well i've been back a couple of weeks now and have just about got back into the swing of things again..even managed to do a little work last week! Anyway its been a fun couple of weeks with some decent nights out that have eased me back in and prevented the post-holiday blues kicking in too badly. Has to be said they haven't done my liver the world of good - then again I'm guessing that would be a lost cause anyway!
I've had quite a bit of contact with some of the group and none whatsoever from others - but it has to be said its pretty much fallen along the lines I expected so pretty pleased with that. Dave, Lynette and Steph are enjoying New Zealand, Laura is limping along at work and looking forward to tearing up student life in Reading and Tiff is still on the road in the American South West..
I've come back determined to try something big next year - namely move to New York for a spell to work. Its something I've always wanted to do - I mean its like the mothership for someone like me - hip hop, comic books, TV, Scorsese, DeNiro and after San Francisco/Silicon Valley it is really the place to be if you are a web geek.
I want to take a career break and get some kind of position working either in education or non-profit (charity/cultural type of thing) where using web 2.0 strategies is at the heart of their planning - especially as regards communications and community building. Alot of people at JISC and beyond are talking about this stuff alot these days, especially me, but i want to see whether it works and get the opportunity to learn from people way ahead of us in these areas..why sould we have to reinvent the wheel..
I think from both a personal and a professional point of view it will be a challenging but fulfilling move but its far from easy. At the very least I need to:
- Convince JISC/UoB to let me take a Career Break
- Sell my flat
- Find a suitable job in NYC
- Get a visa
- Find somewhere to live
- Not have a nervous breakdown living away from Bristol
None of these tasks are straightfoward though they should not be impossible. (1) I have enough years in at JISC/UoB to qualify for the career break, (2) my flat should sell (fingers crossed) and pretty much clear a chunk of my debt, (3) I have some pretty decent experience between the ESRC and JISC and they both have a decent profile in some circles in the States, (4) apparently there is no quota on visas for staff in academia or non-profit and I might also qualify under a J-1 visa under a couple of definitions, (5) thank god for Craiglist, (6) not sure even god can prevent this but a decent British bar might!
I'm not looking to run away for ever - Bristol is my home and lets be honest I'm pretty much a professional Bristolian! Somewhere between 6 and 18 months seems to be sensible but I'm guessing a year is what I'd be aiming at.
So anyway thats the big plan...its a few months off but everthing takes a long time so now is the time to start..
