I missed last week’s roundup due to technical difficulties, but I’m back. Happy first day of March! It’s Read Across America Day (aka Dr. Seuss’s birthday) tomorrow, but we are celebrating at my daughter’s school today. Here’s to reading!
Quotes of the week:
“I think of beauty as an absolute necessity. I don’t think it’s a privilege or an indulgence, it’s not even a quest… I think finding, incorporating and then representing beauty is what humans do… I don’t think we can do without it any more than we can do without dreams or oxygen.” –Toni Morrison
On a similar note, this one from the Van Gogh exhibit I visited with my daughter:
What I’m reading:
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller. I’ve heard good things and I’m excited to get into it. This was my book club’s runner-up pick for the month so some of us are reading it in addition to our first pick. Extra credit!
What I’m listening to:
What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama. I usually listen to books on my runs, but I’m taking a break after last weekend’s race, so haven’t gotten very far with this one.
What I’m watching:
Let’s see. I watched Lover Stalker Killer on Netflix and that was a wild ride. Wow, people are crazy. I balanced that out with a lot of comedy specials–Taylor Tomlinson, Theo Von, Jenny Slate, Ali Wong. I had a lot of downtime in a hotel room for my race weekend!
Interesting things I learned this week:
- Research suggests that self-confidence peaks between the ages of 60 and 70
- The German word sturmfrei literally means “storm free” and refers to “the freedom of being alone, the ability to do what you want”
- The word coddiwomple means “to travel purposefully toward an as-yet unknown destination”
- On February 22, the Odysseus Moon lander completed a soft lunar touchdown, becoming the first privately built spacecraft to land on the moon and the first US one to do so in 50 years
- Silicon Valley has declared loneliness a public health emergency
- Chicago has brought the newest lawsuit against Big Oil companies for spreading disinformation about the climate-warming hazards of burning fossil fuels — adding the third largest city in the U.S. to the growing list of state and local governments pushing for oil and gas majors to be held accountable in court
- Researchers in the Amazon have discovered the world’s largest snake species – an enormous green anaconda – in Ecuador’s rainforest
- 89-year-old Flo Meiler competed at the recent USATF New England and East Region Masters Indoor Championship, making her the oldest athlete in track events (you can read how she did here)
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“youngest person to get PhD.” I’m working on a new novel with a character who gets her PhD at a younger age so I wanted to google this. I had no idea that anyone can get a PhD at any age. Karl Witte is the youngest. He attended the University of Giessen in German and graduated with his doctorate at the age of 13. He holds the Guinness Book of World Records’ record for youngest doctorate.
What I’m grateful for:
- A great race last weekend. I did the Ventura Half Marathon and ran a PR for me–1:33:50! It was a beautiful course. I took the train up and back, which was so relaxing and fun
- Lots of fun stuff with my daughter–a trip to the Van Gogh exhibit, the Lion King musical, UCLA gymnastics meet, volunteering at the animal shelter. I got to help on her class field trip this week too. Grateful I have a job that allowed me to do that!
- Taylor Swift. My daughter is obsessed so I guess I’m now a Swiftie by proxy and I’m not hating it. My daughter does performances for me on a nightly basis and I enjoy this more than playing Barbies
- Exciting writing-related news! I’ll be able to share soooooon
- Connecting with new people. Life is so weird and short. Whenever I find people who feel like “my people,” I get so happy
Snapshots:
From top to bottom: reading + pets = the best; Van Gogh immersive exhibit (highly recommend); volunteering at the animal shelter; post-race selfie; writing break selfie.