tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post2310160541223558929..comments2024-02-05T05:15:04.759-08:00Comments on Wandering Scientist: Dealing with Burnout When Everything is on Fire (Figuratively and Literally, It Turns Out)Cloudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-39682159523026985452020-09-13T10:01:28.827-07:002020-09-13T10:01:28.827-07:00No worries! I don't think you can edit a comme...No worries! I don't think you can edit a comment on blogger. I used to pretend I was going to move this blog to a self-hosted wordpress site, but that hasn't happened and honestly probably never well!<br /><br />We have camped a bit. I am the least enthusiastic camper in the family and could suck it up for a good get away. But as you mention in your second comment, there isn't really anywhere not smoky to camp right now. One of our favorite camping spots is in Joshua Tree. Last time we went was around Thanksgiving, so maybe that's an idea for us. Thanks for your comment!Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-44486529697002420872020-09-13T09:57:59.755-07:002020-09-13T09:57:59.755-07:00We tried having game nights early on. Perhaps we s...We tried having game nights early on. Perhaps we should bring that back until the smoke clears!Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-67751756413739446922020-09-12T23:48:27.008-07:002020-09-12T23:48:27.008-07:00Can't figure out how to edit, but just realize...Can't figure out how to edit, but just realized how little sense that makes with the fires! Yikes. Maybe sometime soon though :(Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00069809708439825365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-82985335383718188982020-09-11T22:56:03.058-07:002020-09-11T22:56:03.058-07:00Totally up to your covid comfort zone, but wanted ...Totally up to your covid comfort zone, but wanted to suggest camping. I've heard of a lot of people doing that lately, and the idea of it being fully outdoors and very socially distanced from anyone outside your household makes it seem pretty safe. But maybe that's just not what you're looking for and that's fine too!<br /><br />I've found it useful to know that I'm going to be doing some scrolling and try to be prepared with some less miserable/pointless-feeling scrolling topics. Right now I'm reading about the effective altruism movement! Also about how to live in more environmentally friendly ways.<br /><br />I'm really sorry about the fires. I lived on the west coast until recently. It's incredibly awful to hear what it's like there from friends. Not being able to go outside while also not being able to go inside while away from your home is so miserable, I'm so sorry and I hope it passes soon.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00069809708439825365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-85798491712738262020-09-11T17:15:15.971-07:002020-09-11T17:15:15.971-07:00I really enjoyed the Detective Inspector Chen seri...I really enjoyed the Detective Inspector Chen series (magical detective!). But it's been a while and I can't attest to whether they're a little racist or not!Jenny F Scientistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-54381385688539372922020-09-11T07:49:14.199-07:002020-09-11T07:49:14.199-07:00Oh good! Sometimes even otherwise good white US/U...Oh good! Sometimes even otherwise good white US/UK authors get a bit cringy when they tackle "orientalism" [sic] (I'm sure tv tropes has a list of my complaints because the tropes are so prevalent), so I've been holding off on this one even though I own a copy. (And there are so many great Japanese animes with shinigami!)nicoleandmaggiehttp://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-15383510855859424272020-09-11T06:09:30.557-07:002020-09-11T06:09:30.557-07:00The Shinigami detective series is really fun too. ...The Shinigami detective series is really fun too. It's not what you expect and that's what makes it lovely. Caleenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-68741132520746897592020-09-11T00:23:22.960-07:002020-09-11T00:23:22.960-07:00If you have a good virtual travel experience, do p...If you have a good virtual travel experience, do please let us know! We've been doing ok at fighting the doldrums but it's an uphill slog most days. It's tough when we realize how much of our lives are being boxed in. We lost social lives and JB's activities. We compensated with biking and hiking, then the fires and air quality have taken that away. We're still able to read and cook and enjoy silly games indoors, and a friend sent JB some new board games which is both fun (Connect 4) and an exercise in frustration for the games they don't know how to play. We write a lot of letters even though I don't necessarily know what to say. JB composes lots of one liners and does art in hopes of lifting spirits and I add the addresses and embellishments. I do enjoy a good meditative word search or coloring page. There's something nice about not thinking too hard about the thing at hand. Every week or two I'm motivated to try a new recipe of some kind. Our banana PB chocolate chip oatmeal bars turned out great. Catfish two ways is up next. Revanche @ A Gai Shan Lifehttp://agaishanlife.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-48361545927535969442020-09-10T21:58:46.280-07:002020-09-10T21:58:46.280-07:00That is really tough and I know exactly what you m...That is really tough and I know exactly what you mean. I don't have any bright ideas for how to handle the compounding of catastrophes. What is happening in Oregon right now is so scary. I hope they can get the fires under control soon and that your air improves. Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-61717839416360852042020-09-10T21:55:08.228-07:002020-09-10T21:55:08.228-07:00OK... maybe you two have convinced me to try magic...OK... maybe you two have convinced me to try magical detective series!Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-45608050774040189562020-09-10T21:54:07.033-07:002020-09-10T21:54:07.033-07:00Yikes! I think I'll pass on that method of dea...Yikes! I think I'll pass on that method of dealing with the burnout! But I think you're right: Sometimes being forced to rest is what it takes.Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-24702272842966486032020-09-10T21:50:56.708-07:002020-09-10T21:50:56.708-07:00I do find that writing Vote Forward letters helps ...I do find that writing Vote Forward letters helps with the feeling of doom that is definitely a component of my burnout. But I also often feel like I should be doing more... but I'm not sure what that would be.Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-21805686704347854352020-09-10T21:46:20.155-07:002020-09-10T21:46:20.155-07:00Thanks! I'll check those out.Thanks! I'll check those out.Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-79815857554193934022020-09-10T21:45:06.264-07:002020-09-10T21:45:06.264-07:00I should look into the virtual travel experiences ...I should look into the virtual travel experiences - you aren't the first person I've heard say they are surprisingly good!Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-43999490085298944172020-09-10T21:37:34.172-07:002020-09-10T21:37:34.172-07:00I had been walking every single day and it was not...I had been walking every single day and it was not enough to keep things good but it was enough to keep things okay. Now I'm in the worst air quality part of Oregon (not in Portland, in the mid-Valley where it's worse) and ash is falling from the sky and I have no idea how to deal with things when I can't even be outside.Colleennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-64266330460234786252020-09-10T15:52:59.067-07:002020-09-10T15:52:59.067-07:00... adds these to library lists...
I do have an u...... adds these to library lists...<br /><br />I do have an unread magic detective book on my kindle right now, but it's not one of these. It's a shinigami something or other and I'm worried a bit about cultural appropriation, so it's a gamble. I also have the fourth Eve Williams (Necromancer detective) by Ashley Beasley but I didn't like the third as much as the first two, so I haven't gotten it started. (I did really like the first two a lot.) nicoleandmaggiehttp://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-45271007662218860152020-09-10T15:09:56.350-07:002020-09-10T15:09:56.350-07:00I second nicoleandmaggie on reading Ilona Andrews!...I second nicoleandmaggie on reading Ilona Andrews! Then you can move into my favorite unofficial genre of "Magic Detective." Somehow, reading about British cops solving magical crimes (Rivers of London) or formerly polygamous cult member FBI agents solving magical crimes (Soulwood Series by Faith Hunter) is the ultimate distraction. They fix the problem! It can't possibly happen here! I remember sneering a vampire romance once upon a time, but when real life is depressing, there is nothing better than a vampire hunter who wraps everything up in a neat bow at the end of the night. <br /><br />Caleenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-92101416366527715832020-09-10T06:55:39.690-07:002020-09-10T06:55:39.690-07:00oddly, something that has helped with burnout is i...oddly, something that has helped with burnout is injuring myself so I couldn't walk for a week. not particularly recommended while trying to manage kids & puppy & full time job... but it's helped me let go of some things because I just can't do them. spending a lot of time with your leg elevated watching the great british baking show is EVENTUALLY relaxing. maybe I'm usually too hard on myself to be productive? Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08054948715135325940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-66675255221001949552020-09-10T04:54:27.949-07:002020-09-10T04:54:27.949-07:00I'm almost out of Ilona Andrews novels... Rea...I'm almost out of Ilona Andrews novels... Reading the Kate Daniels series backwards has been a lot better than reading it forwards because it gets really good around book 4 or so. (The first time I tried, I couldn't finish the first book and gave it away and did not return.)<br /><br />I have a nagging sense of guilt that I have been falling down on activism things. I need to figure out how to get that back into my routine now that schools have started. It's really hard because normally I would be in the middle of deep voter registration right now, but every thing we were able to do last year the pandemic + our county not really wanting people to vote has made impossible.nicoleandmaggiehttp://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-81552395859708176332020-09-09T22:52:20.670-07:002020-09-09T22:52:20.670-07:00I just finished reading A Beautifully Foolish Ende...I just finished reading A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green, and if you haven't already, I think An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (book 1) would be worth trying to read. It's got fun thriller elements, but also interesting ideas about society and ethics.Beckiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16445471000043743877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-76430079599507039302020-09-09T22:44:42.743-07:002020-09-09T22:44:42.743-07:00I've been thinking of you all on the west coas...I've been thinking of you all on the west coast during your fires. I remember how hard it was when you couldn't go outside or exercise because of the air. And we didn't even have a pandemic! <br /><br />How have I been coping? At the beginning of Covid, I found blogging about the information I was reading (rather than just doomscrolling) was helpful as it gave me a focus. I'm also a big traveller, like you, and I've done a couple of virtual travel experiences - surprisingly good, especially if you use the opportunity to catch up with a friend from someone else in the world.<br /><br />But the thing I'm finding hardest is not having travel to look forward to - I really love planning travel, almost as much as the actual travel, and it's going to be a long time for me from Australia. I do occasionally research cool places I'd like to go anyway, pretending they will be my next trip (small towns in Germany, walking in Japan, another cycling trip to Vietnam...) <br /><br />The main thing I'm trying to do, though, some days better than others, is find something to enjoy in the moment. I've got a random bit of beauty in each blog post I do, and looking for a great photo from the day to post is an excellent way of making me pay attention to the little beautiful things around me.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02170604671738456045noreply@blogger.com