Well, well, well.
If it isn't that little blog I started a (long) while back...and didn't quite maintain over the last several years. A commentary also applicable to my relative (lack of) progress toward PhD completion during this time...though I can report that today, I successfully wrote a few pages and produced a few tables of descriptive statistics for my dissertation (proposal). The little victories. (very little)
So, where was I...July 2019? I suppose a few things have happened since then. A very incomplete list of highlights include but are not limited to:
- 2019: had an amazing summer working at WHO and exploring Switzerland; began dating an equally amazing man person; began learning how to boulder (as in climbing up walls); started Year 2 of PhD.
- 2020: COVID-19 pandemic upended life in countless ways; while courses careened online, began work supporting COVID-19 modeling communications for IHME and tracking US policies with UW's Department of Political Science; mostly holed up in Shoreline with E while occasionally seeing friends at a distance; completed a summer fellowship with Exemplars in Global Health (EGH) and continued working part-time there in the fall; passed my preliminary exams; TA-ed a graduate-level course during Autumn 2020 quarter; went on a 2-week van-camping trip with E in Utah for Christmas; started Year 3 of PhD.
- 2021: TA-ed another graduate-level course during Winter 2021; K and then M moved to Colorado; continued work with EGH and US policy tracking (though discontinued the latter in August 2021), while starting a new RA-ship at IHME in Spring 2021; moved in with E in an amazing little house in north Greenwood; got vaccinated against COVID-19 (!!!!); went kayak camping with the ladies in the San Juans; went to two weddings in the during-COVID-era; started Year 4 of PhD.
- 2022: Developed and taught at a Winter Term course at Middlebury College; visited K and M in Colorado (also visited Colorado for the first time); became an auntie to a second nephew; continued work with EGH and IHME through June; had to stop running due to foot and toe joint issues; supported a BMGF strategy refresh via EGH; went on several mountain biking adventures with E, including a week working remotely (and biking) in Winthrop; visited my brother and family for the first time in nearly 3 years; went kayak camping with the ladies in the San Juans; began a year-long TA role for undergraduate public health research methods; E's dad got diagnosed with ALS; got COVID-19 at ASTMH; went on a mini-van trip from Seattle to Boulder en-route to Virginia; started Year 5 of PhD.
- 2023: visited Virginia multiple times to spend time with the L family; established my dissertation committee; finalized a multi-year project toward a master facility list in Senegal; completed TA role with a deepened love of teaching at the undergraduate-level; wrote a complete draft of dissertation proposal; began an exciting but intensive new project with BMGF on zero-dose learning via EGH; revamped my dissertation proposal; E's dad passed away at the end of August; started Year 6 (oy) of PhD.
So, so many more things happened in the last four or so years – I really wish I had done a better job capturing them along the way. From little to big, from the truly spectacular to absolutely devastating. From new lives joining the rest of us (so many babies!) to cherished ones leaving this earth. From the thrilling days of awkward courtship to cultivating a deep, lasting partnership with a person who lights my life in ways I only imagined.
Losing E's dad from our collective futures has ripped so many holes in my heart, head, and soul. I think I'm still recovering from the full toll of this year as we collectively navigated ALS with R and the L family (though many others beyond me took on much more physical and emotional labor of caregiving). I try to remind myself of this, and to give myself what feels like unwarranted grace when I struggle to focus on my dissertation for days, sometimes weeks at a time. The little victories – right?
Today I learned...
How to do some fancy concatenating formulas in Excel. Woooo!
Today I'm grateful for...
Losing E's dad from our collective futures has ripped so many holes in my heart, head, and soul. I think I'm still recovering from the full toll of this year as we collectively navigated ALS with R and the L family (though many others beyond me took on much more physical and emotional labor of caregiving). I try to remind myself of this, and to give myself what feels like unwarranted grace when I struggle to focus on my dissertation for days, sometimes weeks at a time. The little victories – right?
Today I learned...
How to do some fancy concatenating formulas in Excel. Woooo!
Today I'm grateful for...
Paint-by-numbers. Who knew that the acrylic painting of pre-ordained shapes and numeric color-coding would give my weary brain such respite, allowing it to relax and come up with new ideas, solutions, and so on as my nervous hand energy is so spectacularly expelled across canvas...
Today's best part was...
This might get supplanted by tonight's highly anticipated game time with E's friends, but thus far, scoring a sweet deal on Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips and having them arrive today takes the cake...or well, hopefully cookies in an hour or so.
