Author Archive for: cshaslag
Entries by Catherine Haslag
Ode to the Electron
It’s a very small bit of matter, 9.1094×10^-31kg in mass, but don’t let its nanoscopic size fool you. This minuscule molecular pulls more than its weight. It is one of three subatomic particles that make up the atoms that make up the universe. When transferred to another atom or shared, it helps hold everything together. […]
Yoga
There was a new person next to me in yoga class today. Young, about 25, flat stomach, and curves where they should be. Her seemingly perfect, young body makes me very aware of my own. As I bend into forward fold, I am aware of my ankles. They are my mother’s ankles when she was […]
8-8:30
It’s unseasonably hot for this early in June. Already in the low 90s and it’s just the first week of June. Summer came early this year in Minnesota. By 9am it is 78 degrees and sunny. The humidity isn’t high and the breeze makes it bearable. I made a vow last night to ride today. […]
Northern Migration, Part 3
I drove north to Austin, MN on the second day of 2011. By the time I drove through the middle of Iowa, the ground was totally white. I wouldn’t see green grass or experience temperatures above 20 degrees for nearly 2 months. I stopped twice to sob uncontrollably and otherwise cried tears of joy, sadness, […]
Northern Migration, Part 2
When I woke up the morning of December 22, 2010, the world came closing in on me. I was leaving Springfield, my home for the past 11 years, all my friends and family, and moving 500 miles north to a place where I didn’t know anyone or anything…alone. I thought I had to be insane […]
Cream of Creature From the School Cafeteria
When I was in second or third grade when a copy of Cream of Creature From the School Cafeteria by Mike Thaler made its way onto my bookshelf. I am not sure where it came from. It wasn’t from a Scholastic book order and I didn’t get it from a bookstore. Nonetheless, it was one […]
Northern Migration, Part 1
In the last month of 2009, I was newly divorced, highly dissatisfied in my job as an environmental scientist, and trying to figure out my next steps in life. Fortunately, I had landed in a wonderful little 2-bed, 1-bath bungalow on the north side of Springfield, Missouri. There, I worked to heal from the end […]
The Confessional Podcast Review
I am a podcast addict. History, current events, personal growth, science – I listen to more podcasts than is probably healthy for a person. Some of my favorite podcasts involve people sharing stories about their lives. The types of deep, open conversations that would make most people uncomfortable. That’s my jam. The podcast I highlight […]