I’m finding that babies and gardens are what remind me of time passing. A month ago, our garden box was organized rows of little seedlings and in just a few short weeks, it is now an explosion of towering sunflowers, bolted bok choy and a […]

Today marked the first rain of spring. Peter got his wisdom teeth out this morning and I finished my last week of in vivo experiments. It feels like the beginning of something new, the start of a new season. Tomorrow, I give my research seminar […]

“Vivienne?” the voice is both foggy and tinny at the same time, coming at me from some part of this white metal cylinder that currently encases my body. “Yes?” I raise my voice back at the white metal cylinder, hoping it can hear me above […]

I was waiting to write a post that was more well thought-out and structured. Something that could get published somewhere important.  But a few days ago, I was reading through the old posts on my blog and realized I used to do a lot more […]

Hi friends, I find it ironic that I am writing about the work we do in a time when work as we know it has been completely upended. But even more so, it forces us to ask the questions of what we deem as success, […]

I met Jeff on a FB live we did together for Science Careers on the real life of a scientist. His piece had been about reading fiction; mine was about coffee breaks. About a month later, I find out that he’s doing a passion project […]

This piece is more a light-hearted reflection on the four months I recently spent in Strasbourg, France. I was there for a research collaboration, but received a cross-cultural education at the same time. Here is a collection of vignettes (including funny and embarrassing things that […]

I was over at the Pike’s last Saturday night, the missionary family from Florida that moved here a couple months ago. The husband and teenage son were out for soccer and it was just the wife and daughter who would be home, so of course […]

I woke up one morning in the aftermath of one of those four-hour group lab dinners and knew I had to write this post. So, I rode my bike out in the drizzling rain to the only cafe open at 5:30a.m., set up camp with […]

This baby sweater was knitted as a stress response. It was 10:30a.m. on a Monday morning and I was home, instead of at lab. My project left at the desk of an overworked organic chemist, while I sat in my grey rolling chair, unable to […]