Two Kids, A Research Group, and Where My Time Goes

I've been missing because I've been busy!

Between two kids and running my group, I find very little time to blog! Papers are coming out, I have a grant coming in, and I am enjoying this moment and hoping it is steady state. My life is full and brimming with things to do. I get little time to myself.

Upon resuming meditation and mindfulness, I have come to realize that my "me" time is spent editing papers and writing grants… and I have realized that I actually enjoy doing these activities. Therefore, my "me" time is actually work time. That's sick, no? I am always working, so it is appearing that my work time should also present opportunities for enjoyment.

My group is bursting at the seams. I have 8 group members excluding miscellaneous undergrads. I manage them by meeting with each member for 1 hr once every 2 weeks. We have weekly group meetings. I go up to the lab every day to make sure no one is dead.

Sparky v.2 turned 1 yr. old this week. He is amazingly fantastic. He can walk and kind of say Mama and Dada. I love him so much I want to eat him. Sparky v.1 is 4 yr. old and amazing as well. We dance Gangnam style all the time.

I spend every spare moment editing papers and working on proposals. But, I no longer resent it. I enjoy it. I find it rewarding to take something awful (from my students) and turn it into something worth showcasing. As a new faculty I was very disappointed that my students' papers were so unpolished. Now I am over it. I just edit while watching X-files. FYI, I'm on season 8 so that's a lot of editing.

The arthritis is OK. Exercise helps, but I still have bad days. Enbrel is a miracle that allows me to live almost like a normal person. But I still run out of energy at around 9 PM. I recite to myself that "this is the best I can do"given the present circumstances. If it is not enough then everyone else can go f* themselves.

Anyways, I'm not dead. Just running around as busy as ever.