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For my birthday this year, I am on a business trip in San Diego. This is not my first time in San Diego, but it is my first time traveling for work on my birthday, perhaps reflecting the steep ramp-up at work for me over the past year. 

I have been in my current business unit for almost 2 years, having experienced 3 managers and 2 major role changes. The most recent one, which took place at the beginning of this year, was a truly meaningful change for me — I now have an exceptional and supportive manager, projects that fully utilize my strengths and allow me to shine, and many new opportunities to expand my professional network. While bureaucracy and office politics (typical for a big company) are still unavoidable, and I have had more difficult conversations this year than ever, I feel motivated and fulfilled every day. Over the past year, the challenging problems I’ve solved, the things that I’ve built from scratch, and the recognition I’ve gotten from my leaders all gave me a great sense of accomplishment. This has been a significant growth experience for me, and correspondingly, I have been devoting more time, effort, and mental energy to my work. For example, instead of celebrating my birthday at home this year, I am traveling to my client’s conference. 

If I have to travel for work on my birthday, San Diego is definitely my top choice. I visited San Diego for the first time in March 2012, attending the American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring National Meeting as a college student. It was my first time doing a poster presentation at a national conference, and I was also excited to visit a city that I had longed to visit. The moment I stepped off the plane, I fell in love with the mild climate, the beautiful palm-dotted beaches, and the relaxing pace of the city. Although I was only 20 years old, I was already thinking about retiring in San Diego. I went to San Diego a few more times after that, including my grad school visit to The Scripps Research Institute (my mom’s D. Phil. advisor at Oxford had a joint appointment there back then, but I did not get a chance to meet him that time), and a road trip with my Stanford friends in 2016. San Diego left me with fond memories every time I visited. This time, I am in San Diego for my most important client. Before the conference, I also had a chance to catch up with my grad school friend Ari. At Stanford, we camped together and powered through teaching Gen Chem together. We still keep in touch now, even though we live in different parts of California. As I grow older and interpersonal relationships become more complicated, the friendships I have had since my youth appear to be simple and sincere.

2012 ACS
2012 UCSD
2016 Road trip

I look forward to having a great time in San Diego as always. I also hope that in the new year, I will continue to work hard and accomplish new things, like a dragon riding clouds in the sky. 

Birthday destinations since 2015:

今年生日，我在聖地牙哥出差。不是第一次來聖地牙哥，卻是第一次在生日當天出差，或許呼應了過去一年來急遽上升的工作強度和難度。

在現在的單位將近兩年，經歷了三位老闆和兩次重大的職務變動。最近的一次在今年年初，對我來說是極具意義的一次改變：我擁有了一位非常優秀的老闆、能充分發揮我的長處的工作，與許多新的拓展人脈網路的機會。雖然在大公司典型的官僚主義和辦公室政治依舊無法避免，我也經歷了比以往都多的高難度談話，但是我每一天都充滿鬥志、十分充實。大半年來我解決的棘手問題、耀眼的戰績、領導們的賞識，都帶給我滿滿的成就感。對我來說，這是意義重大的成長，相對應地，我花在工作上的時間和心力都比往年多許多——比方說，今年生日沒有在家過，而是出差去了客戶的重要會展。

如果在生日當天必須出差，聖地牙哥絕對是我的首選。第一次來聖地牙哥，是 2012年三月，我以大學生的身分參加了美國化學學會的春季年會。這是我第一次在國家級別的學術會議發表海報，也是第一次造訪這座嚮往已久的城市。我一下飛機，就愛上了這裡溫和的氣候、美麗的棕櫚沙灘，與舒緩的生活節奏。雖然當年才20歲，卻已經想著以後要在聖地牙哥退休了。後來又陸陸續續去了幾次，比方說2013年被斯里克普斯研究所錄取後的參訪（媽媽以前在牛津的博導當時也是這裡的特聘教授，可惜當年無緣識荊），以及2016年和史丹佛朋友們的自駕遊，每次都留下美好的回憶。這次出差，是為了我最重要的客戶，在會展正式開始前，我也順便拜訪了研究所的好友 Ari。在學校時，我們一起露營，是患難與共的普化助教，現在雖然分處加州南北兩端，卻依然保持聯繫。隨著年歲漸長、人際關係越趨複雜，年少時的情誼越顯得單純真摯。

2012 ACS 年會
2012 Scripps
2016 自駕遊

期待聖地牙哥再次帶給我圓滿的體驗，也期許自己在新的一年，繼續努力，能如幸娥老師和連老師的期許，飛龍乘雲。

2015年來的生日旅程：

By Hsiao-Tieh HsuTags: , , ,