today I discovered that approximately 430 emails from the last 2 months had been filtered into a new and undisclosed folder in outlook called “promotions”. of these, 115 were emails I definitely needed to read (& definitely not “promotions”!) and about 20 were critical/urgent. great work, outlook.

In addition to posting plants and puppies, I also mentor students interested in personality pathology. My lab is recruiting a graduate student in clinical or personality psychology for Fall 2026. So please send folks my way. Feel free to share! Thanks.

When the kids are fighting over who loves baby more.

Mochi looks like he’s seen some things.

I am loathe to admit that ‘they’ were right. If you give your household more than 20 minutes from when you wake up to when you leave, everyone’s mornings are less stressful.

The start of the semester is like New Year’s Day at the gym.

Potential grad applicants: I'm hoping to take 1-2 new students this cycle! There's no need to email me in advance unless you have specific questions that aren't answered on the lab or psych department's website - everyone's applications will be considered equally. u.osu.edu/mattlab/2025...

I feel I have become crotchety before my time.

Something people might already know about me—whenever I run into someone I know, get a text from them, or interact with them on social media, my first thought is always always always “do I owe them an email? what am I making them wait for me on?” If I look panicked when I wave or smile, that’s why.

I’m an odd one who doesn’t like travel. However, I do like packing for trips, making planning lists, and crafting out of office messages. So that was my fun Friday evening!

It isn’t who I would have guessed but I mean, it’s not wrong… openpsychometrics.org/tests/charac...

This week I swept the patio, organized the pantry, and pressure washed the furniture. …Instead of grading.

Norabelle doesn’t get nearly enough social media time

One never loses touch with their roots when they’re from SE KY. Sometimes though, in a conversation when you say things like “oh, you just know not to climb on the coal pile from the time you can walk”…it feels just a little more obvious.

The dapperest of the puppers. Happy belated gotcha day to Mochi.

The entire National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) team at SAMHSA was terminated today. Do not listen to the platitudes of this administration when they say they care about drug overdose, addiction, mental health, or suicide.

There is a glorious sunrise

The Sunday Scaries are in full force today.

I’m a little tender since 50+ families in our small community lost everything last night. But man, it’s rough logging into Bluesky seeing all the folks laughing that Oklahomans are “getting what they deserve”. Our family is fortunate we were safe—unlike friends (many of whom hate MAGA, btw). Yikes.

I’m officially “turns her ankle while standing still” years old.

🩹 Older children and teens need vaccines, too! #CDC guidelines for children aged 7-18 are below. Protect your kids, protect your community.

If RFK wants to meaningfully decrease rates of depression, he can support paid family and maternity leave, equal pay for women, universal healthcare, and fully funded public schools. Stigmatizing medication that treats the mental impact of a country that devalues your existence won’t cut it.

Norabelle & Mochi are the smooth talkin hucksters trying to talk you into extra Valentine treats

"assess the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs" good time time become an antipsychiatry grifter in the US www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

If you are wondering where the "NIH? indirect cost "plan came from, I stumbled across it. www.heritage.org/sites/defaul... Indirect Costs: How Taxpayers Subsidize University Nonsense 1/2

Here is the pre-RFK vaccination schedule for your kids. Please download it before he is confirmed and changes/deletes it. Give it to your pediatrician and say this is the schedule you want your kids on. Making this my pinned post.

In retrospect, getting large numbers of anxious academics to join one small social media platform en masse was a mistake

“The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact check”

I’m just too soft for all of it.

The gray, drizzly day is aligned perfectly with my desire to curl up under a blanket, pretending the chaos of the world and my to do list do not exist. Unfortunately, my outlook calendar full of teaching, meetings, and interviews didn’t get this memo. Press on, beauties. Let’s get through today.

Today in class I gave out themed stickers as part of an activity and they were a big hit. College students apparently still love stickers. There’s my “good thing” this week. It was such a jolt of positivity. 🥰

Timeline cleanse because Mochi is so unserious. To him, everything's funny. He’s got nothing to regret.

🚨PIs of Training Grants and Programs, ESPECIALLY training grants that support students from historically excluded groups (T32s and T34s, IMSD, MARC, PREP, MOSAIC, etc.)🚨 We need to push back on the loss of information and the disappearance of websites about these resources.

Whether you’re an international student far from family or the only Asian American in your department, I see you and hope you find a way to celebrate and connect with people! We’ve all been there and this day hits particularly hard for many of us. Hope you find joy and luck today and this year!

I probably don't even need to say this, BUT. Me not posting about every nightmarish thing is not because I am not internally (or externally!) screaming multiple times per day, i just figure you heard about it from 100 other people posting about each new nightmare. I assure you, my soul is cracking.

If I believed in love languages, mine would be sending little treats. Delivery services for restaurants, coffee shops, & bakeries and the ability for people to post wishlists have improved in the last 5 years. I can’t do a lot to change the world but I can make people weirdly uncomfortable this way.

Thank you, American for changing my gate 4 times so that I was able to explore every inch of Terminal E at DFW. I was afraid I wasn’t going to get to see every Hudson’s this visit.

Things I want to know (lurker layover edition): • did that lady sprinting make her plane? • why does the gate agent want Steve to text his wife? • who’s the flight crew “praying for a heart attack”?! • which deans have a pact that if one retires the other will, too?!? • does that dog like its boots?

I’m very sorry to admit that I was wrong & apparently if one gets adequate sleep, they don’t have to fight nodding off on planes or when driving long distances. Travel feels different now that I go to bed at a reasonable hour. Sleeping 3-5 hours & functioning “just fine” might not have been true?

People who put their backpacks and coats in overhead bins when they know flights are full are my secret enemy. Don’t do that, people.

My flight into DFW landed about 30 minutes early. Thank goodness since I only had a 3.5 hour layover…that really helped make sure I could get to my gate on time.

Ok so despite the new class’s name of EBAT (Evidence Based Assessment and Treatment), I promise I didn’t invite this friend to guest lecture today.

New semester. New course preps. New phone camera. Same xennial selfie style.

I love the little joys on college campuses. I looked over at the car next to mine in the gym parking lot and there was a giant stuffed unicorn taking up the entire backseat. Well done. 🦄

Although it is hard to face the holiday break ending, the view certainly helps get going. Our family loves a pretty winter morning.

Sometimes I want to reply to questions on academic listserv emails with things like “don’t do it; run away!” but I suspect that would be unprofessional. If we are on a listserv together, always know that there’s a nonzero chance I’m considering it.