In some ways, I have changed and grown dramatically over the years. In other ways, I am the same that I have always been. I suppose that is probably true for most of us.
I was born in Montana, but we moved to southern California while I was still quite young, so my original memories of Montana are very few and mostly simple images and impressions of a few people, places, sounds and smells. My memories of moving to California are more vivid, and of course I remember our house in Ontario very well.
1967Generally speaking, I loved my elementary school. It had been built the same year that I was born, and so it was practically brand new while I was there. I was also lucky enough to go to school in California at a time when the state still had excellent (and well-funded) schools. There was even optional summer schools which were not for "catching" back up after failing a grade. Instead they were more like "day camp", and I learned the metric system, how to swim and even some basic cooking skills.
1972Junior high was a bit of a shake up. Most of my friends from elementary school made the move with me, but there were many new faces as well. Just as I was settling in, we moved to San Diego and I was the new kid on the block. It took a while to get settled in.
1979By the time I reached high school, I was comfortable with who and where I was again. High school was generally a pleasant experience where I met a lot of great people. I also started my participation in the San Diego Police Explorer program, which brought many new experiences and friends as well.
1982After high school graduation I tried to work full time and go to school full time. The net result was that I was not able to do either particularly well. They were the first hard years for me, but they began the process of forcing me to grow up.
1986Joining the military forced me to break all of my inhibitions about leaving my "comfort zone". It was a confidence building experience and I finally got to see the world. Once again I met many fine folks and several became life-long friends.
1988I left the Air Force and had a good job as a graphic artist at a start-up software company. Within a few months, the company had folded and I had to desperately find a job just to feed myself. I wound up working at the local 7-Eleven and it would take several years to work my way back up the economic food chain.
1992The drive for finding the next (better) job meant that I was spending many long and hard hours working. I did not have a social life to speak of, but that was generally okay... but it eventually did burn me out. I eventually decided that I was tired of the rat race and packed up my stuff and fled to the Rocky Mountains to "get away from it all".
1996After realizing that I did not really want to flee civilization (but that I just needed to get away from California), I started to think about returning from exile and fate dropped a wonderful opportunity into my lap. I snatched it, and soon found myself living in the greater Seattle area and beginning a new career.
1998I eventually felt as though I had achieved a measure of success, but it felt empty as I had nobody to share it with. That is when I began to consider the next step in my life and I eventually found and married the perfect woman for me. It was another phase of life that brought a lot of growth and maturity.
2003Married life matured me considerably and I eventually thought about parenthood... a thing which I had considered "taboo" for many years. Zoya and I took the plunge, and while it has certainly not been easy, it has been (by far) the most rewarding and enjoyable experience of my life.
2009