The next right thing

It has been one month since I’ve moved to Germany. The PhD feels close yet far away. I’ve been learning how to slow down, to relax, and to take time. I’ve been learning not to measure the worth of my days (and indirectly, myself) by how productive I’ve been. I’ve been learning how to sit […]

This creative life

Doing a PhD (or any kind of creative endeavour, really) is like signing up for a continual ass-kicking. Yup, you’re gonna get your butt whomped. Hard. You pour your heart, your ideas, your energy and your time into this project which spans months or years, which frankly, in the end, may or may not pan out […]

Hot off the press! The PhD student revealed

The PhD student is a mysterious breed. Seemingly normal on the outside, the PhD student functions effectively in daily life, though secretly suffers from a variety of odd and somewhat peculiar symptoms, including (but not limited) to the following: 1) Short-lived waves of euphoria (e.g. “Hooooly shit, I’m f*&S*ing brilliant!!!”), followed by an all-encompassing self-doubt and loathing (e.g. “What is this crap?!! What crazy idiot came up with this???”). Rigorous […]