I move in with Shu who luckily needs a roommate. My first time living in Manhattan but its pretty far north. Upstate Manhattan as Andrew calls it. Most of my friends have moved deeper into the edge of Brooklyn or Queens. Seeing friends is almost like a day trip.

I get the job. But... now we are caught up with the main timeline. I have to move back to NYC and teach in-person. My department is a little surprised but flexible. They let me start remote. I get a later evening class. New york time means that Im going to midnight often.

Also during all this, I apply for a teaching position at USC. I get through the remote interview process. My first major foray into the world post surgery is the inperson interview. I wear a medical binder to keep my guts in and avoid sitting much. Its an all day interview. My talk is well received

Editors note: Yux says we didn't gut the whole house.

Yux & I decide to buy a house! After the purchase, we come to realize it needs a lot of work. We gut it. I go get kidney surgery. Nij & KJ come to the rescue and let me live in their converted garage and take care of me while I recover and the house has no floor.. in some rooms also no walls/ceiling

People say "Oh that was so big of you." The truth is I also needed to feel like I was doing something concrete that felt like it contributed to the "net good" of the universe or whatever.

I was already feeling depressed. This is dark but my thinking at the time was... If I ever got to the point where I decided to commit suicide. How selfish would it be if I took all my good organs with me.

While all this is happening... My brother's kidney's fail.

Plot twist - I wasn't allowed to quit Parsons after taking a sabbatical. No problem Ill teach remote like I did before sabbatical. Plot twist 2 - Parsons said "no". I have to move back to NYC.

I wasn't sure if she would like California. She had said before that she didn't think she could live is any town smaller than New York. My class at NYU was online anyway. At Parsons I opted to take a sabbatical, incase she hated it and we needed to move back. The good news is she liked it.