The past two months had several surprises in store for me and my wife. It just had to start on a sour note with our baby daughter falling sick early November (right after my previous post).
Cue the domino effect and a month long hiatus from writing.
Much of November involved my wife and I taking our baby girl on multiple visits to the pediatrician. Thankfully, all is well now. We are back to the norm that is constitutive of our family life: trying to keep up with our baby girl who is “cruising” in her intent to explore the world. We are so happy that she made a full recovery. Growing up with our baby girl has been so much fun!
Despite the rough start, November concluded on a high note when I landed a full-time job as a science writer for LabX Media Group. Shortly afterward, my wife obtained an offer to pursue her doctoral studies at the University of Calgary. These developments left us rocking.
With 2022 just around the corner, December has been all the hustle and bustle. I had my onboarding process at LabX, my wife had her doctoral applications to complete, and together, we had our impending move to our new house in Calgary.
With all of this going on, writing and art had to take the backseat. Initially, this was frustrating as I had gotten tired of the whole on and off process. In retrospect, it all worked for the best.
After nearly 12 years in Edmonton, 2022 will be the start of a new chapter in my life in a completely different city (albeit, just 3 hours away from Edmonton). Much more on this in a future post!
Stepping back to see the bigger picture of my journey over all these years was important. Getting a full-time job has also been a huge relief and has provided fresh perspective and motivation for my future dreams and ambitions.
There is much I have to plan for and I can’t wait to get it all started. Big changes are pending for The Pensive Reverie and The Procrastinating Scientist in 2022. Not to mention, I am looking forward to our new house in Calgary, as I get to customize my own office space for art and writing.
Amidst the boxes currently piling up in our living room, and our impending move in two weeks, I will be away from the blog for a few more weeks. Fingers crossed, it will be a smooth transition during winter.
My time away has left a long list of prospective posts on standby, and there is so much I wish to share with all of you like the remodeling of the blog and its appearance, finishing my graphic novel and starting the concept art, and more!
For now, thank you so much for your patience and views on the blog, despite my time away!
Belated Christmas greetings to all and advance wishes on a Happy New Year!
For starters, if you don’t know what DBZ means, I’m referring to one of the most successful Japanese manga and anime series of all time: Dragonball Z.
DBZ was the first anime I actually watched on TV, and not at my home. Rather, it all went down when my family and I took a trip to Singapore. Long story short, my father had to pry me away from the TV in our hotel room to go on the tour when I would have rather preferred watching the anime instead.
Sounds stupid in retrospect but cut me some slack, I was a 10 year old kid seeing anime for the first time. Little did I know then, that 20 years into the future I would LITERALLY live the DBZ life. So what do I mean by that?
Well, it all has to do with the circumstances of my life over the last few months starting from finishing my doctoral studies, then seeking a steady line of employment (continuing to do so), and most importantly, becoming a Dad. The latter is probably the BIGGEST influencer.
Being a Dad is no easy task (Moms have it even harder) and I’m yet to get used to the role. I still find myself gawking at the fact that there is another tiny human being in my life who loves and wants to be the center of my attention 24/7.
But all that cuteness comes with a steep prize. So, why not I list out how this DBZ Dad’s day goes.
1. Raging Ozaru = Sleep is Overrated
In my previous post, I spoke extensively on the value of sleep as a parent and how it is underrated. Yeah, scratch that. 6 months in, and I can confirm that at this point, sleep is overrated. At some point, you realize that your body just gets used to being awake at night, and starts functioning like a supercomputer, because you would rather lose some sleep as opposed to having your baby daughter cry.
WHERE IS MY SECOND BREAKFAST? I WANT TO PLAY! – The Ozaru transformation is just a small sliver of the power my baby daughter has. Its even easier because she doesn’t need a full moon to become this cute bundle of unbridled rage.
2. Milestones = Dragonballs
Babies absorb the world in their own way and it leads to all kinds of learning. Every now and then, my baby daughter will learn a brand new skill, and set a new milestone in her development. After each one, there would be something new to her personality. After a while, following along on her growth, I found that keeping track of these milestones was no different than seeking the ever elusive Dragonballs.
What would I wish for? Not unlimited power or immortality (as Vegeta would love to), rather that my baby girl continues to be as cute as she is now for like forever.
3. Skyping Kame House
Unwinding is important. Taking care of a baby is tough, no matter how cute they are, and that constant need for attention can become exhausting. That’s what friends and family are for. In a pandemic ridden world, my wife and I have found solace in getting our weekly venting sessions by skyping Kame House (collectively housing our families and friends).
Never have I spoken or laughed or been teased as much by family and friends as I am now. Much like an island retreat, I now enjoy these weekly sessions.
4. Nursery = Hyperbolic Time Chamber
The hyperbolic time chamber refers to a location in the DBZ world where one year in the chamber is the equivalent to one day in the real world. DBZ characters would frequently use the harsh conditions of the chamber to train and become stronger.
To me, this is no different than entering the domain of my baby daughter, her nursery. It is a tense environment where one’s mental fatigue fluctuates between the rising need for more diapers, the occasional shrieks and screams, and a boatload of crying that tears one’s heart asunder.
But when all is said and done, and my baby girl is fast asleep or smiling in her crib, I get to walk out like this.
5. Training to beat Goku or at least Yamcha.
To keep up with a baby, you have got to train hard. Training here is quite different though, and you have got to learn along the way.
I can never predict what my baby daughter would do the next moment, and so, training to be mindful of her environment and her emotions have become crucial to tackle anything she throws (figuratively and literally) at me.
At the least, I do my best to get to the same level of badass that is Goku. The exact opposite extreme is Yamcha, and sometimes helping my baby daughter is trying to aspire between these two extremes.
For now, I can’t deny I’ve come off feeling more like a Yamcha after heeding to her calls, despite feeling like a Goku for myself.
6. Becoming a Z Warrior
Despite the sleeplessness and the constant fatigue, I can say that I have never lived this strongly in the present and that is among the best gifts my baby daughter has given me, besides herself.
It is also inherently characteristic of a Z warrior where the focus is not on who we can beat to a pulp, in highly relativistic fights, but dedicating oneself to a consistent regimen where we strive to be the best not only for ourselves but also for our loved ones.
Being with my daughter has helped me face my own personal challenges head on and with a positive attitude. In the process I’ve gained more strength to aspire for greater heights.
7. The Eternal Adventure
The best part of my day is when my baby daughter is blissfully asleep in her crib. I do not mean this in the sense that my wife and I can finally catch a break. Rather, it is in the spirit of the emotion I feel when my baby girl bids me goodnight, knowing that her father will always love her and how much more he is looking forward to the surprises she is ready to throw his way the following day.
I find this emotion be similar to the excitement and amazement I felt in watching DBZ and immersing in its world as a kid myself.
It makes it all the more awesome that I can feel the same with my baby daughter, in what I feel is an eternal adventure where I get to see my whole world anew through her life.
Hi everyone, just a friendly update. Over the last few months, I have been doing my best to routinely post articles on The Procrastinating Scientist alongside my continuing efforts to build a portfolio for science writing.
Whatever new post I made there, I would also share it here at The Pensive Reverie. Thanks to finding freelance stints with WatchMojo and PBS, my output of science articles has gradually begun to increase and the lineup of posts I have planned continues to grow.
As such, I felt that it would be best that I now begin to solely present these science posts on The Procrastinating Scientist alone, so that I may also maintain the theme of The Pensive Reverie where I wish to discuss my daily adventures as opposed to frequently reposting posts from the former.
I will keep up a link to The Procrastinating Scientist for any of my readers who enjoyed keeping up with the science posts. In the meantime, I will be back this weekend with my next on,
Irrespective of the fact if you have a baby daughter or son, I’m sure rookie dads all around the world will find something in common to what my list has to offer.
I, for one, have learned much since my baby daughter arrived. These lessons have ranged from small pearls of wisdom to unexpected surprises. No matter the nature of my learning, the takeaway is the happiness I experience in its wake, in this moment, growing with my child and seeing the world through her eyes.
Let us get started.
1. Sleep is underrated.
This one is pretty obvious. I have had my fair share of late nights and the occasional all-nighter during my time at university. Going into this baby business, my confidence was right up there. I should be able to handle some late nights, right?
Yeah, not really. Never have I realized the value of sleep like I do now.
Not when these late nights become a regularity over several months. Never have I felt more tired! Squeezing in those power naps really became a priority so I could balance out with my wife on taking care of the little rebel.
What matters is that my baby girl gets her beauty sleep because a happy baby is better than a cranky one. It is a real power struggle.
2. There is a new boss in the house.
Power is a complicated thing. My wife and I got pretty good at this game. After having gone through various phases of our life together, we’ve learned to work as a team and function as a solid and cohesive unit. After all, team work is the best.
I think not.
That doesn’t really matter so much for our baby girl. In her opinion, you either take power or you don’t. She is the new boss of the house, and in being bossy, she makes us do all sorts of things, starting with absolutely nothing.
3. Doing absolutely nothing is awesome.
When you spend a good decade, jumping from one class to the next, doing assignments, prepping for exams, graduating from university, looking for jobs, and so on and so forth, you sometimes forget the value of just sitting down and doing absolutely nothing.
Sometimes, by doing absolutely nothing, you get a whole lot of something.
One of the best parts about being a dad for me is to look back at my day and realize I have accomplished practically nothing. That’s alright though, because that “nothing” is filled with doing everything I can to keep my baby girl happy and nothing is better than seeing her smile.
4. Inspiration is just around the corner.
As an aspiring writer and artist, spending time with my baby girl has become my greatest source of creativity and inspiration. Every day becomes an adventure!
I love the experience that is growing with my baby girl, and learning to see the world through her eyes.
Not only has it made me work harder toward my own dreams but it comes with additional benefits in kindling ideas for my stories and artwork. At this rate, my baby daughter will be a contributing author in my works. The main point is to be in the moment, and relish it.
5. Being in the moment.
As a dad, all of a sudden, there is so much to think about, from the then, the now, and the what comes after. It became quite stressful. But I’ve realized that with my baby girl, what matters is being in the moment.
Inner peace…
I have no idea what is going to happen in the future, and there is no point in worrying endlessly about it. I can learn from the mistakes I’ve made in the past but I cannot get overly critical of myself. What matters is the now, where there are so many precious moments to indulge in and relish.
And when the now gets to be too much, taking a break also comes in handy. Being in the moment helps with that too, and that has been a valuable lesson for a dad like me who often thinks too many things at the same time.
6. No need to go to the gym.
Having hit 30, for some reason, my brain must have sent memos to all my body parts stating that their warranty is over. Cue muscle spasms, shoulder aches, and all sorts of things that I have never had to deal with in my life. It was time to hit the gym again but with Covid-19 still going strong, I wasn’t too comfortable with that either.
Exercising and physical health is important when a baby is around.
Funnily enough, my baby girl has facilitated this: from regular walks in the neighborhood, and lots of action around the house from bicep/tricep curls, sit-ups, squatting, all of which can be done while entertaining my baby girl. No need for a gym membership. Exercising also keeps my mental health primed.
7. Thinking on your feet.
And that is important, because with my baby daughter I’ve learned the importance of thinking on my feet.
Expect the unexpected eh?
My baby girl is quite the explorer so what may hold her attention now may no longer interest her a few minutes later. This can get annoying, but that’s where patience comes in.
8. Patience is a virtue.
It truly is. Babies are fun but god they are also extremely difficult. I love my baby daughter, but every now and then my wife and I would feel overwhelmed with what she is throwing at us.
Patience really helped in seeing the bigger picture.
Its something I had to drill into my head because babies can be difficult in different ways every day.
Why? Because they are learning so much every single instance. If I can get overwhelmed just by having to do two or three activities at the same time, I cannot imagine the information input my baby daughter goes through everyday.
Plus, it really helped my wife. And on that note…
9. Moms are amazing.
Truly. Seeing what my wife does, night in and night out, I am at a loss for words at the pure energy (fueled by love, frustration, lots of fatigue, and just a relentless will) she displays in taking care of our baby girl.
When I expressed my amazement to my wife, her response was, “I know I’m awesome.”
Much respect for all the moms out there, especially during these tough times. It is in that amazement that I’m also driven as a dad to do my best, if not better, to not only make my baby girl happy but also my wife.
I’ve learned that I don’t have to think too hard about it. A small bucket of ice-cream, and tagging in with the baby girl, goes a long way.
10. Life, Love, and Laughter.
Which brings me to the greatest and best lesson of all.
Learning to take in life as it is, sharing all the love you have to offer, and laughing as much you can.
That really is the secret recipe. Both my wife and my baby daughter have taught me this and it has made my life all the better. Not to mention, it is extremely motivating in whatever I do and has made my experience as a dad all the more enjoyable.
And that’s it for my list. Now, seeing that it is my turn to tag in, I shall bid adieu to you my readers! I will be back with another post very soon!
It has been an exhilarating summer. A sleepless one as well, especially over the last month, as my wife and I have swung from one all-nighter to another taking care of our lovely little baby daughter.
On a positive note, the experience has bestowed upon me the gift of patience. I put it to good use, facing a hectic schedule when I had to complete my doctoral defense (which was a success) while balancing my freelance gigs, and a healthy dose of job applications.
Opportunities have come accompanied with many customary rejections but I continue to hold my head high. It wouldn’t be any fun if it weren’t a challenge to get to my goals. On that note, science writing keeps on rolling as I churn out one script after another for WatchMojo Unveiled and PBS Spacetime so keep a lookout for The Procrastinating Scientist who will be visiting very soon.
Since completing my doctoral studies, my days have revolved around diaper session and playtime. Interestingly, spending time with my baby daughter has been a wholesome source of inspiration. Just as she has begun to settle into a sleep schedule, I have found an equal opportunity in making the jump to finish my graphic novel script.
It has been nearly six months since I touched the drafts. The extended break, I hope, will serve me well in providing new perspective as I compile the final version of the script. Supplementing this project is the fact that I have also registered for the Story Artist Mentorship program which promises to be one heck of a ride.
Last year’s Lightbox Expo was instrumental in helping me find inspiration toward a career in art and illustration. We are off to good start so far with my baby girl giving me the high-five on committing to a hellish schedule of writing and art work. Either way, she intends to act upon a 24/7 availability for my wife and myself, so why not use that time to get some work done as well.
Now that we are all caught up, I must now leave, as my little one seems to be chewing on something a lot more suspicious than the teether I left her with, while Mommy is taking a nap. I will be back very soon with a new post!
A few weeks ago, I finally entered the big leagues, welcomed by a mini-pantheon of close friends who had beat me to the 30s. My wife, on the other hand, relished the moment as she is still in her 20s. For now, I’m letting her have the fun, though the countdown has begun for her remaining months before she joins the gang.
We conducted a small celebration at home, made all the more special by the presence of a lovely angel, my baby daughter, who incidentally also turned 3 months old. To top it all off, I finally got my FIRST EVER tasting of tiramisu cake!
And it was YUMMY!
It would later dawn on me that with my 30th birthday I had now spent a third (and a little more) of my life in Edmonton, having first landed in the city in 2009 for my undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta.
I would spend the night reminiscing upon my adventures since then, having accumulated 12 years worth of wonderful memories in this city. With a few more weeks to go until my doctoral defense, it certainly felt daunting that the years had flown by so fast. At the end of the day, I’m thankful to all the wonderful people I have come to meet over these years, and of course the enduring support of my wife, family, and friends!
Enduring a Heat Wave & Getting Vaccinated
Speaking of endurance, the first challenge of my 30th birthday would be a painful heat wave cooking most of Western Canada, for well over a week. My body adapted readily by recalling its prior memories living in the heat of Egypt and Sudan.
Unfortunately, the going would be tough on my wife and my baby daughter. What had once been the bliss of beautifully maintained sleep schedules and playtime hours would be overturned in a chaotic, sweaty, and tiring frenzy in keeping my two babies cool and safe.
Literally, the three of us for most of that week.
On a positive note, the occasion would demonstrate that we have a tough little girl in our daughter who would remain in great spirits despite how exhausted her parents were. The end of the heat wave would coincide with us successfully registering and obtaining our second dose of Covid vaccinations, getting us one step closer to being fully vaccinated.
Beware the Strong Baby
While I initially commended my body for adapting extremely well to the heat, the sudden plummeting and normalization of temperatures would be too much for my now 30 year old body, causing me to fall sick.
This would be further aggravated by a jaw injury imparted to me as a gift by the “gentle” fists of my baby daughter. In what had been a playful habit where I would I allowed her to punch my face, the repeated strikes upon my jaw, pronounced by her new-found strength (thanks to her weight gain) weight would inflame my jaw.
The amusing part of it all being that she absolutely enjoyed punching the crap out of my jaw!
Reality of life
All of which brings me to where I am now, after a week of painkillers and jaw exercises, nearly ready to jump off and fly away from the proverbial tree that is university, with my thesis defense looming in the horizon.
Setting aside studies, I spend my days joyfully alternating between my new responsibilities as a father, while maintaining a constant spam of resumes that I email out to relevant job opportunities. So far, I haven’t had much success, but hey, a journey ain’t no fun without any challenges.
All the while, I strive to persevere and keep moving forward. while preserving my inner peace as per the words of the great master himself,
In my previous post, I mentioned that there was a bigger story to my absence from the blog over the last few months. I guess the title has already spoiled the mystery.
Yes! I am now officially a Dad!
I’m still getting used to my friends and family teasing me on my newly acquired status but it is one that I’ve long yearned for, and I’m all the more happy for my wife and for us in that we have made it so far.
Our little one has been quite the storm and apart from uprooting our sleep cycle, she brings the greatest joy in our life in everything she is. I have to applaud my wonderful wife who has been a champion throughout all the struggles and complications we had to face in the earlier laps of this new journey in our life. Leina, you are absolutely amazing.
Being a Dad has been a unique experience and one that I have enjoyed so far. I can’t wait to confront all the fun challenges waiting just around the corner. Every day means something special and new to discover with our little one, and the atmosphere altogether has only made me relish the surprises she will continue to provide us in the long run.
As such, my absence over the last few months can largely be attributed to keeping up with my little one and managing the final strands of my doctoral studies that I’m now set to complete over the summer. All the hustle and bustle had me set aside my writing and artwork so that I may solely focus on what is most important: spending time with my baby daughter.
Interestingly, I have found greater inspiration in her company and enough so that I’m brimming with ideas to keep up and execute in posts that I wish to share in the blog alongside artwork and writing that I intend to complete.
In the weeks to follow, I hope to build on just that with The Pensive Reverie and The Procrastinating Scientist. With that said, I shall now return to the cute little giggles of my beautiful baby daughter who I just can’t get enough of. (As diaper monitor, it is also imperative I’m at her beck and call.)
I will see you all soon with a new story to share!
Hi everyone, it has been a while (there is a bigger story to this, which I will get to in my next post)!
Back in February, I published a post Getting Started in Science Writing where I discussed my efforts toward a career as a science writer. Since then, I have made decent progress, and had the gracious luck of finding a few opportunities to flex my science writing skills.
Today marked my first, very teeny-tiny step towards my goals as a science writer with my ComSciCon-CanWest submission being posted on their blog. The subject matter covers my own doctoral research: Mimicking photosynthesis in nature using metal nanoparticles.
The article is written in a manner that everyone can read it, regardless of their academic background. Hope you all get a chance to swing by and check in on the post and find out what I’ve been slogging on over the last four years of my life!
After a long and meaningful break, I will be back very soon this weekend. We have so much to catch up on!
My doctoral studies commenced in Fall 2017. I wouldn’t have predicted then that the last 1.5 years of my PhD would involve a global pandemic. I have spent much of 2020 plus the last few months working from home, and contrary to the popular vote, time seems to have flown by.
I’m now on the final lap of my doctoral studies. Productivity and efficiency have been my daily mantra since my last post. It wasn’t easy, but after two weeks of 12 hour work cycles supplemented by some unhealthy snacks, energy drinks, and some encouraging music for company, I finished compiling my thesis. Thesis fatigue would soon set in afterward, and I would spend an additional week allowing my fried brain cells to recalibrate.
The break gave me much needed time to relax, get my sleep cycle back in line, and get back to normalcy. The finish line beckons with my doctoral defense looming in the near future but with my thesis writing complete, I can now have a balanced diet of studying while gradually ramping up my transition toward a post-doctoral career in writing and art.
That being said, I can now catch up on my initial slew of posts that I had intended prior to my study frenzy. There is much to be done and I intend to keep up with some nice stories I had planned to share with all of you alongside some new science to entertain on The Procrastinating Scientist, and artwork to post on my Instagram feed.
After attending the Lightbox Expo I was hard-pressed to start an Instagram account dedicated to my artwork. Aside from The Pensive Reverie and The Procrastinating Scientist, my presence on other social media platforms is sparse.
My lack of interest in social media notwithstanding I would be a bigger fool to deny that social media can be a productive resource on its own for individuals pursuing creative endeavors. Nevertheless, I was initially reluctant as I felt my art skills were too amateurish to warrant sharing my work in a public platform.
But, the journey is always a part of reaching our goals and destinations. Thus, I have decided to start an Instagram which will record my rare successes, frequent stumbles, and hilarious fails in my journey to be an artist.
Much of what I intend to share on Instagram will revolve around my growing art skills, my brief stints of inspiration, and whatever is the ensuing result when my ideas meet paper and pencil.
For those among my readers who are also active on Instagram, I would really appreciate your support by following my adventures on this platform as well. So, with that being said, here’s to a prosperous Instagram art journey at Ajay Peter Manuel@lockeinart.
They say the pen is mightier than the sword, let’s hope my pencil is equally mighty in reproducing the worlds that flourish in my brain.
The Pensive Reverie 