From 56d58b54589cd9b2d7015208478d09339e4136dc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Blaise Thompson Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2021 16:49:14 -0500 Subject: porcupine tills --- source/2018-solstice-letter/letter.tex | 100 --------------------------------- 1 file changed, 100 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 source/2018-solstice-letter/letter.tex (limited to 'source/2018-solstice-letter/letter.tex') diff --git a/source/2018-solstice-letter/letter.tex b/source/2018-solstice-letter/letter.tex deleted file mode 100644 index 6a71ad8..0000000 --- a/source/2018-solstice-letter/letter.tex +++ /dev/null @@ -1,100 +0,0 @@ -% document -\documentclass{letter} -\usepackage[margin=0.5in]{geometry} -\usepackage{multicol} - -% text -\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} -\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault} - -% graphics -\usepackage{graphicx} -\usepackage{wrapfig} - -% signature environment -\newenvironment{sig}[1]% - {\begin{list}{}% - {\setlength{\leftmargin}{300pt}}% - \item[]% - } - {\end{list}} - -\begin{document} - -\pagenumbering{gobble} - -\large{\textbf{Winter Solstice Greetings \hfill 2018}} - -\begingroup -\setlength{\intextsep}{0pt}% -\setlength{\columnsep}{10pt}% - -Hello to all my friends and family. % -I hope that you are feeling peaceful, cozy, and happy in these winter months. % -It's fairly warm here in Madison, but the bay near my apartment has already frozen over. % -The last two weekends have been popular with ice fishers and skaters. % -As finals week progresses the town slowly empties. % - -\begin{wrapfigure}{l}{0.4\textwidth} - \begin{center} - \includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{"IMG_20180511_193937"} - \end{center} -\end{wrapfigure} - -This has been an important year for me professionally. % -On April 23rd I successfully defended my dissertation, earning my doctorate in analytical chemistry. % -See left a picture of me and my PhD adviser John Wright. % -I am very lucky to have worked under John for seven short years. % -John taught me a lot about being an independent thinker and communicator. -I was blessed to have my parents and good friend Tyler attend my graduation. -I ``walked'' with two other Wright Group friends---Kyle Czech and Jonathan Handali. % -The ceremony that I attended (just for masters and doctorates) was huge---I'm still amazed at UW-Madison's size. - -Of course, the high of graduation is typically followed by the panic of trying to find a job. -On July 23rd I began working as an instrumentation technologist for the chemistry department. -This is a research support role where I work on solving technical challenges facing researchers throughout the department. -I am the supervisor of a ``makerspace'' where students and researchers can come work on instrument construction and repair. -We have specialized equipment and a large inventory of parts for purchase. -I take on a large variety of different jobs---everything from fixing humble hotplates and glassware drying ovens to designing custom oscillators for mass spectrometry. -The people that I work with on a daily basis are driven and kind---they have done a lot to help me overcome my lack of formal training in electrical engineering. -For me right now, this is a dream job. - -I've had several opportunities to travel this year. -A few weeks after graduation my friend Tyler was gracious enough to invite me to his home in New York for a 1.5 week vacation. -Highlights included eating at Di Fara Pizza, exploring Coney Island, and seeing The SpongeBob Musical on Broadway. -It was so fun to visit Tyler and see how far he has come since his own graduation. -I was also glad to visit my friend Felix at Yale during the same trip. - -In July I spent nine days in Iowa City with my parents. -After so long, I enjoyed spending such a long time at ``home''. -The barn construction project is going along beautifully, and I was able to help with some humble drywall work. - -\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.3\textwidth} - \begin{center} - \includegraphics[width=0.3\textwidth]{"DSC_0131"} - \end{center} -\end{wrapfigure} - -Over the thanksgiving break I traveled to the west coast. -I flew into Las Vegas, where my parents picked me up for a quick 24-hour Death Valley experience. -We woke up early to watch the sunrise from Dante's View. -I hope to return to Death Valley for a longer trip some day. -Here I am standing on the floor of Badwater Basin---282 feet below sea level. -After leaving, we picked up Karaby and drove straight to Roseville, where we had thanksgiving dinner with the Trumbly \& Decker Family. -It's so nice to connect with extended family after many years. - -Wishing you and yours a happy new year. Stay in touch! - -\vfill -\raggedleft - -Blaise Jonathan Thompson \\* -\hspace{0pt} \\ -725 W Washington Ave. Apt 306 \\* -Madison, Wisconsin 53715 \\* -\hspace{0pt} \\ -1-424-225-2493 \\* -blaise@untzag.com \\* -http://blaise.zone - -\end{document} -- cgit v1.2.3