365 #7 - Wednesday, January 11

Today I am thankful for unwitting assistance.  My old employer does not match 401(k) contributions.  They give every employee 3% instead.  For the last 10 years, we have not put a penny away for retirement.  But our employer, just by sheer luck for us, has saved a significant amount for us.

This morning we went to a local investment office to discuss what to do with the old 401(k).  We ended up putting it all into a rollover IRA for now.  The adviser was very friendly and knowledgeable.  We like him.  Turns out there are a lot of LDS financial planners.

We came home, and I ran around the neighborhood doing errands: drop something off, go to Goodwill, this and that.  I got home, had lunch, and still felt very unsettled.  I needed to study the things my new equipment lines would be doing.  I needed a physics textbook.  So I went to Powell's.  The main store had some cheap Le Guin stuff I hadn't read.  I hadn't touched any of her stuff except for Earthsea and Annals of the Western Shore until last week, when I read The Dispossessed.  Which was phenomenal.  So I picked up 3 books for $11, and headed across the street to the technical bookstore.  I browsed through physics, had a book I thought might be useful and understandable, and had just about given up, but decided to ask before I left.  The clerk pointed me to a small section on semiconductors.  I read every spine, and after a few minutes I found Fundamentals of Microfabrication and Nanotechnology.  It was perfect.  It has 60 full pages, including useful diagrams, on the equipment the NY job uses.  And the copyright on the book is 2012.

In the evening, still a little freaked out by the upcoming interview and lack of preparation for the NY interview, I left the house around 5, and hung out at the church.  In the evening I met with the young men and talked about my time as a missionary in Japan.

Meanwhile, of course, Katrina found some more houses in NY, and we discussed things regarding the move.  Never ends.