I have a friend, who we'll call "Charles". He has a story to tell, but no blog, so I'm going to tell it. I don't think "Charles" will mind at all, but just in case I need to put in a disclaimer.
Disclaimer:
The opinions, events, and stories posted in epicorstupid are the express opinions and perspective of the epicorstupid owner and do not reflect the opinions or thoughts, or actual events or stories of persons who may or may not be named in said blog. Names and places have been changed to muddy the waters of actual happenings. Or maybe they haven't. Either way it's not "Charles's" fault.
Ok, on we go.
So I have a friend, "Charles." I met him at work. He does the same sort of work that I do. We'll call it helping people, who help other people, who use tools. "Charles" and I are tool engineers. Well anyway, "Charles" happens to have come to the company where I work after many years in academia. He loved it, and left it because of circumstances beyond his control. I think he made the right decision, but I won't get into that because it's not what I want to blog about. Anyway I met "Charles" at work and last May after 5 or so years with the company "Charles" and I got to spend some quality time together testing tools in another city, we'll call "Atlanta". We went running a few times per week and once we went to a superhero movie. Mostly we just tested tools and looked at data and plots of data. It was magical. Sometimes I can't believe they pay me to look at the numbers every day.
"Charles" and I spent 5 weeks in Atlanta and I feel like I got to know him pretty well. We talked a lot about his old life teaching at the Tool Technology U, and to me it sounded like a pretty good gig. He loved being there, and he was very good at what he did. It was unfortunate that he was stuck in Tucson helping people to help people to use tools. He is good at Tool engineering, but like many other people in Tucson, especially single people, I think his heart was elsewhere. In fact for many people who are in Tucson, their heart is pretty much anywhere else.
Anyway after many years of internal debate, "Charles" was ready to do something EPIC! He had to sort of wait till the last minute to tell us other tool engineers, but "Charles" decided to do what all of us non-PhD's have considered at one time or another. After 10 years in the work force, he decided to go back to school.
Just let that sink in for a minute.
I don't know what it is like in other non-tool engineer professions, but in ours there is always the nagging thought in the back of our heads of, "What if I'd stayed in school?" I think I speak for everyone here (see disclaimer) when I say that College was the most fun I've ever had. I have never had a happier or more stress free time in my life, and I majored in tool engineering. My wife says I'm crazy and that I was a basket case of stress even in the summer time, but I have no recollection of that at all. I can only remember the times in the math lab when I put the latex glove over my head and inflated it with my nose, or the stories the Kyle who lived in the engine lab used to tell about trying not to get caught by the janitors. I remember the ballroom dance classes and the women always asking me to take tests with them. It was awesome!
Anyway "Charles" decided to actually do what many if not all of us have thought of doing. He packed up his house full of furniture and moved it to his dad's house in "New Mexico", he put his house up for sale or rent, he packed his car, and he started driving across the country. His ultimate goal was to get back to the Tool Tech U. He had to have a doctorate to do this, so that's what he did.
So you have to understand "Charles" situation. He was making tool engineer money. That's not doctor money, but it's good money. He went from a nice house with lots of disposable income to a dingy apartment with a random roommate, and no disposable income. He thought it was worth it, until he started classes.
Now I'm not saying that "Charles" couldn't handle the classes, but they were tough. Then there was his advisor. It turned out that she was the bane of a couple of PhD students existence, and "Charles" had no idea till he got there. He saw is future in those poor student's eyes. That look of "I'm going to die here and still not have my doctorate because of that advisor." He was doing pde's again, and that's enough to make any non-mathematician start to consider crying alone in the bathroom. But the worst of it was that they were not going to count "Charles's" previous credits from his Master's Degree at "Berkley".
"Charles" started having second thoughts, to say the least. I called him on the phone a week after he left and he said "I think I made a big mistake." The next think I knew he was calling our tool engineering department manager and asking for his job back. Well our manager promptly told "Charles" to come on back, which he did, with his tail between his legs. Not that he needed to have the tail between his legs, that is just how he felt.
This time though "Charles" was going to embrace life in Tucson, which he did. He started dating someone, and he brought his furniture and dogs back from "New Mexico", and I think he was determined to make a good go of life in the very southwest. It was good for me and the other non-Phd tool engineers, because without doing it ourselves we got to see that life was not always greener back at the universities that we left. "Charles" took one for the team, and I believe that dozens of us are thankful for it. "Charles" was having a good life... until his girlfriend dumped him and now he's going to Australia for a year to teach at a tool university there for a year... or longer.
I think that what "Charles" did took courage, daring and a total disregard for my feelings. But the best thing about what he did was of course show me that I don't need to do that same thing. Going back to school for a Phd, for me would be stupid. But selling his house and going across the country to school for a couple of weeks and then coming back, for "Charles" was EPIC!
In my book he is officially a legend. I will miss him when he is in Australia for a year. I don't think it will be a year. I give him either 2 weeks, or I'll never see him again. At least he knows how to pack his furniture and dogs to take to "New Mexico" already. He's been down that road before.
Thanks "Charles", sorry you got dumped.
