One of life’s more turbulent waves that threatened to topple me (see In search of solid ground for reference) happened a year ago today, Sept 15 2016. As that wave washed over me, it stripped me of identity and self-worth. I nearly lost my life in the attempt to stay afloat, and I still feel as if I haven’t recovered my breath. Here’s what transpired, leading up to that unforgettable day: Continue reading
In search of solid ground
About 6 or 7 years ago, StarMan and I found ourselves surrounded in way-too-high waves off the Florida Space Coast, stupidly trapped in a rip-tide. I knew that we were in trouble approximately 20 seconds before he did. We had been in the water for at least 40 minutes, laughing and enjoying the bouncy waves. We were unaware that with each playful wave jump, we were getting carried a few feet further from shore. The waves were tall and irregular that day, a fact that was made abundantly clear only after we were wore out and ready to go back to our beach towels. Continue reading
Happy Vernal Equinox: Celebrating More Than Just Spring (or … A Love Story, Part 1)
(Let’s pretend that I got this one posted “on time” 2 weeks ago, ‘kay?) The vernal equinox, otherwise known as the first day of Spring (here north of the equator!), has meaning to me that goes beyond its astronomical significance. March 21 is the day that the StarMan and I have long regarded as our anniversary date. Going all mushy or TMI is not my style, but I really don’t give StarMan the credit he deserves. He is the embodiment of unconditional love, and I am the luckiest person alive to be the person with whom he decided to share his life.
Joshua Trees (image credit: https://ruairicassidy.wordpress.com/2013/12/24/day-16-joshua-tree-national-park-yucca-valley/)
Observations Of A Circuit Theory Lab Experiment (From the Perspective of the “Wire”)
Today, I had an EMG test in my neurologist’s office. Goal? Figure out what the eff is wrong with my right arm. It was the most un-fun visit I’ve had with Dr. K. Things started out innocently enough … the nice chatty lab tech hooked up some electrodes along my arm, touched my arm in several places with what looked like the end of the power cord for a washing machine, producing a slightly uncomfortable but decidedly purposeful twitch in various parts of my person (confined, mostly any way, to the general vicinity of my arm). StarMan came along, for entertainment purposes. He said that the scene reminded him of this:
Forgetful in Seattle
I am in Seattle this week, attending the 225th conference of the American Astronomical Society. I will be giving a presentation at one of this evening’s sessions.
Eye Am Stable?
Just a quick eye-health report. and its a good one. I’ve had 2 OCT scans since I last reported on my eye condition. I saw a new neuro-opthomologist back in the spring, at UCSF, and then back to my optometrist last month. As usual, I give you a summary of all the OCT measurements so far:
A Good Kind of Tired
Last Saturday, my alarm went off at the very uncivilized hour of Oh-dark-early. The incessant screeching from my smartphone at 3AM was even more annoying than usual. Perhaps my having gone to bed past midnight had something to do with it? With considerable effort, I pushed myself out of bed, splashed some cold water on my face in hopes of reviving myself to an acceptable level of consciousness, chugged a cup of coffee for good measure, then quickly grabbed a fistful of nails, a hammer, and got busy. Today demanded multi-tasking by a jack-of-all-trades, in record time. There was no time for self-pity by the sleep-deprived! Continue reading
Stress Test? No Sweat!
Just a quick check-in to summarize my latest (and final!) cardiologist visit a few weeks ago. You may recall that in a fit of being uber-thorough, my cardiologist suggested that I do an echo-stress test. Did the test uncover an underlying reason for my weak arm, and the bike incident? Continue reading
The Perpetual Two-Body Problem
An example of a 2-body problem: Two objects with the same weight (mass), orbiting around a point in space (credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-body_problem)
Amongst the colleagues in my profession, the phrase “Two-Body Problem” is a geeky way to describe the challenging situation that a married (or committed) professional couple finds themselves in, when they are looking for jobs in similar research fields in the same geographic location, in hopes of sustaining their careers and keeping their relationship intact. StarMan and I are, by all accounts, a strongly-coupled Two Body Problem, and we just got news today that dashed some high hopes. Continue reading
Taking Heart
I’m convinced that blog post ideas are a lot like the weather: when it rains, it pours! I’ve got at least a half-dozen, half-baked posts in my head right now, and no time to spill them out “on paper”. But I do need to take a few moments to write about my latest cardiologist visit, before the details are lost in the cobwebs of my mind. Continue reading
stargzrblog 