Misc.

Excuse the random video posting sans comment, but I'm still trying to get my brain back, and I felt awkward launching in to this post immediately following the news about Dad. What can I say? I have successors* guilt.

I'm getting my brain back because Tuesday was the committee meeting, followed by very nice impromptu dinner with friends, then three days of workshopping at the CDC with my new boss, followed by this head cold (which I really, really hope 25 hours of sleep over two days is enough to knock out).

So. The CDC workshop was interesting and informative, but mostly featured me seeing my boss speak publicly for the first time, and trying hard not to drool. I have admired this guy, and his work, for about three years now, and seeing him do the whole passionate presenter thing was intense. Working closely with him for three days is also an excellent lesson in thinking of myself as his equal and walking in to rooms with that sort of confidence. (though, to be honest, I think a good deal of my job description will also be to carry his/our message with somewhat more tact and diplomacy)

We blew off one afternoon of the workshop to hole up in his hotel room and write code and analyze data and I can't even begin to tell you how awesome and fun that was. This is so precisely the right job for me. And - I'm good at it! I don't know what more I could possibly ask for.

Oh, wait, because the new boss also spent the past three days rattling off all the places he plans to send me. First on the list (though I'm trying not to get too excited because I know this could all change) is a trip to The Netherlands in July to watch him testify at The Hague. Plus, when I mentioned the possibility of penciling in some vacation time in December to attend my brother's wedding (round II) in Nepal he said oh, we have tons of work to do either there or in Thailand, so we'll just come up with some project and then pay for your plane ticket out there! (wedding guests are staying at the Yak and Yeti hotel; how can you not love that?)

*this is the closest version of survivors guilt I can come up with - Dad successfully worked for the same company for 32 years, was 1950s Dad, and provided for his family. Now he's losing his job (it all feels a lot more like getting fired than retiring) and I'm embarking on my shiny new dream job. I've got some guilt over gushing about just how happy this job makes me.