From Then to Now

How did I get here?

If I am to be honest with myself, this recent career development has been a long time coming. That said, it has been a bit of a surprise. Bouncing fully out of my engineering job in 2017 was a very calculated maneuver. As was coming back just a little over a year later. After five more years at the same job, a number of developments internal and external to my life, some fantastic and some terrible, seem to have forced the issue. Not my usual, carefully crafted, long term plan. Let’s not get it twisted, though; I still love math, thermodynamics and mechanical design, but it has become painfully clear that that path was not one I could continue to follow in exclusion. This world has some big problems that demand equally big technical solutions. Turning my back on that feels completely awful, so I maintain my status as a part-timer, and pursue this other thing with all of my remaining energy. Is engineering now the hobby?

So, where to now, then? Boldly forward, I guess! The above photo is of the first day of my glorious un-retirement. Just a cheesy self portrait, taken on a cliff overlooking Tariffville, CT, early in the morning while waiting for the morning light that never really came. I suppose this is just what I do now. The stakes seem a bit high, but I’m in it for the long haul. Wish me luck!

[One For The Road - Baxter State Park, Maine - 2.11.23]