Letter to my niece

Hey Niece person!

Good to hear from you. Good to hear about Alaska. I'm sure he had a great time as well. Did he go back there? I forget what he does for a living.

School - what we do with our lives before we get serious with our lives, before we get a real life. Not necessarily. If your heart is in your school work, then that's a real life. If you are doing it just because you thought you should, or because you haven't found a job yet, well I'm not sure if that's a good enough reason. You will find a job that you like - it will just take some time.

If you go to grad school to distinguish yourself from others who do not complete grad school and thus make yourself more competitive in the job market, well that is a good reason.

I went to grad school, basically because I did not have a job - the job market was awful then: unemployment was almost 10% and it was difficult for fresh graduates to get work. And I was very afraid of being unemployed. (Looking back, I think I would've gotten hired straight out of undergrad, if I so chose.) I also did it to make myself more competitive. So for me it was a combination of good reasons and bad reasons. The other reason I did it was to put off reality: a 40 hour work week and settling down, as it were. In that sense I was sort of the opposite of where you sound like you are right now.

What you need to do, in my humble opinion, is follow your dreams. Do something that gets you excited, not that just pays the bills. If you know what you want, do it.

My big problem when I was your age, is that I did not really know what I wanted. I loved bicycling, but I couldn't see making a career out of being a bicycle courier. (It was, though, easily the most exciting job I've ever had.)

I had some ideas of what I wanted: something to pay the bills, something not evil, and public service definitely pushes a button in me. I definitely have a gene for economics in me. That got me headed toward Agriculture and the job I do today. But it's not like ever since I was four years old that I told people, "When I grow up, I want to be an agricultural economist." I envy the people who do feel that way about their work.

Enough unkly blah blah.

Things are going pretty well overall. My shoulder recovery is a lot slower than I had hoped. I can only just in the last week type with my right hand. I still can't hold a fork or knife, or shave, or raise my arm much at all without "yikes". And I am definitely impatient about these things. I am so antsy for the gym. And running! I have jogged a little with Fannie the Supadog, but it looks pretty queer to run with a sling on your arm. At least it's a fashionable black. :-)

Australia is great. V and I are going to Cairns in early May for a long weekend, and it looks like we might go to New Zealand as well for a long weekend. I have friends in Wellington, and I'm thinking we should go climb Mount Egmont. Did you ever make it to New Zealand? I want to think that you did.

All in all, things are good. You've been on my mind, and I almost called you the other day. Did I ever tell you my U.S. phone number? It's (no you can't know without asking). It either rings on Skype or my home phone here. If you do want to call, call either before 9 AM or after 5 PM. We're 14 hours ahead right now ...

Unk Mark