End of An Era III

Posted Sun Dec 24, 2006 in University

I will never tire of mountain images. I already have a big collection just from the small amount of time we spent in the Carson Valley. I’m going to collect more images and I can’t wait to get my serious camera out there. I’m planning on upgrading my Nikon D100 to a D200 as soon as I can save the shekels. I already have some pretty good Nikon glass and am looking forward to exploring the area camera in tow. If things work out, I’m actually thinking about buying a field camera so I can do large-format negatives on real film. There is nothing digital that can capture as much information as a 4×5 negative.

I’ve spent considerable text explaining how I got to a mental place where we decided to leave Lubbock (and Texas Tech University) and move to a small Nevada town where I’ll work for a consultant. So far there’s been a lot of text. For the record, the first part of the story is here and the second part is here. Those two articles reveal the surprise decision and then a portion of the lengthy history of my family in Lubbock. What isn’t revealed is how the position came available and the backstory there. Let me elaborate.

On 05 June 2005, we watched Daughter and family depart on their way to Fairbanks, Alaska to start a new life. SiL had just finished a hardship tour in South Korea, resulting in a family separation that lasted more than a year. It was a good move for them, but the time leading up to the move and then the separation left me in a very bad place. It’s hard to explain, so maybe it’s better I don’t even try. Suffice it to say I was heartbroken when they departed.

In the ensuing months, I felt we’d lost much of what kept us in Lubbock. With them gone, I knew the remainder of my family would follow if we decided to leave Lubbock. I began to think seriously about leaving, and spent some time searching the web for possible jobs. I limited my geographic search because I wanted to live either near the mountains or near the ocean (or both). The south and midwest were out. Southern culture and climate don’t suit me well.

Eventually I found a listing for a senior-level civil engineer/hydrologist with a company in western Nevada. On a lark, I sent a copy of my resume to the email address on the listing. Not much time passed before I received an email and a phone call. A formal telephone interview and several other telephone conversations followed. The people seemed really good.

The job offer came, contingent on an interview trip to do a face-to-face. That seemed reasonable to me.

I struggled with the decision to even take the interview trip. I was still not in the best emotional condition, having just begun the process of rallying from a clinical depression. We prayed over the decision. I talked to trusted friends — we sought counsel wherever we could find wisdom.

In the end, as much as I desired to leave Lubbock, I didn’t feel the time was right. That’s true — it was a subjective decision. I felt there were things left undone and the timing seemed wrong. So, disappointed, I gave them the word that I wouldn’t spend their money to make the trip given I did not feel I could accept the position. They accepted my decision and we parted on good terms.

Much transpired between that date and the time the telephone rang a few weeks ago. A substantial body of work was completed and the reports generated. During a time of particularly high stress, I emailed the firm as a follow up. They had hired another engineer and he was performing well. Again disappointed and feeling trapped, I tabled the notion of leaving Lubbock and decided the door was simply closed.

I forgot about western Nevada and turned my attentions to the duties before me. As time passed, I seemed to draw additional duties which put additional pressure on the time available to do my own work. Nonetheless, I persevered and did my best to get everything done, keep my research program moving, meet my classes, and address the needs of my students.

Last semester I made a practice of leaving campus after class on Fridays. I wanted to be home where Wife and Young Son were, even if working in my workroom. One Friday shortly before Thanksgiving, I returned home from class to find a telephone message from the human resources person of the western Nevada firm.

I returned the call and the HR person stated, flatly, “We are in need of a hydrologist and the principal asked me to call and see if you might be interested.” Her voice was dull. Clearly she expected a negative answer. “Are you?” she asked.

I felt a stab of hope in my heart. I had been thinking about how I would stick out the time until we were released from Lubbock. “Well, as a matter of fact, I am.” I responded. Her vocal demeanor changed dramatically, her accent went nuts, and I could understand only some of her words. I got the message, though, that she was excited and encouraged that I responded positively.

A few days later we conducted another telephone interview and they invited my family and me to visit. We couldn’t leave until after Daughter and her family returned to Alaska, but we started plans to make the trip.

We fell in love with the place and the people. Many of them were open about their personal beliefs, although it never felt forced or false. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. I couldn’t believe it would work out.

But, it did. I would be practicing what I’ve been teaching for the last fourteen years. I would be working in the discipline I trained and actually building things again, after nearly two decades of paper-chasing.

It’s been challenging, mentally and emotionally, to get this through my head. I’m actually changing careers, leaving teaching to practice. I’ve second-guessed myself several times and wondered what-the-hell am I doing. It’s been an intellectual/emotional roller coaster at times.

Changing careers will do that, I think.

So, we’re moving forward to a new place. A friend said to me “Never leave something; always go to something.” I think those are wise words and I’ve taken them to heart. Despite the bitterness that might be implied from Part II, I really don’t think much about what we’re leaving; I think a lot about where we’re going and what I’ll be doing.

I’m sure there will be challenges to surmount. I think that’s OK — it’s part of life to face challenges and move past them. This is a good thing, I believe.

To sum up, what are the odds that:

1. I’d find a position that matches my qualifications in a small engineering firm through the monster.com website…
2. I’d qualify through a telephone interview and be offered a position, subject to an interview trip…
3. I’d turn down the opportunity because it “didn’t feel like the right time for a move” and watch the opportunity slip away…
4. Some time later I’d learn the person hired was doing an excellent job…
5. After about one and one-half years a telephone call would come with the position open again…
6. We’d make the interview trip, fall in love with the place and the people, and all of the details would work out…

Either this is the biggest serendipity that has ever existed, or we’ve been blessed. I think it’s the latter, personally. I don’t believe in coincidence.

I’m also looking forward to the move — not the process, but the end result. I think we’re going to be very happy in Nevada.