over 20 years ago i started a new job on cape cod. friday, august 13, 2021 was my last day in the office. i began as a 30 year old who had not really figured out if my dreams were achievable and i am leaving as a 50 year old who feels prepared for just about anything, having developed an unsuspected and probably undeserved career. as an aside, sometimes feel i won the job lottery. the adventure ahead is as an exciting step into the unknown as erica and i have ever taken together. marriage, building a house, starting a short-lived self published magazine, taking in our first of several dogs together, i suspect this next step forward into a new unknown will be as challenging and rewarding as all of those and very possibly much, much, more!
however, before we get to that, i want to send some heartfelt appreciation to all of the colleagues in the oceanographic tech community i have had the pleasure to work with. there are hundreds and hundreds of you. your dedication, support and collaboration has quite literally been pivotal in making so many of my own dreams come true. we are quite a team and if i could, i would bear-hug everyone of you today! i cannot thank you enough. hopefully you can feel this virtual appreciation, you all mean so much to me.
i will only name one of you colleagues here and only because his words- spoken after a slocum glider traveled across the atlantic ocean for the first time- have become synonymous with how i believe a great many of us in this community feel. doug webb said, “i have three simple rules: work hard, have fun, change the world.” i often like to add, “two out of three ain’t bad.” myself, i sit here today in awe, as i think back to my teen self, considering a career in photojournalism, dreaming of an assignment traveling the world making photographs. i am, quite literally, embarassed when i say that this oceanography “side hustle” fufilled this dream and so much more. i have accompanied the robots and their handlers to every continent, with camera in hand. on this fine august morning sitting on my porch collecting myself for a moment to reflect, i can proudly proclaim and with great pride say, we have worked hard, we have had fun, and in doing so we have actually changed the world. i have pictures to prove it!
over the last few months i have not posted in the realm of social media about this adventure that starts today because i have enjoyed so much revealing this next leap of faith in a lifetime of casual moments to as many of you in person as possible. today i have run out of time, erica and i become facebook official! we are moving to england. specifically, i will be joining the glider team at the national oceanography center in southampton. my flight to heathrow leaves in about twelve hours. the adventure begins! stay tuned- i cannot wait to share this with you!
