Five new things I tried in May

It’s that time again. A whole month has past and I just have to tell you about the new things I’ve been trying. If you’d like to hear about things I tried in previous months you can find out here:

January | February | March | April

1. Being a Research Assistant! Yep, this is the new job, the “post doctoral role.” Of course, because I’m still writing my thesis and haven’t passed my viva yet, I’m on a kind of uber probation but I’m still treated like a postdoc because soon I will be one and because my job is unlikely to change in any way once I graduate. So far, it’s pretty confusing but I’m enjoying it.

   

   I am much more confused than I look in this picture

2. The rubber hand illusion. This is a psychology experiment where you arrange the participant such that they can’t see one of their hands (maybe you just drape a towel over it or something) and then you position a false hand such they can see it and such  that it could be mistaken for their real hand. Around 50% of the population experience the sensation that the rubber hand really is their real hand. It turns out that I do not, but never mind.
3. Yelp Brunch Club. I’ve been meaning to get along to one of these for ages because I love brunch but getting brunch with P is difficult (he is not a morning person). I finally managed to go to the one during cocktail week which was at McPhabbs and was amazing. I can’t wait to go to more Brunch Clubs.

   

   My Nasi Goreng brunch from McPhabbs

4. Inspiring Artists. Haha, yeah, of course, I’m just that great. As part of the Glasgow Science Festival there will be an event called the Cosmic Cabaret. To make this happen the festival organisers found themselves a musician, a poet and a comedian who wanted to put on a show about space. To help them figure out how that show might work they asked a few of us to talk to them about our work, especially anything space-related. It was fun! I’ll look forward to seeing the show.
5. 7 Minute Workout. This is a stupid app that I hate. The idea is based on HIIT exercise styles and the idea that anyone has 7 minutes to spare. I tried it and it’s all cardio (obviously but I hate cardio) and very loud with non-obvious volume settings. It then sends you an alert every day at the same time as you did the first set of exercises. I uninstalled it by day 4. It turns out I’d prefer to do a full 1 hour exercise class every few days than do 7 minutes every day. Exercises classes are just better.

There! Five new things. As often happens it’s four things I loved and one I didn’t which is bound to happen every now and then when you’re trying new stuff.

What new things have you been trying lately?