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.
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1 comment:
Bill and Lori (and of course, Daniel and Zachery),
Congratulations on your move -- how exciting and scary that must be for all of you. But, what an adventure! Hopefully we'll make it out to California to see you sometime. In the meantime we'll be thinking of you and all the work you are doing to get ready. Good Luck!
Love,
Aunt Bev & Uncle Jim Huckaba
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