The science and fine art of questionable decision making.

 

If we are anything, we are the choices we make as we travel through life.  If there is a multiverse, then I propose that the core differences between them are governed by the uniqueness generated by the quantum mechanics of our human minds.  Our own inflection points are the engines our share destiny.  Whether we learn humility or attain zen today, where we go from here is up to our own questionable decision making.

 
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My current chapter: The oldest corner of the New World: Scituate, Massachusetts

In 2019, following a series of devastating wildfires where about 2% of California burned, my family and I were ready for a change of scenery and I seized an opportunity to work at Alteryx, which makes the eponymous software that has been tremendously empowering in my career as an analyst. Crucial in our decision to relocate 3,169 miles away, were great schools, an abundance of natural beauty, and a location with bountiful opportunities full of interesting and curious people.

To hear my mother tell it, I have multiple ancestors who landed on the Mayflower in 1620, just a few miles down the coast from where we now live, in the county of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The area we call home today is steeped in American history and I’m surrounded by reminders that life in New England hasn't ever been easy, but it’s to be cherished, nonetheless. My ancestors’ own questionable decision making brought them to a New World. It didn’t go as planned: They were aiming for Virginia, after all. Despite all that, they made it to a land filled with wonder, risks, and an incalculable unknown that nevertheless drew them in. I’m living proof that unconventional decisions can pay off and reverberate in time.

My view over Silicon Valley, a view unlike any other: The last chapter of my life on the top of a mountain

I have been blessed to live on top of a mountain overlooking Silicon Valley!  For around 7 years, we lived just over 3000 ft above sea level. Our last house in the San Francisco Bay Area rewarded us with a nearly 360 degree view from Santa Cruz through the mountains of the Peninsula, looking out to San Francisco and across the Bay to Oakland, clear to San Jose.

That said, the mountain life was not without its unique challenges.  It rewarded the positive, can-do attitude that my parents instilled upon me.

Just to name a few challenges I faced while living in the Santa Cruz Mountains: In summer, the threat of wildfire is ever present. From Spring to Summer, our yards were cohabitated with rattlesnakes, packs of wild boar, an occasional curious fox, elusive mountain lions, bobcats, deer, squirrels, and more.  During the winter months our rustic county roads were threatened by landslides above and geological failures from below, as atmospheric rivers can gently but relentlessly drop massive amounts of precipitation while passing over our mountain ridge.  

Fall and spring are definitely the sweet spots in the California climate, and those are the seasons when I was most often found outside, alternately working to tame the wild or basking in the abounding natural beauty.