January 2025

January has been a cold and snowy month for us with some illnesses and not much exciting news to report. So I'll maybe note a few other things going on. Here are the rest of the photos and videos this month, although there aren't many.

Weather and Outings (or lack thereof)

Rob: The past few winters here have been warmer than usual, but this January made up for that. We had about 6" of snow on MLK day, and some other dustings here and there. And this time the snow didn't melt because it has also been so cold. There was a cold front that affected most of the U.S., even bringing snow to my work colleagues down in Houston. Having never seen the likes of this, they shut down the school and clinics for 2 days.  At the worst, temperatures here got down to -7 degrees F. The back wall of our dishwasher literally had ice on it and we had to thaw it with a space heater to run our dishes. And there was about a week when temperatures never got above freezing. So, we stayed in a lot. But you can only be cooped up for so long. We did some indoor things, and I took Alex on a couple short hikes in the snow around icy lakes. He's kind of fascinated with how you can walk on the ice (but I only let him take a few steps). Since we had snow on MLK day and it was a holiday, we drove out to Fahnestock Winter State Park, which is new to us and has trails for cross country skiing and snowshoeing, and supposedly a big hill for tubing. That hill wasn't open though, so we found another smaller hill and joined another couple who had the same idea as us. It was so cold though, and Alex wasn't feeling brave enough for sledding, so none of us stayed long.

Maybe the Flu

Rob: Alex missed a lot of school this month. Earlier in the month, he had something mild and missed  a couple days. And then at the end of the month, he got something more severe and missed a whole week of school. He had a fever of 101 for a few days, threw up a couple times, was coughing non-stop for a couple days, lost his appetite (and a lot of weight), and spent a lot of time sleeping and watching shows. But he's a trooper, he just deals with it. He's still not 100%, but doing a lot better now. Becky got a mild version of it too.  I maybe had a little congestion but nothing more. We are speculating that it was the flu because Becky tested negative for COVID, and flu cases are peaking right now (among other things going around). Also I got my flu and COVID shots this year, Becky only got the flu shot, and I'm sorry to admit that we just didn't get Alex either shot this year -- so maybe that's why it hit him so hard, if it really is the flu.

Rambling Thoughts on Life Under A New Regime

Rob: (Rant alert) Also on MLK day this year was the inauguration of a new president and administration in the U.S.,  and it has been eventful in Washington ever since. One of the top people in the new administration gave an enthusiastic speech in which he gave the Nazi salute two times for some reason while expressing gratitude to his supporters, so that was interesting. The new president then wasted no time setting his agenda by signing dozens of executive orders for things he doesn't want to bother going through congress for, then purging leadership from federal agencies and purging hundreds of insurrection criminals from prisons, imposing tariffs on our biggest trade partners, taking down thousands of federal websites and datasets that don't support his agenda, giving classified intel to an unelected private citizen with no congressional approval named Elon Musk, and pushing out a steady flow of chaos as congress moves forward to confirm his cabinet appointees who have little relevant experience for their positions apart from their loyalty. Since my work in biomedical research is very much dependent on the functional stability of federal institutions and funding, particularly the NIH, none of this bodes well for me. All my colleagues are worried about what this means for their jobs too. In any case, institutional stability or not, I have already been open to new opportunities for career advancement that pay better now that I have more experience.  I applied for a science writing job with Harvard this month and then spoke with them about it briefly, but withdrew because the remote work aspect of it required too much time onsite (and we aren't in a position to move to Boston). I also applied for a position at Northeastern, also based in Boston. In any case, these kind of jobs are not immune to the uncertainty either, because academia in general is expected to be targeted by Trump's team. In other matters, if the Trump administration decides to put Medicaid on the chopping block, that would also be bad for Alex's future. So I worry about that too because anything can happen. But more broadly, I'm worried that our country's 250-year experiment in democratic processes and the checks and balances of a republic is on life support at this point. Its hard to talk about any of this anymore because our political discourse was already saturated with hyperbole that we wasted on run of the mill democrats and republicans. But this new administration is following through on much of what they promised and they have have the senate, house, and supreme court on their side. So if we are better or worse off in a couple years, I hope it will at least be obvious to the people who deserves the credit or blame. (End of rant)

Desktop Aquarium Project

Rob: As noted last month, I set up a little (15 gallon) aquarium on my desk next to where I work with lots of plants and a few fish. Knowing how much I obsessed over these kinds of projects when I was young, I thought this could be a healthy distraction from the news. And it has been. I started it out with some common tropical fish to help the ecosystem mature for several weeks before I got the fish I really wanted (and designed it for). The fish I really wanted are called rocket killifish (or clown killifish), and after the abnormally cold weather subsided, I ordered them on eBay from someone in Massachusetts who breeds them. They are very small and very colorful, and hard to find anywhere else. I ordered 5, and they were shipped overnight. They came in bags of water boxed up with insulation and a warm pack, but the water was still very cold by the time they arrived and they looked kind of dead. But once they got warmed up and introduced to their new home, they livened up and are doing great so far. I'm raising some brine shrimp to feed them, which they really like. In addition to lots of plants, the aquarium also has a kuhli loach, along with a few larger (non-edible) shrimp and otocinclus catfish to eat algae. I may add a few pygmy cory catfish later on. Anyway, I've really enjoyed having a relaxing chunk of nature going on right next to me as I work, especially since I don't have a window nearby.

What Else Is New

Rob: A few things to note: 1) I got new glasses for the first time in about 15 years. I decided it was time to update my style and also get progressive lenses, which I am told is a middle-aged right of passage. I was getting to the point where I couldn't read anything up close anymore if I had on my glasses for my near-sightedness. So this is a big improvement. 2) I decided it was time to get a professional certification, so I did some paperwork, paid a fee, and drove to an exam center in Poughkeepsie this month to take a 2.5 hour exam to be certified as an Editor in the Life Sciences. I passed, so now I can add that to my resume. 3) I have two stories published this month in Scenic Hudson's online magazine: one about wetlands in the winter, and one about an art foundry in our area that makes huge metallic sculptures among other things. My next story for them will be about woodpeckers.

Alex: After a long break from swim lessons, we started those up again for Alex this month. We were reluctant to do so because his old swim instructor wasn't there anymore and we really liked him. But we've had 2 lessons this month and his new one (Erin) is pretty great too. Alex has regressed a bit in his comfort level with the water, but hopefully he will find that again with a few more lessons.

Becky: As a lot of people do in January, I started exercising more and snacking less.  Then I got sick and the exercising tapered off.  But I'll get back on the horse this week.  I'm also working on my spiritual habits.  Preparing my Sunday lesson for my new primary class helps me stay on track with reading my scriptures.  I'm hoping to learn more about church history this year.  Also hoping to integrate Alex into my class better by finding different ways for him to participate.  Another perk about my church calling/assignment is that I get to work with a convert who is eager to learn how to create lessons from the "Come Follow Me" curriculum so she  can help teach my class.  It's a new year with new experiences (new clients, new pickleball club, new involvement in local politics, new books to read for book club) that I'm looking forward to. 
With regard to the state of our country, like everyone else I'm dealing with it one day at a time.  I'm glad to have friends at church and in our local political gatherings that I can commiserate with when I need to.  Just hoping our democracy survives the next four years.