General

long view of a research lab with all sorts of lab stuff on a long counter and on high shelved with three scientists at work

Upsides of 2021

Overall, 2021 will be remembered as mostly a suckfest. It was the year that deprived Betty White of her 100th birthday, just a few days away. We lived in a terrible tug of war with personal freedoms. One day we’ve got them, one day we don’t, as we attempt to stay out of the coronavirus’s way. But some good things did happen last year.

close up of test tubes at a medical lab

Sick of the Sickness

Recently, I was given some insight into how radically some people are reacting to the pandemic. We’re all sick of it and over it and longing to get back to a life that’s as normal as possible. But there are those for whom this crisis is almost intolerable. It goes beyond their jobs and incomes to the core of their mental health.

Derek and I holding cardboard cartoon smiles up to our mouths in a McDonald's

Come On Get Happy

I used to want to be famous. When I was a lot younger, I thought fame was a sure path to acceptance, adoration and financial freedom. I believed that fame washed away insecurities and flaws, leaving behind a shiny, beloved creature without a care in the world. I assumed it was how you got happy.