Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Guelph

My decision has been made, after a weekend of drinking and deciding (not simultaneously, don't worry). I'll be moving to Guelph to start my PhD in January; I've already lined up a TA appointment (Ethnobotany Distance Ed). Now that the big decision is done, I have a zillion little ones - basically, everything I own gets the "do I really want this?" treatment, and I have to give notice to my landlord, contact a bunch of people in Guelph, including potential future landlords, learn a bunch about shipping (some of) my possessions, dispose of the Minivan of Doomed Love (fireball?), and tons of other stuff I have in a list.

Oh well, now the biggest uncertainty is out of the way, and I get to deal with all the little uncertainties. Joy. I'm really looking forward to March, by which time I should have 99% of my current uncertainties settled, with all new questions to deal with.

4 comments:

Carlo said...

Wow, I really must admit that I thought that Switzerland (or was it Swaziland) was a shoe-in... Could you outline the main points that lead you towards making this momentous decision? Pro-and-cons are always interesting to view in hindsight...

I know the real reason though... Geekin' it out Guelph-Hamilton style. Boo-ya!

TheBrummell said...

Yes, geekin' it out via highway 6 was a (small) part of the decision making.

I'm a little surprised myself - and so were several other people, notably Tony in Zurich. No hard feelings anywhere, though, which I think is one of the poorly-known features of academia - I haven't yet met a really petty, bitter person doing research (I've met petty, bitter, ex-researchers, and heard tales, but never actually met one).

I'll go through the decision matrix (such as it is) sometime soon.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Martin!

There are many more of us waiting to hear the reasons you chose Guelph.

I believe the plan all along was for the Minivan of Doomed Love to enter a demolition derby? I'd definately come out your way for that! Heck, I'd even buy a welding machine to help attach the reinforcment I-beams!

Failing that, why not take it with you? If anything, it would probably be cheaper to drive (limp) it out there than ship your stuff. --And THEN enter it into a derby!

TheBrummell said...

Sadly, the dream of the MVDL smashing its way to Glorious Victory in demolition racing will probably die.

I don't think I'll be driving the MVDL out to Onterrible, as it would probably actually be cheaper to ship my stuff (and buy anew what cannot be cheaply shipped) than to drive. Between gasoline, a broken cruise-control, and the risk of catastrophic breakdown somewhere unpleasant (eg, Saskatchewan), I think I'll fly.