bunny-ology

[bunny-ology]

21 aug, '24: chasing shadows one tea cup at a time//

[bunny-ology]

march 09, '24: persuasion//

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one thing working in museum taught me is that you can have as many signs & as many explanations as you so wish people still will not read. "it's not clear at all on your website!!!" it sooo so is i promise my colleague was even kind enough to color-code the tabs & add a little image that shows what "group" means. my sister in the allmother's wide arms you might just be dumbfuck stupid. and mean and entitled as well. at your big age.

[bunny-ology]

June 27, 2024 - Thursday

Today I did some laundry and sewing, read at my doctor’s appointment and then picked up some fabric for the new dress I’ve starting making! This time I’m older, wiser, and more patient with the process and won��t do dumb things like decide I don’t need to pin before sewing ��🏽‍♀️🧵

[bunny-ology]

biggest language wtf moment is when you can understand every single word of a sentence but you still have no idea what it actually means

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Saw a video about how Duolingo works and apparently the weird sentences are made by actual people on purpose, because 1- it's fun, 2- something unusual is easier to remember and 3- even if you're not gonna use "the bear talks with a lawyer" in real life you're probably gonna remember the grammar structure when using actual sentences. So whenever you see a Duolingo phrase that maker you go "WTF?!" Know that someone probably had a lot o fun adding it to the app

[bunny-ology]

FIVE TIPS FOR STUDYING WHEN ILL OR OTHERWISE INCONVENIENCED...

disclaimer: when at all possible, you should always prioritise physical and mental wellbeing over a good grade. If you are seriously ill to the point where it is heavily impeding your capacity to study, you are not fit to take an exam, or write an essay, and I hope your educational institute has measures for exceptional circumstances/extensions/deferrals to allow you to do so! Alas, it isn't always possible to do the ideal thing in life, and that is where my experience comes into play.

°•☆•°

Sometimes you find yourself in a crappy predicament a couple weeks before an essay is due, or an exam is scheduled, and you find yourself slipping further away from the stacl of textbooks on your desk, and closer to the comforts of your bed and the rest you really wish you had the time to make the most of.

Right now, my hormones are currently out of whack in a way that could meaning anything from (the most likely cause) PCOS to perimenopause at 22 to plenty of other less likely possibilities I'd rather not dwell on. This means that sitting up for more than 5-10 minutes in the same position sends my abdomen into spasms and sharp pains, and generally existing hour to hour is a painful, emotional, hot-flush filled experience.

That being said, I have an exam in a few days, and since deferral is not an option for me (this is my last attempt, I can't take any more time off of uni, my last attempt was last year during a period of several losses that occurred on an interruption year I had taken due to burn-out and unresolved trauma sliding into my life- you get where I'm going with the 'sometimes life is a bitch and your general and academic life can't be pretty and pristine' bit) I have been doing my best to balance comfort and productivity in a way that helps me look out for what I need right now whilst still getting in as much revisiom as I'm able to.

So! I thought I'd share my little tips for building a comfy study space when conditions are not ideal but you still gotta keep moving:

• abandon the 'do not study in bed' tip, but only for as long as it helps you as opposed to hindering you. I have tried sittimg up at a desk with pillows and blankets swathing me- and all I get for it is hefty back pain and constant awkward readjustments every time I start heating up or shift around in my seat too much. If you're ill, you aren't doing yourself any good sitting hunched over a desk either- and frankly your sleep is probably going to be buggered until you're feeling better anyways. So, if sitting at a desk is putting you off, prop up some pillows, rest your writing materials on a hard surface (a folder, an A4 hardback- a chopping board works for a cute wannabe lap desk too), and set a zone of your bed aside (or just use a bedside cabinet if you have one) for anything you'll be using fairly often- by which I mean stationary, textbooks you'll be using over the course of the next hour or so- just enough stuff to save you constantly getting up out of your comfy study bubble.

• listen to tesco: every little helps. What I like to do to get myself going when I'm feeling naff- which works also if you're simply having a difficult time focusing yourself for the day- is to do micro pomodoro sessions, where I'll dedicate myself to 5 minutes minimum of focused study. If I really can't bring myself to continue longer than 5 minutes, I'll let myself rest for a little while (up to 20-30 minutes) before getting myself to do another micro session. This may not seem very productive, but you are more likely to do a good hour of work on a bad day when you tell yourself you only need to do little 5 minute sessions, than procrastinating studying because you feel as if you'll have to sit up and focus for a much longer period of time for it to count. Every. Little. Helps. In 5 minutes you can run through a topic of flash cards, do a slide of lecture notes, answer small exam questions, do a page or two of readings- and on a good day, that 5 minutes might turn into 10 with a small break, then 15, then you'll find yourself picking up your regular pace in no time! But again, even 5 minutes, just one little session, is a win when the world is throwing hurdles at you <3

• maximise your comfort: you know the little things that bring you joy, and you don't habe to be rolling in cash to surround yourself with little things to keep you going when all you want to do is sleep. My current comforts are the loyal presence of my cat next to me, a few old blankets I can swaddle myself in to stare at the ceiling when my ovaries are throwing a tantrum, a little variety of teas (currently rocking a chai latte with home bargains vanilla syrup, girl gotta have her sweet relief), a pack of energy drinks, some painkillers, and a little incense tray nearby that I forget to use 70% of the time (though the remaining 30% makes up for that). None of this is in particular mandatory- if it were, the dog people of the world would be doomed. The point is, find your little comforts- an activity you can do from the comfort of your bed like a puzzle, sensory toy or just a book to doodle in, a certain type of drink or snack you really love, some smellies (perfume, incense, candles, wax melts, and so on), supplies for whatever ails you- little personal things to relax you whilst you try to gather your energy.

• Now is not the time to push it. I tend to find the times in which I am most likely to push myself past my limits are the times in whicj something is inhibiting me- the frustration of being bed-bound, fatigued due to chronic conditions, etc tends to make me feel even more than usual that I am not doing enough because of my awareness of my present restrictions. Though this post is about pusning through bad times, you should be doing so with self-compassion, and with the mindset that every little bit you achieve in your current state is a win, a bonus, even if you find yourself unable to work to the same standard as normal. You aren't well- you aren't supposed to be functioning at 100% because your body is only functioning at 50%, and if you want to get back to your regular stressed student self you need to rest! Remember that a slightly lower grade than you were expecting in the short-term is not a reflection on your character, and it's better to *be* better for the long-term than to work yourself into a ditch and burn-out when you are already at a low point.

• If healthy study you is a carefully rehearsed play, then sick study you is a completely improvised show. Don't knock the analogy, even if it is silly and obscure- when I am at my peak, I will time-block my studies, plan to do certain topics on certain days, do 30-5 or 50-10 study sessions, work during a set period from the morning to the mid afternoon.

When I am ill, I do not know when I will be unable to sit up to work. I do not know when I will be able to sleep, to stomach food, to concentrate- so I have to accept that the normal routines that keep me consistent have to be chucked in the bin for the time being. Instead of planning my whole day, I create a vague, rough outline of the next few things I want to get done. This way, I don't feel crushed when I start working on lecture notes and find myself flat out on my back crying 10 minutes later- I just pick up where I left off when I'm ready, and work in increments from there.

°•☆•°

Right now my sleep is a bit fudgy because of night sweats/panics and p a i n, and by building a cosy space and letting my plans adapt to my body's needs I've managed to get 3 hrs of lecture notes, 2 sets of flashcards, and a set of logic practise questkons done over night between 8pm-4:30am. If I had tried to stick to my regular 'good day' study routine, I don't think I would have lasted 15 minutes before giving up and crawling over to youtube with a bowl of white chocolate and a horlicks in hand.

It is this kind of adaptability to external conditions that allowed me to survive an unstable home situation during college that meant weeks without wifi, constantly moving between different homes and constant fear of eviction due to family debts I was too young to do anything about- and allowed me to get into the top university in London* as a working class girly from a council estate.

I was given the opportunity to do an extra year at college for free due to these circumstances and a great support network within the institute to make sure I got into the specific university that I wanted to, and I had to take an interruption after my firdt yesr of university because I am not a super-human, and I knew my limits- but I'm still going, and the time away I've had has paid off and gotten me back to my scrappy, chaotic, passionately nerdy self.

You can be messy and be a good student too- and you can get through the worst of times with a little adaptability, perseverance, a good support network and a little self care ♡

*Times Good University Guide, 2024.

[bunny-ology]

Preparing for masters entrance exams

[bunny-ology]

How I'm studying Spanish after a long break

It's always hard getting back into a language that you know the basics in, because beginner materials are too easy and intermediate materials might be too advanced. After trying and failing multiple times to stick with Spanish again, I think I finally have a good system?

So for formal studying I'm using Mango Languages, but not actually taking the lessons. I find that I know about half the material in their unit 2, and it gets very repetitive and boring to go through the actual lessons, but I still want to cover what I don't know. So I've been making flashcards with the given vocab, studying the vocab, and then when I've reviewed it all I only go through the listening, reading, and recap given at the end of each chapter. So I've been able to learn more level-appropriate vocab in a structured way without the slog of going over things I know over and over. This has been about 1/3 of my time.

The other 2/3 of my time I've just been doing immersion. For listening I've been bouncing between watching the Spanish dub of Death Note, and watching Let's Plays on Youtube (specifically, I've been watching one for FNAF Security Breach and one for Disco Elysium). For reading I've been reading the Spanish translation of the webtoon Ring My Bell. For listening I don't usually take notes and I just focus on listening intently, but for reading I'll write down phrases and words that repeat or feel important.

I'm not quite sure if I can see clear progress yet because I've only been doing this for about 2 weeks. I still struggle a lot with understanding verb tense/conjugation, but I found drilling it isn't helpful to me in the past. But I feel like my listening comprehension has improved in the past two weeks. I feel like I can follow Death Note and streams and understand about 50% of what is said (and the rest from context), and I'm starting to be able to pick out individual words more clearly if I don't understand something.

The important thing about his routine though is that I haven't felt like things are too easy, and I also haven't felt bogged down by things being too difficult. I'm probably at a A2 level right now, and I'm hoping to be a solid B1 and generally conversational by the end of August. So I'm going to keep up this routine and see where it gets me.

[bunny-ology]

I want to thank @rockitcat for being the only person I see actually standing up for these kids...

To everyone else: kids are going to mess up on any new words that they don't already have context for! Ulysses is a stupid name that kids messed up even back when I was the same age as them. People keep saying that phonics isn't being taught anymore, and they're even telling those who say they're seeing it taught "no, the person you know isn't being taught it" as if they personally know this. But phonics gets taught still, I sit with my students and have them sound out words when reading or the reverse when trying to spell. Any teacher who has been around for awhile won't just give up phonics, y'all are just listening to the media too much. You're spitting the same "the kids are stupid" rhetoric. These are 6th graders that OP is talking about. Do you know how old that is? 11-12 years old. They've only been learning how to read for 6 years now, of course they don't have the 20+ years of experience of reading that YOU do. And don't bring up that "I had a college reading level in 3rd grade" because that's not that hard to do, actually. Besides that point, realizing that these are NORMAL mistakes for 6th graders, we also don't know if OP's class has learning disabilities or if they're English Learners either. My school district has a lot of immigrant families where kids are still learning English, for example.

TRLR: stop being mean and educationally elitist against these literal children

The children are learning about the US Civil War. I can’t say it’s going well. (On the bright side, they’re very clear about slavery. We’re solid on that front. It’s the actual war we’re having trouble with.)

“Ms. T, why would his parents name him that?”

I frantically flip through the possible Civil War leaders they could be referencing. “… Well, you know how Stonewall got his nickname, and we’ve talked about Tecumseh, so there’s Sherman, and -”

“No, not them.” They roll their eyes at my ignorance, then pivot back to the point at hand. “That other guy. Useless.” As this describes a number of Civil War leaders, I blink uncomprehendingly at her. “You know, Ms. T, Useless. Useless Grant.”

“Um. … Well -”

Another child raises their hand. “Ms. T, I don’t understand number three.”

Number three is a question about the Battle of Bull Run, asking for explanations about a Confederate victory despite Union advantages. “What paragraph are you looking in?” I ask in a monotone, because I’ve been fielding this question all day.

The student points at the correct paragraph, even focuses in on the quote about Jackson holding off a Union advance. “It says Jackson and the men ‘screamed like furries,’ Ms. T, but why would that help?”

I cough. I cover my mouth with both hands. “That’s ‘furies,’ sweetie,” I inform them, still wheezing. “Like they’re insane with anger,” I elaborate, deciding to skip describing actual furies at this point in time. “Not … not like furries.”

So, here’s how the war is going, one week in: Useless Grant has been made general of the Union forces, but a bunch of furries are preventing him from gaining much ground.

[bunny-ology]

19-05-2024

cool stuff at the geology archives floor

since I'm ahead of my study plans, I've decided to take this weekend to revise plant biology and pchem

pchem is really weird to study, we basically just write formulas and considerations about said formulas and that's... it??

yesterday we had a surprise birthday party for a friend and I met a guy who studies "pure" chemistry and we had a nice talk!

also, can I spam my insta art account here?? I go by @ eleartss

[bunny-ology]

THIS is what I love about museums! I couldn't care less about the hundreds of museums that are centering themselves around war and how people died, I live for the museums that show how people lived, especially your everyday person. What do I have in common with this person from 1720s, or this other person from 1890s? What parts of us are different, that I can learn more about them, and what parts are the same so I can connect to them?

not to sound corny but the textile arts make me feel connected to the world around me. it's so intentional and deliberate and when i sit and do it, i think a lot about how many other women that came before me used to do it, how many hands have used the same supplies i am using, and how many other people might be doing the same thing as me all across the world right now

[bunny-ology]

Some urban geology of nyc!

A - urban fill dirt with some brick and gravel from a recent demolition, notice the flat gray color of the soil. Is directly above a SOLID layer of garbage

B - black ash filled layers likely from the burning of wood or coal and this whiter extremely plastic rich layer?? That alternates with the ashy layer

C - extremely sad sand

D - getting to non impacted soil!! Indicated by the much brighter, healthier color

[bunny-ology]

Happy International Museums Day to the following people:

The guy who called me the Whore of Babylon for teaching kids about Ancient Egypt as I stood there and nodded.

The woman who was deeply incensed that staff wouldn't open the cases so she could touch the organic objects.

The one guy who made me translate hieroglyphs on a stele for him, then was mad because it didn't say what he wanted it to say, and reported me for 'lying' to the public.

The parents who objected to the taxidermied animals having taxidermied genitalia because it was unseemly.

Those kids on a school trip who got on the floor in front of a mummy and started chanting 'we worship Ra' as their teacher desperately tried to get them to leave.

That one guy who...uh...really liked geodes. No, they were not a special interest. He really, really liked geodes.

[bunny-ology]

Happy International Museum Day 2024! Good luck to all those applying to jobs, volunteering, or working on projects in the GLAM sector!

[bunny-ology]

Ancient Roman Women Bathing in a Public Bath in London [1922] Fortunino Matania (1881–1963) Wellcome Collection

[bunny-ology]

14.05.24 one day at a time ⏳