Kyle Banerjee's Blog

A few months ago, I wrote about a job I was thinking of applying for. Anyway, I applied and survived the interview process. I start at my new position in just over a month and a half.

The timing on this is rather curious. Just before I applied, my boss asked me how I felt about where I am now. I told him that my current position was the best job I’ve ever had in terms of fun, responsibilities, and pay, that last year was the best year ever, that I liked my colleagues, and that I was optimistic that things would get even better.

Upon hearing I’d accepted the new position, one of my coworkers asked me if I’m one of those people who quits when he’s at the top of his game. It’s an interesting thought — I left my last position just weeks before I was expected to be awarded tenure and things had been good there too. To take the job at the university, I had to leave the best job and the best boss I had known up to that time.

I don’t really see leaving a job as quitting. To get better at anything, you have to work outside your comfort zone. This means that you can’t settle for just doing what you’re good at. Besides, a certain level of turnover is healthy for organizations. I was at the State Library for 5 years — enough in my opinion for them to get the best out of me. Now they have an opportunity to bring in someone new who will have very different ideas that I do. More likely than not, this new person will do some things I didn’t even think of.

While I’m sad to go — particularly since I’ve been working on some really interesting projects — I know that accepting the offer was the right thing to do. The State Library was good to me, and I hope they feel I was good for them. However, I have a sense that this new job is where I really belong, at least for awhile.

When I took Keiko to the vet last Saturday, I learned among other things that she is almost totally blind. We’ve known she had vision issues for some time. She used to be able to do all these crazy off balance catches while running. She’d never miss if you threw food at her. Now she never notices anything flying through the air unless it hits her or she hears it fall.

Keiko’s pushing 10, and problems like this are common for dogs her age. However, she’s always been exceptionally fit, so watching her turn into an old dog practically overnight has been more difficult than I expected. Two years ago, she loved to play fetch for hours on end and could literally run circles around dogs half her age. Three years ago, she sent an intruder leaping over the fence minus a size 14 shoe. Now, the dog that waited anxiously for me to wake me up at a quarter to four so I could take her for a 2 mile walk every morning must be coaxed out of bed and wants to quit playing fetch after one or two throws.

The vet told me what I have been expecting for many years, but talking to him reminded me of how few opportunities we have to do things. Keiko’s favorite activity in the whole world — playing fetch at the beach — will never be the same, and the number of times she will even see the beach again is very limited. In reality, there never were going to be that many opportunities to go in first place. In plain English, this means that it’s a good idea to make the most of things when you get the chance.

In many ways, dogs are better at dealing with life than most people. Dogs are very good at working with what they have rather than worrying about what was or could have been. They enjoy the moment and don’t feel a need for extra sympathy as they decline (even if they like the attention). Even though Keiko can see next to nothing and is suffering from the usual ailments that accompany old age, she seems perfectly happy.

We’re going to see what can be done for Keiko. I’ve been told that it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to do anything, but it still doesn’t hurt to at least get a second opinion to verify the diagnosis.