Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Moving (temporarily) to Massachusetts

Today I accepted a temporary position as a Laboratory Assistant at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. I will be sorting and identifying invertebrates from samples taken in an ongoing survey of forested watersheds, for a total of twenty-eight weeks beginning in late May or early June.

The project is a joint effort of the Department of Natural Resources Conservation at UMass, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

I am quite excited by this opportunity, but a bit apprehensive, too. I still have to find a place to live, for example. Any help in that department is most welcome. I don’t have enough time to pack-up all my belongings (including my large insect collection), so will be maintaining my Tucson residence while I am away. The “new economy” seems to translate to the “nomadic economy.” Lots of short-term work available in my field, but little permanent employment. I am still extremely grateful, mind you.

This blog and Sense of Misplaced will be maintained as best as I am able in the coming weeks and months, but your patience is appreciated during the transition period. Oh, and feel free to recommend a good laptop, too, as it looks like I’m going to need to get one.

7 comments:

  1. Good luck, Eric. Think of it as an adventure - with a chance collect in the great northeastern deciduous forest. Just in time for blacklighting season!
    regards--ted

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  2. Congrats on the new gig. That's a beautiful part of the country.

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  3. Congratulations Eric, what a great opportunity for you. The challenges you face now will all be worth it once you are established there and begin work. I am with Ted, definitely an adventure with endless insects collecting possibilities! Can we say jealous? Have fun!

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  4. Congrats, Eric. New England is beautiful, I'm sure you'll do well there.

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  5. Congrts on the job! You'll really enjoy it up there. You'll be up in the northeast for the best part of the year - you'll have missed the blackfly season mostly (you'll still have to deal with some mosquitoes), you'll get to enjoy the New England forests when they're at their lushest and most beautiful in the height of summer, and be able to watch everything change colour through the fall. And then, once the display is over, return back south for the winter months!

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  6. Congratulations! Keep an eye out for ticks, reports I've heard is that they are plentiful. You'll really like it there. As for laptops, I personally would go for a Mac, but HP isn't too bad. Oh and lobsters have been pretty cheap too.

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  7. Congratulations and best of luck.

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