The president of this new company had developed the software for the previous company where I worked, so there was not a very steep learning curve. It was almost the same software, just with a different, more up-to-date user interface. The type of clientele was the same and there were even some clients who had transferred from the old company to here. In fact, several employees who had also worked at the other place had moved here.

    This is also the place where I met the woman with whom I am still involved. It's been over 25 years, and we have been through a lot. Health issues on both sides. And we're still together. So I guess you could say there is "something" there.

    It didn’t take me long to get involved in the work. I also met a few co-workers who liked to ski, bringing me to another "mini" fork and another going back in time for a while.

    My first encounter with skiing occurred back when I was around 17 (we are going way back here). A friend from the block had access to a double-wide trailer near Sterling Forest in Upstate NY that belonged to his parents. So a group of us went up to check it out. We had to rent skis and boots and started learning how to snowplow on the Bunny Slopes. We were all pretty athletic and it didn't take us long to get the hang of it.

    It was a major rush! I got hooked. From that point on, every chance I got, I would "hit the slopes". There were many places to choose around NY and New England, and it was so much fun. When I got to San Diego, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there was skiing available just a three hour ride away. An added bonus! It was in an area called Big Bear. There weren't huge hills, but it was decent and it was close.

    I came to learn about the wonders of what they call here Spring Skiing. A person could literally hit the slopes one day and hit the beach the next, not something I was able to do on the East Coast. I had a few harrowing experiences getting to and from ski areas in NY. (Don't know where you are now, my dear, but you know what I mean). And if you want some real skiing, there was Mammoth in Northern CA or, even better, the powder of places like Park City, Snowbird, Alta, etc. in Utah.

    When I got my job here so soon, I had some money to burn. So I bought a Time Share in Park City. Looking back, it was somewhat of a mistake, as I never actually got to ski there. However, they did have exchange privileges, and I was able to get a place at Big Bear pretty much whenever I wanted. I also was given a trip to Hawaii as a bonus for buying the Time Share, so I was able to visit the islands for the first time.

    I wanted to thank the woman who had gotten me my first job here, so I invited her to come along with me to Hawaii. We stayed in Waikiki on Oahu and had to go to a timeshare presentation. Still, we did some snorkeling at Hanauma Bay on Oahu (first time for me. Wow!), and also took a small plane to Kauai and hiked. We went white water rafting around to the part of the island where you can't get to by other means and snorkeled again. We were platonic friends; still, we had a lot of fun.

    I have a videotape we took, chronicling our trip. I take it out whenever anybody says I have an accent now, to show them how I really "tawked". We have lost touch, but she was instrumental in getting me to stay here, so I owe her a lot. Thanks again, sweetheart. Meanwhile, I have been back a few more times to Kauai and Maui and I love those places.

    OK, I'm sort of "nesting" these memories here, so I hope you are still with me. I went up to Big Bear one time with some friends. By now, I had gotten my own equipment, as did the other people with me. After we parked in the resort parking lot, a coworker had opened her car door and was standing on the lip to reach up and get her stuff from the roof.

    I was standing nearby. An SUV was coming in our direction. It started skidding, hit her car door, glanced off, and then started coming towards me! The SUV had lost most of its momentum hitting her door and was barely moving when it struck me. Still, it was 2500+ pounds versus 160. There are some things you forget, but the sight of that bumper coming at me is emblazoned in my mind forever. It hit me around my quadriceps above my knee. I wound up going backward and landed on my butt. I had on layers and was cushioned somewhat, but I felt it.

    Unfortunately, my coworker was in worse shape. The impact had closed the door on her. She was this little bit of a thing, and it looked horrible, with half of her sticking out of the car and the other half trapped in the door. Luckily we were able to get her out, but she was in a lot of pain, way worse than I was. It wound up that our other friends took care of our vehicles, and we were transported all the way back down the hill from the resort to a hospital down in the town.

    I had x-rays taken and was told I was OK, but she wound up having to deal with years of pain and therapy. Meanwhile, I am now dealing with issues in the exact area where I landed. Coincidence? I don't know. It appears that these mini forks are also sometimes consequential, too, I guess.

    Meanwhile, unfortunately, there were some inter-office politics involved at work, and I really didn’t want to deal with it. The software we provided was for credit unions, which are like “Ma and Pa” banks. They emphasize the fact that they are more personal than banks. We, therefore, as the software providers for them, tried to show that we're a family too, although the bottom line was it was always a business.

    I started working on application software development and eventually moved into tech support again. I had now been working on application software, either developing it or providing support for it, for over 25 years. I guess it was time for a change.

    An opportunity arose to transfer from Application Programming to another department, which was called Education and Technical Publications. Instead of doing coding and providing technical support, I would now work on the documentation for the software. I had experience in doing this from my days back in NYC when I wrote the documentation for the telephone management software. And I like to write and explain things.

    I applied for the transfer, and, in 1998, I made the move.