Mallie RydzikHi all, it’s been awhile.
Honestly, I’ve been going back and forth on what I want to do with this site since I stopped promoting my coaching business and returned to my more introverted work of editing.
I’d like to use this more as an old-fashioned blog, aka a “web log” of what’s going on in my life, things I’m thinking about, etc.
So for starters: what am I doing for work these days?
Right now I have returned to scientific editing for scientists for whom English is not their first language. If you look at the author resources on academic publication sites like Elsevier, JGR, AMS, etc., you’ll see a short section on English language editing. Most journals either offer in-house English editing for scientists wanting to publish in English-language journals, or they will direct you to companies that specialize in that type of work. I am an “editor on contract” for one of these companies. I choose which manuscripts to work on and how much work I want to take on each week/month/quarter. I focus on environmental and earth sciences, as that is what I got my degrees in. It is solitary work that is a sharp contrast to the previous few years of coaching, consulting, marketing, attending real-life events, etc.
This type of work is ideal for where I am currently in my personal life.
Matt and I have been in fertility treatments and just recently miscarried twins. We spent a lot of time discussing how much we actually wanted children before beginning treatments, and, after a couple of years living as though we intended to continue on childfree, we realized that we do, in fact, want children, and we don’t just want them because of some sort of societal or familial expectations. This experience has been emotionally and physically taxing, and I am back to having frequent doctor’s appointments for monitoring purposes. Not having to schedule these around client calls has been a small blessing in an otherwise tumultuous time.
In happier news…
- We recently upgraded to a larger home in the same area of Frederick, MD, both in anticipation of having a child or two and because we now both work from home. Our new neighborhood is in a lake community, and we have access to trails, pools, a lake/beach, and other great amenities. Our introverted selves can spread out a bit more within our house as well.
- We are about to go on our 5th cruise in 3 years, something we never thought we would be interested in. We have been to the southern Caribbean, the Baltic Sea, the Bahamas, and the Mediterranean, and we are about to head to Bermuda, a Zika-free zone that is approved for travels by the CDC and our fertility clinic as we prepare to restart treatments after the miscarriage. I also went on a cruise with my mom last year to Bermuda, making this upcoming trip my 6th cruise in 3 years.
- We now have three cats (Radar, Twister, and Raindrop) and a young yellow lab named Sunny. Sunny has been a handful and has really tested our introvert natures and control issues as a couple and as individuals. We are currently doing private training for him to get him better at socializing with other dogs and people when we are out in public or just walking him around the new neighborhood.
I look forward to posting here more regularly. Right now, I still have comments turned off, and that’s intentional. I had some former clients harassing me on this site through the comments once I left the coaching business. I believe they have also moved on with their lives at this point, but the comment notification emails were causing me a lot of anxiety. I have also turned off my public Facebook page for similar reasons, at least for the time being. Please reach out to me on Twitter or Instagram (@MallieRydzik for both accounts) with any comments instead.
