I have not blogged in a while, seems like the norm now is a post every year. I am now living in Houston, TX. Have been here since early 2015. So what's new. I still work full-time at an oil and gas manufacturing company and am doing my PhD. on the side. I have submitted my PhD. and have been provisionally approved by the reviewers barring their comments which I have to address. The comments are reasonable, just that it takes some time to work through them and address all of them.
I am still not used to working in Houston, especially now that my new workplace is near IAH airport which is 25 miles each way. That is around 30 minutes to an hour commute each way, so about 2 hours driving to and from work every day. This has been so draining. I definitely love the work I do, it is very rewarding and it relates to my PhD. and engineering expertise. But the commute is absolutely killer.
We will be moving to a nearer location in December, so it will take 20 to 30 minutes to get to work which would definitely be great. And I definitely love the apartment location of having a park right behind it. I think it will be pretty great. Hopefully my expectation of the place is how it is when we actually move in.
We also have a baby on the way, so I am definitely very excited for that. I do not regret not having kids earlier and waiting to when we think it is right. It will be a great adventure and I look forward to raising a lovely child.
This year has definitely been a very bad one in many respects though. Things that come to mind is the election of Donald Trump, as well as Brexit. It just seems the world is getting more and more isolated and people are moving backward socially. The unrest in the Middle East and the refugee crisis there is also very worrying. When will there be peace and people can just get along. Right now, it just seems we are just drifting further and further away from this.
One of my best friends from secondary school, Sylvia, has also passed away from cancer. She leaves behind her husband and three children. This is the saddest thing for me this year. She was a beautiful person, inside and out. Always positive and optimistic and always seeing the best in people. The world really is a worst off place without her in it. I always thought I would meet her again and we could talk more, but I have always put it off. The time is not right, or I have to complete my PhD. then I will have more time. But our time is short in this world. And the world moves on whether you like to or not. And now she is gone.
I really have to finish my PhD. soon and put more effort into things that are of value to me. My wife, our soon-to-come child. Family. I would like to write more, which is what I am trying to do now. I am definitely very rusty in the writing department. Hopefully this is not another one a year deal. I would really like to write more, I hope I do...
