I thought I didn’t have anything to say, so I wrote 1000 words

Justine Let's get personal

You may have noticed that I haven’t been writing much lately. I have plenty of material for What’s in that hole? but haven’t written any of it up or posted it. I’ve also been up to some interesting things this summer, but the only thing I wrote about was my trip to Belize, and that was two months ago. And, maybe most noticeably, I haven’t written anything on a truly personal level since… actually I don’t remember. (Edit: turns out it was this post five months ago.) But enough is enough. I promised to write not just when things are …

Spring break in San Francisco, CA

Justine United States

Last week was spring break at the University of Arizona. Since I’m just working part time and my only duty is teaching, I took the opportunity to travel to San Francisco to see some friends. Originally, my trip was actually planned for a weekend in February but a storm messed up air travel in the area and my flights were cancelled. In the end, it was for the best because the change gave me more time in SF plus there was much better weather!

A different sort of anniversary: 2 years into beating depression

Justine Let's get personal

February 18, 2015 is the day that I checked into the hospital. I was partway through a fellowship in Washington, D.C. and when I went to work that day, the fellowship director (let’s call her AM) could tell something was wrong. It was a Wednesday, but it was the first day of work that week because Monday had been a holiday and Tuesday was a snow day. By that point, I hadn’t slept more than a few hours in 3 or 4 days and was in the midst of a full on breakdown.

Refocusing my priorities

Justine Let's get personal

Yesterday I made a decision that might have cost me millions of dollars. I don’t say that lightly; I was offered the opportunity to work with renowned scientists on something that has already received millions in grant funding and is already protected by a patent. Nothing in the business world is ever a sure thing, but this concept certainly has legs, to say the least.

Scuba trip: Cozumel, Mexico (January 2017)

Justine International

Last week, I went on an impromptu scuba trip to Cozumel, Mexico. I booked the flight (using miles!) just 5 days before I left Tucson and booked the hotel and scuba reservation 3 days before I left. I figured I’d take advantage of the extra time I have before I start teaching for the spring semester.

big sky montana

My latest version of a life plan

Justine Let's get personal

Okay everyone, here we go. I have a plan. Well, kind of. It’s only for about 4 months and, as you’ll read below, it’s lacking in detail. But I don’t tend to plan that far ahead or in any detail (as you can tell from my impromptu Cozumel trip this week – more on that in a future post – and the fact that I quit my job with no backup option ready), so this is actually pretty good for me.