Bright Woman Blog

On a somewhat breezy yet hot night in late July in Austin, I am writing from my new office setup at the house. It was a much needed change and I am quite content in my new, decidedly girly southern gothic surroundings. Much has happened since my last post … a cousin’s wedding, my grandmother’s funeral, a summer school stats class, the completion of two very long papers, several excellent concerts, countless dog walks, a few dips in Barton Springs, and many delicious meals. To say the least, it has been an interesting couple of months around the Bright family … here are a few things I have learned along the way:

1. When going on a family “vacation”, pack an extra since of humor … or two, or three … you will need to start unpacking them by day two.
2. There is something magical about a tumultous thunderstorm on a hot Summer day and I absolutely never tire of them.
3. If you’re having a bad day and all else fails, have a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich and a fizzy drink to make yourself feel better.
4. When reason doesn’t work, kill them with kindness.
5. The phrase ‘Life is for the living.’ is one of the most comforting things to think of when someone passes away.
6. Some mistakes are too fun to only make once.
7. Watching the World Cup with a Brazilian soccer fan is hilarious fun.
8. Sometimes the best thing to do is just sit back and watch your brain work out all of your fascinating contradactions and see what wins.
9. The only thing consistent in life is change so it is a good thing to know how to manage.
10. The Clash really is one of the best bands of all time.
11. And, last but not least: how to conduct experiments, analyze data, and interpret results for experiments containing more than 2 groups :).

So, we know for sure that Summer school paid off … as for the rest, we’ll just have to see. For now, I must prepare a presentation for a conference in San Francisco next week. Grace and I are presenting and my Mom is coming to join us so it should be a fabulous time. We’ll get to see Greg and Beth Anne, shop, eat good food, and drink wine … sounds like just what I need right now. To boot, my horoscope has advised that it’s high time for me to untame myself … (insert cat noise here) … woohoo!