Back to Pennsylvania

Spent a lovely three days here in the tiny town of Pendleton, SC, just up the road from Clemson University.

I wasn't able to get ahold of my nephew, unfortunately -- he's a busy young man, I hear. But WTF. I got a nice tour of the campus yesterday, had fun in Pendleton, ate well, and am heading back to PA this afternoon.

While here, I arranged for a meeting with Carnegie-Mellon's advisors for an informal interview this coming Wednesday, so that will be my focus in PA when I get back there. I spoke with their staff and explained that with fifteen years in engineering and industry, I'd more than likely be seeking a business degree, but I'd need their advice. The goal is to offer them my experience for their engineering and research departments in exchange, and they were open to the concept.

Regardless of how the interview turns out, I'm headed back to Portland, as nothing will come of it until next academic year. So even if I do get into CMU, I'll work in PDX for the year and then return.

The drive back to PA today/tonight won't be nearly as lazy as the drive down. On the way here, I took a small 2-lane road up through the hollers of West Virginia, looking at the decaying homesteads, civil war monuments and cemetaries, etc., before catching the interstate in Virginia. This time, I'm going to hit the road and cruise.

Oh. And I did hear from the folks in the Southwest, so I'm planning to finally check Arizona off my list on the way back to Portland.