January started with a setback, but I was able to power through it.

On the first day back, I worked with the robot manufacturer to calibrate the robot arm, but during that, I had an accident that sent mains current through some of the controller boards. I'm fine, and everyone agreed it was a weird accident, but I'd done what I could to prevent it. Just unfortunate.

Fortunately, we had a robot on another project that wasn't being fully used, so we swapped robots and sent the broken controller off to the manufacturer. Unfortunately, the swapped robot had a different hardware design and software framework to control it, so my task for January was to get it back online. By the end of January, I had it almost all done, with only a few stations to finish. Those were dependent on a neat hardware fix for our temperamental tester device.

As for the new apartment, moving in was stressful, but felt promising. As the weeks went on, I did work bit by bit to improve the space and make it more of a home, and I think I've succeeded in making it feel nice and cozy. I also got into knitting as a way to keep my hands busy and my mind free, and I'm really enjoying it. I also started therapy, which gave me really useful strategies to work with my feelings instead of struggling against them so much.

Overall, January was a month of progress. Still lots to do, but things are starting to look up.

(Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash)