End of An Era I

Posted Sat Dec 9, 2006 in University

While en-planed at the Las Vegas airfield yesterday, another Boeing 737 pulled into the slot next to ours to discharge its load of passengers. The juxtapostion of colors and angles caught my eye and so I made the image. The image is not quite as sharp as I’d like, nor is the contrast spot-on, but it’s an interesting image nonetheless and so I decided to share.

What were we doing in Las Vegas? I can tell you it sure wasn’t to join the party crowd aboard our Lubbock—Las Vegas leg. No, we were on our way to Reno, Nevada and thence to Minden, Nevada where we’ll be moving shortly.

I resigned my position at Texas Tech University to return to private practice. After fourteen years of university life, I’m rejoining the ranks of practicing engineers.

Of course a number of folks will ask me “Why?” It’s a fair question and one I intend to explore on these pages over the course of the next few weeks. I don’t mind sharing much of what I’ve learned over the last fourteen years and no one will be damaged by what I have to say.

I know of webloggers who got into some serious trouble because they wrote about things where they worked. I can see why that happened because those things were inappropriate. They either damaged individual reputations are wrote about their employer in an inappropriate fashion. I’ve never done that, even when I’ve had struggles with relationships between individuals. I know there are two sides to every story and sharing the bloody details is not appropriate. I won’t do that.

What I’ll say this morning is that I’m really happy for the first time in a long time. I love where I am right now, looking out the window at the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. Lake Tahoe is 15 minutes from here. Minden is a small town, but these people are westerners and they have that western attitude. The folks I’ve interacted with are open and friendly.

I don’t know what to do with my feelings. I asked God for a gift and he gave me one — big time.

There will be more, and I have many images to share.