March

12 Books

In March I read two books: Still Alice by Lisa Genova and Serena by Ron Rash. I loved Still Alice. It’s the story of a woman with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease. It was beautifully written; it’s touching and terrifying at the same time. Although I, of course, have never struggled with dementia, I still related to so many the issues of personal identity and how scary the loss of that would feel. I really recommend it. Serena is the story of a couple who runs a timber company in the early 20^th century in the U.S. I give Serena a 6 out of 10. It has some really interesting characters, but the story took a while to go anywhere.

12 Recipes

This month I made fish tacos, which were absolutely delicious! They were so easy and so quick. I think they will be one of my go-to dishes in the future.

12 Blog Posts

Click here for some musings about joy and loneliness. (So, you know, a super light post this month. I’ll try to go back to amusing in April.)

12 Ways to Meet People

This month I went to the Illinois Science Council’s Pi Day Pi K: a 3.14 mile run on March 14. It was a beautiful day, but otherwise kind of a disappointing event. They promised a much more social atmosphere than really happened, so beyond a few minutes of idle chat, I didn’t really get to meet anyone new. I’m still giving myself credit for trying, though. Here’s the shirt – typo and all.

12 Small Steps Forward in my Career

Work on the grant proposal and chapter I mentioned the last two months continue. I also took the time to update my resume, which I hadn’t done in a long time. I rewrote it from the perspective of someone looking for research funding, rather than a job, since that’s what I’ll probably use it for in the immediate future. I chose to be optimistic and also included my two pending grant proposals, one pending talk proposal, and as-yet-unaccepted book chapter. (Highlighted, of course, to be deleted if I send out the resume before those things come to pass.) It was actually pretty gratifying to spell out everything I’ve done over the past 9 years.

12 Fun Events in Chicagoland

This month I went with my friend Carla to The Sing Off Live! We saw three acapella groups perform and had tons of fun. (I also really love this photo.)

12 Crafts and Creations

In March I finally put together a photo book for my trip to Harry Potter world last September. Sadly I have not received the physical book yet, so I can’t post a photo, but here’s a screenshot of one of my favorite spreads.

12 Pretty Things for My Apartment

After some frustrating attempts to find a bedspread or shadowbox frames to hang my mosaics this month, I finally gave up on both of those things and ordered this wall decal on a whim. I couldn’t be more pleased with how it came out! I love it. So pretty!

12 Things that Help Me Feel Good about My Appearance

Early in the month I went with a friend to a beauty event at Nordstrom, and ended up buying $250 worth of makeup. The first picture below is what it looked like when the professional did it. Spending that much money hurt, but it’s been worth it because I feel really good in the makeup. I’ve faithfully worn it every day, and several people have noted that I look nice without knowing exactly what’s different. That’s the sign of a good makeover, I think. I’m really going to try to stick to using it. I also got my haircut again. The second picture below is of the day I got it cut, when it looked especially awesome.

12 Grown-Up Things

For months – perhaps years – I have been pulling stuff out of my medicine cabinet only to have other things fall on me. There was a lot crammed in there, and I knew on some level that most of it was expired, but I never wanted to sort through it. This month I was a grown-up and cleaned out my medicine cabinet, pitching all the old, crusted bottles of nail polish that had separated, a good number of the zillion little sample lotions and shampoos that had built up, and all the expired over-the-counter medications. I don’t even want to tell you how old the oldest thing was… but I will give you a clue and say that the year started with 200 and the last digit rhymed with heaven. (And also tell you that in that year, I did not yet live in this apartment. So… I moved an expired product with me and it has been in my medicine cabinet ever since.) With all the riff-raff out, I was able to reorganize it so I can open the door without anything falling on my head. You know, like a grown up.