you get tired of eating elephant
There's a classic motivational phrase for tackling big tasks, it goes like this: how do you eat an elephant? One bite at at a time.
I love this idea and have held it dear to me since I first heard it, it's a nice reminder to focus on just the task in front of you and that big things are made up of lots of small moments of progress along the way. In the 4 year journey that is a PhD, those kinds of reminders are very important to your day-to-day.
But a year and a bit into eating my elephant, I've gotten a bit sick of the taste. I've been on the go a lot, and it turns out eating elephant like that is not so easy. I've really been trying to shove bits of it into my mouth without sitting down to plate up a proper meal. Which has meant I can't chew properly. I can't create a balanced plate. I can't season my elephant with things to make it taste better.
I had to cram a whole lot of elephant into a short couple of weeks just recently, and since then I've been off the taste almost entirely. I don't feel great about this - I still have a lot of meat to go, and in fact I've still got a good chunk of a limb to finish that was meant to be last month's meal (okay, this stretched metaphor is starting to get weird). But I just haven't been able to bring myself to take another mouthful.
Instead I've been making my way through other things. Setting up my home. Getting on top of the laundry. Exercising regularly. Baking and cooking (real things, not metaphorical things) for the first time in a good while.
I think I'm almost ready to step back and address the elephant in the room again. To start to have a nibble, and to finish off that limb that's weighing heavy on me.
Nothing has changed about the core of the message: there still is no way I can get through this without going bite by bite. But the last few weeks have reminded me that you can only go so without seasoning and balance. And that no one ever only takes bites of their elephants. Just because the elephant is always with me doesn't mean I have to have my knife and fork in hand at all times.
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PS: I am not entirely sure how I feel about the meat imagery in this piece, but I've leant into the slightly grotesque food metaphor in honour of my dear friend and favourite historian Evelyn whose research explores Australia's colonial legacies through the lens of our relationship to pork, and who never shies away from the discomfort that our relationships to meat and consumption can surface. So this one is for you, Ev!
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Book reviews (and other recent media!)
As part of the aforementioned I'm-sick-of-big-brain-work vibes, the main things I've been enjoying in the last little while are the first two books in the Empyrean triology - a 'romantasy' series that was laughably derivative in the first book and significantly more original and engaging in the second. And it was so fun to read about dragons! Not high brow, but so good for escapism and just what I've needed.
I have also watched Bridgerton season 3, part 1 and I'm excited for the second half of the season to come out this week. I've read 7 of 8 books in the Bridgerton series (clearly I'm not a completionist) but this was my favourite book so I have high hopes for the adaptation - there is a balcony scene in particular that I'm really hoping got left in (iykyk). I'll chuck in an old review of that for good measure.
I also saw Fall Guy at the cinema (a silly but very fun stunt-heavy movie that felt like it was trying to be a perfect blend of romance and action genres and did a pretty good job at that actually), and rewatched The Martian - which I think might have nudged its way into my list of perfect movies alongside The Princess Diaries and Muriel's Wedding. Maybe I should start writing full movie reviews as well?
All the reviews here are originally posted on my Goodreads.
Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Look, this is extreeeemely derivative. The second time you "fantasy/fated-mates/mind-talk/shadow-powers/kingdom-at-war/weak-girl-gets-strong-and-discovers-she's-actually-the-most-powerful/first-love-betrayal/found-family-in-outkasts/and-a-hidden-city/oh-and-so-many-orgasms" is never going to hit as good as the first time, no matter how many other series references they've swirled into the mix.
But is it fun? Absolutely yes.
Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) by Rebecca Yarros ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I stand by my thesis that second books in a trilogy are always the best. Where I found the first book mainly enjoyable as an homage to so many other YA fantasy books, in Iron Flame this series found its own grounding a little more strongly. What surprised me most was how invested I was in the plot! It was so much less predictable than book one, and I was genuinely interested in even the war strategy components (huge for me). I could not tell where it was going and I found it hard to put down.
I also liked the tension between Violet and Xaden and the navigation of secrets, vulnerabilities, devotion and friendships. I liked that Dain still had a role to play and that your investment in his character was not for nought. I thought Andarna was hilarious and Tairn is such a daddy. Basically, I got really invested in this one and actually cried so much in the final scenes. What a ride!
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Reviewed May 25 2022
This is my favourite book in the Bridgerton series so far. The unrequited love/best friend’s brother trope was so much fun and I loved how wholesome it was watching Colin realise how amazing Penelope is. His sweet and fierce love of her and the disbelief he didn’t realise it sooner was excellent. It was also nice not having the “do I / don’t I?” questioning go on for as long as previous novels.
But easily the best part of this book was the Whistledown drama - the stakes were so much higher than they’ve been previously. There was something so delightfully exciting and intimate about the secret shared just between Colin and Penelope, especially given the investment the rest of the ton had in this particular plot.
Overall this read has made me very very excited to see how Netflix takes elements from this story and turns it into the third season of the Netflix series (particularly that final ballroom scene). I am thrilled they’re jumping straight to this story because I enjoyed it so much.