It has been a wild few weeks, but such is the rollercoaster of fascism.
SONG INSPIRATION
February’s blog is inspired by SCOOP by Lil Nas X featuring Doja Cat.
FIRST J-TERM
Wow – talk about a freight train! I completed my first J-term course – Geology of Rocky Planets (GORP) last Friday. Four labor intensive weeks of lecture prep, grading, mentoring, and office hours. The students were engaged, excited, curious, and funny af. This is the second class I’ve developed from scratch in the past 2 years (major appreciation to the friends and colleagues who donated lecture content). And I must admit I’m feeling particularly satisfied and accomplished after pulling it off. Sure, there were challenges given the compressed timeline, and I would love to offer the course during a full semester. However, the students were exposed to a variety of new content and charismatic guest speakers. Plus, having only 1 course to teach meant shorter work weeks and more time to allocate to other tasks that become untenable in the spring.
SPRING 2025
Our spring semester starts next week (late by academic standards, I know). While hopefully not as busy as the Fall, the spring will involve a mix of research facilitation, writing, advising, business travel, and avoiding a daily existential spiral. I am teaching a different type of class this spring, a senior research course. This will involve facilitating research and writing of students as they work toward completing a substantial project with an external partner. In addition, I have six students signed up for research this spring which necessitated the need for group, not individual, meetings. Furthermore, I hope to attend a conference with a student and subsequently visit my parents in March. And most importantly, I hope to finally know where I will live and work after the summer.
RESISTING
Inhale. Close your eyes. Count to five. Exhale. We need to do that every day for the next 4 years in the US. The goal is to overwhelm and demoralize – and we can NOT. LET. THAT. HAPPEN! Resistance takes many forms, from prioritizing self-preservation in the face of tyranny to boycotts, letter writing, door knocking, and phone calls. From the smallest actions (choosing to buy local) to the largest (showing up at your representative’s offices), it’s important to decide what you’re willing to do to protect yourself and your loved ones. My therapist recommended building a “structure” for yourself as a means of scaffolding your actions. This could involve a mantra to get you pumped in the morning paired with a list of daily (or weekly) actions. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t draw a line in the sand – carve it in stone.
CURRENT BOOKS AND SHOWS
Recently finished reading: Fundamentals of Physical Volcanology
Currently reading: A Modern History of Japan; A Voice from Darkness; Starry Messenger A Cosmic Perspective; The Next Supercontinent
Recently finished watching: Beastars (s3-part 1); Castlevania: Nocturne (s2); Silo (s2); The Gilded Age (s1-2); The Skeleton Crew; White Lotus (s1)
Currently watching: Detective Conan (s32); Squid Game (s2); White Lotus (s2)
Thank you for reading! The next blog is scheduled for Thursday, March 6th. Until next month….
The Planetary Novelist 