No other way to do this, but to rip the band-aid off and break the news.

I am leaving Alaska.

This is not a joke, or a wise crack, or a hidden message.  Today I put a notice in at my employer after I accepted a position in the Lower 48.

The nuts and bolts of it is, as much as I loved being up here in Anchorage for these last two years, the job never turned out to be what I hoped it to be.  You can do a lot outside of work to make yourself happy, but when work doesn’t make you happy it’s hard to say you have a happy time.  While, except for an opportunity here or there, I didn’t do anything to put myself back on the job market.  Then when this position came along, I was so honored to be considered, I just couldn’t ignore it when the offer came.

For the position, the pup and I (yes, Auggie is coming with) are moving to the Boston area.  I had a the choice a few places to move to, and settled on Boston for the same reason I mentioned above – best opportunity to enjoy work and life.  At this point of time, I don’t know specifically where I will live – and probably won’t for some time.  I will be in a temporary place for a few weeks after I arrive, then go month-to-month in an apartment until I can settle on a permanent home.  My desire is actually living in Boston Metro, inside of T-Line access so I can go where I want when I want.  It’s a long ways from being in the woods of Alaska, but I know that is a place that I can find happiness in living (you see a trend here?).

I took a position with Bodycote LLC – a worldwide leader in heat treating.  I will be the North American Corporate Quality Manager for Aerospace, Defense, and Energy — a position that is mostly in support for the regional division, but will be responsible for the quality system management of fifteen plants around the USA.  The position fills a vacancy left by the retirement of Bob Lenhan, who to me was an icon in the Aerospace Heat Treating industry for as long as I knew him – to be filling his shoes will be a huge task, but knowing what he did and what the role requires I know that I will be very happy in the role itself.   For the most part, the position is a point of contact for Bodycote to the Quality stakeholders at major customers and to sit on organizations to represent the corporation’s interests.  For those of you know knew me back in Kansas, this role has many ties to what I was doing there – I will be returning to Nadcap meetings, will be back in Aerospace, will be back into heat treating.

The timing is still being worked out, however, I can give some parts of it.  By the first weekend in October, Auggie and I will be in the RAV4 and heading south.  It’s a bit of a risk to leave in Autumn, but when I got this opportunity I wanted to make sure that when I relocated I got to drive down.  I’ve always been a road trip fan, and coming down on the Alaska Highway is a road trip to end all road trips.

I am sure there will be loads of additional posts to come giving details and all that, but will leave it at this for now.  The Bear Feed will live on, but different … Probably more of an Idiot Bear in a Big City.  In the meantime, watch for any updates from me on what’s going down.