JiBW3 is Ongoing

Don’t fret!

Unfortunately as I had to turn in my laptop back to the state of Texas, all my pictures are stuck on my camera. However, I’ll have plenty of time to process them once I return to Austin next week.

Announcing JiBW3

Yes, yes, I am going to do it again.

You may ask, “But Taylor, the last two years have beat you down by the end where you almost didn’t ever want to take a picture again. Why would you make yourself do it again?”

That is a valid question. But the answer I think makes sense.

For almost all of this June I will be unemployed. I am very excited about this. I am not sure when the next time that I will get a block of time off like this will ever be, so I really want to take advantage of it. How better to take advantage than to make myself get out and take pictures of things and people in this city (and in the few other cities we will visit here and there).

I don’t just want to spend the entire month sitting on my butt in front of the TV or the computer. I do that enough. I want to take this opportunity to see Austin. To ride my bike during the day. To have a beer in the middle of the day and spend the afternoon going for a swim. I don’t know what else, but I want to take advantage of it. 

I think making myself take pictures again will help force this along. One of the things that made it difficult last year was that I spent a lot of time on campus at work. So I was forced to take all of my pictures after I got home from work and got my bike ride in, etc. But now, I’ll have time. I can do it right. And I intend to. So look to here and my flickr stream.

My last week at UT

It is very strange to me that this is my last full week of employment at the University of Texas at Austin. My last day is technically next Tuesday, but since Monday is a University holiday, in my opinion one day does not a week make. So here I am … my last week.

I started graduate school in September of 2001. I am leaving UT in May of 2011. Almost 10 years as a UT employee. When I was filling out my time card today I saw on the bottom: “Months of State Service: 117.” Woah.

Now, I know lots of people have worked many places a lot longer than 10 years. But I mean, I’m only 33. Almost a third of my life has been spent being paid by the state of Texas and going to campus. It is just a weird feeling now that that time is coming to an end.

This also is the twilight of my academic and true research career. For somebody who spent the last 10 years talking about how they really wanted to go into academia, I feel sort of weird prepared to leave it. But in all honesty, it wasn’t really just my choice. Academia had the much larger say in the matter.

There is a large part of me that is very excited about leaving research and going to go build stuff. Focus on getting stuff done, getting projects finished, and getting products shipped. But I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t going to miss doing stuff, “just because.” Spending time on a project because nobody knows an answer, and that is the main reason. 

Change is at times uncomfortable, many people spend their entire lives fighting change at every possible point. But often change is good, and I honestly believe that this change will be good. There is a lot of change occurring. We are getting a house built, I am starting a new job, and I’m looking forward with an open mind.

This next 8 days will be be nostalgic, sad, exciting, and a relief. But I am an optimist, and June 1st I start the next part of my life… and I am looking forward to it!