Starting a new home

Yes, this is my new blog. I won't have much time to work on it right now, because I'm at work and I do have a lot to read and to get used to here, but at least I was able to start it.

If people are asking themselves about the name of the new blog, it was actually a decision I made on the airplane while coming to Seattle. I decided to think about what would be a good name to summarize my life, regardless of where I am, and, while looking at rivers below me through the window, it hit me.

I can't say I have fought a lot to get where I am... I did study, but I never really got out of my way to do something. I would get out of my way to be able to continue doing something that someone asked me to do.

I'll give a couple of examples:

- When I started playing clarinet, I didn't really choose it myself. When I went for my Bar-Mitzvah trip to New York, Washington DC and San Francisco, I was with the wife of my father's (ex-)best friend, her son and her sister. She is a well known pianist in Brazil and at the end of the trip she turned to me and said: "I think the perfect instrument for you would be the clarinet. I know a great teacher. When you have time, give me a call and I'll connect you both". It took me 4 1/2 years after that to start, but I did.

- I started my Ph.D. at Oklahoma State University because this opportunity simply appeared in front of me, from a professor that went to my school to do some recruiting.

- My job at Amazon.com also fell in front of me and I took it. I didn't really go too much out of my way, besides having written a terrible resume at Monster.com.

Now do you understand why I defined my life as "moving downstream"? I just keep taking the paths that are close by. I won't say that they are the paths of least resistance, because it would have been much easier if I continued in my old low-paying job in Brazil, instead of starting my life anew in Stillwater, OK, EUA, but it wasn't something I fought to get.

Welcome to my new blog, anyway! For some time, while I don't have internet at home, I won't be posting too much, and I won't have time to work on a nicer layout, but I'll try to stay alive.