So what was 2004 like....really?

Well, it was a year of sun and snow.....good times, and tough adventures.  We were living in sunny southern California at the beginning of the year, and things were going pretty well.  I had a stable job with Magic Messenger, which is a nice little shipping & receiving warehouse that I got to redesign the website for, as well as do a variety of duties for (see this little website I threw together for them).  Things were looking pretty good for me and my family, and I thought this was going to be finally the garden spot I'd been dreaming of......well, that was until March of that year...the end of March to be precise.

One thing you should know about "at will work" states.  It means that they can let you go for pretty much any reason (or no reason), and leave you with little you can do.  Case in point was I was called in on the last day of the pay period, 5 minutes before the end of the working day, and was told that I was being let go....right then, right there.  Not by any fault of my own, but they didn't have enough work to keep me around FOR.  A shock like this is like having a bomb dropped on your head that's about the size of Alaska.....pretty big freakin' shock!  On the plus side though, I must have impressed the heck out of them since I got a week's severance for only having been there 6 months...kinda like a move to soften the blow.

I should have stuck it out....I should have stuck to my guns and fought for another job....but I panicked.  When you live in California...never...EVER panic.  Why?  Because there is a really good chance you can land another job within a reasonable amount of time.  But...I panicked....I panicked and ran away.  It was a knee-jerk reaction to a situation that in many ways I really regret.  I was in the golden land that I always wanted to live in, and I left it.  ARGH!

So.....6 years later, I'm back where I started at.  Not exactly the most auspicious flight I've ever had to be sure....although it's not clear as to whether we're here to stay or not either.  We may end up back in Denver, or even back in California....or even somewhere else!

The pluses to the year were seeing more Disneyland, getting back with a really nice manager in a decent job again that has some stability, and finally at the end getting our own place once again.  It's about the same square footage as our place was in Denver, but at half the cost.  There isn't as much of a diverse scene here as there was in Denver or LA, but at least I've learned the benefits of online shopping, so at least I can get the things I long for without having to have a local place to get them from.

I met three famous people in California, which is something I would not have had the chance to do here (see THIS story for the details on those wonderous encounters).  I got my Nina Hagen 12" single of Universal Radio signed by the punk diva herself, plus a huge hug, and also got to know a few really cool people out there.  Honestly though, I really do want to live in California again....it's just a matter of when and how to get there.  At least now I know what odds I face and what to expect once I get there again.

It's just a matter of time.....and I am pretty patient.