Intro

So I have finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and get into this whole blogging thing, to chronicle my adventures in the transition from the Silicon to the Tanana Valley. Quite a few people, who obviously overestimate the level of excitement in my life, have expressed interest, so here I am.

Who am I:
I was an up-and-coming mechanical engineer, climbing the corporate ladder, earning respect in my field, making more money than I had dreamed of, when I up and decided to quit my job, move to the interior of Alaska, and return to school full-time. To add insult to injury, it wasn't even for mechanical engineering. I am going to earn a second master's degree and PhD in physics! Yay physics!

And I was surprised and touched at how many friends and colleagues reacted not by being appalled but by being extremely encouraging, admiring, and envious! Among the most warming of all were the reactions of my boss, who had taken a leap of faith on hiring me since I was not very experienced in the skillset he required, and my graduate advisor, who was not just my mentor for my MS in mechanical engineering (and whom I would therefore have expected to want to see me shine as a mechanical engineer), but who had introduced me to my aforementioned boss and therefore stood the more to be disappointed in me. But they were utterly delighted at my news and still are.

Why:
I really can't explain.

Cast of Characters:
Living with me in my cabin, in order of IQ, are:
Dan. He helps me open jars and lets me stick my cold hands and feet on him at night.
Mr. Grumphus Bumfus Bunn B. Doofus, Esq. Severely deranged rabbit with a terrible temper, whom I adopted when I found him abandoned on the street one week after Easter, 2000.
Ms. Millie B. Doofus, the world's sweetest rabbit, adopted from the Humane Society of Silicon Valley to be a companion for Mr. B.

First impressions of Fairbanks:

Rather a dull and ordinary-looking little city. But I like that people are warm and unpretentious and friendly. Three things I had been seeking most on leaving the Silicon Valley! People have big, floppy friendly dogs that go everywhere with them, riding in cars and trucks and running alongside bikes with ears and tongues flapping in the wind. The sun is warm and intense, like a smile from someone who's really, really happy to see you. And when a cloud covers it, the chill is as sudden. The sky is blue, blue, blue! Bluer than I've seen anywhere else and bluer than I'd believed possible!

A friend in need...:

When you are 3000 miles away from everyone you've known and cared about your whole life, and you haven't been in town long enough to have made any real friends or connections yet, and suddenly you need help and all these people who are practically strangers reach out to you, well let me tell you it is just the most amazing, humbling feeling in the whole world. From my landlords to the university people, from my former boss to the lady working at the feed store who gave me a hug because "it looked like I needed one," I had a complete restoration of faith in humanity in Fairbanks.

When I returned to California last Fall, the only thing I had to worry about was taking care of Dan and setting up our new house. Mary at school had taken care of all of the administrative work for my leave of absence, and would forward my mail to me until I had the post office forward in place, even offering to store my car for the year I'd be gone (though my landlord ended up selling it for me (!)). Brian and Debasmita calmed my nerves, sat me down on the grad student sofa, and put together my "action plan" for how to get moved out and back to the bay area, creating and filling out a chart on the white board, which I couldn't help but chuckle at, and even offered to take my keys and move my furniture from the cabin to storage for me, after I had left town! Our landlords let us out of our lease and helped me move the furniture to storage, took the paperwork for my car to sell it for me (!! I still can't believe they did this! What a load off!), and took me and the rabbits to the airport and sent us off with warm hugs and good wishes for a speedy recovery for Dan.

On arriving in California, Bill and Chris had a spare room set up for Dan and me, a room downstairs for the rabbits, and warmth and friendship and good food until we found a place to stay for the year. Ken at Sun had my old job waiting for me, and as I returned to work my Sun friends were kind and supportive and let me work at work and still called me on my mistakes and didn't wallow in pity for Dan or me and were just the kindest and most sensible and lovely colleagues and friends to return to.

It's funny, when I had left them earlier that Summer, it had felt like leaving any other job--a mixture of sadness and giddyness, with promises to keep in touch when I knew that only some would be kept. But when I returned, it was really like returning to old friends, and when I later left the second time around, I felt truly sad. It's amazing how they managed to show their support without being in any way intrusive or overbearing. I only realized their friendship in subtle ways. Thanh, whom I had not be close to before, one day out of the blue came by and offered to pick me up a sandwich at lunch. Russ, who had used to sit across the hall from me prior to my leaving, came by early one evening and said, "Just came by to make my visit for the day, since I have to leave early tonight..." Russ and I would chat frequently; it had never occurred to me until then that he made a point of visiting every day!

So I had another restoration of humanity in the Silicon Valley. Whoda thunk?

Fairbanks 2.0

So we are back again, fuzzies and me, setting up shop in our cabin in the woods. Dan and Lori, our landlords, had the timing worked out so we could live here again. I went to campus this week for the first time since arriving in town, and reclaimed my old office. Only Mary was there, and it was lovely to see her again. I start setting up the labs and doing other TA duties this week, and I start classes the following week. Yay!