Academics live a pretty transient lifestyle. The past decade has found me drifting me under what will be 10 roofs in 5 states. This move kinda snuck up on me though - I guess since it wasn't bound to a degree I was rutching to finish.
Richard Florida types have been arguing that workers will become increasingly mobile as the economy evolves. I don't mind it so far - it's a lot of fun to see new places and the friends you leave behind continue to jitter around the country, so you never know when you'll end up in the same town again.
All the same, you can't garden much without a yard and you can't improve your soil when you leave it behind every couple seasons. It'll be a few more before I own land, but I could use some more practice in the community garden plots anyway.
My next move takes me to Metro DC, where I'll join the new outpost of a Dutch seed company. I'll basically be doing plant breeding by way of bioinformatics. I'm pretty excited! I can't wait to start throwing all my learning and crazy ideas into making immediately useful contributions to agriculture. I don't know where my career will end up, but it's a very cool step.
*That second picture is the calm before the South Dakota hailstorm that left divots all over the Rattler on my 3rd coast-to-coast drive.
Good luck with your stay in DC. I hope it goes well and it's fun working for an international seed company. It sounds pretty neat.
ReplyDeleteJust think, now that you are making the big bucks, maybe one day you will be able to own your island and lab. I will actively participate as a member of the think tank. Maybe take care of a plot of ground or two.
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