I always poked fun at graduate students who never see the light of day, and are often like naked mole rats. You know: naked, blind, never see the light of day, very clandestine, mole rats.

Now I am one: funneled into my little microcosm of research to pump out a thesis in some number of years, which will hopefully be a stepping stone for some financial pedestal for the rest of my life while I am naked, blind, never see the light of day, very clandestine, mole rat. Maybe less naked and more "frumpy grumpy", but I am nearly blind. Maybe that's why I'm such a bad driver and police officers never pull me over...but that might because they dismiss me for being "Asian" and "female". Bad driving is apparently endemic to our "kind".

In other words: ?Donde esta escrima?

Disappeared for a few months. Getting back into it is hard: fencing is an expensive sport, and my working field is self-funded. That means, no money for the Richmond NAC, even though I would have had a place to stay with gourmet foodies, no money for practice, coaching, etc.
Which brings me to better news. My alma mater has a very solid woman to join the squad, and she made fencing very, very fun.
Of course, I fenced like someone who's 5'5", took my Ent-ish tendencies and exacerbated it times ten. But it was fun.

Being in love with a sport is like being in love with a diva; she'll leave you behind as soon as you stop shelling the dough and time.

Anyone met a diva yet? What a cruel mistress, she is only softened by her friends who welcome you back into the fold.