Patrick Audley // Identity Collected

What a BLAST! We both had a really great time at the Symposium. The lectures were great (even if they were a little too kinase heavy) and it was really fun to hang out in a social setting with people I work near everyday. Hearing everyone talk about their work during the lectures was really great too.

On Saturday, Elizabeth and I took a hike in the wilderness and met a very cool retiree who belongs to the clan that owns all the land around Pitlochry. We chatted for the better part of a half hour as we walked back together and had a most enjoyable time. That night was the Ceilidh, a Scottish dance that resembles square dancing. Afterwards came the quiz session; a cross between a drunken game show and a game of Trivial Pursuit. We came in 5th but still had a great time!

All in all a really good weekend. The only thing it lacked was sleep *lol*

Working in Academia was more satisfying in many ways than working in startups. Most of the people who work in research were smart, well informed, and enjoy their work (Elizabeth and I thought this was because the pay was half that of the private sector, so anyone who doesn’t like it gets a job there elsewhere).

I really enjoyed working in the Bioinformatics Dept. and had great coworkers. This was the first time in all my career when I could truly say that I enjoyed everyone I worked with.

Seminars were particularly enjoyable and it was always easy to find people talking passionately about things they love.