May 2020 Monthly Review

disclaimer: these reviews are for my own personal accountability and aren’t really meant to be articulate blog posts. if you are curious about anything I write here, feel free to email me at nichole.lynn.bennett <at> gmail.com

values

• bewilderment
• making a difference
• brilliance
• daring
• joy
• authenticity
• imagination
• intimacy
• justice

highlights from the past month

• finished my second year of my Ph.D.
• hatched a bunch of baby praying mantises
• attended BurlyCon’s Virtual BurlyPod masterclasses
• uprisings against police brutality on Black bodies
• Instagram Chat with Transmitting Science
• burlesque classes almost every day after school got out
• yoga almost every day after school got out
• meditation almost every day after school got out
• morning pages almost every day after school got out
• mindful eating almost every day after school got out
• did an interactive, experimental online show for Vortex Theater called Pierce the Veil
• took a workshop with Odyssey Works Theatre (designing immersive experiences for one person)
• consulted Planet Texas 2050 on their community engagement toolkit
• wrote Intro to Python for Biologists course to teach remotely to Czech biologists
• COVID-19 science communication research projects (scientists on twitter, surveys, experiments)
• recorded first episode of Icebox podcast

lessons learned from last month

• sit with it, be present with discomfort
• I’m bad at guessing what will bring me joy and happiness, and it’s better just to be open to it showing up in each moment
• through change and struggle, you might feel frustrated or might feel strength, both are valid but know that both exist if you are stuck in one
• what seem like plateaus are slopes
• there are times seasons of yes’s (divergence) and trying new things and seasons on no’s (convergence) and focusing in (double diamond design thinking)
• burlesque and dancing joyfully are non-negotiables
• tea and sparkling water are non-negotiables
• meditations and walking meditation/yoga are non-negotiables
• what would a life that prioritized joy look like?

theme or emotion that sums up the month

• being where I am
• quarantine fog cage
• anxiety
• sleepiness

outcome of last month’s goal, projects completed

• finished up second year of science communication doctorate (all final projects, woo)
• regular movement habit
• regular yoga habit

goals for the month ahead

scicomm

• AAU survey items
• fellowship paper
• PT 2050 facilitation plans written
• PT 2050 IRB
• revise PT 2050 assessment tool
• 10 rejections (grant applications)

work

• revise ML course
• 3 blog posts for PT GRA

personal

• watering flowers habit
• pleasure practice/self-love
• garden set up
• motorcycle up and running

media consumed in the last month

tv shows

• What We Do in the Shadows, Seasons 1 and 2
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Seasons 5

books

• The Alchemy of Astonishment: Engaging the Power of Theatre
• Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Reclaim Your Emotional Autonomy and Find Personal Happiness
• Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy
• Python for Biologists
• Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
• Explication
• Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation
• Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orïsha, #2)
• Digital Storytelling, Applied Theatre, & Youth: Performing Possibility
• The Art of Communicating
• Calming Your Anxious Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Anxiety, Fear, and Panic

MOOCs

• Art & Activity: Interactive Strategies for Engaging with Art by The Museum of Modern Art
• Computational Social Science Methods
• Applied Plotting, Charting, and Data Representation in Python

board games/rpgs

• Pandemic Legacy Season 2

video games

• The Witness
• Stardew Valley
• Slime Rancher
• Rim World
• Beat Saber
• Space Pirate