Full-Term

Today, Ethan is 2-weeks old, but considering he was born at just 35-weeks of gestation, today also marks his 37th week making him officially "full term". Ethan has been progressing nicely. Yesterday, he weighed in at 5lbs 5.2oz (or 2415g for all you pediatricians). This was a "huge" weight gain for Ethan - his last measurement coming in at 2185g. This also means he now weighs more than his birth weight (2280g), and hopefully this trend will continue more and more.

So the past two weeks has offered me a lot of time to think. I was just informed by our HR department at Duke that my 6-week entitlement of paid time off has to be taken continuously (not intermittently) - sorry Mom and Dad, this means I have to be back at work on 11/9/2006 and will not be at home when you are in town (11/13-11/20).

Luckily for me, I have a very understanding supervisor, and I am sure we can "work something out" that will allow me even more time to be with Ethan, when my parents are in town.

But with all my waking hours focused on Ethan, I have had little time to think about career plans. My time at Duke is coming to an end, and I look forward to taking this experience with me to my next employment. I am excited about starting a new career path, although also a bit apprehensive and perhaps, nervous, about pursuing something very different from what I am trained and have been doing for several years now.

Some things I have looked into, or am considering include: scientific, technical writing for a pharmaceutical-biotech company; sales, marketing, investment or consulting (and not necessarily within the pharma-biotech fields). Prospective employers may include: Lilly Pharmaceutical, Edward Jones, Astra Zeneca, among others. I have had a few interviews by phone, and I am hoping that in the few weeks from now, firmer plans and opportunities be established, God willing.

I correlate how I am feeling now, in terms of the excitement of starting anew, the prospect of engaging in some form of entry-level training all over again, to when I started my undergraduate studies at UBC some 10 years ago now (1996-2000). The only difference is now I will not be travelling down this road of uncertainty alone, but rather with the accompaniment of my wife, Kelly, and our little, tiddlewinks of a son, Ethan.