Hello, hello, hello, is there anybody in there? I have “Comfortably Numb” in my head. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then we can just move right along. I’ve been loopy coming out of this ear + sinus infection that I can now add to the list of winter viruses that have rocked my world (and sent me down a Pink Floyd rabbit hole). Let’s get into the roundup!
Quote of the week:
“My therapist is always quoting important people of antiquity during our session, people like Ovid and Horace, and this doesn’t bother me as much as you might think. I like knowing that my problems exist within a large and respected tradition of problems. That ever since the beginning of civilization, humans have been very upset.” –Sally Holt in Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Epach
What I’m reading:
In the middle of When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill and really liking it.
What I’m listening to:
Just started The Maid by Nita Prose. Great narration!
What I’m watching:
The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker on Netflix. This documentary was not what I was expecting. Very odd story.
What I’m talking about:
- The earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. It is difficult to fathom the destruction and how many lives have been lost (more than 22,000 so far). The photos are devastating. You can donate to help victims via the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (they allow you to specify funds for the Turkey/Syria earthquake)
- The State of the Union. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s heckling = OMG. What a disgrace. Republicans refused to applaud for lower drug prices, more jobs, better infrastructure, gun reform, etc. They also wouldn’t acknowledge Tyre Nichols’ parents. Gross
Interesting things I learned this week:
- The world’s tallest book, “Collection of Maritime Rules,” is more than 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide
- “Kinkeeping” is a term to describe the strategic keeping of bonds. Dating back to the 1960s, academics studying family roles identified the “kinkeeper” as the person responsible for “keeping family members in touch with one another”
- According to Oxfam, if women around the world made minimum wage for all the unpaid hours of care work they performed in 2019, they would have earned $10.9 trillion. In America alone, they would have earned $1.5 trillion. Because care work remains unpaid, these astounding numbers do not factor into gross domestic product or economic growth
- Childcare professionals, many of them mothers, are 3x as likely to live in poverty as workers in other professions
- Voorpret is a Dutch word to describe the build-up of joy and anticipation you feel before something fun
- Nearly 60% of calories eaten by US adults are from ultra processed foods
- Only 18 states in the US currently require sex education to be medically accurate. Uhhh…what? If it’s not medically accurate, what…is…it?
- This week saw the coldest wind chill ever recorded in the US, -108 degrees in Mt. Washington, New Hampshire
- Unemployment is down to 3.4% and the economy added half a million jobs last month. So, are we officially NOT in a recession?
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“mushrooms as tall as trees.” I heard that mushrooms were as tall as trees in the Paleozoic era, so I had to investigate. It’s true! There were mushrooms 20+ feet tall and they became extinct 350 million years ago.
What I’m grateful for:
- Antibiotics. I have BIG gratitude for antibiotics. Without them, I would be…dead?
- Taking my daughter to see the Broadway production of “Frozen.” One of us became quite verklempt and may have shed a tear during “Let It Go”
- Back to running. My training cycle for my upcoming half marathon has been a bit wonky with all the illness I’ve had. I’m racing on February 26 so I have some time to build back. This morning’s long run was great!
Snapshots:
