Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.
So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie Wiesel
In honor of Women’s History Month, and in keeping with my own love of all things nerdy, I encourage you to read about Vera Rubin, an astronomer whose research proved the existence of dark matter. Dark matter is a mysterious substance that’s believed to make up more than a quarter of the universe. It outweighs regular matter, and it plays an important role in galaxy formation and the evolution of the universe. Born in 1928, and coming of age in the ‘40s, Rubin faced extraordinary challenges as a woman working in a male dominated field. Her life and accomplishments are well-chronicled in this article on the National Women’s History Museum webpage. Check it out here: Vera Rubin. In honor of her achievements, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in Chile has been named the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
Looking ahead to March, I’ve got a lot of school work to complete before spring break, so I’ll have my nose to the grindstone, so to speak. After break, it will be time to narrow down my thesis project ideas. For this MFA program, the thesis is a full-length novel, and I’ll need to present a minimum of three proposals to the program director. It’s exciting to know I’ll have the backing of my classmates and a thesis mentor as I work on this project, but per usual, until I have the idea locked down and the outline solid in my head, I’ll be a little stressed!
I’m also currently writing a synopsis for a novel work-in-progress. When I went back to school, I left this particular project at the half-way mark. Now, I have to think it through and outline the second half of the book. I’m excited to do it, but it’s also daunting, especially when my creative energy is taxed to the limit at the moment. I am really excited about this particular story though, so wish me luck!
We had our first real taste of a wind storm here in the desert. It didn’t happen with a big burst of energy, but rather it was more of a sustained, day-long gusty event. We had to make an emergency leaf-blower purchase to clean the dust and dirt from our outdoor living space, which had about a half inch of accumulated grit on every surface. Mother Nature does her thing pretty much everywhere!