Category: Personal

December 2023 round-up

In December, I spent a lot of money and ate a lot of sugar. I was elated with some friends’ news, and really sad with another friend’s loss. I spent time with people that make my life better, and time with myself to reflect on the past year and set some goals for the next one.  … Continue reading December 2023 round-up

November 2023 round-up

Brrr… it’s really cold in my part of the world, at the moment. While we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, I will say that I am immensely grateful that I have a warm house to return to, without having to worry too much about energy bills. I am also grateful to live in a country … Continue reading November 2023 round-up

September 2023 round-up

September was about going back to routines and tackling life admin – the kiddo was back to school and training; we are back to spending Sundays by the side of an ice-rink; various medical check-ups were scheduled and attended; and so on.  This month, I also joined a life drawing group. I hadn’t done any life-drawing … Continue reading September 2023 round-up

August 2023 round-up

August was a travelling month. First, to attend a conference. Then, for time out with the family, which included one week with my parents at the beach (it’s been 20+ years since we last holidayed together. Bliss!). There was some work done around these, even if not much was “shipped”. Research The main event, research … Continue reading August 2023 round-up

July 2023 round-up

July was such a fun month! I am sure that that feeling was largely influenced by my 2-weeks’ holiday with the kiddo, which included a haphazard (but heartfelt) celebration of his 16th birthday. Though, that feeling also came from working on a handful of exciting projects, on the other half of the month. https://www.instagram.com/p/CvGRpnlIONP/ On the research … Continue reading July 2023 round-up

June 2023 round-up

And, just like that, half of 2023 is gone. Woosh. Though, to be fair, I am very glad that the GCSEs are done with. Over. Behind us. Check. This month we also celebrated child 1’s birthday, and child 2’s ice-hockey tournament with England’s U16 team. Very sadly, I also learned that someone I had been … Continue reading June 2023 round-up

May 2023 round-up

May was busy. There were several big things happening at the same time, and I constantly felt being pulled between different demands on my time and attention. As much as possible, I tried focusing only on the task at hand, rather than let myself feel overwhelmed about everything that had to be done. This is … Continue reading May 2023 round-up

Day in the Life of an Academic #15: The research sandpit

While the previous DITL post focused on something that I do regularly (i.e., teaching), this one looks at something that I had never done before: participate in a research sandpit.  UKRI, the UK’s government main body for funding research and innovation, defines research sandpits as residential, interactive workshops bringing together “a highly multidisciplinary mix of participants (…) … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #15: The research sandpit