Wed, 09 Jul 2008

I’m from the government and I’m here to help

About 14 months after leaving AARP, I’ve accepted a position with the US Patent and Trademark Office. I owe (and will always owe) a huge debt of gratitude to Sarah for her steadfast support in the decision to leave AARP and for keeping the job hunt focused on a high quality of life.

I expect the new position to be challenging and interesting and hence fun. And I’m very happy to look forward to a walking commute — the PTO moved to our neighborhood about 5 years ago. I’m sure I’ll be learning about lots of new things and I’m very pleased to embark on that while keeping a focus on the Internet and Web technologies.

I enjoyed the chance during my job search to meet with many interesting and helpful folks: I’m glad Forum One is out there; they are good people doing good things. The couple of meetings I had with the American Educational Research Association were very interesting in light of my work in AARP’s Research Group and the work of both my dad and brother in education. As cancer has touched too many people important to me, I was very happy with the interviews I had with the American Society of Clinical Oncologists; I wish the job had been a better match for my skills and interests. And while I really liked the folks I met at the American Academy of Child and Clinical Psychiatry, I’m glad to be spared the non-metro accessible commute. At the American Institute of Architects I learned the truism that a short interview is often a bad interview — but I enjoyed the chance to learn more about their challenges and improve my interviewing technique.

And I can’t express how lucky I feel at having been able to spend so much time with Robert at this age. While Sarah has been feeling it for a while, I’ve just started to really realize some of the changes coming as he starts school (junior kindergarten) next September on a 5 day a week schedule.

5 comments

comments...

Gina Stanford wrote

Congrats, they are very lucky to get you!!! I promise I won't hound you for a job!!! All the best..

SZap wrote

I really like the "huge debt" part:)

dan wrote

re: Huge debt
He wouldn't be as smart as I thought he was if he'd missed that opportunity for a little "matrimonial maintenance".

SZap wrote

Fortunately he is just that smart. :)

lizkdc wrote

Big congratulations. Any team will be very fortunate to have you. Big props for savoring the good moments during the long haul, and just being a good example of having a cool life.

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