Well, I'm beginning the arduous process of escaping Southern California. I've been in SoCal for...six years now? Too long. I've already been infected with a genuine speech impediment (saying "like" far more often than I would rather), had my car rear-ended four times (and nearly smooshed by pickup trucks and SUVs pretty much every day), and still haven't taken up surfing. However, I'll have escaped without ever having my eyebrows waxed or getting a pedicure. I win I win I win!

The destination: NorCal Bay Area. I'm currently looking around for teaching positions up there. Putting together statements of purpose and whatnot is tons of fun. One thing I've discovered about myself, though, while evaluating my strengths and weaknesses, is that I am really and truly not a leader. I would rather spend twenty hours working on something myself than twenty minutes organizing several people to do the work in two hours. My aversion to telling other people what to do (other than qua critic or teacher) knows no bounds. I am probably happiest taking other people's ideas and refining/perfecting/implementing them. If I got people to work on my bright ideas, I'd feel personally responsible if everything went to shite. I'd much rather be a blissfully inculpable flunky type.

Frankly, I find those who want to lead other people inexplicable at best, insane at worst. It's a good thing the world isn't made up of people like me. Productivity would grind to a halt as we all side-stepped participating in any form of decision making whatever.