- I got into the UBC graduate school of journalism.
- The science writing class I'm taking with New Scientist writer Bob Holmes is awesome, and Bob has already said we should have a chat about where to go next in my career, mentioning New Scientist internships (which would probably be the coolest thing ever, but will have to be next summer).
- I'm giving a talk at local critical thinking event Logicon about science journalism which should be awesome enough in itself, but lately it's been getting some astounding publicity, so my talk had better be good!
Directions
Depart.
At the end of the road turn left. Pass Budmouth Technology College on the left. Beware of teenagers crossing the road in droves - remember hiding at your friend’s house at lunchtimes, to avoid that boy and that girl. Feel the pressure of growing up like anyone else, and assume it’s normal. Say goodbye to the sea at night, excited to leave your hometown.
At the roundabout, take the third exit. Enter Bristol city centre. Heavy traffic ahead – expect delays. Stress about exams, stress about friends and boyfriends, stress about course choices. Go straight on. Go out of your mind at exam time, fail to stop for sleep, leave the lights on all night and run down the battery. Can’t tell dreams from waking life anymore; fail to follow the instructions in an exam, cry in front of the teacher, panic about the future.
Follow the detour North and park in Reykjavik harbour. For one year live in bliss, happiness, adventure and enjoyment. Learn the rules of a different road, the only one, which loops around the island and always takes you back to the city you love. Know that life can be good, but know that this can’t last. At planned end of diversion, re-enter Bristol city centre and join rush hour traffic. City pollution high – forget how easy it was to fill your lungs on last year’s route and struggle for breath.
Exit the highway with a first class degree and growing uncertainty. Recalculate route?
! Remember to drive on the right !
Pass Helsinki and follow the road round to Kasityolaiskatu and your boyfriend’s apartment. Confined space. Weather conditions worsening, put fog lights on. Driving range limited – spend six months standing on the streets in the morning darkness handing out free papers to the solemn population. Round the market square and park next to the mall. Sit on the steps of Kop Kolmio and hold back the tears, sucking them back up into your frozen brain. Wrestle with the language, fight with your boyfriend, grapple with employment. Ask locals for directions – end up more lost.
Take the road to the shore, then take the ferry ahead. Spend two months at the shipyard cleaning the largest passenger ship in the world as it gets pieced together, growing to sixteen decks of filthy cabins. Battle the bully boss who doesn’t pay foreigners properly. Ignore the dirty mess builders leave in the toilets, ignore the dirty grins of Eastern Europeans, try to ignore the shocked faces when they learn you’re from rich and powerful Britain.
Drive to the shore in winter when the water is frozen over – the sea is now full of obstacles. Know that you are dangerously adrift, but trust the directions – you will be back on the road soon.
New directions plotted, via hometown. School zone ahead. Slow down. Remember that, contrary to many people in your situation, you had a happy childhood. Try to drag those feelings back over your tired body – feels more like fingernails scraping. Remember that, unlike people not in your situation, good memories only make you feel worse, now that you’re no longer living them.
! Remember to drive on the right !
Cross the ocean and exit the highway. Bear right, pass the West Edmonton Mall on the left and pass the first couple of weeks. A new route is proposed. Go all the way around the roundabout – stay in the right lane. At -40⁰C petrol and motor oil start to freeze. Car splutters and stutters in the morning, ice encroaching on the windshield. Drive through a snowstorm without snow shovel, without space blanket, without emergency first aid.
Speed camera ahead. Get irate at boyfriend. Threaten him with violence, threaten him with marriage. He’s 9612 kilometres from your location, but manage to push him away. You’ve gone too far. If possible, please make a U-turn.
Traffic light ahead. Caught speeding through red light – hand yourself in to the authorities. Test positive for depression. Take the next pill.
Toll road. Try to make up all the sleep lost on past journeys by stretching your time in bed, apathetic. Fear the outside, avoid your lab mates, face research with panic, and exposure with despair. Decide to inform your instructor of your violation.
Merge onto the motorway. Keep in mind your red-light run-through that could so easily have been a crash. Accelerate slowly, cautiously, heading for a new destination: decide to take the alternative route you thought you had passed. Take some wrong turns. Find friends and mentors that help you figure out why you keep going awry.
Tired drivers are dangerous drivers: pull over and take a break. Can’t sleep at night but sleep into the afternoon. Doctor prescribes sleeping pills. Take the next pill. After ten months, fall asleep at the wheel and make an emergency stop. Tell the doctor you want to change pills, not take more. Take the next pill.
Avoid congestion charge zone. Avoid thesis work, avoid self-righteous lab mates, avoid supervisor around campus, only do the things that keep you going, that get you up in the morning. Know that you will eventually have to travel via thesis, but take the scenic route.
You have not yet reached your destination. At the end of the road turn West, towards a different ocean.
