Occasionally Asked Questions

We are often asked... sometimes asked... somebody asked me once... -- Michael Flanders.
  • Who are you and who is PhysicsGirl?
    • I am a math and physics teacher in Toronto. PhysicsGirl (who is not this Physics Girl) is the hero of many a word problem involving projectiles and very large forces. Any similarity between us is not entirely a coincidence.
  • What is this blog about?
    • Oh, that's a good question. It started as a way to document my travels during my 2009-10 leave year (ahem, which I'm still working on, I promise) and now it has evolved into a blog about my being out and about and stuff I have made, as well as any blog challenges that catch my interest. Mostly it's a way to fool people into thinking I have a fabulous life.
  • Who is Aged P?
    • See here, only think female and not nearly as frail. 
    When I told her I was starting a blog about my trip, my mother asked me not to write about her. I asked if I could refer to her as Aged P; my brothers and I would often get messages from our parents like "The Aged Ps are on their way." She said yes. She is not entirely regretting that decision. 
  • Who is the DC?
    • The Dapper Cyclist aka my husband. Aside from being dapper and a cyclist, he's a terrific human being. He also draws pictures of PhysicsGirl.
  • What was this marvellous trip thing you did?
    • In 2009-10, I took a leave year. The original plan was to give up the bachelor apartment, take my cat, spend the whole year living in Paris, and do some travelling around Europe from there. Life, as it does, intervened: I acquired another cat and moved into my current lovely apartment which I didn't want to give up. I also couldn't move the cats, Crazy being frail and ill. It would haven been cost-prohibitive to pay for two apartments and cat care for a whole year, so the year-long trip turned into a one-month stay in Paris, with a six-week grand tour tacked on. I wish I had stayed longer in Paris, but it was still a phenomenal trip.
  • Where did you go?
    • Here's the itinerary. 
  • How could you take a year off?
    • My school board has a four-over-five programme, where four years of salary are spread over five years. You earn 80% for the first four years and bank 4 x 20% to make 80% during the fifth year. You can do anything during that year except work for the TDSB. I saved like a madman during those four years to pay for the big stuff; my banked salary paid for the day-to-day things. 
  • That's awesome!
    • Yes, it is. 
  • Are you doing it again?
    • Yes. I went back on a 4/5 the year after I came back and was on leave again in 2015-16 (during which I got married, helped Aged P sell the House, and then recovered from that). I started a 3/4 in 2017-18, so my next leave year will be 2020-21, unless life intervenes. This time, I have no grand plan. However, I decided I should continue to do some travelling in the meantime. 
  • Your Europe pictures are all up! When will you finish the blog?
    • I'm working on it! I had almost given up setting deadlines for when the pictures would be done, but you can see them here, complete with pithy commentary. Now that I have finished the pictures, I will start finishing the blog posts. I'm aiming for at least one a week. I have no idea when I'll be finished, but I think I will treat myself to a(nother) pair of Fluevogs when I do.
     As for the blog, I decided to continue documenting my various adventures here. You won't get rid of me that easily. 
  • Is this a blog about biking?
    • Not really, no.  It's intended to be a blog about being out and about.
  • Are you sure? There are a lot of posts about biking
    • Yeah, well, my bike is my main form of transportation. I follow a bunch of biking blogs, and occasionally they will have challenges. Said challenges usually require blogging. I also used to do a photo-a-day challenge (still do, in May), but I only post updates to that monthly. You can see them using the tag "i can have pix?" 
  • Is this a blog about sewing/crocheting/cooking/making things?
    • Not really? As I said, it's intended to be a blog about being out and about.
  • Are you sure? There are an awful lot of posts about making things
    • Yeah, well. I'm trying to trick you into thinking that I have a fabulous life. Sometimes that involves going out, other times it's making things. It turns out I'm a bit of an introvert, and it's far, far easier to stay in and make something while listening to podcasts.
  • What's with the retroactive posting?
    • I'm not trying to rewrite history... much. I'm trying to record things in the order they happened. My diary, my rules. It's explained here. I tell you about new old posts using the tag "Timey-Wimey stuff."
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