Currently | January

Before we end this first month of the year 2026, I wanted to squeeze in a ‘Currently’ post, because it used to be a monthly feature post on this blog. I enjoy these ‘check-in posts’, so maybe I’ll manage to make it a monthly, and not every-few-months feature post once again. 

FEELING | relief that the results of my niece’s spinal tap (lumbar puncture) were negative for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), which was a potential concern. There’s still no diagnosis, though. It very much feels like the medical professionals are groping in the dark and have no clue what’s going on with her and why her body is showing inflammation.

My niece has also been working with an osteopath who seems to take this all a bit more seriously and who also looks at everything a little bit more holistically (which doctors typically do not). I am personally a big fan of holistic approaches, because nothing happens in a vacuum. (I guess that is why I studied geography, and not one of the subordinate disciplines. Everything is interconnected.) 

READING | Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. I am not sure how it ended up on my to-read list (did one of you lovely people read and recommend it?). Either way, it’s truly fascinating (and sobering, to say the least). We have a lot of work to do as a society. 

EATING | homemade bread. I tried a new yogurt-spelt bread recipe (with sourdough), and it turned out great!

DRINKING | NUUN Electrolytes + Magnesium. 

THINKING ABOUT | what I could gift my sister for her birthday (other than my presence and being able to celebrate our BIG birthday together). Any great ideas?

BUYING | new running shoes. I got the same model, Brooks Ghost 16s, again because I like them (Ghosts were my very first pair of fitted running shoes!), and they were on sale, now that the new model, the Ghost 17s, is out. Win-win. I like to snag a frugal deal on running shoes (<$100, compared to $150+ tax for the newest model). 

WORRYING ABOUT | this country and the world (what else is new?) The news has just been so awful this last week, another murder by ICE agents in Minnesota. I’ve been thinking about Lisa a lot, who has all of this happening in her city! But I also see a lot of activism and people speaking out, which makes me a little hopeful that this could be a turning point, maybe.

PLANNING | to participate in the National Shutdown tomorrow. I admit, it conveniently coincides with my RDO (regular day off) and I wouldn’t be working anyway, but I usually do my weekly shopping on Fridays, which I will obviously postpone. That’s the least I can do. I hope many people will follow suit. 

COUNTING ON |a good number of congressional members with some guts (not the least because of pressure from their constituents!) to not advance the budget that includes more funding for ICE. That’s simply a NO-GO!

EXCITED ABOUT | Green Day opening at the Superbowl. Bold choice, NFL, bold choice (which I fully support)!

LAUGHING | out loud (and also screaming in my pillow, how about you?) at Trae Crowder’s political commentary. It’s delightfully witty and awful at the same time. I am not sure how long I have been following Trae (not long enough, is the correct answer) but he’s a breath of fresh air in this doomsday reality that we live in right now.  

OBSERVING | the owlets. Yesterday, I witnessed mama owl feeding the babies what I assumed to be a rat. It was fascinating to watch, but I will also spare you the gory details of “tiny legs sticking in the air, bloody guts, and a long tail hanging over the side of the nest”. The owlets are eager to feast and grow, though. 

ENJOYING | my (virtual) lunch time walks with my friend Sherry.

Will you be striking tomorrow? What are you thinking about?