Life, over the years
Jul. 9th, 2003 01:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
plutherusCombining a few different ideas, inspired by half a dozen different friends' entries, in a format you've seen on lj before:
35 years ago: I was one year old, living in Palo Alto, California, where my father worked for Tektronix, before they moved him back to his hometown of Portland, Oregon. I had an older brother, aged 3, and my younger sister hadn't been born yet. Most of my day was spent eating, pooping, sleeping, crying, and playing peekaboo.
30 years ago: I was entering first grade at West Tualatin View school. The teacher, Mrs. Marks, taught
second-grade math as well, and we would sit in the back of the room, theoretically quietly working on our own math problems, while the second-graders got their lesson. I interrupted them so many times she moved me up to second-grade math. I had two friends who I enjoyed time with: David Law, who later shared my love of Encyclopedia Brown books, (we formed the "Luther and Law Detective Agency" when we were eight), and Beth Parsons, who was the only other student in the special speech (we both had problems with s's and l's), and advanced reading classes. David joined the popular crowd when we got to Jr. High, and Beth died of leukemia in first grade.
25 years ago: After many months of begging, I finally got to see Star Wars for the first time, in its 52nd week of its initial 54-week run at Westgate Theater in Beaverton, Oregon. Unlike everything else I'd hoped for, built up in my mind for months before finally getting it, I was not disappointed. Earlier that year, I'd helped stack books for the school's annual book sale. As a reward, I was allowed my pick of any one book. I chose The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume IV for the simple fact that it was the largest book. Thus began my love of science fiction, which continues to this day. I used my allowance later that year to buy Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. Ten years later, I met Ray Bradbury and had him autograph my now old and beat-up paperback of it. He said he preferred autographing books in a condition he described as "loved". And smiled when I told him it was the first book I ever bought with my own money. These two books, and my paperback copies of Lord of the Rings are the only books from this time that are still in my library.
20 years ago: I was a Junior in high school, miserable in a fundamentalist Christian school (the only year I spent there), which was located in the Portland Foursquare Church. I wrote an essay on Thomas Jefferson. As a product of the public school system, when I was assigned an essay, I went to the public library, found my own sources, took notes, and wrote about what I'd learned. The "correct" method was to use only approved sources from the school/church library. I mentioned his loathing of the clergy, his subversion of the free press he championed, and the rumours about him his slave, Sally Hemmings. I received an F, and am still proud of it.
15 years ago: I was starting the first of many "breaks" from college, trying to make a living as an independent computer consultant, but bringing in most of my money from pizza delivery. I bought my first car, a Renault Le Car for $300. When the brakes went out, and the battery was stolen, I still drove it for two weeks delivering pizzas, by pushing it to start it, and downshifting and coasting until I could stick my foot out the door to stop. I finally saved up enough money to get it fixed, and took it to Los Angeles (which was fun driving down I-5, since the car could barely reach 55) for a Star Trek convention with the entire cast of "both" shows.
10 years ago: I moved back home to Portland, lived with my parents for a while, worked in customer service, then tech support, for Central Point Software, went back to school at PSU where I had two classes (Arabic, and "Einstein, Buddha, and the Nature of Reality") with Thomas, who introduced me to most of the friends I have today.
5 years ago: I left Portland again, this time to San Diego with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
reynard52, by way of Colorado Springs, beginning a new career as a Software Configuration Management contractor. I took advantage of the booming economy to learn as many different skills as I could so I could still have a career when it went back down, taking jobs based almost solely on what I'd learn at each one.
1 year ago: I had been at Vodafone for a year, working at what will
hopefully be my last SCM job. After spending my vacation taking two laptop computers down to a priest in
Chiapas, we started toying with the idea of starting a non-profit company to do that kind of thing full time. The paperwork for Geeks Without Borders was filed six months later.
1 month ago: I moved from San Francisco to Eugene, Oregon, to live off of my severance pay from Vodafone and work full-time for Geeks Without Borders Our first task is to build our office out of half of Matt's garage.
1 week ago: I was working on setting up the half of the garage that will be Matt's leatherworking shop, prelude to building the office in the other half. And gathering materials to build the raft on which we would float down the Willamette River for the 4th of July.
Yesterday: In between runs to various stores for materials and groceries, I helped Matt with the unskilled
tedious parts of building leather bondage bracelets to fulfill an order for a local store. Unpacking had
proceeded to the point that I can now get anywhere in my attic room without tripping.
Today: I finished reading Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, a simultaneously
depressing and uplifting novel, about the very worst and very best of human nature. Then I'm going to finish my essay for my Spanish class that I will ride my bicycle to at Lane Community College later tonight.
Tomorrow: More unpacking, more building the shop. Maybe find another book to start on. Nonfiction this time, I think.
Next week: Should be finished unpacking. Once everything's set up, I'm going to build a small fountain for my room to serve as white noise, cooling, and cats' water dish. The shop probably won't be quite finished, but close to it. Then the GWoB office.
1 year from now: I'll be half-way through the money on which I'll be living while working for Geeks Without Borders. We should have at least one, possibly two, trip reports, and several other success stories of setups we've shipped without accompanying them ourselves.
5 years from now: I will either have re-entered the SCM field or, if things go according to plan, working on salary for GWoB, out of either our San Cristobal, London, or maybe even Glasgow office.
35 years from now: Retired, and running a small bookstore that I live upstairs from, not caring much if it makes a profit or not. Maybe in Portland, or San Cristobal, or in some small city in a country I haven't visited yet.
63 years from now: Toying with the idea of writing my memoirs, but spending most of my time remembering the best parts of a full life. Surrounded by friends, in a tiny house with a small garden in back, with a comfortable chair in which I will one day sit down to pass away quietly in my sleep.
35 years ago: I was one year old, living in Palo Alto, California, where my father worked for Tektronix, before they moved him back to his hometown of Portland, Oregon. I had an older brother, aged 3, and my younger sister hadn't been born yet. Most of my day was spent eating, pooping, sleeping, crying, and playing peekaboo.
30 years ago: I was entering first grade at West Tualatin View school. The teacher, Mrs. Marks, taught
second-grade math as well, and we would sit in the back of the room, theoretically quietly working on our own math problems, while the second-graders got their lesson. I interrupted them so many times she moved me up to second-grade math. I had two friends who I enjoyed time with: David Law, who later shared my love of Encyclopedia Brown books, (we formed the "Luther and Law Detective Agency" when we were eight), and Beth Parsons, who was the only other student in the special speech (we both had problems with s's and l's), and advanced reading classes. David joined the popular crowd when we got to Jr. High, and Beth died of leukemia in first grade.
25 years ago: After many months of begging, I finally got to see Star Wars for the first time, in its 52nd week of its initial 54-week run at Westgate Theater in Beaverton, Oregon. Unlike everything else I'd hoped for, built up in my mind for months before finally getting it, I was not disappointed. Earlier that year, I'd helped stack books for the school's annual book sale. As a reward, I was allowed my pick of any one book. I chose The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume IV for the simple fact that it was the largest book. Thus began my love of science fiction, which continues to this day. I used my allowance later that year to buy Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. Ten years later, I met Ray Bradbury and had him autograph my now old and beat-up paperback of it. He said he preferred autographing books in a condition he described as "loved". And smiled when I told him it was the first book I ever bought with my own money. These two books, and my paperback copies of Lord of the Rings are the only books from this time that are still in my library.
20 years ago: I was a Junior in high school, miserable in a fundamentalist Christian school (the only year I spent there), which was located in the Portland Foursquare Church. I wrote an essay on Thomas Jefferson. As a product of the public school system, when I was assigned an essay, I went to the public library, found my own sources, took notes, and wrote about what I'd learned. The "correct" method was to use only approved sources from the school/church library. I mentioned his loathing of the clergy, his subversion of the free press he championed, and the rumours about him his slave, Sally Hemmings. I received an F, and am still proud of it.
15 years ago: I was starting the first of many "breaks" from college, trying to make a living as an independent computer consultant, but bringing in most of my money from pizza delivery. I bought my first car, a Renault Le Car for $300. When the brakes went out, and the battery was stolen, I still drove it for two weeks delivering pizzas, by pushing it to start it, and downshifting and coasting until I could stick my foot out the door to stop. I finally saved up enough money to get it fixed, and took it to Los Angeles (which was fun driving down I-5, since the car could barely reach 55) for a Star Trek convention with the entire cast of "both" shows.
10 years ago: I moved back home to Portland, lived with my parents for a while, worked in customer service, then tech support, for Central Point Software, went back to school at PSU where I had two classes (Arabic, and "Einstein, Buddha, and the Nature of Reality") with Thomas, who introduced me to most of the friends I have today.
5 years ago: I left Portland again, this time to San Diego with
reynard52, by way of Colorado Springs, beginning a new career as a Software Configuration Management contractor. I took advantage of the booming economy to learn as many different skills as I could so I could still have a career when it went back down, taking jobs based almost solely on what I'd learn at each one. 1 year ago: I had been at Vodafone for a year, working at what will
hopefully be my last SCM job. After spending my vacation taking two laptop computers down to a priest in
Chiapas, we started toying with the idea of starting a non-profit company to do that kind of thing full time. The paperwork for Geeks Without Borders was filed six months later.
1 month ago: I moved from San Francisco to Eugene, Oregon, to live off of my severance pay from Vodafone and work full-time for Geeks Without Borders Our first task is to build our office out of half of Matt's garage.
1 week ago: I was working on setting up the half of the garage that will be Matt's leatherworking shop, prelude to building the office in the other half. And gathering materials to build the raft on which we would float down the Willamette River for the 4th of July.
Yesterday: In between runs to various stores for materials and groceries, I helped Matt with the unskilled
tedious parts of building leather bondage bracelets to fulfill an order for a local store. Unpacking had
proceeded to the point that I can now get anywhere in my attic room without tripping.
Today: I finished reading Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, a simultaneously
depressing and uplifting novel, about the very worst and very best of human nature. Then I'm going to finish my essay for my Spanish class that I will ride my bicycle to at Lane Community College later tonight.
Tomorrow: More unpacking, more building the shop. Maybe find another book to start on. Nonfiction this time, I think.
Next week: Should be finished unpacking. Once everything's set up, I'm going to build a small fountain for my room to serve as white noise, cooling, and cats' water dish. The shop probably won't be quite finished, but close to it. Then the GWoB office.
1 year from now: I'll be half-way through the money on which I'll be living while working for Geeks Without Borders. We should have at least one, possibly two, trip reports, and several other success stories of setups we've shipped without accompanying them ourselves.
5 years from now: I will either have re-entered the SCM field or, if things go according to plan, working on salary for GWoB, out of either our San Cristobal, London, or maybe even Glasgow office.
35 years from now: Retired, and running a small bookstore that I live upstairs from, not caring much if it makes a profit or not. Maybe in Portland, or San Cristobal, or in some small city in a country I haven't visited yet.
63 years from now: Toying with the idea of writing my memoirs, but spending most of my time remembering the best parts of a full life. Surrounded by friends, in a tiny house with a small garden in back, with a comfortable chair in which I will one day sit down to pass away quietly in my sleep.
