“Congrats Son!!! They say a rolling stone gathers no moss.” That’s what my dad wrote me when I sent the family news about a change that’s happening…
Today is my last day with the Alberta Kidney Disease Network (AKDN) at the University of Calgary. Although I am excited for the opportunity to come, I am sad to be leaving such an amazing group of academics, researchers, colleagues and friends. I have spent the last several weeks wrapping up studies, transitioning tasks, and documenting several details that my brain has accumulated over the last few years. Over time, my workspace had become a reflection of me, so it was interesting and a bit disconcerting to clean it and remove all of my personal belongings. It has also been strange to hear that my computer and accounts will be deprovisioned and my access will cease at the end of today. It all just seems so formal and official. Well, I guess it is pretty official… today IS my last day :S.
It’s crazy to think that 3 years and 8 months ago, I boarded a plane, suitcases in hand, to start a job in Calgary. I remember telling people that I was moving, and they proclaimed, “You’re finally going somewhere hot!” Well, not really. In fact, Calgary was never on my radar until I stumbled upon a posting for an analyst position with the nephrology group at the UofC. After a quick phone interview and some reference checks, I was offered a position. At that time, I was also offered a comparable position in Toronto, but given that I have an odd yearning for adventure, Calgary seemed like the better choice, for me. I told myself that I’d give it 6 months to a year. Little did I know that the decision to uproot myself and head to Calgary would be one of the best ones I’ve made. At this rate, it could be a while before I return to the GTA. Crazy!
As for where I’m going…
During the summer, I came across an opportunity for a Senior Analyst position in Chronic Disease Management Provider Education within Alberta Health Services (AHS, the health authority for Alberta). I can’t quite remember how I found the posting, or why I was looking in the first place, but after reading the description, something told me that I should send in my CV. So I did. Months passed by and I kind of forgot about it…
One morning in mid-October, as I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for work, my phone rang. It was someone from AHS wanting to arrange an interview a few days later. It was a funny conversation exchange, since I was literally in the middle of brushing my teeth, so after the initial introduction, my muffled response was “I’m brushing my teeth. Can you hold on a second?” What followed was an interesting few weeks, with an interview at the AHS Southport office, some further discussions, and eventually an offer of employment. I weighed the pros and cons heavily, but in the end, the opportunity was too good to pass up. And now I start next Monday. Yikes!
I truly believe that my experience with the AKDN has been amazing, and I could never thank my bosses enough for taking a chance on me. It’s quite the risk to hire someone over the phone! I have watched the research group grow from fairly humble beginnings to the research powerhouse it is now, with many analysts, trainees, knowledge translation personnel, principal investigators, and staff. I have met some of the most genuine people who I can truly call my friends, and although I know I will continue to see them, it won’t be the same without the random chats in the hallways, the intellectual stimulation of a multi-faceted team, the collaboration within the group, and the walks to the cafeteria for lunch. I’ll miss YouTube video breakdowns, the judging of workplace attire, and the general jokes, Â ridiculousness and hilarity. Working with the AKDN has also provided amazing opportunities to take courses at the University of Michigan, attend the SAS Global Forum in Las Vegas, return to Guelph for the SSC, and travel to Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax. These trips have helped me grow professionally, but have also affected my life in very significant ways :). Lastly, I couldn’t have asked for a better boss and mentor, Brenda. She has been such an incredible role model in many ways, and has supported me in my professional growth at every step, including this change. Even though she did not want to see me go, she is happy knowing that I will continue to grow in my career and be challenged. I have ambitious goals of working my way up to the management level, and I know that if I can emulate Brenda, even a little, I will do okay.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the last few years so special.
There was a day last week, as I was driving to work, when I couldn’t help but notice how pretty everything looked. Snow had fallen the night before and so the trees had a generous dusting of snow. I love that look. And then I began to feel kind of sad and anxious because I realized that I would not be making that drive much longer. But sometimes change is a good thing, and I am quite optimistic that this new venture will be an amazing one. It’s similar to the feeling I had when I decided to move across the country for the unknown and trust that it would all work out in the end. And so, I’m nervous about the upcoming transition, but I’m excited nonetheless. A rolling stone gathers no moss :). I’ve always liked that saying. Moss is kind of icky anyway.
As I write this, it’s December 2nd. Where did November go?? For some reason, time just feels like it’s flying by! Although November came and went, there was a challenge in there. The November Three-way Challenge of Awesomeness. To recall, friends 
I’ve been playing this new (and awesome!) game called “Letterpress”. Basically you try to spell words and occupy as much of the board as possible with your colour until all letters have been used at least once. In my current game, I’m blue, and I was able to spell the word STATISTICS. I think my nerdery was just meant to be…
Lo and behold! I returned home after work on Friday to find a large envelope in the mail. What could it be?? I opened it up and received this:
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 