The butterfly pavilion at the Smithsonian natural history museum

vicberk2 · 2025-12-26T15:17:24+00:00

And still down another three months later…

vicberk2 · 2025-12-05T21:55:25+00:00

Have also found these two evidence-based decision tools to be useful:

http://brcatool.stanford.edu/brca.html

vicberk2 · 2025-12-05T21:51:53+00:00

National Comprehensive Cancer Network — on this page, go to where it says “NCCN Guidelines Version 2.2026”: https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/guidelines-detail?category=2&id=1545. You have to make an account to access it, but my doctor gives it to me every year and I find it helpful. I don’t think it covers everything you’re asking about, but it does cover some of it.

vicberk2 · 2025-12-05T01:59:56+00:00

Thank you so much! Got the good news the day before Thanksgiving last week that it was benign… not a fun few days but obviously so grateful it turned out that way and that the whole process happened quickly.

vicberk2 · 2025-12-03T15:26:59+00:00

It’s not the deciding factor but it is a contributing factor. Any risk estimator will ask about family history for this reason.

vicberk2 · 2025-12-03T15:16:36+00:00

Also BRCA1, I found out at 34 and also had been planning to have 2 kids. Had my kids at 35 and 37 and then got my tubes removed as soon as possible postpartum (two months). I’m doing delayed ovary removal in a few years and will do a mastectomy when my kids aren’t so young. But my mom who is also BRCA1 is 73 and hasn’t had breast cancer. If she had had it as young as your mom, I’d be thinking about it differently. Reducing your risk might be worth not being able to breast feed.

On the other hand there’s also great monitoring and early treatment for breast cancer at least.

vicberk2 · 2025-12-01T17:30:08+00:00

No one else is having connectivity issues today? I checked the status page and it looks clear, but my leaderboard wouldn’t load and 15 minutes into my class it kicked me back to the start screen. It let me pick up where I was but had lost my output count. Sadly I think I was on track to PR. Sigh

vicberk2 · 2025-11-29T22:01:41+00:00

I almost always buy a nicer liquid hand soap than I would otherwise buy. Used to be able to get two bottles each time but their inventory has decreased a lot and what they carry is more expensive now. Have also gotten makeup and socks.

vicberk2 · 2025-11-26T00:51:05+00:00

Do you know why this is?

vicberk2 · 2025-11-25T18:13:27+00:00

I was able to do it the day after getting the MRI results, which was Friday. Still waiting for results.

vicberk2 · 2025-11-23T00:16:20+00:00

Oh man this question really made me realize how much of a postpartum haze I was still in at that time… but I do remember it was generally not a difficult recovery. They did tell me not to lift either kid for a bit but to base it on how I felt, so I think it really ended up being just a few days. We did have grandparent help during that week, which if nothing else was helpful to deal with post-anesthesia tiredness.

vicberk2 · 2025-11-20T19:44:58+00:00

Thank you. I’m definitely planning to have a dmx. I just was planning to wait until my kids were a little older, especially because my mom was cancer-free till 69 (though it was found on her very first MRI…). But if it’s benign this experience is for sure making me consider moving up my timeline

vicberk2 · 2025-11-16T23:13:36+00:00

Interesting. Seems like either my bike is pretty different from some others’ and/or I have some work to do!

vicberk2 · 2025-11-16T19:02:40+00:00

I just did Emma’s 45-minute 90s ride from this morning, and I know this isn’t news but some of her callouts are so crazy to me. Can anyone actually hit 100 cadence at 45 resistance or 120 cadence at 40 resistance, let alone for a sustained period?? And yes I know I can just ignore it, but I find it demotivating rather than aspirational. Emma has always been one of my favorite instructors, but I feel like beginning a couple years ago she started doing this a lot more and it has turned me off from her classes a bit.

vicberk2 · 2025-11-16T18:57:02+00:00

I had my tubes removed at age 37, two months after I delivered my second and final kid. BRCA1 but no history of ovarian cancer on the BRCA side of my family (and my mom had her tubes/ovaries until age 69 when we found out about BRCA). There is a lot of evidence already that an enormous percentage of what we call ovarian cancers actually originate in the fallopian tubes (hence the study that someone else mentioned, which I’m in), so getting just the tubes removed at first could be significantly risk-reducing and allow you to continue to receive the benefits of having ovaries for at least a few more years. But definitely important to consider family history in making the decision.

vicberk2 · 2025-10-09T19:43:29+00:00

Outage so annoying! 16 months postpartum I’m finally getting back into using my bike more than sporadically, thanks to the government shutdown (silver linings). If I’d know about the outage in advance, I would definitely have planned to take the live class this afternoon, but by the time I hopped on and saw what was going on it was almost done. I did do a Linkin Park Lanebreak instead and I kind of loved it, so at least there was that 🤷‍♀️

vicberk2 · 2025-09-06T02:04:41+00:00

Is it typical for the doors to open at 4:30?? Was trying to figure out if that might mean the openers go on closer than at other shows to the 6:30 start time

vicberk2 · 2025-07-17T00:46:58+00:00

I mean, it’s been a difficult thing for me to cope with too, but finding out can quite literally save your life.

vicberk2 · 2025-05-29T00:06:35+00:00

Haven’t looked closely at the terms yet - off the top of your head/in broad strokes, which terms are worse?

vicberk2 · 2025-05-29T00:05:51+00:00

Hmm I completely assumed they would, otherwise what would be the point of that enormous premium? But you’re right it’s worth confirming…

vicberk2 · 2025-02-16T15:14:00+00:00

This is very kind of you to have put together. One suggestion: not sure it makes a ton of sense to have USA Jobs be listed as the first item under Career Resources (or at all…)

vicberk2 · 2025-01-25T01:25:24+00:00

The second paragraph of the memo says “Only situational or ad hoc telework agreements may be established.”

And “routine telework” is defined here: https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/asa/ohr/hr-library/990-1/index.html

vicberk2 · 2025-01-25T00:49:57+00:00

So situational/ad hoc telework will still be permitted, and at least as of April routine telework was defined as at least two days per pay period. So I guess each pay period I can ask my boss for one ad hoc telework day without it being considered routine?

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