An Apology and an Explanation:
To all of you who have read and enjoyed my fiction (put down the knife, I'm not going to stop writing!) For all of you who had expected my output, or the alacrity of my response to your letters, to be equal to previous years, I must beg your indulgence. The year 2006 has been a busy, troubling and very rewarding year. It was the last year of my Engineering studies. The class work generally required long hours at the computer, writing reports and programs, performing calculations, etc. I began to despise working at it. This didn't mean I stopped writing. I enjoyed `sneaking` time with pen and paper, I just haven't had time to type them in and proofread. When I wasn't working on the computer, I was machining parts for my senior project. Busy to say the least.
I graduated in August 2006, Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering. Then commenced the search for a job. Research, checking the job boards, crafting cover letters, adjusting my resume to the `audience`. About 150 resumes and cover letters . . . no responses. A job fair in October raised my hopes, then seemed to dash them. I also realized I was forcing myself to work the hours I was working. Up at 0400 - 0500 hours, work a few hours, breakfast, more hours, lunch, more hours, dinner, more work, bed, repeat. I really started hating even turning on the computer in the morning. I finally got smart and realized 'I wouldn't tolerate a boss demanding this' (one reason I didn't continue on to law school to become a patent attorney), 'I wouldn't do this to anybody else, why am I doing it to myself?' I cut back on the hours in the `job` and this let me type in and proofread a few works.
November 21st, I got a call, asking for a phone interview, they wanted to talk the next day. Surprising, but very welcome. We talked in the morning of the 22nd, and in the afternoon the Human Resources department told me they were going to be shipping me a ticket and itinerary for face-to-face interviews. Thursday the 23rd I drove to my dad's place and back (400 miles each way) for Thanksgiving. I still hadn't figured out where this offer had come from. The tickets and the itinerary arrived for a December 5th flight. Now it was time to get a new suit.
I went in and spotted one older gentleman who was the only one in the sales staff in suit and tie. I told him I was going in for a job interview and I needed suit, tie, etc. It turns out he was a retired personnel worker from an aerospace company. So he `dressed` me as he would have wanted a candidate dressed. Then I had to wait for the tailor to make his adjustments. The suits would be ready Monday Dec. 4th. It worked. I went up and did the face-to-face interviews. Of the two I purchased, I wore the navy blue, with the lighter blue shirt. Which was to tell them I was serious and dependable. The red and blue paisley tie, to tell them I wasn't a stick-in-the-mud. On Thursday Dec. 7th, they made an offer and sent the package for the background check and the other basic paperwork. It arrived Friday, and I got a request for an interview with another company, which I had to turn down.
Now I had to start packing. This meant very little time at all on the computer, except after a long day of loading boxes of books and transferring them to storage. What a wonderful way to remind yourself you've been sitting in front of a computer instead of exercising. There are times I hate the size of my library. Thirty-five boxes of books: fiction, history, reference, college textbooks on engineering, chemistry and psychology. All of them heavy. Many went to storage, other than those I suspected I would need for my job.
I arranged to travel to the new city. My two best friends from High School both lived there, so I could stay with one of them. My friend was off of work for the week after New Years, so I stay with his family. Right after I got off the plane and we left the airport, he insisted we head to where the corporate housing would be (free furnished apartment for the first month during training). I was looking for a storage space, and there was a newly-opened storage place across the street from the corporate housing. Very convenient. I secured the storage areas I would need if and when I moved. We picked up the various magazines of rented apartments on the way to his house, so I could go through them. I was still waking at 0400 - 0500, and he was sleeping in until to 0900 -1000, so I'd have plenty of time to go over them. It also let me type in a section of the stories I have been working on.
That first morning, I showed my recently awakened friend my planned itinerary. He looked it over and eliminated about two-thirds of my choices. First, there were some in high crime areas, the rest were subject to severe flooding. He pulled out a U.S. Geological Survey map, and noted the high flood danger areas and the areas where flooding would not occur. Needless to say, his home was in one of these not flood prone areas. We went through my remaining, rather short, list. I found a place that I would be pleased with and they would have an opening about the time I needed it.
I returned home and got a call from my future boss, wanting to know when my start date would be, and he was pleased it was earlier than he had been told. I should have checked with HR (Human resources) to verify that they had recorded the date we'd verbally agreed on.
Packing, packing, sorting and more packing. Unfortunately, this meant only a little time for typing and proof reading. I needed some stuff for the apartment, since I intended to drive to where I was getting trained. It was only a few hundred miles, I'd done more than that at Thanksgiving, specifically to make sure I could. I filled my car with boxes of necessities, but only high enough that it didn't block my view (or attract police).
The trip out of Los Angeles, the Odyssey continued. The 405 was slowed by a plane crashing near it. Hours late, I headed across the freeway north. There was a major accident in Stockton slowing my progress further, then there was the Friday-getaway traffic. So I arrived late, however the apartment office was still open, because they were having a tenant problem that required the police.
So into the teeth of a winter storm I moved into my new place, rather than having to sleep in my car. As part of the corporate housing arrangement, there was a meal in my fridge, if I'd wanted to assemble and microwave it. I was so tired I decided to have it for breakfast, before I went out to get a heavier coat and a few other things on Saturday. Whee! I slept most of Sunday to get ready for the first day.
The first day, allocated enough extra time to deal with getting lost. Used most of it, but did have a pleasant bit of sightseeing. I still arrived in time for the day of training. Never had a warning about avoiding rattlesnakes and mountain lions before. Computer security and large vehicles, yes; rattlesnakes, never.
The up shot of all of this is that I no longer have such a tremendous drain on my time. I have a huge backlog of written notes, vignettes, and complete stories. I have kept all the letters and unanswered Guestbook entries and am slowly replying to them. I apologize for not getting back to you earlier, but the workload was rather intense, and I hope to be getting a handle on things in the near future, once I've completed my training which is exhausting as well. I should be moving into more permanent quarters in February, and that should stabilize things even further. I can't promise the rate of output that I managed at the beginning, but better than it has been.
This part I am reticent to mention. I have another identity I've been publishing stories under. These are generally not as child friendly as the stories posted here or on my Fan fiction.net account. Some were written during times of my life that were especially dark and unpleasant, so I put those feelings on paper to deal with them. One in particular was written when a friend of mine and I had a discussion <cough>screaming match</cough> about the pilots' lack of ability to form relationships, especially romantic relationships. Between throwing things and death threats, my friend suggested I read Metroanime's Wild Horses and Pokègirls. It had all the necessary elements, a mythos aspect (although like a real threat, it is hidden in plain sight) and the necessary leverage that would break the deadlock. Others were further experiments in dealing with different psychologies, conflicting needs, and defining the world further.
If you are over 18, then I welcome you to check out: http://www.mediaminer.org/user_info.php/122776#fics
These are also not proofread and checked over as thoroughly as SSM, I wanted to disguise myself slightly. It worked, I received several warnings of plagiarism and then had to admit it was me.
Daniel Gibson