I will be moving to the Phoenix area (Chandler) at the end of September.

    As some of you know, I've wanted to leave for a long time -- the dark and grey of fall/winter/spring here make it very difficult for me to function, and I've found it hard to be so far away from my family.  When I came to Portland in January 2006 it was with the expectation of getting married and starting a family.  When that fell apart in May 2007 I thought about moving but I didn't want to be hasty or act out of emotion.  I decided I should stay at least through July 2008 so that I could go on tour with the Oregon Chorale to Ireland and Scotland; it's been a lifelong dream to make such a trip.

     After the Chorale tour I began applying for jobs with Intel Chandler, and had a discussion with my boss at the time.  Unfortunately as we all know that was when the economy started shutting down, and it became clear I would be here for a while.  I had resigned myself to staying probably to the middle of 2010 at best, perhaps longer, though I continued to apply for whatever openings appeared.

    About a month ago (early August) my boss approached me with an offer -- commit to staying in my present position for at least a year, and he would explore seeing if lab and office space in Chandler could be obtained so that I could work remotely from Chandler but stay in my current position.  I'd have to fund the move myself.  I told him that that was agreeable to me, and he began working on the move although he cautioned me that he didn't know how long it would take to find suitable space (lab space is hard to come by).

    Last week I received word that all the negotiations had been completed and the move was on.  After some discussions with management about program schedules and how we could minimize impact to our projects, it was agreed that I would start in Chandler October 5th.

    My current plan is to leave Portland Monday Sept. 28th.  I'll have my last skating lessons 9/21 (Sonya) and 9/22 (Kelli), last skate at club ice 9/25, and last sing with the St. Cecilia choir 9/27.  I will also be at the first rehearsal for Chorale on 9/14.

    I'm really looking forward to moving home -- Arizona has always been home for me, even when I lived in California (6 years).  I will be back from time to time -- for work probably every 4-6 weeks for a day, and undoubtedly to visit in the summertime.  In particular I'm planning on being present for the Oregon Chorale 25th anniversary celebration and concert in early June.

    One thing I will definitely miss will be the many, many wonderful people I've come to know here in Portland.  My choir family at St. Cecilia, the wonderful and talented people of the Oregon Chorale and Intel Singers, my coworkers, and of course the many wonderful coaches, skaters, and skater moms/dads at Sherwood and elsewhere in PDX.  Thank you so much for your friendship and support over the last 3 and a half years.