Brave New World

I gave my notice today.

2 more weeks of benchwork and then, poof, like Kaiser Soze, I am gone.

I can't wait. I'm going to take a week off to relax before starting my new job. Yes, I have a new job. It makes me salivate with enthusiasm. I am Pavlov's dog. I'm staying at the same institution but working in a new department doing science education. It is awesome. For my job, I get to translate research to the general public. To teachers. To K-12. I'll be working with the local science museum on events and exhibits. Some work with the zoo. Long story short: explaining science and research in a creative way is my new job. It's like brain awareness week year-round. Making models. Explaining DNA. Talking about how things work. What do 8 year olds need to know about stem cells? And how can I convey that using glue sticks and paper mache? I can't wait.

Timing is a crazy thing. I didn't even know this kind job existed a few weeks ago. I stumbled on it by volunteering at a friend's community center. Now I start doing this, the kind of work I love, full-time beginning December 10th.