The First Law of Thermodynamics

The First Law of Thermodynamics has been paraphrased as "you can't win."

The disposal is now fully installed - a minor victory in this war, made less sweet by the fact that we had to hire mercenaries (well, a plumber) to seal it. But, you can't win. In order to position the drain pipe in the proper location, the plumber had to cut a 6 in x 1 ft hole in our freshly painted family room wall. Looks like the painters will have an additional task when they return to paint the kitchen.


I suppose "you can't win" could be renamed 'the First Law of Stuffmart' (our non-specific name for any big box home improvement center). Here is a typical trip to Stuffmart.
Attempt to find parking space.
Attempt to find parking space free of cart.
Enter store to realize you left planned returns a) in the car, or b) at home.
Begin walk of the damned through aisles looking for item you know you saw during your last trip.
Realize that your last trip was to the Stuffmart on the other side of town that has an entirely different layout and/or inventory.
Continue walk of the damned until you locate items similar to those you need.
Attempt not to curse out loud as you realize that everything but the thing you're looking for is there.
Grab something anyway in a vain hope that it will be an adequate substitute.
Take purchases to the front of the store (as directed) because it's ten o'clock and the store is now closing.
Go home.
Discover that item will not be an adequate substitute. (This occasionally includes a 'catastrophic failure' step.)
Add item to pile of returns.
Repeat.

One interesting wrinkle I encountered this evening was entering the store to realize the paint chip and drawer handle I had brought had fallen out through a hole in my pocket in the parking lot. No lie.

On the brighter side, or at least more sentimental, was that today my team held a lunch for me. They invited everyone who had ever been a part of the team. After lunch, I was presented with a cake and a DC United away jersey, which I thought was a very sweet, thoughtful gift. While touched by the whole event, I didn't feel sad, but very satisfied with my time here. It's a nice feeling.

So maybe I did win, just a little bit. (Don't tell thermodynamics.)

Exhaustion

So now we're a week away from a) putting our house on the market, and b) my last day at the JCVI. Today I spent the entire afternoon and evening painting the kitchen cabinets with primer. I didn't expect to be so utterly physically exhausted. After doing this for 3 1/2 hours, my arms and back were stiff, my shoulder was clenched and throbbing, and my legs were tired. I sat down on the couch and slept through (for the second time) Bionicles 3: Web of Shadows (which is utterly fascinating if you're six). Then after dinner it was back to painting, until, well, now.

Now I just want everyone to know that I hate painting. Sweetie says she doesn't mind painting because you get instant gratification of seeing what work you've accomplished, and instant feedback as to whether you like the result or not. I just think to myself "there must be something better I could be doing with my time." But the primer is on now for all the doors, and the frames, and some of the drawers. The weather has finally started cooperating, so we should be able to get this done in the next few days. (Hopefully two.)

So, things we need to finish this week: get the painters to paint the kitchen; schedule a powerwashing of the house; finish the boys bathroom; paint the vanity in our bathroom; clean, declutter and clean; try to schedule roofers to look at the new-or-relocated leak in the family room ceiling; oh, and we should try to go to work, too.

Speaking of work, my team is holding a lunch in my honor on Tuesday, and a happy hour at a local drinking establishment on Friday. It's a bit embarrassing to be approached about having these things, but I figure I've been working there 8 1/2 years, people (myself included) want some closure, so be gracious. (Brief glance inside my psyche: my brain keeps putting together speeches that include the phrases "I hope I haven't disappointed you all too badly in my time here," and "I like to think I've done more good than harm." Perhaps they won't ask me to say anything...) It will be hard to lose those daily connections I've made, and even harder to adjust to a work environment that doesn't include the tools I've come to depend on. But I'm sure I'll wax sentimental more in later posts this week.

A large glass of bourbon awaits me.

Rounding the corner

Today, I'm encouraged by the little things - nice weather, people watching (but not bidding on) my Ebay lots, the boys getting dressed by themselves.

Work is winding down. [Incidentally, today was Claire's last day at the Institute. As she was leaving the building, "Take This Job and Shove It" started playing over the intercom.] I met with my replacement today to start handing over spreadsheets and responsibilities. I'm trying to wind down the projects I have going. I've asked some of my people if there's anything they think I should try to complete before going. It's particularly odd because many of my closest colleagues have already left the Institute, and others are planning to leave, so it's a very weird vibe there right now. And while I recognize that, I'm also at the point where it doesn't affect me directly since I'm leaving, so I'm dissociated from it.

It looks like we'll finally have nice sunny warm weather for a weekend, so we'll try to get lots done with the cabinet painting. Sweetie is working very hard to get the upstairs completely done. I have scheduled a plumber to fix the disposal problem on Monday. I'm waffling on ending today's entry with "There is hope!" and "Tick tock, tick tock." Entirely different sentiments.

Pessimism

Today pessimism is setting in about our ability to get the house ready to sell by the end of the month. I've been totally defeated by the installation of the new disposal. The new sink is deeper and the new disposal mounts lower than the old, which means the drain pipe emerges from the wall too high to make the connection and drain properly. After 3 days of battle, I must concede defeat and call a plumber. This not only adds to our expenses, but also is yet another job to be scheduled, rather than completed.

Sweetie has started painting the vanity in the boys bathroom, but we still have not got anything arranged for the kitchen floor or the master bathroom countertop, and we still have to declutter the house, and hire a lawn service. (My mower is kaput, and I'm not going to buy a new one at this point.)

I'm also trying to sell some stuff on Ebay - Little People and Thomas toys and some old SLR cameras and lenses. It's very slow putting together the listings. So I've been getting punchy and my descriptions are getting sillier. Maybe it will help get people interested in the listing, although I'm pessimistic about selling anything.

Now that I've accepted, I need to arrange a trip out to CA to fill out paperwork and sign up for benefits, etc and also pick out housing. Another thing on my to-do list that keeps getting sidelined. Must do that tomorrow! To much to do...

The Deed is done

Well, it's official now. I've both signed the offer letter and handed in my resignation (effective April 30). A bit of a banner day. It's certainly sad to be leaving the place I've been working for 8 1/2 years, but at the same time ... it is really coming apart at the seams.

Here's the quick political run-down of what's going on at TIGR. The Institute was founded in 1992 by J. Craig Venter to work on sequencing a microbial genome. In 1995, the sequence of Haemophilus influenzae was published. In 1998, just before I was hired, Craig left TIGR to help start Celera and sequence the human genome. He left TIGR in the care of his wife, Claire Fraser. The Celera business model (at least in regards to the human genome data) went bust in 2002, and Craig 'retired' from Celera and started three new institutes (IBEA, TCAG, and JTC) as sister institutes to TIGR. In 2004, he merged the three institutes into the J. Craig Venter Institute (VI), and tried to merge TIGR as well (at the same time he started divorce proceedings with Claire), but a faculty 'revolt' convinced the board to keep TIGR separate for the time being. In 2006, it was decided, with the blessings of Craig, Claire and none of the TIGR faculty, that TIGR should be merged into the VI. This prompted much groaning from the faculty, including, surprisingly, Claire, who decided to leave the VI to start a new genomics institute at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (where her new husband works.) Many former-TIGR faculty are looking to go with Claire. This is leading to many employees having very unsettled feelings about their jobs. Like I said above, the place I work is coming apart at the seams.

So, while it is convenient that I am leaving at this point, this situation is not why I'm leaving. I've been in negotiations for this position for over a year (before the merger); it's just fickle fate that led to my official offer coinciding with the announcement of the split.

Meanwhile, back at home, Sweetie has started painting the bathroom cabinets, and I continue to struggle with the disposal. I just need one more part now. I'll try to get to it tomorrow. I've also started preparations to (not) sell some toys and cameras on Ebay.

We really need to solidify our moving/vacation schedule now. Among a million other things I need to get done before we move. Sigh.

Preparations

So it turns out moving to California is fraught with details - selling the house, reducing our stuff, moving our stuff, moving ourselves, etc.


Our most immediate concerns have been with getting the house ready for sale. We sat down and made a list of what we'd like to do to each room, which took up a full sheet of paper, in two columns. Our target date to get the house on the market is the end of April. So we've been quite busy. We've replaced all the exterior lighting fixtures, the fireplace doors, and the bathroom hardware (details, details). And we've painted just about the entire house. Well, we hired some guys to do it; but we pulled the wallpaper from the two-story foyer - a dreadful job. So now we have new paint in the family room (and an emergent leak in the roof, sigh), and the entire upper floor (4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms). Only the kitchen and the basement stairs to go.


The kitchen will have to wait until we're done with some other tasks. I've replaced the countertops, which of course means replacing the sink, faucet and garbage disposal. That's almost done, and only required about 8 trips to StuffMart. We only had two days without a sink. I'm quite pleased with myself for a) tackling this job and b) not screwing it up. I think my engineer ancestors would be proud.


We also participated in the community yard sale this weekend. We had some tears and outrage from Thing 1 and Thing 2 ("You were going to sell my BOWLING BALL!!!"). Thing 2 retrieved a teddy bear, which he has not put down since. We didn't sell as much as we had hoped (~ $150), but the weather was rather cold. We'll haul a car load of stuff to some charitable organization, and try to sell the bigger stuff on flyers at work and/or Ebay.


The carpet installation has been scheduled and the electrician has been scheduled. That leaves the bathroom countertop and the kitchen flooring as the big remaining items.

Our real estate agent was out today (with his team of four underlings, in case you were wondering where that 5 1/2% commission goes). The had been planning on taking some pictures for some 'pre-marketing', but the house is in a shambles with the painters just out on Saturday and the kitchen in the midst of overhaul. On top of that, the weather decided to knock out our power about 15 minutes before they arrived. We talked about comps and set a listing price. When we get the blurb from Larryboy, I'll post it.

We've tentatively scheduled a move date for July 10. Lori has planned a 16-day trip across the country, with the highlight being a swing up to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and then a stop in Yellowstone. It should be great fun. I hope the boys have the stamina for it. We really need to find time to try to solidify those plans if we're going to do it.

Job Offer!

I've been offered a job to work for the University of Southern California at the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. I'll be a Research Associate Professor in the Marine Environmental Studies section of the Biological Sciences Department. Initially I'll be working mostly with my former co-worker from TIGR (and friend) John Heidelberg on some environmental microbial genomics projects. But more on that later.

This job means, of course, that we'll be moving to southern California. A daunting prospect, moving across the country, made more complicated by the fact that we'll actually be living on Santa Catalina island in the small town of Two Harbors. Oh! The implications! Most people would think a move to the LA area would mean better weather than the DC area, but similar, if not worse, traffic, pollution, cost-of-living, outrageous real estate prices, etc. But moving to Catalina means small-town living (and I do mean small). There are only about 200 permanent residents in Two Harbors, there's one restaurant, a general store, and a one-room schoolhouse for kids from K-5; after that they ride a bus across the island to Avalon. Avalon is the larger town on the other side of the island. To get there you must traverse a 20 mile mostly dirt (or mud, depending on the season) road. The trip takes about fifty minutes. Avalon is also where the shopping is: grocery store, pharmacy, etc.

Needless to say, we're a little nervous about the radical change in lifestyle, but we're hoping benefits of island living outweigh the inconveniences. What are the benefits? Aside from the afore-mentioned better weather, there's the snorkel ling, diving, kayaking, fishing, hiking, biking, sailing, and star-gazing. We're looking forward to a lack of congestion (except during boating season), lower stress levels, shorter commutes and more 'down time'. Our living quarters will be smaller, but, as it says in the classic book Henry Builds a Cabin, it's just the room we'll wear when it's raining.

I'm planning on posting pictures, stories from prepping for the move, plans for our cross-country odyssey, and more in future posts.