Lots of news here lately...
First, last weekend I received this,
In case you can't read the small type they are letters from the Provost and President of Pepperdine congratulating me on receiving tenure and promotion to Associate Professor. :-) This is a significant milestone in a journey that began over 10-years ago when I looked frankly at my life as a consultant and decided
"I do not want to be writing code ten years from now."
For the past year+ I've been thinking that if I received tenure, I would celebrate by purchasing a new, sportier motorcycle. However, over the past year our family car has begun having some significant issues... some of them cosmetic (paint, electric windows, general signs of aging), and some more structural (hey, it's a Toyota!). So, I simply couldn't feel good about buying an NTT (New Tenure Toy) while the family was in an aging wagon. With all of this on my mind, we went for a hike on Saturday afternoon on the
Backbone Trail (which is literally minutes from our house). Here's an picture from the trail...
After the hike we went shopping for geraniums at a local nursury. However, we were too late and the nursury was closed. Keyes Nissan, however, was still open. One thing led to another, and before you know it, we were saying goodbye to our beloved 2001 Sienna (you can see Marcus wasn't quite ready to part with it).
And we were driving home in a beautiful 2006 Nissan Armada. Michelle, being a Texan, has always had a thing for big trucks. So, this is just up her alley.
To keep the celebration going, on Monday, Michelle drove up to her orthodontist and had her braces removed! Here's her new smile...
Having secured the new family wagon, and paid off the orthodontist I felt much better about heading out to the local Thousand Oaks Powersports on Tuesday and signing up for a 2009 Kawi Versys. I rode the Green Lantern home on Tuesday night.
Now I just need a matching green jacket and helmet and I'll be set! The bike is a great combination of sporty handling, but comfortable riding position. It's got a much higher "fun factor" than my cruiser and with a few adjustments (lower foot pegs and a softer seat) I think it will be ready for long distance cruising.
One more thing to wind up a wonderful week. Yesterday I was officially offered, and accepted, the position as Associate Dean of Full-Time Programs at the Graziadio School of Business here at Pepperdine! Beginning on Aug. 1, 2010, I'll leave the quality control & production line of higher ed, and move into the category of "overhead". I'm excited about the opportunity to make a difference in an institution that I care deeply about.
After a week like that, we're ready to for some relaxing. So, we leave today at noon for a week-long driving tour of the CA Coast. We'll be in San Francisco Fri-Sun, then in Redwoods National Park, Crater Lake Oregon, Sacramento, CA and finally back in LA. Of course, we'll be in the new Armada burning an amazing 12 MPG. Oh well... March 2010 will go down as one of the best months so far.
