Time To Say Goodbye
There comes a time in everyone's life when you can't ignore the changes going on inside. Whether it's the way you think or how you feel about things. In the early 90s, I was closing out my rock and roll bad boy lifestyle with a move to Virginia. I came here apprehensively with no clear direction in life or a career and was greeted with a culture shock I was not prepared for. Between the lack of a music scene and everything closing so early, I went from a 24-hour party city to a relaxed, laid-back place. I eventually accepted it, but I was never happy here.
A New Hobby? Computers?
I eventually became interested in computers and started running my own BBS with my purchased computer. That eventually grew into a 100 phone line internet service provider. I knew one thing, though, I excelled at computers. Eventually, I started designing websites and other graphic stuff with computers. At the beginning of the new millennium, I found myself employed with The Virginian-Pilot within a subsidiary, PilotOnline & HamptonRoads.com. During my employment there, I learned a lot and grew into the current frame of mine I am in now. With the combination of growing older, becoming open-minded about music and ideas, switching to Macintosh, and becoming so deeply involved in web standards and website accessibility, I found my new passion in life; visual design and Macintosh computers but most of all, a career I enjoy doing. I have grown to excel in semantic coding practices, and the time has come for me to move on in my life and career.
Resigning from The Virginian-Pilot
Today I formally submitted my resignation at The Virginian-Pilot. I will be moving to Texas at the end of May. Our house recently sold for a lot more than we paid for it. This allows us to pay off all our debts and arrive in Texas with a totally clean slate and new life with the hopes of also finding a job that pays more than I was making at The Virginian-Pilot. We will be living outside the city limits of the Houston area, where I have seen they pay a lot more. Houses are cheaper in Texas, and they come with the land around them. An acre or two would be nice for us. Once the Dodge Durango is paid off with the money from the house, it will become Kathleen's vehicle. I will get myself either a Ford F250/350 Heavy-Duty 4x4 pickup or something similar with a suspension lift and large off-road tires. We're going real southern now. Look out, democrats and liberals, I'll be running you all over in your hybrid cars.
Looking Towards the Future
So the time has come to say goodbye to the friends I have made here. The time has come to say goodbye to Virginia, but I still had a good time here. The people I worked with at The Virginian-Pilot are all great people, and I don't regret a minute of my history there. I consider the people I worked with as friends, and I will greatly miss them. I hope to keep in touch with them all. I don't know if I will ever come back this way to visit, but each of them has touched me in one way or another, and I will bring memories of the fun we had while we worked and the friendships that I formed over the years with me to Texas.