Coming Home

Yesterday I loaded up the truck and drove a good chunk of my possessions back to Tucson.  I will be here for a week or so, and I will need two more trips up to my apartment to empty it out and have the bed and loveseat donated to the church for their annual garage sale later this year.  They have storage for it and can send someone over.  I have to have this all done by March 7.

While that is going on, I have recruiters looking on my behalf.  There are possibilities in Phoenix metro as well as in Tucson.  I'd be open to a contract job in Yuma or Las Cruces.  Our neighboring state of New Mexico is pursuing private spaceflight and if I have to leave Arizona, New Mexico wouldn't be a bad place to be.  New Mexico style Mexican cuisine is my favorite variety of Mexican food.  We have a pair of restaurants here that serve it, and we can get Mexico City sytle and Sonora style as well.

As for this transition..........I'm doing better than I thought I would.  I think being at home with wife and family is making all the difference in the world.  The first few nights were rough and I didn't sleep well.  I slept OK last night, but obviously needed that two hour nap that I fell into this afternoon.

In a situation like this, it's easy to ask the question "why?".  Why did I have to go to Nevada in the first place if all it came to was a return to Arizona? 

Well, what I acccomplished was getting back into the workforce and staying there for another year.  I got to write design requirements for a spacecraft that's been in the planning stages for some time.  I made some very good friends while there.  I spent a lot of time Downtown people-watching, observing those being separated from their money as well as scam artists and street performers.  I got to see and meet the Smithereens.  I guess I can now reveal that my last boss is a relative of one of the members, and he's here in Tucson too. 

There were those times when Sheila was able to come up.  The high point was that drive we did to Reno, passing thru the small towns such as Beatty, Goldfield, Tonopah, and Hawthorne.  I wouldn't mind doing that drive again and maybe we will someday.

As I said, I am home in Tucson, and I am very glad to be here.  I will likely hang here and go up for a few days near the end of the month to take care of things there, like paying utilities and the rent that I'm obligated for.  Hopefully on the last trip Sheila can come up with me so that she can help me with some of the things.

I am not bitter about what happened, though I can't say I care for the way in which we were 86ed.  The new hires who were let go after one hour of service were harder hit.  Some came with their families, acquired places to live, and were looking forward to the new dreams they were promised.....only to have the rug pulled out from under them.  They get as much severance as I do.......zero.  But they can't file for unemployment since they worked in the state for the sum total of one hour.

Eventually, the company owner will decide to go forward with his dream of a spacecraft, the dream he's pursued for several years.  But in this age of information that we live in, he and his staff may find it difficult to attract the talent that he will need.  This is the second mass layoff in the company history, and that could have some unintended consequences down the road.

A Forced Transition

This week my employer carried out a mass execution.  Fourteen new hires were laid off Monday morning one hour after reporting for work, and yesterday before closing 40 of us were let go.  We had been told in December that 2016 was going to be a growth year for the company and most of us went home for Christmas break not thinking anything abnormal was going to happen.  Events this week have proven otherwise, and a lot of us are in the process of undergoing forced transitions.

The type of business the company is engaged in is very risky, and all of us knew that.  A lot of us kept our homes in the states we came from, knowing that we might have to go back.  I even kept my Arizona driver license as that I wasn't sure how long my stay in Nevada was going to be. 

It goes without saying that we didn't like the outcome, but most of knew going in that this was always a possibility.  In one way it's numbing and in another way it's a relief.  I think this robs us of the opportunity to realize our full potential, and now we have to figure out how we can do that elsewhere.

I'll admit that last night was rough.  I did not sleep well in spite of possession of legally prescribed sleep aids that I sometimes use, and when I did sleep I had some dreams that were not to my liking.  I had some errands to do this morning and this afternoon and one of them was meeting with the pastor of the church I had been attending for several months.  That was a very good discussion and I'm glad we had that talk.

Tomorrow I begin the process of filing for unemployment.  Ron looked into it and I will qualify having been here for over a year.  I will have to transfer that to Arizona when I return to Tucson and resume the job search there.  I also have to start the process of breaking the lease and moving my things back to where they belong.  It will take two, and possibly three trips. 

What I look forward to most is living with my wife and family again.

Home for Christmas!

Yesterday I drove down from Las Vegas to my home here in Tucson.  The occasion of course, is Christmas, and we had a most wonderful Christmas Eve here with one friend and one neighbor coming over for visiting.  There is that part of me that thinks I should be in San Jose instead at my parents' house, but I think that that kind of trip won't happen until March or May of next year.  I will have more vacation balance added come January 1, and I don't want to do that kind of trip until the weather is warmer.

My trip down here was largely uncomplicated.  I did witness something in west Phoenix yesterday that's still on my mind.

I witnessed a serious accident yesterday.  This was along mile marker 135 on I-10.  I had joined I-10 from Loop 303, and at this section of the Interstate, you've got four/five lanes not counting the carpool lane.

All was pretty much well until I noticed a whole lot of brake lights coming on.  I immediately hit my flashers to let the tailgater behind me know that something was amiss.  My initial thought was that there was a slowdown.  I was quickly disabused of that notion when I noticed that a smaller size RV was having stability problems.


At that point I was in the lane next to the carpool lane.  The RV was about five car lenghs ahead and he was three, maybe four lanes over to the right.  I'm quickly noticing that he's losing control, his swerving around causing the other drivers to hit their brakes.  It was after that that it quickly happened.

The RV immediately crossed all of the lanes to his left.  As thick as it was, it is a miracle that he didn't hit anybody.  He immediately crossed all lanes and landed in the median.  I watched him traverse those lanes as if he were a southern Californian, and land in the median, whereupon he overturned and landed on his roof.  A lot of dust from the median was kicked up and visibility went to zero.  I was able to come to a full stop and not get hit by the guy  behind me, who was probably not a southern Californian since he had been warned by my flashers that I was slowing down.  (Aside::  a southern Californian driver will tailgate you no matter what. If you don't believe me, try driving in Las Vegas sometime, where former southern Californians, by their driving habits, have driven up insurance rates to twice what they otherwise would be.)

When the visibility cleared, I started driving again, and as I slowly passed by, I noticed drivers ahead of me pulling over to render assistance.  At that time I temporarily lost all semblance of appetite, and I wanted to go somewhere and throw up.  What I saw wasn't pleasant.  I'm thinking, would I have had my truck totalled if I had left my apartment 15 seconds earlier?  What I saw yesterday gave me nightmares last night.  I dreamt of driving around Tucson and seeing cars ahead of me wildly spin out.

I went online this morning to learn more about what I saw.  The driver and one other person, presumably a passenger, survived, but were taken to a hospital with serious injuries.  I-10 was backed up for several miles in each direction for several hours.  No other details are available.

Last year when I did the Christmas drive here, I remember that there had been an accident in the Chandler/Gilbert area of I-10.  I was tempted yesterday to go a little out of my way and bypass Phoenix by going thru Gila Bend.

I may give in to the temptation to do that when it's time to return to Trashcan.......excuse me........Las Vegas.

The Events in San Bernardino

News of the shootings in San Bernardino broke about noon yesterday.  As with all events of this nature, there weren't very many known details at first.  One report said one gunman and another said three.  One headline that briefly appeared on Drudge said the shooters were white while another one that briefly appeared said that they were of Middle Eastern origin, both of which conflicted with more reliable reports that the shooters were masked and were possibly wearing body armor.  About all that was known with certainty was that they were on a mission.  They went in, shot several people, and then left.

This of course, triggered all sorts of speculation, and yes, I was partaking in that as well.  At work I was suggesting that a fourth person was involved, and they could be heading right here to Vegas.  I figured that if three shooters could go in and get out quickly, that a fourth drove the getaway SUV that we were hearing about.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Nevada Highway Patrol sent fifteen units between to set up at where I-15 crosses the state line, suggesting that they had either had intelligence that they were on their way over here, or were taking a precaution.  They were waiting at Primm just in case, and a few hours later it was breaking that the suspect SUV was located and gunfire was being exchanged. 

As can be expected, some politicians were quick to jump on the gun control bandwagon, before we even knew who was involved and where/how the weapons were obtained.  From what I've been able to determine, all guns were legally purchased, with two of them having been picked up in Corona.  At this point in time, the news reports I've read about this is suggesting that these were "straw" purchases, already illegal under federal law, and there likely is a California law against these types of purchases as well.  The gun control proposals being suggested would of course, never prevented this tragedy, and if straw purchases were indeed the case here then the appropriate thing to do is to make an example of those involved and send them off to Federal lockup until they are carried out in a body bag (though I'd be OK with them facing a firing squad for this).

One other reaction I'll note is the headline of the New York Daily News, suggesting that God isn't fixing this.  That's pretty rich, coming from people who don't want God involved in any way, shape or form in the first place.  Seems as if some in Organized Media have as much of a problem with the First Amendment as they do with the Second.  However, I think I'd like to see them beat this drum more loudly tomorrow, so that those who haven't made up their mind will take note of this foolish grandstanding and be alienated from the media.

As for "jihad" finally coming to our shores..........the junior varsity team, you know, the one that's been "contained", is celebrating this, but they're not taking responsibility.  But that doesn't mean that they won't try.  I'd bet money on them planning terrorist attacks as I write this.

Meanwhile, the left in this country is in hysterics.  There's no Confederate flag involved here, and the Tea Party isn't responsible either.  And although I have lost count of the number of online comments from them blaming the NRA, the reality is that California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, all of which failed the victims yesterday. 

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families this evening. 

Another Round of News and Random Observations

I was stuck up here in Las Vegas for the Thanksgiving weekend.  It wasn't my idea, but one half mile into my intended journey to Tucson two days ago, smoke started coming out of the engine compartment of my truck.  I was able to make it safely back to the apartment complex that has been my base of operations here, (I refuse to call it "home"), and the next day I had the truck towed to a trustworthy mechanic.

After 427,000 miles, the motor in my truck is kaput.  I was shown the evidence (I didn't have to ask to see it), and although I don't like this kind of news, things could have been much worse.  I might have been stranded in Wikieup and having to take unpaid leave to get this taken care of.

I discussed this at length with Sheila (she is really a *great* wife!), and we're going to see if we can get a remanufactured motor located and installed.  It's going to run me a few grand, and it's cheaper than a replacement vehicle, which we both know sooner or later we're going to have to get.  We are having the mechanic give it a thorough inspection to make sure the rest of the truck is in good order.  The body is in fine shape though it could use a paint job, and I know that the ball joints aren't going to be going out any time soon.  The present clutch has 30K miles on it and should be good for 50K more.

This will be, however, the last major repair I'm willing to do.  We may re-arrange some finances after next year's tax return........we're thinking of a re-finance, and I may borrow against the house to put in a new stove and fix the hot tub. 

This could have been a lot worse for me than it was.

And........I got my money's worth out of it.

 

* * * * * * *

One thing I am grateful for here in Las Vegas is a friendship with a co-worker who started here six weeks after I did.  We're both in the Test Engineering Department and like me, his wife is in another state, Florida.  He lived in Titusville for 34 years, of all places.  We've gone on a lot of lunchtime walks and we meet Downtown for a beer, which we did yesterday.

That one table that was set up to raise funds for child sex trafficking has been long gone, (they weren't there the following Saturday when I checked), so either they've succeeded in ending this trafficking or they've skipped town. 

 

* * * * * * *

I was Downtown last Saturday, not knowing or intending that I'd be Downtown again the following Saturday, which was yesterday.  While conversing with the cashier cage personnel at that Plaza Hotel-Casino eight days ago, I noticed several trays of Eisenhower dollars ("Ikes") and I thought OK, someone must have cashed in their hoard.

Ron and I went in there yesterday, to check out John Gotti's Jaguar which is on display not too far from the cashier cage.  We drifted over to the slot machines that were nearby, and Ron played a few hands of video poker.  He cashed out and got a collection of shiny new nickels.  Most Vegas slots are TITO, ticket in ticket out, though coin slots can be found if you know where to go (La Bayou Casino has several of them).

Before walking away, I noticed a dollar video poker machine that had a coin slot (as well as a dollar bill reader).  I also noticed a stack of coin buckets to carry your winnings (or more accurately, what you have left).  I got to thinking about those Ike dollars that I saw last week, so I said to Ron, "I need to check out something". 

I fed a dollar bill into the machine, cashed out, and a shiny new Ike dollar fell into the coin tray.  Well, it was certainly shiny, but not new, since it was dated 1972, but I got a kick out of getting that.  I've got 100 or so of these things in my safe back in Tucson, but it's fun to have one here to look at.  Ron also got himself one in the same way.

Five years ago, I would order Ikes at a Wells Fargo branch, and sell most of them to a friend of mine in Tucson who's the manager of a Quik Trip.  He was always asking me for two dollar bills and Ikes, so that he could hand them out to his customers.....most of whom would get a kick out of getting some novelty money back in change.  More were sold to a long time friend of mine who runs a business at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet. 

Unfortunately, Wells Fargo down there hasn't been able to get them for me for some time, and I haven't tried to get any at the banks here.  I have thought about it, because these coins did circulate in Nevada during their day. 

I'm tempted to get $20 or $40 worth of Ikes on my next visit to the Plaza and to spend them. 

Using "unusual" money is fun.

* * * * * * *

A few rare words about my job.

I have now been with this employer for a year.  It's been something of a ride.  I was hired into Systems Engineering, transferred into Test Engineering, working closely with some very brilliant people in a group I'll call "Life Sciences", and the company is willing to let me spend a few weeks coming up to speed on a software package called Solid Works. 

I am an electrical engineer by degree, a test engineer by practice, and I now get to learn Solid Works, which is really in the realm of mechanical engineering.  The first tutorial was something of a bear, and the succeeding tutorials are either better written, or I'm getting the hang of things. 

This is something that my previous employer would not have allowed me to do.  I was forced to do software systems engineering, which really wasn't my forte, though that work was "righteous" (I'm stealing a term from a former supervisor here).  That employer and the one before it didn't really allow me to practice electrical engineering which is what I studied, but I'm not complaining.  I did get to work on satellites and circuit card assemblies, and I've long considered that to be satisfying work.

I struggle sometimes with the why I had to come to Nevada while my wife is in Arizona question.  I struggled with that this weekend. 

The only answer that I can come up with, is that the Good Lord wants me here for reasons that have not been passed along to me, and they may never be passed along to me.

I have to say this.........the work that I'm doing is the greatest that I've ever done in my life.

And.......I'm living in a most unusual state.........legalized gambling.........24/7 availability of liquor......and an opportunity to people watch Downtown.

I frequently tell myself that I need to make the most of this opportunity, and to write about what I see when I venture into the casinos or walk along Fremont Street.

The Events in Paris, and the (Lack of) Reaction Here

Last Friday Paris took center stage of the world by being the location chosen by the terrorists for their latest round of attacks on the Western World.  We were on our break in the company commissary that afternoon as the news of the attacks were breaking.  We knew that a lot of people were killed and that there were anywhere from three to seven attacks.  As better news was known, the impact was not lessened, and for the first time since 1944 France instituted a night time curfew and they closed their borders. 

ISIS has since claimed responsibility for the attacks.  ISIS has been something of a household word for several months now and does not appear to be of any immediate concern of the White House.  President Obama told the nation several hours before the attack that they were "contained", which really isn't much of an improvement over a comment made several months earlier where he described them as "junior varsity".

The French, to their credit, are doing something about this.  Several airstrikes have been launched and the Russians are joining them in this.  The French are retaliating, and in my mind are positively adding to their reputation.  Unfortunately they may be locking the barn door a little too late since they let in a bunch of people that they shouldn't have, but they're doing something about it.

The White House response so far, has been token strikes against ISIS targets, but simultaneously they are accelerating efforts to bring in more so-called refugees from Syria.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that this is what got France into trouble in the first place.......letting people in without properly vetting them.  One of today's Drudge headlines is eight Syrians being caught at the Texas border and another headline is fifteen terrorists getting US citizenship.  This kind of response is bizarre to say the least, but I'm also disturbed by something else.

Newly elected Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is calling for a "pause" to admitting Syrian refugees.  Please dwell on that for a few minutes.  He's not calling for this to be "stopped".  He's calling for a "pause".  This suggests that after some time has elapsed, that it's going to "resume".  Speaker Ryan, who I once thought highly of, is a member of that Republican elite that stated several years ago that they want President Obama to "succeed".  They have never backed down on this.  Oh, they want you to think that they're going to oppose him, but they only want you to think that in even-numbered years when they're running for re-election.  They show their true colors once re-elected, and they not only enable Obama to "succeed", they help him carry that football over the goal line.

"Pause".  Does that make sense?  Terrorists are trying to get in, and the answer is "pause"?

So, while France retaliates, and doesn't wait for a U.N. resolution to tell them that they can do this, our leadership is essentially doing nothing to make our nation more secure.

As I said to a co-worker on Friday afternoon, I now say to you:  look at what happened in France.

It's coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

One Year as of Tomorrow

Tomorrow will mark the one year anniversary of my arrival in Las Vegas.  I was accompanied by Sheila.  We left Tucson after church, and drove up, arriving after nightfall had overtaken Las Vegas.  We checked in to a place on Tropicana Avenue, not knowing that we were in the underbelly of town.  Immediately we had to go to Walmart for supplies, putting up with the rude drivers originally from southern California who run red lights and go the wrong way in parking lots.  There were lots of panhandlers and illegal commercial ventures taking place.  And I was fast realizing that Bob Self was right about the whole town being a trashcan.

The rest of the week was spent arranging for a more permanent place to live and for some sightseeing.  Sheila had to return to Tucson a few days later, and I was faced with the unknown of a new job and the uncertainty that comes with a new job, as well as not having her around.  Those were not good times and I try not to think about them.

Now it's been one year.  As of tomorrow.  I wasn't sure early on that I would make it this far but I have.  I have longed for home all this time, but with the damage that has been done to this country by the politicians of both parties, I am here for the foreseeable future.  It's looking better than it did a year ago but the industry is in real trouble.

But I still don't like this place.  One of my co-workers told me that this place would grow on me.  Well, it hasn't.  Half this town is out to cheat the other half of town, and as long as visitors come here to get cheated, that's never going to change.  Legalized gambling will bring tourist traffic but it also brings problems that do not exist in other jurisdictions.  There's this libertarian streak inside of me to where I personally think that I should be allowed to gamble if I do it in moderation, but with what I've seen here in the year minus one day has me frequently wondering if we would be better off without it.  I can understand the Nevada mentality, but I feel out of place here most of the time. 

As for what the next year will bring..........I've thought about it some.......I've thought about it a lot..........and I make no predictions nor will I air what's on my mind at this time.  It is what it is, and I find myself praying a lot for the strength to deal with it.

It hasn't been all bad.  I've made some good friends here and I've gotten to work on some very neat things.  The work that I've been doing has given me some of the most satisfaction I've ever had in my career.  And I've gotten out there a few times to explore Nevada, which I think is a great state as long as you're not in Las Vegas or Reno. 

But I don't see myself as retiring here any more, and my sights on where that is has now changed.