Japan! Finally got hotels booked. We're staying pretty much between Tokyo and Kyoto and not planning on adventuring much further, but we're going up in the mountains and over to the west coast and spending time in those parts. We also just found out the 2025 World's Fair is happening in Osaka while we're there so we're toying with a day trip for that.

Got a promising job I applied to the other day. Need to send a shmoozing cold email to the hiring manager but I'm well qualified and have her direct email. It's also right next to where my partner is doing her PhD so it'd be a really convenient location too.

Planning for the two week vacation in in late May is going well. Really looking forward to that. I need a break from all this shit and I'm ready for some real time off.

Thanks Cory Booker, for doing something, even if it's small and likely won't change anything in the short term. Also great he broke Thurmond's record.

Gotta love when no one in your department is able to attend meetings on time so you're the dependable one who has to let the chief of health into the office in the morning. Head of my team routinely is late it misses meetings. It's honestly embarrassing for me because I spend time organizing then they just don't show up. On the bright side, I've got a fancy shiny new updated resume with help from career services and have started the great cold emailing game. No bites yet since the job market is hot garbage but I'm going for it!

Union negotiated a long weekend for Cesar Chavez day so I'm excited and beyond ready for a three day weekend. Going off the grid to my partner's family's cabin. It's quiet and peaceful and such a great place for relaxation. Going to be rainy there probably which means we get to just hang out and cook and read and play games instead of hike or swim or explore. It's fabulous I'm so ready.

My partner is trying to negotiate her PhD stipend. It's currently under 40k per year. For the bay area. A laughably low number. Should hear back sometime next week.

Hope y'all are well!

I'm also excited to hear how it turns out! We got a Sony a6700 with a Sigma 18-50 lens about a year ago and take it on hikes and to family events and definitely want to get pictures printed and framed but editing is an exercise in patience. Are you editing? If so, what does that process look like? Plus looking at printing options is overwhelming there are so many options but I haven't done the research to fully understand the differences in all of them, and I struggle to mentally picture the differences as well.

Met with my grad school's career services (they were expensive enough I get lifetime benefits lol) and they had some good advice on fancying up the CV. So I've done that and have started sending it out!

Spent the weekend making a homemade chocolate hazelnut cake. The frosting was divine. It included a pastry cream and homemade Nutella (minus the chocolate) which were then whipped together. That cake was deadly.

Huge thanks to all with the job advice. I'm new enough to the area I don't have a huge network but I'll start to push more with cold emails. Going to be exhausting but it'll be good. I've got a meeting with my MPH program career center to review my resume tomorrow morning so that'll be helpful hopefully. I normally use a CV and interested in their thoughts of resume vs CV too.

Camping went well. There was some rain Saturday night into Sunday but not as much as expected, which was great. We bought and brought a camp stove for the first time and it was great having warm food and drink too since it was cold there. I think in all Friday to Sunday we did about 18-20 miles, so we haven't been able to move much since getting home. Oh yeah and we got engaged on that trip too.

My partner and I watched the new Sly Stone documentary which we really liked but lamented the lack of political music out there today. Then we realized it's just in different genres we normally don't listen to. So here's an artist we found with some great lyrics and who is doing a ton of work to help his local community:

https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/bay-area-next-rap-star-backyard-20178178.php

You beat me to it! Thanks for posting :)

My job has been real rough again lately so I'm applying pretty hard right now. Plus with my partner getting into her PhD and the income cut that's going to give I'm looking for a good raise. But the use of technology in hiring these days is awful and takes out any human factors in hiring. I haven't had even a call back since my current job 1.5 years ago. It's incredibly frustrating and disheartening. Anyone know how to play the game these days?

Going camping this weekend and we got a campsite that's notoriously difficult to get so we have been really excited for it, and it looks like rain will be rolling in on our 2nd and 3rd of 3 days and if that's not planning camping in advance I'm not sure what is.

Environmental health/environmental epidemiology. She'll be looking at indoor air quality with gas vs electric/induction stoves and ovens. Hence funding has been a big concern lately but the school guarantees funding so that's good!

She got in! No word on funding/stipend yet, but she did it!