It's all been seeming a bit much recently. The year long slog to find a second postdoc, and then finding a really great position that forces me to live halfway across the world from my wife.
The plan for this year (publish enough to seem competitive for fellowships) was starting to seem unrealistic & I could see myself staring down the "what-else-could-I-do" route.
And then I came away to my favourite conference, met up with some old friends, met lots of new interesting people. And they all seem to think I can do this (or if not they're nice enough to do a good job of hiding their doubt!). I always come away from a conference rejuvenated and with new ideas for what ever project I'm working on, but this conference has reignited my desire for this career. I want to be working with these people, researching the kind of things that make them (and me) excited.
I still know how hard it's going to be, but I've got my drive back, so thanks popgroup47!
