Post #84 - A special dedication, personal and professional shake-ups ahead....

This post is going to be very long and much more personal than usual. If you make it through one post on this blog please make it this one. I will get to birds, I promise. Here goes.

First, I should briefly summarize the two years since I got off the bicycle at the end of 2014 as it will frame what follows. Sonia and I were planning on moving back to Boston at the conclusion of that adventure. Our plans changed completely in February of 2015 when Sonia's mother was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer and given less than 2 years to live. As I had no job at that time and Sonia worked remotely, we decided to move to LA so that Sonia could be closer to her mom.

Our 2015 move....

I was fortunate to have a friend and former MGH/Harvard colleague offer me a job at USC when she heard we were moving to LA. We now have a perfect arrangement; She gets someone over-qualified to help her run her lab (we study small RNA biogenesis), and I get the freedom to travel whenever I want. That's how I have been able to travel so much while still holding a "real job". I hate my commute (60-75 mins, each way), but I otherwise enjoy the work and the flexibility it provides me.

Our plan was to stay in LA until Sonia's mom inevitably passed and then move somewhere - anywhere - else. The familiar Boston was one possibility. The outdoorsy Colorado was another. Our respective professional situations would dictate a lot, but with Sonia working remotely in the travel industry and me holding a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Genetics, I wasn't too worried about finding work where ever we ultimately landed.

Fast forward to September of this year. Sonia's mom was taken off of chemotherapy and put into hospice care as her condition worsened. Sonia was at that same time offered an incredible job in San Francisco. Sonia turned the job down, citing the obvious need to be near her mom and family here in LA. The company - incredibly - understood her circumstances and made her a revised offer, one that bent policy to let her work remotely while her mom's situation resolved. At that time, Sonia and I would move to SF.

It pains me greatly to report that Sonia's mom, Yolanda, passed 3 weeks ago. We were all in her home with her as she peacefully slipped away. I won't go into too much detail as that is really her family's story to tell, but I would like to dedicate this entry to her memory. She was one of the kindest, most caring human beings I have ever met, and she will be missed by all that knew her, myself included. November 30 would have been her 71st birthday.

Sonia and Yolanda in Costa Rica (May 2015)

In the wake of these events, Sonia and I are slowly turning our attention towards Northern California. There will still be more people and more traffic in SF than what I consider ideal, but I am cautiously optimistic that the Bay Area and surrounds will suit us better than does Southern California. It is easier to escape SF than it is LA. I am familiar with the Bay Area from my undergraduate time at Stanford, so I at least have an idea of what to expect. LA was never a long-term option for us; Though we don't expect it to be, SF might prove so. Only time will tell, right?

Our future home....

I will need obviously to resign my position at USC when we move in the next few months. This will hurt quite a bit as I am doubtful that I will be able to find an arrangement as perfect anywhere else. Rather than immediately looking for an equivalent position, I am, as of now, planning taking some time off to pursue a couple of other projects. 

The first of these is my book. I had hoped to have it finished by the end of this year, but that it just not going to happen. Working and commuting 60 hours per week is not at all conducive to writing, particularly when one understands that the book is as much about my alcoholism as it is a bird-motivated bicycle trip around America. It has been a really personal and very challenging process to expose myself in a way that I hope people will find both identifiable and interesting. I'm getting really close, so two full-time months to finish it off will probably do it. Here's a bird, since you've made it this far. This was taken here in LA County three weeks ago.

Eared Grebe (winter plumage) - Podiceps nigricollis

Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO + 1.4x III on EOS 7D2

1/2500 at f/5.6, ISO 400

***Click on image for higher resolution view***

What lies after the book project is finished is far less certain. I could always find work in some scientific capacity, either at a university or a biotech company. I am, alternatively, giving serious consideration to trying to make birding, photography, writing, and adventuring my full-time job. This would take a leap at least a large as my original bicycle trip, and I must confess that the whole idea is at this time both exciting and terrifying. There is certainly a degree of practicality that needs to be considered, but with a confidence in a scientific fall-back plan and a supremely talented and amazingly understanding spouse, the whole notion might just be crazy enough to work. There is also serious consideration being given to "Biking for Birds 2", but I'll keep the details of that prospect under wraps for right now.

I would also like to know if any of you might have any interest in traveling/birding/photographing with me as a guide. I think that I am decent company and that I don't smell too terribly bad - most days. If I had a few folks who wanted to go to Costa Rica or Colombia I feel confident that I could put together something really awesome for us. I'm not sure I want or would be able to guide full-time, but, if I could fit some of that around whatever else I fall into, it might work well as a part-time gig. Seriously, I'd love to hear from you guys. Ideas beyond adventuring, writing, and guiding are also welcome - encouraged even. Conservation, non-profit, anything! Birds occupy so much of my personal life, that I may as well think about making them my part of my professional life. If you don't feel comfortable commenting publicly, you can always send me an email at thespeckledhatchback@gmail.com. Public comments are great as they allow others to chime in on them, so please consider that.

OK, that's it. I know this is a departure from the usual bird- and photo-centric content, but this is what's happening right now. The move is really giving me pause to think about what I want moving forward, and I wanted to share my situation and thoughts on it with you. Thanks for sticking it out; It really means a lot me.

One more bird. This is a species that has surprisingly eluded me here is SoCal. They're so common that I kinda take them for granted. Their calls echo around any park or open space around here. We don't get much Autumn color in LA, so I spent quite a bit of time trying to position him against this small sample for the shot. I hope you like it.

Black Phoebe - Sayonis nigricans

Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II on EOS 7D2

1/1600 at f/7.1, ISO 800
***Click on image for higher resolution view***