The rest of the week went a lot better. Wednesday we won our trivia night, and felt better, especially listening to the two teachers who were in the classroom all day, closing out for the year.
The new job is pretty good. It is kind of hard to describe, but in short I am the right-hand-man for a guy who is basically a consultant. His field is computer AI, training/programming computers to interpret various inputs and act on them. He jokes that his PhD dissertation was SkyNet. We both speak nerd and that is a good thing. The business could be described as a think tank, if there were more people. Friday we brought in three other doctorates (professors) from U of Memphis to talk about some of the proposals we are writing - that is the business end of things. We write proposals for SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) funding, usually from a branch of the government. Phase 1 is the starting point - proposing a solution to a problem, and showing you have expertise to further research a solution. If granted, you get a small grant, usually $70,000 to $100,000, and an invitation to submit for Phase 2, where you do the research and create a limited model, if approved. We are submitting a Phase 2 in a hurry - Phase 1 was approved a month ago (we should have been told a year ago). Plus 4 other Phase 1 write-ups...one is entirely my own, the others I am organizing but will have lots of input from the people who will do the research. Relaxed atmosphere, I know what to do and have no problems with asking questions, bouncing things off of others, etc. And I feel valued for my intellect, even if I have fewer letters after my name than everybody else (one or more PhDs for all involved, except myself, with a lowly Masters). I am contracted for June, and hopefully some funding will come in that will allow me to be put on full time (fingers crossed). Government money is funny that way - it can be "discovered" near the end of a fiscal period and need to be spent in a short amount of time (as happened to the company last year), which means money gets tossed around, computers and other hardware are purchased, etc.
Also this past Saturday I finished my GRE/GMAT sessions, which were sparsely attended but well received. Another time when I can let my nerd flag fly and not worry about sounding smart.
Hot as hell here lately. Air not moving, so ozone alerts all the time, which means the backyard is growing tall from not mowing. I am managing to water the garden plants daily, though, so things are looking good. Fig tree is waist high and thriving. New trees are doing OK now that I have prevented the dog from jumping on them. Wild pumpkin (we had one from last year dissolve, and I hosed it off the concrete, where it is now growing wildly), tomatoes, raspberry are all showing good growth. And the blueberry bush that usually gets picked over by birds has a bumper crop, with plenty of ripe fruit not claimed by avian scavengers.
Each day I relax a little bit more. It is a slow process, and I work at not stressing myself over things, and so far it is working. I am spending more time reading, and plan to get back to some sort of exercise program soon. Happy is in the forecast.
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