Meowdy Ya'll! I went caving this last week and all this caving has reignited my excitement for it. All of the caving club leadership is graduating so I may become president to keep it going. I got sick this last week and read through 20 years of American Caving Accidents and I've realized so much of what I and others were doing wrong. I finally got a gym membership and realized I'm a soft, doughy baby who has to squat the bar. Soon though, I will be strong and able to climb and rappel in caves! Here is a guide if you're interested in caving too!
That said getting sick was only a matter of time since I was so stressed emotionally and physically. One of my advisors is having me coauthor a paper, author another paper, and write applications to two scholarships. It's been brutal for sure, but he is a master of writing and I understand he is pushing me to grow to a new level. I'm trying to embody the virtue of Arete by developing mentally at the same time as I'm developing physically. Grad school requires me to spend time away from the people I care about, but I can do this.
I also discovered Mermaiding! People wear a monofin and then wear a neoprene mermaid tail over that. It's a considered a form of free diving and you can get PADI certified for it! I was looking at trying scuba when I came across it. I still intend to try scuba, but I will try mermaiding one day. There is this lady who got this beautiful custom coelacanth tail and I want it even though I know it's thousands of dollars. Also, its apparently banned in many places because dumb people practice it while being unsafe.