do-over

January 3, 2011

the real 1.1
never mind the fact that the real 1.1 is in fact 1.3. no one can really be ready to start a whole new year on a saturday — especially a saturday inconveniently situated next to a night devoted to life’s lurid excesses (well, mine wasn’t, but maybe yours was).

if there was any hopeful 2011 spirit left in me yesterday yearning to start the new year off right, it was quashed in an instant when my car broke down on the way to yoga, requiring a tow truck, a rental car, a couple of hours of my time, and a yet-to-be-determined number of $$$.

i love my car . . . usually [photo from asheville, 7.08]
i don’t think i need to tell you that the experience was entirely EFFING un-zen.

but, i did make it to yoga (a mere 3 hours later) and no one was hurt unless you count the crash onto my head out of crow that occurred mid-session. i can’t really blame the volkswagen for that, though.

more importantly: today is a new day, and my rental kia has sirius radio! so in conclusion, i have decided to officially move the start date of 2011 to today. who’s with me?

transition
today is a bit of a transition day for me, anyway. after spending november and december on service, i begin a 2-month research block. this shift is actually quite a dramatic change in my daily responsibilities and schedule; instead of being at the whim of the pager all day, i get to essentially be my own boss.

yes, it’s a custom docket! i must satisfy my need for structure somehow.
i am looking forward to a less frenetic pace, and the prospect of a workday not punctuated by random and unpredictable demands. however, the freedom can be a little intimidating (especially when you’re used to basically following others’ orders all day!), and it can be hard to define what would be a reasonable amount to accomplish.

during my last research month (october), i worked on putting together an NIH grant, and i studied for (and passed, whew!) the general pediatrics boards.

this time, i am less sure of what i would like to get done (figuring that out = my most important task of today!). but i know i want the time to be productive! two months may not be enough time to really get my hands into actual bench science, but hopefully it will allow for lots of preparation and planning to ease this transition in the future. i have two more grants to submit, and a few presentations to put together.

here’s to finding lots of focus and flow in the new year!

——————————————————————

1.2.11

workokut: 75 minute yoga class at blue point. the instructor was a sub and her style didn’t fit my preferences as well — she was a bit vague and offered a ton of variations when really i just want a drill sergeant type telling me what to do (in a calming and zen fashion, of course) so that i don’t have to think about it.

josh went on a man-date and borrowed my camera for the evening. i felt like a private investigator looking over his photos the morning after! the evidence suggests he enjoyed himself.

exhibit a


exhibit b


exhibit c

yep, case closed.

3 Comments

  • Reply haya March 10, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    i&#39m with you! one of my fitness resolutions is to do something active, every day. but i spent saturday and sunday mostly either in a car or parked on a couch or dining table chair, with friends, hardly being active at all.
    it starts today. i walked (30 min) to yoga and back, so i&#39m right on track.

    happy new year!! i hope you get your car back soon without having to exchange too much money for it.

  • Reply Engineer Baker March 10, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    I couldn&#39t imagine not having a schedule – I&#39ve been having such a hard time over this break, not having classes or any defined deadlines or schedules. And school is so loosely scheduled compared to my previous job that I was already having difficulty!

    I&#39m all about starting the new year today. Heck, every day&#39s a chance for a new start, right?

  • Reply caribbean princess March 10, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    Hi Sarah, one of the things I love about research is you get to be your own boss! I enjoy structure but I thrive when I am in charge of organising it and not at the mercy of a pager/bleep. You will soon get into the hang of it. I look forward to finding out what you use this time for 🙂

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