not where i'm ultimately going, just the sites on the way.

...

i have been avoiding posting about this, mostly because if it could go wrong, it did go wrong, but i am leaving on sunday for a fulbright for dissertation research abroad. we're still ironing out the mess from the setbacks of the last few months, but in theory, i'll be in dehli next tuesday and off to my research site 2-4 weeks later.

Throwing a paper together just days before a conference, the grad student rides a turbulent wave of shame and exhilaration.

Fearing such hits as “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” “National Brotherhood Week,” “The Masochism Tango,” “The Element Song,” “Be Prepared,” and “Lobachevsky”

"ode to joy"

5567 7654 3345 544 5567 7654 3345 433 4453 45653 45654 341 5567 7654 3345 433

I HAVE BELLS

I PLAYED THE BELLS SO MUCH IT STARTED SNOWING ON MY DASH

@piyotan

free him

standard city critters: golden retriever, various doggies including pit bulls, assorted cats, beta fish

lived in a rather rural area growing up: horses, cows, chickens (assorted varieties), a turkey (he was a jerk), sheep (montadale and hampshire), pigs (American Yorkshire and hampshire; don't underestimate these guys, they get big and can be mean), rabbits (assorted varieties), goat, box turtles, various fishes

Neighbor was a Shriner so we went to the Shriner's circus with fancy passes one year: Indian elephant, camel, shetland pony

Nerdy enough to be in the biology club in high school, we did a volunteer stint at the local exotic animal rescue: emu, tiger, wolf, male lion, coydogs

Friend worked at the aquarium one summer: bull shark, lotsa freshwater fishes, sea turtle

Helped a friend with their thesis on animal geography in town and got to do some stuff with the local wildlife rescue and animal rehabilitation center as a result: opossum, scarlet macaw, assorted snakes (notably a cottonmouth, other various non-poisonous garden snakes), lots of spiders because I was the one without arachnophobia, bald eagle, crow, racoon

Related excursion to the zoo: manta ray (they let you touch these in their tank), standard petting zoo critters (alpaca, camel, horse, goat, etc.), red kangaroo, golden tamaran monkey (our zoo has several "open exhibits" where there are no barriers with the animals and sometimes they think you may have snacks...)

@piyotan what would yours be?

If you acquired every animal you have ever touched on purpose in your entire life, what would be the coolest thing you could morph into?

Mine would probably be a nurse shark or a boa constrictor. The snake was from when a reptile specialist brought it to my middle school and let us pet it. The shark would be from a Pet The Shark exhibit at an aquarium.

Not gonna lie though, my favorite one (not the coolest, but definitely the most sentimental value) would be the tiny stingray I was friends with when I was 6.

What’s writing, you know? What does writing actually mean?

"In the 70s it was black and minority ethnic people, in the 80s it was gay people, trans people are just the latest to get it in the neck from comedians who can't be bothered to try at their jobs anymore. I cannot stand there and watch another dogshit comedian go: 'Ooohh if a woman can identify as a man, maybe I'll identify as a chair!' Why don't you identify as good comedians, you hack motherfuckers?!"

- Nish Kumar: "It's In Your Nature To Destroy Yourselves pt.2"

Unreasonable Ideas

it was actually one of tumblr's random name suggestions when i made my account :/

How did you guys come out with your simblr name?

Mine is because I wear specs and I am pretty confident with my fashion style *clear throat* so I come out with this name “spectacledchic”.  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Making remarkable progress on his research, the grad student wonders what disastrous mistake will eventually blow up in his face.

.

So classes started on Tuesday and I went to first one that morning. Unfortunately, I had to miss my Wednesday class because I developed appendicitis that night. I had an appendectomy today (Thursday). My doctor caught it before it ruptured (I passed the rebound test several times over the course of the day, but x-ray was negative and all my other tests came up bad, culminating in a CT that showed a hot appendix and a nurse that took me straight to the ER). I have diet and activity restrictions for 2 weeks until my surgeon clears me at follow up. I'm utterly dreading my medical bills (US insurance is atrocious), but at least the hospital here has several payment plan options and bill forgiveness programs (most sponsored by wealthy local alumni as we're a college town), so it could be a lot worse (if I were still in the town my family lives in, I'd probably have to declare bankruptcy from the CT and ER visit alone). The appendectomy was laparoscopic, so they sent me home the same day, but I declined the pain meds (the pain isn't that bad, and they prescribed me an opioid, which I wasn't comfortable with due to a family history of addiction, so I asked the pharmacy to decline it). One of my professors has banned me from doing any make up work for their course until Monday at the earliest (they are on my dissertation committee and have known me since undergrad), 3 professors including my adviser have offered to bring me food, two friends have offered to let me stay with them during recovery (my apartment is a townhouse with internal stairs separating the bathroom and kitchen), and many more want to be treated as "on call" if I need anything regardless of what or when it is, and many more are offering to take me to the doctor's appointment in 2 weeks, go on grocery runs, etc. It's a lot different than the responses I got during my master's degree at a different university when I was having health issues and family tragedies (when my grandfather died, my masters' adviser's response was "well, that sucks, but your paper is still due Tuesday..."). I'm glad I have a stronger community here. It could be a lot worse.

Wrapping up another year, the grad student reflects on how much and how little has changed at the exact same time.

the two halves of my brain/the two wolves inside me when making up a fantasy/sci-fi creature:

Side A: okay but what niche is this species occupying? They’re eusocial and cave-dwelling, did they evolve in natural caves or do they dig warrens, or some combination of both? Are all castes blind, or only some of them? Do they have any kind of special thermoception or electroreception sense? Could they have evolved to be bipedal, or is that stupid and they need a different body plan more suited for tunneling/noodling around in cramped parts of cave systems? If they’re smaller than humans but still fairly large creatures, how do they get the energy they need in a resource-scarce subterranean environment? You have to read these three journal articles right now!! Read them right now!

Side B: aww and this character wears a little knitted hat with holes for her little ears