Wednesday, June 3, 2020

IWSG June 2020


Happy June! I don't know what happened to May. It crossed my mind to write my blog four days before it was due (so I procrastinated) and it crossed my mind to write it four days after it was due (so I gave up.) Oh well. That's what happens when every day seems the same.

A big thanks to our host, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and his wonderful co-hosts: Pat Garcia, J.Q. Rose, and Natalie Aguirre!

Today's IWSG optional question: Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work?



Come to the Nerd Side ... We have Pi #PiDay #Pi #314 #nerd #geek #dork #math #mathjoke #starwars #HappyPiDay #Teachers #PiDay2015



I'm a math nerd. In 2001, I graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Ph.D. in mathematics. I taught super fun stuff like calculus and linear algebra at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA followed by two years at RIT in Rochester, NY. 

I've never written a story in which math plays a major role. However, this background is a bonus when stuck at home homeschooling teens.


African Penguins at "The Boulders"



Before that, I had a way cooler job: penguin keeper at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. There I did the public penguin feedings twice a day and raised six baby penguins from their eggs. I learned to fillet fish like a boss to make penguin soup for the little 'uns. Cod, milk, and vitamins in a high speed blender. It was grey. Sound tempting?

I should write a story about working at the zoo someday. Every day was an adventure.

What a fun question! Can't wait to blog around and learn everyone else's secrets. Hope everyone is doing okay in spite of Covid/Riots/Madness&Mayhem2020.

Peace.


14 comments:

  1. You should definitely write a story about working at the zoo! Maybe a series? Middle Grade? Cozy mysteries for adults? Throw that math knowledge in there, too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMG, what a combination. A math wiz and a penguin keeper! LOVE IT!
    Cool secrets! I'm a math dunce!!!! Barely passed calculus!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Working at the zoo would be really rewarding. That might need to make it into a story.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Taking care of penguins at a zoo sounds so interesting and fulfilling. And I admire your math expertise. And math is everywhere. I was surprised at how much I used as an attorney.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my gosh I would love to work with penguins! I love animals and penguins are just so inquisitive.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Both of your "secrets" are fascinating. Since I suffer from math deficiency, I'm impressed by your background. However, I'm totally jealous of your experience with penguins.

    ReplyDelete
  7. When I was rewriting book 2 in my Secret Book Baby Series, something happened, and my heroine revealed she's a math nerd and recited part of pi. It shocked me because I hate math. lol

    ReplyDelete
  8. You're a math nerd? I didn't mention a writer secret in my post, so here goes - I think you being a math nerd is super cool. Honest. I loved math until my freshman year in high school. Then, not so much. But I wish I loved it! You rawk.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fun question and I love your fun answer...the penguin gig is definitely something to write about.

    ReplyDelete
  10. That is an awesome job! The closest I ever got to tending animals was being a middle-school youth leader for our church. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, those are two really awesome jobs! I won't ask which one you loved more because - obviously - penguins. Thanks for sharing a bit about your life!
    Anne from annehiga.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yes, please daydream that experience of working with the penguins into a story! We visited a colony of penguins while traveling around the horn. Most hysterical? The sign that said, 'Stay on the path' while we walked through the penguin colony. Of course, the penguins didn't read. Being a math illiterate, I also applaud your math nerdiness. May the coming months be nurturing and calmer and healthier for us all.

    ReplyDelete

I will do everything in my power to visit commenter's blogs unless I've been abducted by aliens or my children get sick. (If my children get abducted by aliens, I will be very busy, of course, catching up on my sleep.)