Just dropped in

This turned out to be my season for visits to Minneapolis! I was actually en route to a conference in Toronto, and my 30 minute connection in Minneapolis became an unplanned 30 hour layover, due to a fire in the airport that disabled most of the systems there. I took advantage of the stop to visit with friends Scott, Patrick, and Ilene for brunch.

Unhappily, my luggage went AWOL for most of the trip, and I got to wear these clothes for four straight days.

The lineup

In the faculty lineup in Pasadena for the annual commencement ceremony. I march in with the College of Allied Health faculty and don't really have anything to do other than clap for the graduates. I still enjoy the ceremonies, long as they are. This was my last ceremony for Western, and I felt that was going to be the case, even if I didn't know how my interview in Minnesota would turn out.

Mission Control

Back at work, we're testing a teamwork simulation assessment I developed. It was a lot of fun being in the control room monitoring everything on four-way split screen.

So we loaded up the truck and moved to...

We went to Bouchon in Beverly Hills for Mother's Day. I think it was our only visit to Beverly Hills while we were in LA. We walked down Rodeo Drive and had a lovely champagne brunch, feeling (for a moment) like LA people.

He's checking it twice

On my way back to LA, I spotted this gentleman in the Delta Sky Club in Salt Lake City.

I didn't realize that Santa flew commercial during the rest of the year.

Science!

I snapped this shot of the forecourt of a new biomedical science building at the U, on my way back from the job interview. It was good to be back on campus.

A change of scenery

After a year in California, I decided to start applying for other positions. My job was pretty good, but Rachel was unable to find work, and we still felt like our life was a temporary situation. I wasn't looking for any new job at all, but something that might take us back home.

In December, I applied for a position at the University of Minnesota. I heard nothing in response and forgot about it. Then, in February, they reached out to me for a video interview. In March, they asked me to come out to Minneapolis. If nothing else, it was a free trip and a chance to visit the place I thought of as home. (I hadn't been back since a weekend in September 2009, when I was still trying to sell our old house.)

So, May 4 finds me admiring the mountain view from the Salt Lake City airport, on my way back to Minnesota.