So, I've been pretty quiet about what exactly I've been up to for a while now, but some big stuff has happened lately and I felt like sharing. I forget exactly how much I've told you all here or on IRC, so I guess I'll give a quick rundown from the beginning so it all makes some sense. If you're not interested, just read the last few blocks of text. If you're really not interested, please follow
this link.
I moved to the Bay Area over a decade ago to go to Berkeley and, after a couple of years, managed to get myself kicked out. I had two problems back then: I thought I was way smarter than I actually am and I didn't really care enough to try and work. Eventually my grades got bad enough that I was asked to leave. This was around the time that I came into contact with a lot of you and around the time when AOG was starting to form up (not to put fault on you all, just to place it our collective history). Rather than leave, I worked at a local copy store for a few years. It served me well enough and I enjoyed the work, but after a while I decided that I need to get back at school and not completely throw away the opportunity I had when I first came to Berkeley.
This started at a community college in San Francisco where I rebuilt my foundation as a student. Several years of being a poor student and working at a copy store left me pretty rusty as a student, so I spent a good chunk of my time just relearning my basic math and science stuff. This also gave me time to figure out what I actually wanted to study. When I first came to college I figured I would do something in science and sort of discovered geology right before I was kicked out. I gave geology another shot when I returned to school and pretty much instantly decided that I would major in it. To me, geology is essentially the fun science where you can use all that physics, math, and chemistry (and even biology if you want), but manages to use these things without being completely dry. Plus, we got to do all sorts of cool field work. Also,
there's beer. After two years, I was able to get myself readmitted to Berkeley. I more or less came in as a junior transfer student and was able to focus on all my upper division classes. It's been a year and a half since that return and it's been completely awesome. I literally can't think of a time that I have enjoyed what I've been doing nearly as much.
Since coming back to Berkeley I've managed to do pretty well for myself. I've had good grades and managed to get a sweet research position for an undergrad. Last week, everything started to pay off and as I've learned that I've been accepted into two Ph.D. programs and have been invited to visit the campus at another school. I applied to a few other schools, but I've basically already heard positive stuff from my top three schools at this point. As a Ph.D. student my research and work I'll probably do as a teaching assistant should cover my cost and in the end I'll be a freaking doctor... that rocks (you can thank Que for that one).
It's hard for me to believe. I didn't expect or plan for this to happen when I first came back to school, when I got back into Berkeley, or even before last summer. It really wasn't until last September that everything started to come together and the people I was working under encouraged me to try and apply. Turns out they were right. The next step is to start visiting schools and make my choice, which will make the next month or so a busy one as I visit places on both sides of the country. It's also become a bit scary. At this point I'll be moving where ever I go and there's a good chance I'll be moving someplace very different than where I am now. The Bay Area has been my home for over a decade now and it's hard to leave that.
To make matters simultaneously better, but slightly more complicated, I am now engaged. I proposed to Aimee last December after a decade long... non-engagement? We've lived together for about six or seven of those years. While we were essentially married in my mind, it was time to do something more official and there was no better opportunity to do that than on our tenth anniversary of being a couple. Aimee will be moving with me where ever I go, so it's her decision as well.
So yeah. There you have it. Crazy ass times. In the past month and a half I've basically seen a good chunk of my life just laid out before me and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with how it's all turned out. It's pretty different from what I imagined would happen when I first started to put together the plan to get back to school four years ago, but I think this is better than what was even my best case scenario back then. I have a lot of you to thank for that as well. While you certainly haven't helped me study harder much of the time, you've all been here as a pleasant constant throughout most of the ride and I'm glad I for it.
Also: Law? Ha. I get hit rocks with a hammer and call it science. Eat it.
