Lady Ginseng - where two worlds collide

Found: this is how I apparently blew off steam when I was writing up my thesis. My drawing skills were still on point from when I was 4 🥴 https://www.instagram.com/p/CKMhf9Ysv8_/?igshid=1pypyc5vb441n

Slowly resurfacing. (at Bryant Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHlKAvtMXVY/?igshid=aq5r7std7pih

Again, 2020 has proven itself to be one of the most unpredictable years. My dad passed away on Tuesday, June 30 in his home, which is how he wanted to go. This is how I want to remember him: in one of my most favorite pictures of him, traveling with my mom during their retirement. They're now reunited after 10 years. We're lucky to have had him with us for that long after her passing. Be at peace, Dad. You deserve that so much. I miss you so much already. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCOhtFeghfM/?igshid=f11dqi3gvzy0

Probably the biggest example of when my two lives collide so far: waiting for a rough video/audio mix of a remotely recorded song on one laptop, while you do your science job on the other laptop. 🥴 Note to self: don't ever suggest to video record 3 songs within 48 with everyone remote due to a pandemic again. 🤭 . . . #science #music #video #exhaustion https://www.instagram.com/p/CBvjalUgiQg/?igshid=5mqoms06l3ml

I think anyone who has had a birthday during this pandemic knows it's a strange day. It's hard when you're living alone during this time. You'd love to see and hug your family, your friends. But you try and go through the motions by keeping up whatever traditions you have - check the Carvel ice cream cake, yo - and people have really made this day pretty spectacular. From video calls so I don't eat the cake alone, to lots of messages, emails, and calls, to surprise presents, to people singing, to hearing fantastic stories on walks outside, and watching heartwarming stories on the screen. So, thank you for making this a great day ❤️ https://www.instagram.com/p/CAO7R_FAMtm/?igshid=13hcg48t9tehe

I try to stay off social media on this day, but I'm in the middle of a Twitter photo challenge about 7 days of my life in photos with no words or people. So I composed this one for today. I like how it came out, so I'm just going to drop it in here, too. I don't care that there's technically a person in the background. She's the one who gave me this ring that I wear nearly every day. When she first got it for me, it was too big for any of my fingers so I left it with her for safe keeping. Several years passed, and so did she. My sister and I spent a long weekend with my dad, and we went through some of my mom's things. My sister saw this ring and said, "This must be for you. It's the only thing here that's not her style at all. But it is YOUR style." I looked at it and wondered whether it really was my style. My sister laid out all the reasons she knew it was meant for me. Eventually, I remembered the conversation I had with my mom about this ring and asked my dad if I could take it with me. During this pandemic, my fingers are starting to get too small for this ring again. But I'll find a way to keep wearing it every day anyway. #mothersday https://www.instagram.com/p/CAAxzr9gaYQ/?igshid=neqafmummjy3

Really sad to hear the news that Shetler Studios is closing down permanently after 30 years. I really enjoyed going there over the years for acting classes and performances. It was such a lovely space. These are just a few snapshots of a lot of good times and memories there. Thank you for everything, @shetlerstudios ❤️ (at Shetler Studios & Theatres) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2zFahAREw/?igshid=1eamszc3b9ssg

Meanwhile in Harlem, NYC... Getting funky in full body protection https://www.instagram.com/p/B_bE6LjgHsj/?igshid=1xl9i9x3asmgg

Some snippets of Italy taken in June 2019 after the OHBM conference in Rome. Some friends and I wanted to escape the unrelenting heat in Rome, so we jumped on a bus to Tivoli, where it was a little cooler (~36°C/97° F). 1-3) Villa d'Este; 4) interesting statue outside Villa d'Este; 5) I snapped this in the metro station the night before getting on the bus to Tivoli because I found it amusing, and thought it was a nice thing to see after a pretty difficult conference. Little did I know it would be a picture that also applies after a comedy of errors to get to Tivoli. A set of messages about the meetup never got to me until the morning of the trip, and I was going to be late. I was told to jump into a taxi, but the taxi couldn't get me to the metro and drove around endlessly before dropping me off within walking distance. Except, there was no easy way to get to the metro entrance without climbing over a really tall and sharp fence. And I accidentally walked into the exit ramp of the highway after following some equally lost tourists, with cars speeding down the ramp. After eventually finding some underground tunnel that took me to the metro and my friends, I sat down and had a brief but needed cry as I gulped down some cold water. So I'm choosing to co-opt this painting of the pope, which I now take to mean, "Hey, you made it! It's okay." . . . #tivoli #italy🇮🇹 #rome #businesstrip #travel #travelphotography #travelstories (at Tivoli, Italy) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-m1yppAA5S/?igshid=41653x5p1amd

Joyful celebration at the Neurosciences and Music conference, Edinburgh, Scotland, taken June 2011. Also, the first night I ate haggis... and liked it! . . . #edinburgh #edinburghscotland #scotland #travel #travelphotography https://www.instagram.com/p/B-C0vgWA7jY/?igshid=mol4n3h7yhr3

Time to post travel pics sporadically, since there is no travel for a while. Taken in July 2012, this is a statue of Lapu Lapu in Rizal Park, aka Luneta Park, in Manila, Philippines. He is recognized as a Philippine national hero. (I hope my extended family are all safe in the Philippines and abroad.) . . . #manila #manilaphilippines #philippines #rizalpark #luneta #lapulapu #travel #travelphotography https://www.instagram.com/p/B9xSGorAVo_/?igshid=1qf1k6n0dt8bl

This is my mom. Today is the 10th birthday since her passing. She's the reason I'm a New Yorker and an American. She's the reason I know so many old musicals. She's the reason I'm comfortable with the smell of hospitals; she often brought me to her hospital when she needed to work longer hours or over the weekend. And everyone knew and loved her there. When she retired, she traveled to see the rest of the world since so much of her world was us and work. She fought her cancer aggressively and then got right back out there to travel some more, until it returned. On her last birthday, I called her from a Montreal lab, telling her I was going to pull an all-nighter, and I wished her 10 more years when she said she wasn't sure how long she'd last. I was very wrong; she only had another 8 months. But she's the reason I'm a New Yorker again. She's the reason I take travel pics, and mentally note when I've been to the same places as her. She will be the reason I post some of my older travel pics here from time to time, to remind myself that there's more outside my world. Happy birthday, Ma. And thank you for everything. (at Briarwood, Queens) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8hS7k_g-iF/?igshid=2wfucndwm40l

This is what happens when I stop working for the holidays and catch up on my music. I make stuff like this with @distrokid , who is enabling this behavior 😆. The full song "Granted" is available via the link in my bio . . . #holidaybreak #babyyoda #babyyodamemes #bored https://www.instagram.com/p/B6bSJS9JS3p/?igshid=pluutohmcsbu

Tonight I saw a special @storycollider show called The Ocean Around Us, which was an immersive, multimedia storytelling experience. These are just some of the highlights. Pretty amazing show!!! (at Knockdown Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/B561MFSgqHu/?igshid=q2zpwkhgmsho

Did a whirlwind trip to St. Louis, MO for exactly 48h. Next time I'll stay longer, but I got to see the (1) Gateway Arch in sub-freezing temps at sunset, (2) the Old Courthouse where the Dred Scott case happened, (3) part of an old PET scanner at WashU (there were lots of things like this throughout the building), (4-5) the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, (6) and a gorgeous sunset while flying home. (7) #HowardtheBag has never been so pleased that I didn't have any major misadventures while traveling for work this year. I don't think getting lost and accidentally walking onto a highway exit ramp in Rome, borrowing someone's conference badge for one night in Chicago so I could do my job, or getting a St. Louis police escort to the pharmacy... er, in an ATV... count. Nope. They don't count. 🤔 . . . #businesstrip #stlouis #missouri (at St. Louis, Missouri) https://www.instagram.com/p/B47qmt9gGd8/?igshid=1qt4na1hzbz4a

It's that time of year again when an amazing sunset at the office (1) pulls various editors from their desks to turn off the lights and take photos (2)!! 😁 (at 1 New York Plaza) https://www.instagram.com/p/B45vyn5Acdm/?igshid=md09816wgc5q

#HowardtheBag : TFW your impromptu office for today is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling equations on every wall... . . . #mindblown #math #neuroscience (at Columbia University's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4VXspYApZh/?igshid=iz36c355spl8