Not long ago I had dinner with some friends who have known me for ~30 years.
At one point, late in the evening, after we'd been talking for a long time, one of my friends said to me "You're so mellow. You've always been a really mellow person."
Another friend literally spit out her wine and screamed "Omigod, she is the least mellow person on this planet!"
I'm not sure what that means. I am moody? At least one of my friends was drunk?
Or that people, even friends -- even very good friends -- will perceive each other in very different ways. This is not surprising, but it may mean there is no hope of us ever being understood by our colleagues and students and others who know us less well and who interact with us in more stressful circumstances.
It may also mean that I am simultaneously a nice, mellow person and a hyper-aggressive, competitive jerk.
In an effort to find a good mellow-hyper balance and to recharge and to focus intensely on Science while my daughter is away at a summer camp, I am taking next week off from blogging.
Thanks for reading, no matter what you think of me, my life, my choice of topics, and how I present my views.