Ducking Around the World: February 2014

Again, as I was saying ... just as life was settling a call came out of the blue. About a month of mental torment and endless internal (and some external) debate I made the decision to take a chance. It would be another three months before I actually moved ... Jess had a baby on the way and my grandmother finally lost her battle with cancer.

The job has turned out to be everything they said it would. Everyday is a firehose of new information and strategy. In an oversimplified explanation, I am now an analyst for the Pharmaceutical and MedTech industries. I review the patent portfolios, litigation, FDA regulations, and finances that surround a product. I spend many of my days reviewing patent lawsuits for insight on strategy and attend the court hearings as a spy. Ok, not really a spy (but doesn't make it sound dangerously sexy?) but more of a fly on the wall watching for clues that may help in predicting outcomes. It's pretty much AWESOME. I think any patent litigator would be jealous of what is essentially a job to learn what only senior partners have insight to through a lifetime of experience. I make more and work less than any BigLaw firm. But the best part is that I work with incredibly intelligent (not that pseudo intelligence that most partners front to convince the associates that they are just minions) and genuinely nice people.

Miami on the other hand .... well .... it's an interesting place. And when I say interesting, yes I mean interesting like she's got a great personality interesting. I moved in the heart of the summer; something Jess was hoping would encourage me to change my mind and move back to SF quickly. It was hot and humid, but no comparison to Singapore. Singapore gains a point approval (I think its a total of 2 points now) as a good primer for Miami, setting the bar pretty low. I spent the first four months living in Ft. Lauderdale in my co-workers spare bedroom (he's currently living in North Carolina). Ft. Lauderdale is where all the rich old white people live to escape South America (aka Miami).

Although I liked Ft. Lauderdale, I am a big fan of South America ... so to Miami I went. Despite more luxury high rise condos than you can even imagine (and the second wave building has begun) it was really difficult to find a place to live. Dare I say even more difficult than SF. But with a little perseverance I finally found a place to call home. Furnishing the place .... well ... give me another couple months. ;)