17 May 2006

ICES III and other future conferences

Since I knew getting to the ASA (American Statistical Association) meeting for 2006 would be difficult for me (even before I broke my leg), I had hoped that ICES III (Third International Conference on Establishment Surveys) could be my first big conference after I had moved back to the States. (I'm still bummed that I missed the Eurostat conference this month, but even more bummed that I'm going to miss the International Symposium on Forecasting in Spain in June. I'd really been looking forward to that one.)

ICES is a great conference, and I have been working on my abstract to see if it would be accepted. Last week, I received an invitation to give a talk on seasonal adjustment! I'm very excited. I'll still submit the abstract, too, but now I'm sure now that I'll be going to Montreal in 2007! It will be a great way to get back into the swing of things as far as my research goes.

Who knows? Maybe I'll make it to the ASA meeting in 2007, too.

08 May 2006

Endings and Beginnings

I realized today that it's been ages since I've written on the blog, and so much has changed since my last post.

At the end of February, my contract was up with HENDYPLAN, and we decided not to renew, but to go back to the States instead. My boss convinced me to stay until the end of March, but then on the 6th of March, as I walked to the bus to go to work, I broke both bones in my leg just above the ankle. I had surgery to fix it that afternoon (13 screws, 1 plate, 3 incisions, and 24 stitches). I was released from the hospital on March 13, but with instructions from my doctor not to go back to work. There was never a cast, so I was able to wash my leg, but it made me nervous to have it so unprotected. He was fine with letting me travel back to the States at the end of March.

This left Darin and the girls on their own to finish packing the house. The container came on Friday, 10 March, and it left on Monday morning (13 March), headed for the US! Our pastor's wife (and assistant Chaplain) lined up some guys to help Darin load on Saturday.

We flew back to my parents' house, and then came to look for a house outside of Nashville, TN. We closed on the house on May 2, our furniture arrived on May 4, and internet access started on May 5, so I'm back in business with the web site.

After seeing a doctor in Tennessee in April, I now have a big, black boot for my right foot and leg. It helps me feel more secure when I walk, and I'm starting to put weight on it now, per instructions from my doctor. I could still be on crutches until July, and maybe not able to drive until then either. So though I'm anxious to get started with my new consulting business, I have to be realistic about my schedule. It will take me longer than usual to get the office set up since I will need to depend so much on my husband and children, and traveling will be out for several more months. I'm encouraged, though, by the leads I have already, even before I'm settled in the new house and office.

Besides working on unpacking boxes, I'm also going to finish up a paper on spectral diagnostics and start up work on the book again. This is going to be a really exciting time for me, and I look forward to being able to share more about it on the blog!

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