Successful Across the Nation Speaking Tour Completed

Late yesterday I drove back to Los Angeles, after three weeks of touring astronomy departments from Tuscon to New England. I am grateful to all those who hosted me and who spoke to me. I appreciate many people letting me present my talk either through my presentation book or though a more formal talk process. It is necessary for a scientist to get feedback, and I am grateful to all who gave feedback. I am especially grateful for the patience of those astronomers who understand that I have not had the normal professional interchange due to being sent home in a manner that has denied me the normal collegial sociality that scientists expect.

I am continuing to job search, even considering a return to graduate school arrangement. My next new effort will be to speak publicly about my mission to be an astronomer who has my career, family, and friends. Family means marriage and children, so I could this as four goals. I will openly claim my history and future: to not let someone powerful have the final say on my four goals of career, friends, or how I seek marriage and children. I choose to publicly seek these four purposes of life: perhaps I will get them, or perhaps not, but either way, I would rather people know how employment in science affects obtaining these most important things in life.

Onward for having career, family, and friends!