suzanne whitby: what I am doing now

I am in the process of finishing off my dissertation on lived olfactory experiences in Pompeii in 79 CE. It has been a blast playing with the idea of scentscapes, scentmaps, and sensory experiences in the ancient world, and I am glad that it’s coming to an end. I have a couple of ideas for a Phd proposal, and have a call planned with my supervisor to get her input and see if it’s worth studying further. The air definitely has that autumnal chill in the air, so that means that it’s time to start thinking about storytelling again, and of running more communication workshops. Change happens!

Here’s what I am doing at the moment:

• Proofing and editing my dissertation.
• Checking and tweaking my SciComm Success website: I keep thinking “simpler, simpler, simpler” but I’ve not quite managed to achieve what I want.
• Translating Whitby’s into German. I’ll still offer all my workshops in English, because that’s how I roll, but I’d like to work more locally to keep my CO2 footprint low when working face-to-face.
• Kicking off a whole new series of gathers at Meetup Tirol. Coronavirus and lockdown made it hard to launch a platform to promote in-person gatherings, and the dissertation has demanded all my energy, but now the time feels right.
• Creating a simple website for my new project, Aim4Avg – Aim for Average (I wanted to spell it out in full, but m! suggested the shorter version). Essentially, the idea is to challenge myself and others to calculate their current CO2 emissions, take a look at the average CO2 emissions per person in their country and the world, and then make changes to either match their own country’s per person emissions OR if they are already under that number, to aim to match the global average of 4.8 tonnes per year (2017 figures from Our World in Data). I realise that this will probably seriously irritate many of my friends. Oh, well.
• Taking a course about perfumes in ancient Egypt with Dora Goldsmith.
• Getting ready to start learning Italian again. After several false starts over the years, m! and I have decided to be accountability partners. Saremo fluenti in un attimo!
• Reading and practising poses in Yin Yoga and Pilates because I’ll be starting two teacher training courses in a few weeks. Pilates is my first love, and Yin Yoga is the closest that I can get to stilling my mind, so perhaps I’ll start offering occasional classes in 2022.

Reading:

• Aroma – The Cultural History of Smell
• Museum Materialities – Objects, Engagements, Interpretations
• The Sense of Smell in the Middle Ages – Katelynn Robinson
• Ritual, Performance and the Senses – Michael Bull, Jon P. Mitchell
• The Scent of Desire – Rachel Herz
• Creating Sensory Spaces – Barbara Erwine
• Ways of Sensing – David Howes, Constance Classen
• Heritage Formation and the Senses in Post-Apartheid South Africa – The Senses in Performance
• Sally Banes, Andre Lepecki
• The Smell of Fresh Rain – Barney Shaw
• Creating Multi-sensory Environments – Christopher Davies
• Sensory Research – Ronald T. Verrillo
• The Museum of the Senses – Constance Classen

Listening to:

The Secrets of Strangers – Charity Norman

Watching:
Nothing that stands out. However, I can recommend the movie “Yesterday“, which made me laugh.

Recently finished reading (the ones that I can remember!):

In between reading what seems to be hundreds of books, papers, archaeological excavation reports, and chapters about scent, the Roman empire, walking methodologies, mapping approaches, and Pompeii, I managed to slip in some easy reading…

• All of Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti books. They’re easy reads, and having 30 books to devour in a few weeks was a delight!
• Afterland – Lauren Beukes
• The Shining Girls – Lauren Beukes
• Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World – Elinor Cleghorn
• Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And how anyone can harness it. Even you.) – Jennifer Aaker
  Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most – Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen

I was thinking about my father today. Just after I met m!, we decided to see if we could fox him for April Fool’s Day: m! called him in Johannesburg to ask him if I’d arrived safely. Obviously, my father was perplexed: he had no idea that I was flying over, hadn’t received any message from me to meet at the airport. m! kept the gag going for quite while before he took pity on him. Today, we’re still in lockdown for Coronavirus, but the weather is lovely and life is generally good.

Here’s what I am doing at the moment:

• Re-thinking all the groups and gatherings that I organise. As much as I love the international crowd, they can be intransient and I would like to form more relationships with people who might be around for a bit!
• I’ve signed up to train to be a Pilates teacher. This is not a new career plan, but rather a way to attend 6am classes. No one offers early-morning classes in Innsbruck or Rum, and in desperation, I’ve decided that the only solution to this is to offer classes myself.
• I am running 6 workshops for new clients next month and I am reviewing and revising all my workshop material.
• Finishing off my final essays for my MA, and getting ready to start dissertation writing.
• Putting together some business workshops for the International Association of Facilitation that I will be running until December.
• Pitching some presentation workshops to the WIFI – in English, for folks with an international focus.

Reading:

• The Biggest Bluff – Maria Konnikova
• Nonviolent Communication – Marshall B. Rosenberg & Deepak Chopra
• The Constant Rabbit – Jasper Fforde
• Crosstalk – Connie Willis
• The Decameron – Giovanni Boccaccio

Listening to:

The Secrets of Strangers – Charity Norman

Watching:
Lupin

Recently finished reading (the ones that I can remember!):

• The Cassandra – Sharma Shields
• The Book of the Maidservant – Rebecca Barnhouse
• The Book of Boy – Catherine Gilbert Murdock
• All the Murmuring Bones – A. G. Slatter
• Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old – Andrew Steele
• Crossed Skis: An Alpine Mystery – Carol Carnac
• The Eighth Detective: A Novel – Alex Pavesi
• Fingersmith – Sarah Waters
• The Harpy – Megan Hunter
• The Institute – Stephen King
• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V. E. Schwab
• Leonard and Hungry Paul – Ronan Hession
• The Mystery of Mrs. Christie – Marie Benedict

It’s 11 days until my birthday, which means that I’m in a bit of a contemplative mood. I always struggle at this time of the year, trying to work out whether I have achieved anything in my previous year, and it always feels like I’ve achieved too little. This is also a time of reflection and review: are my goals still relevant? Do I still need my 5 million websites? Which of my friends am I neglecting? We’re also in the middle of the Coronavirus panic here in Innsbruck. University classes are taking place remotely, I’m working exclusively from home for a while (hooray!), schools are shutting down next week, and it all feels a bit like we’re living in an apocalyptic novel!

Here’s what I am doing at the moment:

• Still trying to work out how to find time to write and podcast more often.
• Creating a new storytelling show about Irish fairies for my alter-ego, Ziyadliwa
• Tying to catch up on my masters studying.
• Creating a communications “PhD” for myself: I have so much material that I’ve not had time to read so it’s time for a plan to get this all done. This equates to around 50 books to read…
• Revising my Non-verbal Communication course. I have run it a few times now and I have some ideas to make it even better.
• Sewing a circle skirt. Well, first I have to create the pattern!

Reading:

• Don’t Believe a Word by David Shariatmadari
• Talk to Strangers by David Topus
• Gravitas by Caroline Goyder
• Switch by Chip and Dan Heath (yes, still haven’t finished this)

Listening to:

The Binding by Bridget Collins

Watching:
The Blacklist

Finished reading (the one’s that I can remember!):

• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (I honestly don’t see what all the hype was about)
• When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith (I have the next two in the series – not sure if I will read them)
• Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght
• The Time Traveller’s Guide to Restoration Britain by Ian Mortimer
• The Dollmaker by Nina Allan
• The Hotel Neversink by Adam O’Fallon Price
• The Pursuit of William Abbey by Claire North
• Bone China by Laura Purcell
• The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig
• The Last Body Part by Sarajane Woolf

Wow! It’s been a busy few months and I have 4 busy weeks to go before I “close” for the Christmas holidays, which I am VERY much looking forward to! Here’s what I am doing at the moment:

• working on communication strategies, speeches, social media plans and internal communication plans for clients communications consultancy 
• putting the finishing touches on two new corporate communication workshops for RESONATE
• creating a new storytelling show focusing on North American India tales for my alter-ego, Ziyadliwa
• learning ancient Greek. I am proud to say that I have translated 4 paragraphs thus far and I am now starting to get to grips with cases and articles
• studying for my masters in the classics with the OU – exciting!
• learning to dance! I’m half-way through a private jazz dancing course (apparently I have talent – woo hoo!), I’m taking swing lessons, and I’ m working through Ksenia Parkhatskaya’s solo jazz dancing course when time allows.
• re-thinking my podcast (again). In fact, I am starting two short podcasts, one relating to mindfulness and on for stories.
• making time to improve my ukulele skills – 10-15 minutes a day
• carving out time to write one researched article a month. Ponte took me weeks to research and eventually write, so one a month is enough for now.

Reading:

• Handbook for Classical Research by David Schaps
• It’s the Way You Say It: Becoming Articulate, Well-Spoken, and Clear
  by Carol A. Fleming
• When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith
• Switch by Chip and Dan heath

Listening to:
Thrive by Arianna Huffington

Watching:
Outlander. I will be returning to Miss Fisher or Star Trek for my ironing-and-watching needs soon!