All of that has kept me busy over the last several weeks. But don’t get it twisted – I’m having so much fun. Perhaps too much fun which is why I needed a week to recharge my battery.
WRITING
Summer is a great time to catch up on writing. I’ve returned to editing 30-50 pages per week on my first novel. I hope to have two-thirds of it edited by the end of the summer. I’ve already shed 11,000 words and cleaned up the plot. But there’s still a fair amount of plot reorganization and tone work to do before it’s ready for my alpha readers next year.
Adding to the pile, I am currently writing two external grants and two peer-reviewed manuscripts. Admittedly, one of the grants and one of the papers are part of larger, collaborative teams which makes the workload more manageable. It’s so cool to get the opportunity to do science with your friends and/or people you respect and admire. But submission deadlines are this Fall, which is another reason I’ve front ended some of the work (and recharge) this summer.
CURRENT BOOKS AND SHOWS
Recently finished reading: The Laithe of Heaven
Currently reading: A Modern History of Japan; The Heat Will Kill You First; The Housekeeper and the Professor
Recently finished watching: The Bear (s2-3); Only Murders in the Building (s3)
Currently watching: Delicious in Dungeon; House of the Dragon (s2); Saiki (s1); Star Wars: Clone Wars (s5); Sweet Tooth (s3)
Thank you again for reading! My next blog is scheduled for Thursday, August 22nd. Until next time….
The Planetary Novelist 