Re-entry to Juneau hasn't been nearly as dramatic, but maybe similarly challenging. On the positive side, it's been simply wonderful to see old friends and neighbors on the street and to be genuinely welcomed home. One of Celia's friends even made a welcome home poster to hang on our door. And my co-workers had a delightful banner on my office door, complete with balloons and personal photos.We've also seemed to catch the tail end of Juneau's Best Summer Ever. Warm days and sultry nights only to be marred by an occasional batch of wildfire smoke blown in from the Yukon. It's raining lightly now while I write, but you get the feeling that the sun will be back soon. Last week, I even got to go on the annual voyage to Sweetheart Creek with the boys. 40 boat miles south of Juneau, one can catch up to 25 sockeye salmon a day with a net. The fish were few that day (we only caught four), but just up the creek from us, we watched a sow brown bear fish for salmon for her three young cubs. At one point, all the cubs were napping with their heads on the rocks while momma bear tore fish flesh in her mouth.
On the downside has been a flummoxing employment situation. My leaving Juneau for my fellowship coincided with a vast reorganization of my employer. At the time, it seemed removing myself from the organizational structure was the right thing to do. But now, returning to the agency, I don't have a clearly identified role. For the past few months, I've been in the application process for the CEO position for the agency. Just two days ago, I received word that I didn't get the job.
So now what?
In my confusion, I decided to take a few weeks off and paint the house, like I've been meaning to do for a few years now. Scraping paint for the past four days has given me a certain amount of solace. It's incremental, but you can see the impact of your work. And it's somewhat satisfying when you pry off a big chunk of paint chips all at once. We'll see if the weather holds enough for me to get a coat or two down. But at least my role is clear and the path forward is not uncertain.
Professionally, I'm pursuing a new research project through my fellowship. There may be a possibility of working half-time from my house on a research project for 15 months or so. It would be some great experience to conduct a research project from start to finish, with the help of some expert advisors. And I could take a turn at primary caregiver, something I've been wanting to do. Celia just starts kindergarten this year. And Ferguson is more and more interactive every day. I'm hoping it works out. I'd like to be back on some steady tracks for a while. This little caboose doesn't do so well sitting in the rail yard, waiting for an engine to hook up to.
