Writing

Right after I returned from Spain, in mid-September, my boss handed me a big professional growth opportunity - writing a grant proposal. I had asked for more chances like this, but of course I should be careful what I wish for. I have had to suspend my work-life balance for the past two months and put in some very long days. Writing a proposal is only partly about writing. It's also about working with your partners to come up with the best ideas, figuring out how to demonstrate that you can do everything you say you will do, making a budget, and following many, many rules. (That part is a bit like doing your taxes; there's a 300-page guide from the National Science Foundation on what people must to do correctly ask for, and then spend, their money on science.) 

The end is nearly in sight. The deadline is Wednesday, and NSF only extends deadlines in the case of natural disasters, something that is a blessing right now as I just want to submit it. Preparing far in advance meant that we could polish and tweak and make it the very best, but I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving break. I *will* most pointedly not sit in front of the computer, I *will* eat healthy food again, and I *will* get more exercise than I have since September. And six months from now, I will find out if they decided that our idea was worth funding. 

Modern Me

Every day, when I go into work, I look like this.

Sometimes I also look like this. I mean, I don't always look this terrific, but it's what I look like with hairspray and a good photo filter.

That means that no one at work has ever seen me in anything other than a 40's or 50's vintage professional wardrobe, and they have never seen my hair unless it was pincurled or worn in an period-appropriate up-do.

Thus, the inspiration for my Halloween costume - me in 2019.

Skinny jeans, a cowl-necked tunic, ballet flats, long hair, and hipster large glasses. I had to buy every single part of this costume, because I only own vintage-inspired clothing. (Important exception: Star Fleet uniform pajamas.) All day long, people were doing double-takes. Several coworkers walked by me at my desk, then turned around to and came back because they thought someone else was using my office. It was great to make so many people laugh, but I'm very glad to be back home and in my comfy, wide-legged pants.

Again, with the thinking

It seemed like it was about time for one of my biannual retreats. This time, I rented a tiny house at the southernmost tip of Maryland, which looked over St. Mary's River.

Photo credit: From the hosts of the site

I've use these retreats to take stock of my life - usually to assess my goals or how I spend my time. The rules are no media (Internet, phone, music, podcasts), and minimal books and interaction with people. Although I was very strict on my first retreat about not talking to people, I'm finding that I it's not as critical now, since each retreat is a check-in on my last visit with my brain. I also try to spend a fair amount of time outside, as I can't just sit and think all day without a few breaks.

I knew that the forecast called for rain on Sunday, so I managed a four-mile hike and a three-mile kayak trip. It was my first solo kayak trip, but I had read quite a bit about what precautions to take when you are on your own. The most dangerous moment was when I questioned whether to bring my phone while packing. I didn't want to drop it into the briny deep. but luckily I brought it along as it turned out that I consulted it extensively to figure out where I was going. Those inlets all look alike!

The focus this weekend was money/work. I worked through much of the book "Your Money or Your Life" which is a classic from the 1990's that inspired many of the current FI (Financial Independence) writers. The book is a bit hippie and a bit sexist but also packed full of good ideas. I had already completed many of the "steps" it requires - I have tracked every expenditure since 2011, and know my "real hourly wage" (i.e. how much I make for each hour of work, after subtracting off the extra time and money for commuting, buying work clothes and lunches, etc.). I'm actually pretty okay with where my spending is.  I think my spending largely aligns with my values, and I save quite a bit.

I did realize that I don't like how many things I buy in my clothes/household/DIY category. I suspect that these things are not strictly necessary and the manufacturing of them eats up resources quickly. So I decided that through the end of 2019 I will not purchase anything new. Exceptions are consumables and gifts (other people shouldn't suffer for my crazy ideas). If possible, I will make or borrow what I need, but I'm fine buying used. On the drive home, I literally pulled into a parking lot before I realized that I wasn't allowed to buy anything in the store I had driven to, so I clearly have some re-learning to do. 

Bathroom Construction

I'm woefully behind on everything in my life that is not work or sleep. And honestly, I'm lacking a bit in the sleep department. I have temporarily relaxed my very firm work-life balance rule for the chance to take more of a lead on writing a grant proposal. It's a great professional opportunity and I'm learning a ton, but it does mean I haven't been doing much else for the past month.

In fact, my parents had a visit planned in early October which I almost cancelled because I couldn't imagine spending two weekend days not working . But I didn't and it turned out great. We were able to celebrate the "End of other people helping me with bathroom construction," which, you'll note, is not exactly the same as saying the bathroom is done.

I now have a shower that is mainly waterproof on three sides. We glued up the shower surround and designed a curtain rod that would work on a sloped ceiling. What's left is caulking the edges and making a customized shower curtain and then I'll have a working shower. In theory, this is something that I can do myself, but I already hit a design challenge significant enough that I'm going to have to do a long-distance consultation with my father.

 My father figured out a way to secure all three sides simultaneously while the glue dries.

We needed to put up waterproof material on the ceiling, and you had to wait for the adhesive to get tacky. This is my mother and I literally watching paint glue dry on a Saturday night.

So, I'm not done but the end is within shouting distance.

Bruges

I returned home and plunged into the typical post-vacation frenzy: mow the embarrassingly tall lawn, do the laundry, buy some food, pick up the cat. But if I don't capture the final days of my trip, I'll forget too much.

This is the famous globe-trotting family I visited. My brother and his family decided to quit their jobs and travel for a year. They happened to be in Europe this fall, so we arranged to meet in Bruges, Belgium. You can read all about their adventures here.

I have never been to Belgium. I was delighted that they had chosen a city in the Flemish-speaking part of the country, because my knowledge of German at least helps me read a bit, whereas I am completely lost with French.

We only had two days together, so we focused on the essentials: fries, beer, chocolate, and waffles. No one was up for eating mussels. I made the mistake of calling them French fries at one point, but I was gently (yet firmly) corrected by the Belgians that the term was not appreciated. Simply "fries" was enough.

This picture captures the most peaceful half hour I had on my entire vacation. Bruges is a small, picturesque medieval town. It is extremely popular with the tourists, and we watched them stream out of the train station each day, traveling from the nearby Brussels. The streets were jam packed. On Sunday morning, before all the day trippers arrived, I wandered around looking for a bakery. The only people out were a few bicyclists and the Jehovah's witnesses. It was silent and beautiful and I could finally imagine what it might have been like to live there hundreds of years ago.

My sister-in-law is not a big drinker, but she was willing to help out with my beer tasting. I liked everything we had, while she stuck to the lambic fruit beers. She was pleased to learn that they are also available in the US, so I think it likely that we'll indulge again in the future.

Me, happy in a beer store, but sad to be leaving Europe and my family.

Philosophy

Uncle de-I sent me this article, which is worth a read if you like learning a bit about physics. (Don't worry, there's not a single equation.) I agree completely with the author. As a community, physicists have decided it is not part of the discipline to understand why quantum mechanics is the way it is. Instead, it is just our job to use the equations. In fact, this view is so pervasive that it wasn't until I took a philosophy of quantum mechanics course (in the philosophy department, not physics, of course) that I even became aware of the fact that we don't discuss the meaning of quantum mechanics. That is, it never even occurred to me until that moment that discussing what wave functions, observers, or reality are were questions that people could ask. I guess that's why we travel to other cultures, be those places China or the world of philosophy - we suddenly realize that things we accept as fundamentally and unequivocally true are actually just assumptions.

Perspectives

Since living in a country is different than visiting it, one of my research techniques to investigate the possibility of living in Spain was to ask everyone I met what they loved and hated about Madrid. I was particularly interested in the opinions of people from other places, whether inside or outside Spain. I don't agree with all the opinions below, but they are also super useful for considering the pros and cons of a city. It would be in interesting thought exercise to ask the same question about America, to know whether I would choose to live there if I had considered it dispassionately.

Negatives

• Less customer service/ more bureaucracy - People are polite in the shops, but I can agree that no one runs up to help you, and several people said that it is hard to get responses from the government, landlords, etc. I think I would need to take my experience of Miami's "island time" and multiply it by a hundred to be prepared for this.
• The weather - Actually, the person who made this complaint is from San Diego, where the climate is nearly perfect, and I suspect he has unreasonable expectations for the rest of the world. The temperatures closely match what I am used to in DC, but it is much, much drier.
• People are not very polite - It is true that no one apologizes when they run into you or step on your toes, and I have heard that the same extends to businesses when they make an error. Canadians have a reputation for excessively apologizing, but I'm realizing the stereotype probably applies to Americans too.
• Poor economy - The unemployment rate is quite high here - 15% compared to the U.S.'s 4%. This also results in lower prices, so it's a great place to spend money but not a great place to earn it.

Positives

• The nightlife is excellent - Nightlife isn't quite the right word for this. I'm sure the clubs and theaters are great, but what I mean is that people enjoy their time outside of work. Every evening the restaurants and bars are packed with people just spending time with their friends and family.
• Public transportation - It's outstanding. I almost never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus or train, although holidays and weekends take longer, and the prices are half that of DC. The trains are often packed, but I'd rather stand and get somewhere quickly.
• People are generally welcoming of outsiders. It's easy to make friends with expats, but it seems like you can also integrate into the Spanish society, as long as you can speak the language.
• People enjoy their food and drink. This is definitely a change from the US, where I often feel like we are eating as quickly as possible so we can get the next thing done. I am partially left out, though, since I won't eat the many ham or seafood dishes on offer.