Moving on...again

So as many already know, back in January I moved to Reno, NV. It didn't take. Over Memorial Day weekend I moved back to San Diego. The original plan was to get my PhD in Environmental Engineering at UNR. I thought I was going to enjoy my research and the department and dislike the Reno area. It turns out I had things pretty near backwards. Reno itself is a pretty horrible place to be, but the surrounding area is fantastic. The Sierras are beautiful, Lake Tahoe takes your breath away, and the desert has its own unique beauty. Unfortunately, UNR and I weren't really a match. I was working in the Membrane Research Group, and as it turn out, membrane science bores me to death. To top it off, course offerings in the department were slim and didn't really interest me either. In the end, my sanity demanded I get out of Reno. I couldn't simultaneously do research that didn't interest me and be so far from my family and friends. I at least need one or the other to sustain myself.

Fortunately, through a long series of rather coincidental occurrences, I was offered a prestigious fellowship from the US Department of Education to attend UC Riverside, which is about and hour and a half north of San Diego. It's the GAANN Fellowship, which stands for Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need. Fortunately for me, there is apparently a need for women and minorities in engineering education and research. I'm giving myself until September to decide if it's the right decision, but it's nice to have options.

In the mean time I got my old job back (with a raise) in San Diego. That means I'll be working as a Research Associate in the Pediatric Nephrology Lab (kidneys) at UCSD through September. It's a job I love so I feel fortunate the position was still open for me to return to. That and it's really nice to be near my friends again. Some of us have know each other over ten years now so I consider them family. If home is where the heart is, then home sweet home!