Bibliosphere

 So I recently, on a whim, decided to see if I could revive my tablet from college. The last time this thing was even turned on was 2016, let alone used for anything substantial. It was sadly left to the wayside when I got a smartphone, which was faster, smaller, and, most importantly, connected to data instead of just begging for wifi passwords. But it was like a step back in time when I looked at all those apps. The old Instagram icon, all the chemistry and premed apps. It was just this little time capsule. A look at my life circa 2015.

 I think a lot of people think I want to live forever, because of the health steps that I take. It's assumed that my fascination with the Blue Zones means that I want to live to 100 too. That's half true. I want to live a long life, sure (maybe not 100) but I also only want to live a life where I feel good.  I have spent years unhappy, anxious, and in pain. After years of struggling to keep weight on, I was even technically overweight (BMI is trash anyway, but it was flagged). I know, I know, I'm not that old, how can I have spent years like that? Between mental illness, constant respiratory infections, and assorted unhealthy habits, I struggled for a long time.  About a year, year and a half ago, I started making changes. I am genetically blessed (sarcasm) with high cholesterol, although initially we blamed my meds. But after over a year of suggestions, I decided to make some dietary changes, then exercise, then more. Then I started to feel better. I wasn't exhausted e...

 Great news! A new childhood cancer treatment has been approved by the FDA! From the pharmeceutical company's website : "Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: DAWN) (“Day One” or the “Company”), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing targeted therapies for people of all ages with life-threatening diseases, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved OJEMDA (tovorafenib), a type II RAF inhibitor, for the treatment of patients 6 months of age and older with relapsed or refractory pLGG harboring a BRAF fusion or rearrangement, or BRAF V600 mutation. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on response rate and duration of response. With the approval, Day One received a rare pediatric disease priority review voucher from the FDA."  This treatment is specifically for low-grade gliomas (the most common brain cancer in children, affecting 1100 children per year) ...

 April is Autism Acceptance Month. You read that right, acceptance, not awareness. I know very few people who aren't at least somewhat aware of autism. Most people know someone on the spectrum (usually a child) as well. Quite a few adults are autistic themselves, more than we think. This includes me. I was diagnosed at 13 and re-diagnosed twice more as an adult. There's no denying it, I'm on the spectrum. Autism Acceptance Month is twelve years old. I know that a lot of people think that it's all about puzzle pieces and "Light it up Blue." But the truth is that Autism Speaks, the organization that is the most vocal and prominent, is considered a hate group by most autistic adults. The idea that autistic people need a cure, rather than accommodations and support, is ableist at it's core. We're not broken and we're not sick. It's not a disease, it's a neurotype. And neurotypes aren't curable. So that's why it's about acceptance. T...

 Last week, Utah had about 50% totality for a solar eclipse, the last one in the US until, wait for it, 2045. That's right folks, if you missed it on April 8, your next chance (unless you'd like to leave the country) is in 21 years. Anyway, I was sick unfortunately, so I did not get to gaze upon the eclipse directly (my solar glasses were at work). However, I still got to see the image of the eclipse, using a pinhole projector that I got at the library. My pinhole projector experiments were observed by a very confused gardener, armed with a weed wacker, nervous to hit me, or even disturb me. This is actually my second eclipse in a year. As some of you who have been reading for a while know, I ran an eclipse program in October for work. Never again will I have that opportunity, but I will have the opportunity to see another eclipse.

 Ok, so March was a blockbuster month for books for me. I finished 7 books for a total of over 2000 pages (which does include some conversion of audiobooks). Here's what I read: The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner (audiobook) - stoking the fuel of my interest in the Blue Zones. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach - this took longer than I expected to get through for whatever reason. Awestruck: How Embracing Wonder Can Make You Happier, Healthier, and More Connected by Jonah Paquette (audiobook) Everyday Something Has Tried to Kill Me, and Has Failed: Notes from Periracial America by Kim McLarin The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (audiobook) - I'm hoping to use some of this in my tidying next week. What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety by Cole Kazdin - this was a favorite, one of the top books of the year. So well written and engaging. Rest Is Resistance:...

 I wrote this for my other blog, but I wanted to add it here, because I think that this is so relevant to what this blog means and to my life as a whole. So here you go, my thoughts on advocacy. The older I get, the more I realize that it is perfectly acceptable and normal to have one or just a few causes that are "your cause." You know, the one you could stand up and do a TED Talk on right this minute. The one you feel so strongly in your bones that things must change for it. So anyway, I have a few. Empowering younger girls and women is one of them, probably The One if I had to pick (yes, this is why I work at Girl Scouts). Childhood cancer research advocacy is another one I'd stake a lot on, but it's come and gone over the years. Mental health is breaking through as one that's really important for me that I'm actually willing to do work on, but I've been involved tangentially in for a long time. For a while I felt guilty. I felt guilty that I was un- or...

 A few years ago, I was given some post it notes and a prompt at a support group: to write myself something kind, something motivating. I made 2 and hung them on my bathroom mirror. They stayed there during COVID. I eventually put some up in my office too. When I moved, I wrote new ones. I had them up until very recently, when I replaced them with these: Do they do a lot? Maybe. But they're there, a reminder to myself of my value, my capabilities, and my strength. I do smile a little when I read my post-its.