After spending 4-5 months in constant panic about never getting a new job I managed to get one 6 days before leaving my last job. And have landed an amazing job in an amazing team working on research so ridiculously specific to my research area. Only two weeks in but unbelievably happy!

The kind of day where I’m questioning 1) why I quit smoking and 2) why did I forget to put lorazepam in my bag

Stop smoking tracker. Just saying…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

8am: text to say my disability benefits are being assessed (total nightmare), 12pm: email to say I was “appointable” for a job but that they didn’t appoint me, 3pm: another job interview. This is not my day!

Probably shouldn’t panic midway through a job interview and definitely shouldn’t then tell them you’re panicky because you really desperately want the job because then 99% probability that you will then not get aforementioned job…! This is a lesson I have learnt today a mere hour too late!

13 days of no smoking and today someone offered me one and I actually said no…!? Madness!!

First day back in the office after AL- starting as I mean to go on, drinking coffee out of a leaky mug. Fabulous(!)

Thinking a lot this week about how sometimes the crushing fear of never becoming who you hope to be stops you living as who you already are.

Every now again it’s useful to repeat advice about accessing papers that are behind a paywall that excludes you. Email the author. My estimate is that 90% of academics are so thrilled that a living, breathing, possibly even reading, person shows interest that they will swiftly send you a copy.

Little bit sad. Not the most fun start to the weekend…

Will I ever bother using this…? Watch this space…

In Iceland, on Christmas Eve, people give each other books so they can spend the evening drinking cocoa & reading. It’s called, Jolabokaflod, the Christmas book flood. I’ve never been more in love with Iceland than I am right now ♥️♥️