Updates

I doubt that anybody is still using this blog. I thought this was a very good idea to stay in touch, but I guess we have left it idle for quite a long time that it has lost its purpose. On this Friday afternoon, right before the weekend of 4th of July, when there are not very many people around, I decided to write on this blog with a hope to rejuvenate this blog.

I want to keep this message short but I want to give you (whoever is interested) updates from my life. To achieve this, I decided to itemize important things from my life in the past 2+ years:

May 2008: Finished school and started looking for a job in Phoenix area as Jen got a job as an assistant professor at ASU Polytechnic Campus.
August 2008: Jen started working at Poly
September 2008: Still looking for a job, in the meantime started working as a private tutor at Chyten.
February 2009: Decided to start a Post Bac program to become a math high school teacher which is supposed to take 1.5 years. I wanted to keep myself busy and have an alternate plan for employment, given the economy...
September 2009: After 3-5 interviews for 3 different positions at American Express, fraud risk management group finally managed to find a way to get an openning for an external hiring, and offered it to me. I accepted the offer and started working as a Fraud Risk Manager.
November 2009: Jen and I sold the town home Jen bought in 1999 and bought a single family home, in Tempe.
May 2010: Jen and I found out that we are expecting a baby. If everything goes as expected, the baby is due December, 25th.

And at the time I am writing these, Ghana misses a last second penalty shot... World cup is so fun and exciting...

Good bye Arizona...

Hello all,

I will be moving to New Mexico next week (24th of July). I will be teaching statistics there. I loved being here... Intense heat became bearable, life became easier with you. The first day I came to the department, I felt the strong bond between you. You let me in and made me feel at home.

Serhat and I will be happy to host you in Albuquerque. If you decide to come to the Balloon Fiesta or you are passing by, just give us a call..

I'll be using the ASU email for a while. You can email me..

Thank you very much for your friendship, your help, and everything.

Burcu...

Baris' Defense -- Passed!!

Hey again everyone --

As most of you are probably aware, Barıș had his dissertation defense last Wednesday. This post is just to spread the word that he passed with minor revisions and is all set to graduate in May -- yeah! So we'll have two new "Dr. Bekkis" in just a few short weeks. We're both looking very much forward to a relatively restful summer before getting back to the real world next Fall. Anyway, congratulations again, Barıș!

Burcu's Defense

Hey there everyone --

Just wanted to make a quick post to let everyone know that Burcu successfully held her dissertation defense on Monday of this week. She made a very nice presentation, and passed with only very minor revisions. Congratulations Burcu! :)

Now Baris is next ... his defense is scheduled for the morning of April 16th.

An operations research blog: Out of Kilter

As if maintaining one blog with 4 posts per month wasn't enough, I've begun another one now, this time on personal thoughts and essays on some unconventional aspects of operations research. It's called Out of Kilter. Do take a look! I expect to be posting there about once or twice a month. Here's the introductory post.