A new job, a new home, a new life
It's true. I am no longer a resident of Pennsylvania. I am living now in the great state of North Carolina. The move came immediately after Anthrocon 2013. Essentially, I returned to Philadelphia to drop off the equipment that is stored there, then made a right turn and headed south.
It was quite a change for me, and not an easy one. I had been living in the Philadelphia area for about 18 years, not far from where I grew up; most of my dearest friends were there, I owned a lovely condominium of which I was quite fond, I had municipal responsibilities and multiple volunteer positions. Sadly, though, I was not very happy with my job. The details of that are not for discussion here (though at a bar, over a drink that someone else pays for, is a different matter); we'll just say that it was time for me to look for greener pastures. The trouble is that there are no greener pastures for a Ph.D. scientist in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Many large pharmaceutical companies that were located there had closed up shop in recent years, and they have dumped hundreds, perhaps thousands of degreed chemists onto the streets. Fellows like me quickly became a dime-a-dozen, and it wasn't long before employers figured that out and started to treat us so. Indeed, it was time to expand my job search beyond the back yard.
Research Triangle beckoned. I suppose it's where all scientists wind up eventually. I got a call in March from a rather well-established group outside of Raleigh who were looking for a brilliant chemist with just the right mix of organic and analytical chemistry under his belt. I told them that I didn't know anyone like that but I could probably fill in for him until he showed up. They had me down for an interview in April, and then again in May. The offer that followed was surprisingly generous, enough to overcome my reluctance to pull up the roots that I'd spent so much time cultivating, although not rising to the level of "The Myth" that I believed so earnestly in when I was a student.
So here I am, sitting in a nice little condominium which despite being cozy and having a beautiful view of a lake, still doesn't quite feel like "home," and I'm not sure if it ever will. Life goes on, however, so I simply have to make the best of it.
A lot of people have asked me a lot of questions, and since I've been repeating the same answers over and over, I figured I might as well put something of a FAQ list here in my too-long-neglected LiveJournal.
Is Anthrocon moving to North Carolina?
Hell, no. Pittsburgh is our home and we have no intention of going anywhere else. We also remain incorporated in Pennsylvania, and we have a physical address there, even though I am still handling administrative matters and opening all the mail down here.
Are you still going to be the chairman of Anthrocon?
As long as the Board of Directors can tolerate me. I ran the convention from 300 miles away. Now I'll just have to run it from 500 miles away. One of the changes we made was to transfer as much equipment as possible to Pittsburgh (and we are purchasing more to make up for what we borrowed from Philcon) so there won't be any need to rent a gigantic truck for the Grand Trek to the con.
Why did you wait so long before telling anyone that you were moving?
I wanted to wait until after the convention when I could explain everything at my leisure (as the length of this journal attests). As you can imagine, preparations for Anthrocon, and its administration onsite eat up a lot of my energy, and brainpower, and the last thing that I needed was to have to answer a bunch of questions, such as the one that follows.
So are you going to be starting a new convention in North Carolina?
No. Hell, no. F***, no. Being in charge of one convention is more than enough for me, thank you very much. If someone else wants to start a convention down here, I am more than happy to offer advice, and to help out in any way that does not require me to get out of my chair.
How do you like North Carolina?
I find it agreeable. Some of the politics are not to my taste, but I do not let that distract me. The little town where I live is very nice and I am enjoying living here, with the possible exception of the drivers.
Are there lots of Furries down there?
A very large number, in fact, more than I found in the Philly area. They have regular picnics and furmeets that can attract upwards of 80 people at a time. They're good folk, too -- but then, they're Furries. That's how we are.
Do you miss Pennsylvania?
Deeply. But as I said, one must make the best of it.
Do your parents still live in Philadelphia?
They do. I'm working on that, bit by bit.
Can I come visit you?
You should know that I am very fond of spiders, and encourage them to take up residence in my home. Maybe it's better if we meet for coffee someplace!
Are you doing any emergency management work down in North Carolina?
No. They've got a pretty well-established emergency management system down here already, and quite frankly, it was starting to really wear me down having so much responsibility for so many different organizations. I'm taking a break from the emergency business, at least for now.
Do you still like the same kind of wine?
Yes. German riesling, Mosel Valley, or Washington State riesling, Columbia Valley, neither any older than 3 years.
Who do you work for?
That would be telling.